Pediatric Rotavirus Gastroenteritis: A 2 year Analysis to Understand Current Prevalence in Mumbai

Many studies have established the high prevalence of paediatric Rotavirus gastroenteritis in India. The importance of rapid diagnosis of rotavirus infection has also been stressed upon, to initiate prompt rehydration therapy and prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics .We undertook a retrospective analysis of 327 paediatric stool specimens to understand the current prevalence and seasonal distribution of cases in Mumbai and its surrounding areas. Overall Rotavirus positivity rate was 37.9 %, with peak positivity in winter seasons. Infections were more common upto 2 years of age. Incidence of bacterial and parasitic coinfections was low

Pneumothorax and Pneumomediastinum in a Sputum Positive Tuberculosis Patient: The Continuous Diaphragm Sign

Secondary pneumothorax is a very common medical emergency. At times it is associated with pneumomediastinum, which could be fatal at times if not identified. We present a case of a 11 years old sputum positive child who presented with both these conditions and was diagnosed on chest x ray

Renal Cell Carcinoma Presenting as Metastasis to Scrotum and Spermatic Cord

Unusual site metastasis as presenting complaint of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been reported previously in literature. RCC is a notorious tumor with unpredictable behavior. We present a case of RCC who presented with scrotal mass and on subsequent investigation was found to have metastasis to scrotum and spermatic cord. Both testes were normal with no evidence of metastasis

Tobacco and health: What can the medical profession do?

Tobacco consumption, that leads to three million deaths every year of which about one million occur in developing countries is a social evil(1). Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of as many as 4700 individual constituents including carcinogens, irritants, ciliotoxic substances and poisonous gases. There is no dearth of information about the health hazards to smokers. it has been implicated as a major risk factor in a variety of chronic diseases including cardiac, cerebrovascular, malignant, respiratory and other diseases (2), Most of the smoking related lung diseases (e.g. chronic obstructive lung disease and lung carcinoma) are dose dependent. it is often the cumulative dose of smoking which determines the risk. Parameters like pack-year (PY) have been used to express exposure to tobacco smoke. One PY implies one packet of cigarettes (or 20 gms. tobacco) smoked each day over a course of one year (3). In India the number of cigarettes and bidis per packet is quite variable. A standard packet of cigarette and bidis per packet is quite variable

Effect of irrigation on reproductive efficiency of bunch and spreading types of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Groundnuts are mostly grown during the rainy season (kharif) in India. Most of the cultivation is without irrigation. Consequently the crop experiences water deficits of different intensities and durations, depending upon the rainfall distribution. Yields are poor under such conditions. In other leguminous species irrigation at flowering usually improves yield, if the pod development period coincides with a break in rainfall or water deficit (Khanna-Chopra, Koundal & Sinha, 1980). Thus, an understanding of reproductive behaviour and reproductive efficiency could be helpful in adjusting planting to coincide with favourable agroclimatic conditions. Alternatively, this understanding could help in scheduling irrigation

Globular clusters as gamma ray sources

There are indications now that globular clusters contain a large number of low magnetic field millisecond pulsars. Since millisecond pulsars are expected to emit γ -rays due to curvature radiation, it is likely that globular clusters will themselves be sources of γ -rays bright enough to be detectable by present day instruments. Using the expression derived by Scharlemann, Arons & Fawley (1978) of the energy acquired by the electrons moving along the open magnetic field lines of the pulsars we have calculated the likely luminosity of γ -rays from globular clusters. We discuss our results in the light of the calculations reported in the literature based on some of the other models