Familial esophageal achalasia in mother and son

Familial esophageal achalasia a rare presentation, is most often described in monozygotic twins or siblings. Parent/child association is very rare and exhaustive review of the literature found about 5 times as many instances of affected siblings than instances of affected parent/child. Only seven instances of parent/child association have been reported till date. We report a 75 -year-old lady with achalasia cardia and her son who developed the same illness one year later. Mother was treated by Heller's surgery and son is presently on medical management

Correlation between elevated serum ferritin and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Serum Ferritin, an acute phase reactant is a marker of iron stores in the body. Recent studies indicate that increased body iron stores and subclinical hemochromatosis has been associated with the development of glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and possibly the development of diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy and vascular dysfunction. This study was carried out to examine and establish a relationship between Serum Ferritin with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome and to examine whether a correlation between S. ferritin and FBS, HbA1c exists.Methods: 86 type 2 diabetes subjects (M:F - 57:29, mean age 54.3±9.2 years, mean BMI 24.28kg/m2) which included 24 patients with metabolic syndrome were studied and compared with controls. S. ferritin, Hb, ESR, FBS, PPBS, HbA1c and fasting lipid profile were measured.Results: Serum ferritin was significantly higher in diabetic patients when compared to controls and serum ferritin had a positive correlation with increasing duration of diabetes.Conclusions: There was a positive correlation between serum ferritin and FBS, HbA1c. There was no correlation between serum ferritin and age, sex, metabolic syndrome, coexistent hypertension, total cholesterol, LDL and serum triglycerides.

Limnological, Ichthyological, and Parasitological Investigations on Arkansas Reservoris in Relation to Water Quality

Lake Fort Smith, a 525 acre (212 ha) reservoir, was impounded in 1936 as a water supply for the city of Fort Smith. The reservoir is located on Clear Creek (Frog Bayou), a tributary of the Arkansas River, in the Boston Mountains 28 miles (45 km) northeast of the city of Fort Smith in Crawford County, Arkansas. A map and morphometric characteristics of Lake Fort Smith are given in Fig. 1 and Table I (Hoffman, 1951; Nelson, 1952). In 1956 Lake Shepherd Springs, a 750 acre (304 ha) impoundment, was created one mile upstream of Lake Fort Smith (Rorie, 1961). Both lakes have a shale substrate and are subject to periods of high turbidity. The 2 two lakes have a water shed of 65 square mile area (168 km ) of mountainous oak-hickory forest. Lake Shepherd Springs has not acted as a settling basin for sediments; thus, the upper portion of Lake Fort Smith has numerous shallow areas with a mud bottom supporting various submergent and emergent aquatic plants. The lower portion of the lake has a rocky, shale substrate with only limited emergent vegetation

Near-IR studies of recurrent nova V745 Scorpii during its 2014 outburst

The recurrent nova (RN) V745 Scorpii underwent its third known outburst on 2014 February 6. Infrared monitoring of the eruption on an almost daily basis, starting from 1.3d after discovery, shows the emergence of a powerful blast wave generated by the high velocity nova ejecta exceeding 4000 kms$^{-1}$ plowing into its surrounding environment. The temperature of the shocked gas is raised to a high value exceeding 10$^{8}$K immediately after outburst commencement. The energetics of the outburst clearly surpass those of similar symbiotic systems like RS Oph and V407 Cyg which have giant secondaries. The shock does not show a free-expansion stage but rather shows a decelerative Sedov-Taylor phase from the beginning. Such strong shockfronts are known to be sites for $\gamma$ ray generation. V745 Sco is the latest nova, apart from five other known novae, to show $\gamma$ ray emission. It may be an important testbed to resolve the crucial question whether all novae are generically $\gamma$ ray emitters by virtue of having a circumbinary reservoir of material that is shocked by the ejecta rather than $\gamma$ ray generation being restricted to only symbiotic systems with a shocked red giant (RG) wind. The lack of a free-expansion stage favors V745 Sco to have a density enhancement around the white dwarf (WD), above that contributed by a RG wind. Our analysis also suggests that the WD in V745 Sco is very massive and a potential progenitor for a future SN Ia explosion.Comment: To appear in ApJ (Letters

Isolation of mosquito larvicidal molecule form the leaves of Clausena anista

The vector-borne diseases caused by mosquitoes are one of the major health problems in many countries especially in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The resistance of mosquitoes to synthetic chemicals and environmental toxicity created by the chemicals raised the demand for finding of alternate natural molecules that control mosquito. In the present study, the compound 1, 2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, mono (2-ethylhexyl) ester was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of leaves of Clausena anisata and it was identified by various spectral studies. The larvicidal potential of the isolated compound was evaluated against early 4th instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi. The compound exhibited 100% larval mortality against A. aegypti and A. stephensi at 40 ppm with LC50 values of 8.944 and 9.230 ppm respectively. The molecule also showed the LC50 value of 12.067 ppm against C. quinquefasciatus. The molecule isolated from C. anisata can be better explored for the control of mosquito population after toxicological evaluation

