To evaluate the prevalence of female genital tuberculosis in Hyderabad

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an increasing public health concern worldwide. It is one of the most important causes of infectious morbidity and mortality. Genital TB is one form of extra pulmonary TB and is not uncommon, particularly in communities where pulmonary TB is prevalent. The objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of female genital tuberculosis in Hyderabad and its presentational symptoms and methods of diagnosis.Methods: A total of 1102 cases of suspected genital TB who had been registered and treated in the AIMSR and few selected government urban health post and private hospitals and clinics in different zones of Hyderabad, from 2012 January to 2013 March were retrospectively and prospectively studied. From this group, 23 women were diagnosed as having genital TB based on the standard pathological and microbiological criteria of tissue specimens. Results:Out of 23 cases diagnosed as having genital tuberculosis, 3 patients (13.04 %) presented with abdominal or pelvic pain. In 17cases (73.91%) tuberculosis was diagnosed during studies performed to evaluate the cause of their infertility, and the most common diagnostic procedure was endometrial curettage. Remaining 3 cases (13.05 %) have past, present or contact history of tuberculosis. Female genital TB accounted for 2.08 % of all tuberculosis patients in this study.Conclusions: This study indicates the presence of a strong relationship between genital TB and infertility; therefore genital TB would be more frequently diagnosed if this possibility was considered in the evaluation of every infertile patient in areas where tuberculosis is endemic

Occurrence of black rot in Jatropha curcas L. plantations in India caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea

A new disease in Jatropha curcas L. plants was observed during the summer season in 2009 and 2010 in plantations in several Indian states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The outbreak of the disease coincided with the leafdropping (dormant) stage of the crop, which sets in with the increasing moisture stress. Affected J. curcas plants showed drying along with shrivelling, and discoloration of the stem with sticky reddish-brown exudation at the base of the plants. Black lesions (soft and rotting) on the stem under the bark and cambium layer were also observed. From the affected stem parts, fungal cultures were isolated and tested for their pathogenicity on pot-grown plants. The fungal isolates caused symptoms on J. curcas leaves and petioles (black spots, 1–3 mm in diameter). Then they spread to the stems causing shrivelling and gummosis of hard-wood stems, and finally led to the death of the infected plant. The causal fungus was identified as Botryosphaeria dothidea using microscopic observations of hyphae and spores, and internally transcribed spacers (ITS) sequencing technique. In addition, four other fungal isolates were also isolated from the affected tissues, which were identified as Macrophomina phaceolina, Phomosis longicolla, Fusarium oxysporum and Alternaria alternata using the ITS sequencing technique. The role of these fungal cultures, i.e. whether they grow as saprophytes on the affected dead tissues or have any role in causing the black rot disease, needs further study. Spraying J. curcas plants showing early symptoms of this disease with Bavistin (carbendazim 50% WP) at the rate of 2 g l–1 water controlled the spread of the symptoms and led to the recovery of plants with new leaf growth after the rains

Effect of roughage to concentrate ratio of sweet sorghum (Sorghum biclor L. Moench) bagasse-based complete diet on nutrient utilization and microbial N supply in lambs

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of roughage to the concentrate ratio of complete diets containing sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB), an agro-industrial by product, as sole roughage source on nutrient utilization in ram lambs. Twenty-four Nellore × Deccani cross ram lambs aged about 3 months (average body wt. 10.62±0.03 kg) were randomly allotted into four groups fed with CR-I (60R:40C), CR-II (50R:50C), CR-III (40R:60C), and CRIV (30R:70C) complete diets. The roughage to concentrate ratio did not affect the dry matter intake (in grams/day or grams/kilogram weight0.75). The crude protein (P<0.01) and ether extract (P<0.05) digestibility of ration CR-IV was higher than CR-I and CR-II rations, whereas, the digestibility of nitrogen-free extract and fiber fractions was similar among all the rations. Experimental diets were different (P<0.01) in digestible crude protein (DCP) content, in which the CR-I ration contained lower DCP value whereas CR-IV ration contained higher DCP value. The total digestible nutrients (TDN) and metabolizable energy (ME) values were comparable among all the experimental rations. The daily DCP intake (in grams/day) was lower (P<0.05) in lambs fed with CR-I ration compared to CR-III and CR-IV rations and it was comparable with CR-II ration. The TDN intake (in grams/day), digestible energy, and ME intakes (in megajoules/day) were similar among the lambs fed experimental rations with different SSB to concentrate ratios. The average daily DCP intake of lambs fed with CR-II, CR-III, and CR-IV rations met the requirements whereas, the daily TDN and ME intake was met by all the lambs. The lambs on all the diets were in positive nitrogen retention. The nitrogen balance expressed as grams/day was higher (P<0.05) in lambs fed with CR-III and CR-IV ration than those fed with CR-I ration. The daily calcium and phosphorus intake and balance were comparable on all the experimental rations. The total purine derivatives (in millimoles/day) were higher (P<0.05) in CR-III than CR-I and comparable with CR-II and CR-IV diets. The higher (P<0.01) microbial N supply (in grams/day) was observed in CR-III ration compared to other three rations and the efficiency of microbial synthesis was comparable among all the rations. It is concluded that sweet sorghum bagasse can be included in the complete rations at maximum level of 50 % as roughage source for rearing of ram lambs

Correlation of dental caries status with BMI in school children of age 3-16 years- An institutional study

Aim: The study investigates the correlation of dental caries status with body mass index (BMI) in school children of age 3 to 16 years. Background: Obesity is a rising global health epidemic. Dental caries has been the predominant disorder in modern society. Obesity and dental caries are major health problems with multifactorial characteristics and similar risk factors, such as diet, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating pattern, not enough sleep, and high amount of stress etc. Various studies have documented diverse outcomes linked to BMI and dental caries. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was implemented on 756 participants. Among the study participants, 475 (62.8%) were boys and 281 (37.2%) were girls. The decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index has been used to assess the prevalence of dental caries. Information of the study participant's height and weight was reported using a standardized measuring scale and weighing machine; after that, the BMI was measured. SPSS version 22 was used to analyze the data. Results: The mean DMFT of the study participants in normal-weight children was 2.3. There was a positive correlation between the dental caries status and BMI, with a significant value of 0.27. Conclusion: Diet counselling and regular dental check-ups should be prescribed to prevent dental caries from occurring and monitor children's healthy weight. Balanced nutrition needs to be provided to children by school authorities and parents