Assessment of traffic pollution by using mosses Entodon concinnus and Herpetineuron toccoae

Lead pollution resulting from vehicular traffic in Chandigarh,India was assessed by using two pleurocarpic, ectohydric mosses (Entodon concinnus and Herpetineuron toccoae) collected from pollution free area in Kasauli. Of the two mosses tested for lead accumulation, E. concinnus was found to be more efficient than H. toccoae (50.3ppm vs 34.4ppm)

Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Trichoderma viride on growth performance of Salvia officinalis Linn.

Salvia officinalis (Sage) is a popular kitchen herb, member of mint (Lamiaceae) family has been cultivated for its wide range of medicinal values. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) are beneficial symbionts for plant growth and development and offer a viable replacement of high input agricultural technology employed for production of environmentally hazardous fertilizers. Therefore, the present study was focused to analyze the effect of two AM fungi (Acalospora laevis and Glomus mosseae) along with Trichoderma viride, alone and in combination, on different growth parameters of S.officinalis in a green house pot experiment with sterilized soil. AM inoculum and T.viride showed significant increase of different growth parameters after 45 and 90 days of inoculation. Among all treatments, dual combination of A.laevis plus T.viride was most effective in increasing shoot length, leaf area, root length, root weight, AM spore number and percent root colonization. Moreover, maximum increase in shoot biomass was found in plant treated with T.viride

Pulmonary Lymphangiomyomatosis: A Rare Disease responsive to Progesterone

Lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare multisystem disorder in women of child-bearing age. We present a case of a 28 year old lady who presented with cough and breathlessness. She had been diagnosed as a case of lymphangiomyomatosis by computer tomography of chest. She showed dramatic clinical improvement with hormonal therapy

New Oral Anticoagulants: An Overview

Oral anticoagulant therapy is used in the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), prevention of stroke and other systemic emboli in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and artificial heart valves

Detection of Anomalies in the Quality of Electricity Supply

From the last two decades, power quality is getting much attention. Proper functioning of the equipment depends upon the quality of power supplied. Every year, demand of electric power goes on increasing and the power system network is expanding and becoming more complex. On account of thrust on clean power supply, use of renewable sources has dramatically increased in grid but it simultaneously causes power quality problems. In this work, power quality disturbance detection in wind farm integrated with grid is presented. For disturbance detection, time-time transform has been employed. The disturbance signal for the detection purpose is generated in MATLAB/Simulink environment by using a Simulink model

Chronic non-puerperal incomplete uterine inversion

Chronic non-puerperal uterine inversion is an extremely rare diagnosis especially in younger women. The diagnosis commands high level of clinical suspicion supplemented with imaging. An emergency admission of a 35-year-old para 1 with submucosal fundal fibroid presenting with excessive menstrual flow with hemodynamic instability requiring multiple blood transfusions is presented. On abdominal examination slight suprapubic tenderness was made out with no palpable mass. Bimanual examination revealed a non-pediculated mass in upper vagina with a circular constriction around it. On ultrasound, cupping of fundus suggested uterine inversion. Pelvic MRI reaffirmed the findings of a highly vascularized intracavitary leiomyoma protruding through the cervix. After optimization patient underwent myomectomy and Haultain’s procedure followed by total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingectomy. Post-operative period was uneventful. Inversion is generally associated with fundal fibroid polyp but can rarely follow submucosal leiomyoma. Imaging helps preoperative planning of management

Assessment of Indian cooking practices and cookwares on nutritional security: A review

Food provides us nutrients and the energy required for growth, reproduction, and maintenance. Energy is required to perform all voluntary and involuntary activities like digestion, respiration, circulation, carrying out professional, household and recreational activities. Despite having rich food diversity, we are using only a few items as our staple food.  With the adoption of eastern cooking practices and cookwares, risk of both pre-and post-transitional diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, malnutrition, obesity, etc. has increased significantly. Aluminium toxicity and nutrients breakdown has become a common problem in pressure cooking. To overcome this problem, it is important to shift from the modernized cooking methods to our traditional cooking practices, i.e., use of earthen cookwares, clay pots and some selected metal utensils, e.g., copper, iron, brass, etc. It has been shown that earthen, copper, iron, and soapstone cookwares do not leach toxic trace elements into the food and enhance the sensory qualities without decreasing the food nutrients. Adoption of traditional Indian cooking practices (such as fermentation, roasting, germination, etc.), cookwares (such as earthen, copper, iron, soapstone, etc.) and increasing the consumption of healthy diet grains like millets, etc. can easily combat the pre- and post-transition health problems in India, effectively. This review would provide a deep understanding to the people to decide the best cookware and cooking processes that will improve their health and provide ample nutritional value to them

A Rare Manifestation of Cysticercosis Infestation

There are many causes of urticaria, which may vary from infections to malignancy. Among the infections, infestations by cysticercosis (larval stage of the tapeworm called Taenia solium) is an important cause. The present report is of forty four years old female who presented with urticaria and swelling on face. The swelling was later diagnosed as cysticercosis by noninvasive ultrasonography. The urticaria subsided after the treatment of cysticercosis. We report this case for rarity of its presentation. Key words: cysticercosis, chronic urticaria, Taenia solium, ultrasonograph