Antibacterial activity of diff erent solvent extracts of Caulerpa chemnitzia (Esper) J.V. Lamououx, from Mandapam, Gulf of Mannar Southeast Coast, Tamil Nadu, India

Phytochemical analyses and in vitro antibacterial activity of different extracts of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate,acetone, and methanol extracts of green algae, Caulerpa chemnitzia (Esper) J.V. Lamououx, against Bacillussubtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella flexneri, and Vibrio cholerae. The extent of theinhibitory zone, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) weredetermined. The ethyl acetate extract of C. chemnitzia showed the presence of phytochemicals, terpenoids,tannins and phenolic compounds strongly than the other solvent extracts. The mean zone of inhibition producedby the extracts in agar diffusion assays against the tested bacterial strains ranged from 7.1 to 13.6 mm. The MICwas between 125 and 500 μg/mL while the MBC were between 250 and 1000 μg/mL. The highest mean zoneof inhibition (13.6 mm) and the lowest MIC (125 μg/mL) and MBC (250 μg/mL) values were observed in ethylacetate extract against B. subtilis. These findings suggest that the ethyl acetate extract of C. chemnitzia can beused as an antibacterial substance for the treatment of bacteria causing acquired infection

Relationship of rheumatoid factor positivity to prevalence of joint manifestations in type 2 diabetes which are unrelated to rheumatoid arthritis

Background: The present study was designed to investigate the relationship of rheumatoid factor positivity to the prevalence of joint manifestations in type 2 diabetes which are not attributable to rheumatoid arthritis.Methods: We evaluated 192 type 2 diabetes patients with rheumatological complications and age and sex matched non-diabetic controls for rheumatoid factor (RF) positivity. Diabetic patients with frozen shoulder, LJM syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, DISH and Dupuytren’s contracture were evaluated for RF positivity.  Results: RF was positive in 47 patients (24.4%) when compared to controls (4.2%). RF positivity was associated with an increased prevalence of joint manifestations in diabetic group when compared to controls. RF positivity was not related to the duration of diabetes nor was it related to long term glycemic control.Conclusion: RF positivity resulted in an increased prevalence of joint manifestations in diabetes, which were unrelated to rheumatoid arthritis

Screening of phytochemical and antibacterial potential of diff erent organic solvent extracts of Stoechospermum marginatum (Ag) Kutz. from Manappad coast, Tuticorin District, South India

The antibacterial activity of different extracts of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extractof a brown alga, Stoechospermum marginatum (Ag) Kutz. against Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes,Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonellatyphimurium, Shigella flexneri and Vibrio cholerae. The extent of the inhibitory zone, Minimum InhibitoryConcentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were determined. The ethyl acetateextract of S. marginatum showed the highest antibacterial activity against all the bacterial strains tested thanthe other extracts. The mean zones of inhibition produced by the extracts in agar diffusion assays against thetested bacterial strains ranged from 7.1 to 18.1 mm. The MIC were between 125 and 500 μg/ml, while theMBC were between 250 and 1000 μg/ml. The ethyl acetate extract of S. marginatum showed the presenceof terpenoids, tannins, phenolic compounds and steroids strongly than the other solvent extracts. The highestmean of zone inhibition (18.1 mm) was observed in the ethyl acetate extract of S. marginatum against B. subtilis.These finding suggest that the ethyl acetate extract of S. marginatum can be used as an antibacterial substancefor the treatment of bacterial infections

Prevalence of anemia among school going adolescent girls in rural area of Pune, Maharashtra, India

Background: Anemia is like the tip of an iceberg, as majority of anemic subjects are asymptomatic. Low iron diet for longer period perpetuates an inter-generational cycle of anemia, anemic women giving birth to anemic children. This situation is more acute in rural area due to their dietary habits, illiterate parents, socio-economic status, misconception about food, religions belief, menstruation and physical activity.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in rural field practice area of Rural Heath Training Centre (RHTC) under department of community medicine, Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical college Pune, Maharashtra, India. There are 11 villages under RHTC Lavale: Out of them one village viz. Pirangut village was randomly selected. (by using random sampling method). This study was conducted in 2013. Total 740 senior secondary school girls studying in class 6th to 12th (10-19 age group) were included. Hb level was measured by Sahli′s hemoglobinometer. Chi square was used to test for association between qualitative variables, and p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results: The Hb level of girls reveal that majority 648 (87.6%) of them were anemic. It was found that 305 (47.06%) and 340 (52.48%) were suffering from mild and moderate anemia while 3 (0.46%) had severe anemia. The significant association was found with BMI for age.Conclusions: Active measures to decrease the prevalence of anemia through educating these girls and their mothers, school diet supplementation, providing low cost diet