Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency presenting as acute febrile illness: a case report

Megaloblastic anemia is not uncommon in India, but data is insufficient regarding its presentation as pyrexia. We report the case of a patient who presented with pyrexia and anaemia, which after exclusion of infective, inflammatory or endocrine causes was attributed to megaloblastic anaemia secondary to vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency. The patient’s fever responded to treatment of vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency

Quality of life among lung cancer patients undergoing treatment at a tertiary cancer institute in North India

Background: Lung cancer patients mostly present with advanced disease. Its treatment has shown limited progress in recent decades, so we studied their quality of life (QOL) and how it is affected during treatment.Methods: Patients ≥18 years of age, diagnosed/registered at our institute from 1st September 2012 through August 2013 were included in the study. QOL was assessed by means of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statisticsResults: Out of 91 patients included in the study, 73 (80.2%) were males and 18 (19.8%) were females. Mean age of the study population was 59.24±10.53 years and median age was 60 years. A better QOL for nausea and vomiting (P=0.011), sleep disturbance (p=0.021), and coughing (p=0.016) was observed in female patients. There was significant worsening in symptom scales of fatigue (p=0.000), nausea and vomiting (p=0.000), sleep (0.006), appetite (p=0.000) and constipation (p=0.000). Though the mean scores of pain, dyspnoea and financial difficulties decreased, but they were not significant. According to the LC13 module, significant improvement was seen in the symptom scales of cough (p=0.000), haemoptysis (p=0.000) and pain chest (p=0.040).Conclusions: Lung cancer patients undergoing treatment suffer many limitations due to an array of symptoms and disruptions in various areas of QOL, arising from both the disease process and its treatment. It should be studied at every visit for each individual patient

Sustainable Agroecosystems for Livelihood Security in Indian Himalayas

Agroforestry systems are an age-old practice in the Indian Himalayan region. Agroforestry deals with the combination of tree species with crop plants, fisheries, animals, bee keeping, and so on, and it is based on the principle of optimum utilization of land. Agrihorticulture, silvihorticulture, hortipastoral, and silvipastoral systems are diversified land use options for agroforestry in the hill region. The study was conducted at experimental farm Hawalbagh (29o36′N and 79o 40′ E, 1250 m amsl) of Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, India. Study in an agri-horti system revealed that ragi (Eluesine coracana) and soybean (Glysine max) during kharif (rainy season) and wheat (Triticum estivum) and lentil (Lens esculenta) during rabi (winter season) can be grown successfully with pecan nut (Carya illinoinensis) tree without significant reduction in the yield of the crop. However, grain yield of these crops was numerically higher in the field without pecan nut tree. In fruit-based agri-horti system four fruit crops, hill lemon (Citrus limon), pear (Pyrus communis), plum (Prunus domestica), and apricot (Prunus armeniaca) were planted with soybean in kharif and dual purpose wheat during rabi season. During initial years, no significant effect on grain yield was observed with the presence of different fruit trees. Green forage yield varied from 4600 to 5900 kg/ha in different treatments. In different treatments, ginger (Zingiber officinale) and turmeric (Curcuma longa), turmeric and taro (Colocasia esculenta), and two varieties of turmeric (Pant Pitabh and Swarna) were grown under Grewia optiva, Quercus leucotrichophora, Bauhinia variegata, and Celtis australis. Turmeric and ginger produced significantly higher yield (12.04 and 7.99 t/ha) under oak. The highest rhizome yield was obtained under Quercus leucotrichophora (11,738 kg/ha) followed by Bauhinia variegata. Pant Pitabh gave significantly higher yield (10,860 kg/ha) than swarna. Improved systems with five tree species, that is, Grewia optiva, Quercus leucotrichophora, Bauhinia retusa, Melia azedarach, and Morus alba and four grasses, that is, Setaria kazugulla, Setaria nandi, Congo signal, and Broad leaf paspalum (Paspalum spp.) were tested under the silvipastoral system. Quercus leucotrichophora yielded (10,675 kg/ha) significantly higher green biomass than others, and the lowest green biomass was harvested from Grewia optiva. Among grasses, Setaria nandi produced the highest green forage (6234 kg/ha). Thus, in hilly terrain, planting of interspatial woody perennials, with least negative influences on the agronomic crops, seems productive in agroforestry system for settled farming. Therefore, agroforestry is a set of land use alternative, which if developed for resource poor farmers, can provide increased values and reduced risks and it should be made more popular in the rural areas

Efficacy of some insecticides against Thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom cowpea crop ecosystem