Complementary feeding at 4 versus 6 months of age for preterm infants born at less than 34 weeks of gestation: a randomised, open-label, multicentre trial

Background Evidence on the optimal time to initiation of complementary feeding in preterm infants is scarce. We examined the effect of initiation of complementary feeding at 4 months versus 6 months of corrected age on weight for age at 12 months corrected age in preterm infants less than 34 weeks of gestation. Methods In this open-label, randomised trial, we enrolled infants born at less than 34 weeks of gestation with no major malformation from three public health facilities in India. Eligible infants were tracked from birth and randomly assigned (1:1) at 4 months corrected age to receive complementary feeding at 4 months corrected age (4 month group), or continuation of milk feeding and initiation of complementary feeding at 6 months corrected age (6 month group), using computer generated randomisation schedule of variable block size, stratified by gestation (30 weeks or less, and 31–33 weeks). Iron supplementation was provided as standard. Participants and the implementation team could not be masked to group assignment, but outcome assessors were masked. Primary outcome was weight for age Z-score at 12 months corrected age (WAZ12) based on WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study growth standards. Analyses were by intention to treat. The trial is registered with Clinical Trials Registry of India, number CTRI/2012/11/003149. Findings Between March 20, 2013, and April 24, 2015, 403 infants were randomly assigned: 206 to receive complementary feeding from 4 months and 197 to receive complementary feeding from 6 months. 22 infants in the 4 month group (four deaths, two withdrawals, 16 lost to follow-up) and eight infants in the 6 month group (two deaths, six lost to follow-up) were excluded from analysis of primary outcome. There was no difference in WAZ12 between two groups: –1·6 (SD 1·2) in the 4 month group versus –1·6 (SD 1·3) in the 6 month group (mean difference 0·005, 95% CI –0·24 to 0·25; p=0·965). There were more hospital admissions in the 4 month group compared with the 6 month group: 2·5 episodes per 100 infant-months in the 4 month group versus 1·4 episodes per 100 infant-months in the 6 month group (incidence rate ratio 1·8, 95% CI 1·0–3·1, p=0·03). 34 (18%) of 188 infants in the 4 month group required hospital admission, compared with 18 (9%) of 192 infants in the 6 month group. Interpretation Although there was no evidence of effect for the primary endpoint of WAZ12, the higher rate of hospital admission in the 4 month group suggests a recommendation to initiate complementary feeding at 6 months over 4 months of corrected age in infants less than 34 weeks of gestation

Contribution of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 sequence alterations to breast cancer in Northern India

BACKGROUND: A large number of distinct mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have been reported worldwide, but little is known regarding the role of these inherited susceptibility genes in breast cancer risk among Indian women. We investigated the distribution and the nature of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations and polymorphisms in a cohort of 204 Indian breast cancer patients and 140 age-matched controls. METHOD: Cases were selected with regard to early onset disease (≤40 years) and family history of breast and ovarian cancer. Two hundred four breast cancer cases along with 140 age-matched controls were analyzed for mutations. All coding regions and exon-intron boundaries of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes were screened by heteroduplex analysis followed by direct sequencing of detected variants. RESULTS: In total, 18 genetic alterations were identified. Three deleterious frame-shift mutations (185delAG in exon 2; 4184del4 and 3596del4 in exon 11) were identified in BRCA1, along with one missense mutation (K1667R), one 5'UTR alteration (22C>G), three intronic variants (IVS10-12delG, IVS13+2T>C, IVS7+38T>C) and one silent substitution (5154C>T). Similarly three pathogenic protein-truncating mutations (6376insAA in exon 11, 8576insC in exon19, and 9999delA in exon 27) along with one missense mutation (A2951T), four intronic alterations (IVS2+90T>A, IVS7+75A>T, IVS8+56C>T, IVS25+58insG) and one silent substitution (1593A>G) were identified in BRCA2. Four previously reported polymorphisms (K1183R, S1613G, and M1652I in BRCA1, and 7470A>G in BRCA2) were detected in both controls and breast cancer patients. Rare BRCA1/2 sequence alterations were observed in 15 out of 105 (14.2%) early-onset cases without family history and 11.7% (4/34) breast cancer cases with family history. Of these, six were pathogenic protein truncating mutations. In addition, several variants of uncertain clinical significance were identified. Among these are two missense variants, one alteration of a consensus splice donor sequence, and a variant that potentially disrupts translational initiation. CONCLUSION: BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations appear to account for a lower proportion of breast cancer patients at increased risk of harboring such mutations in Northern India (6/204, 2.9%) than has been reported in other populations. However, given the limited extent of reported family history among these patients, the observed mutation frequency is not dissimilar from that reported in other cohorts of early onset breast cancer patients. Several of the identified mutations are unique and novel to Indian patients