The study was conducted to determine efficacy of insecticides against Thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom on cowpea grown at field experiments were conducted at Breeder Seed Production Centre, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 2014.The most effective treatment for the control of thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom was seed treatment with fipronil @ 3 ml/kg + spray with fipronil @ 5 ml/lt with maximum reduction (70.06%) in the thrips population of cowpea while lowest effective treatment for the control of thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom was seed treatment with imidacloprid 17.8SL @ 10ml/kg + spray with monocrotophos 36SL @ 2ml/lt with minimum reduction (16.02%) in the thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom population of cowpea crop

ISOLATION, SCREENING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF L-ASPARAGINASE PRODUCING FUNGI FROM MEDICINAL PLANTS

Objective: To isolate and characterize of L-asparaginase producing fungi from medicinal plants.Methods: Fungal strains were isolated on standard media, characterized and were screened for their ability to produce L-asparginase, used in the treatment of certain types of cancers, using modified Czapek-Dox medium supplemented with L-asparagine.Results: A total of 10 fungal isolates were obtained from 3 plant leaf samples and two isolates exhibited significant L-aspargniase production. Fusarium sp. (SMGR-F1) isolated from the papaya leaves showed the maximum activity. The organism was grown under submerged fermentation conditions at 30 °C produced 111.07±1.53 IU/ml of L-asparaginase at 120 h.Conclusion: L-asparaginase is being effectively used for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and tumor cells. Fusarium sp. was isolated from the papaya plant leaves showing significant L-asparaginase activity and thus can be further exploited for the commercial production of L-asparaginase.Â

Assessment of Biomass Potential in Engine Emission Reduction

77-80The twin crisis of environmental degradation and fossil fuel depletion has confronted the world with the upcoming threat to seek the solution for some alternate fuel. The present condition of environment forces the search of some suitable alternate fuel. The present degradation of environment is also mainly influenced by the diesel vehicles. The emissions released by these diesel vehicles not only degrade the environment but also increase the number of health diseases. The present research on bio-fuels will lead to develop a sustainable solution to this problem and also create a harmonic relationship between the economy and ecosystem. The present research will provide the optimized blending ratio compression ratio and other operating parameters to be selected while approaching to sustainable output. The present study will depict the behavior of different bio-fuels poured in VCR engine at different compression ratio at different operating parameters. The outcomes of this research paper reveals the discussion on the potential assessment of different biofuels in the reduction of engine emissions

Giant fibrosarcoma of anterior abdominal wall: a rare case report and review literature

Adult type fibrosarcoma is very rare malignant soft tissue tumor. It usually arises in soft tissues of extremities, trunk, head and neck. Fibrosarcoma is essentially a diagnosis of exclusion from other spindle cell mesenchymal malignant neoplasm; by definition negative for epithelial, myogenous and neural markers on immunohistochemistry. To the best of our knowledge, very few cases have been reported in the literature. We here report a case of giant fibrosarcoma arising from anterior abdominal wall in a recurrent dermatofibrosarcoma proturbens and managed with surgical excision and reconstruction with meshplasty.

Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) Plant–Endophyte Dynamics: Plant Growth, Nutrient Uptake, and Zinc Biofortification

Endophytic fungi and bacteria were isolated from finger millet and their effects on finger millet growth parameters and zinc and NPK contents in grains were studied. Out of 70 fungal and 112 bacterial endophytes, the two best fungal and bacterial isolates were selected on the basis of zinc solubilization and plant-growth-promoting attributes. The fungal isolates identified were Aspergillus terreus and Lecanicillium sp., and the bacterial isolates were Pseudomonas bijieensis and Priestia megaterium. The endophytic zinc, NPK mobilization, and plant-growth-promoting efficacy were determined in a pot experiment with zinc carbonate as the zinc source. Endophytic-primed plants showed enhanced shoot and root lengths compared to the unprimed control. Endophytes increased the zinc content in grains by between 12.12% and 18.80% compared to control plants. Endophytes also augmented the NPK concentrations in seeds compared to control plants and exhibited stability in a diverse range of pHs, temperatures, and NaCl concentrations, and exhibited growth on various carbohydrate and nitrogen sources. This is the first study reporting the interaction of Aspergillus terreus, Lecanicillium sp., Pseudomonas bijieensis, and Priestia megaterium with finger millet for grain Zn biofortification and NPK concentration enhancement. This study indicated that zinc-dissolving endophytes possess the potential for enhancing the zinc and NPK content in grains in addition to the plant-growth-promoting attributes