Micronucleus assay on buccal cells: an indicator of DNA damage due to formaldehyde exposure in anatomy dissection labs

Background: The occupational exposure to formaldehyde (FA) can lead to various hazards ranging from allergic reactions to genetic damage. Workers of Anatomy lab are at a higher risk of having the hazardous effects of FA. Micronuclei (MN) appear in the cells due to chromosome breakage and dysfunction of the mitotic apparatus which are the indicators for the DNA damage. The present study was carried out to detect the DNA damage in people exposed to FA using buccal cell MN Assay by measuring the MN frequency in buccal cells with respect to the duration of exposure. Methods: Thirty male workers of Anatomy labs of different medial colleges in Bangalore were included in the study. Thirty people with no FA exposure were considered as comparison group. Buccal cells were scraped from the cheek and slides were prepared. A total of 1000 cells were counted for the presence of MN after staining with Geimsa solution. Results: There was a significant increase in the frequency of MN in both buccal cells (p<0.001). A positive correlation was found between the years of exposure and frequency of MN in buccal cells (r=0.5, p=0.03). Conclusion: This study highlights that there is a significant DNA damage in people exposed to formaldehyde which is proportional to the duration of exposure.

Fish Fauna of the Chaliyar River, North Kerala

The Chaliyar river is one of the west flowing rivers of Western Ghats. It has many tributaries such as Karimpuzha. Punnappuzha, Kuruvanpuzha, Tiruanchipuzha, Cherupuzha. etc. with a catchment area of 1535 sq. km. The total discharge of the river is 7775 Mm3, The river which was in a pristine condition before 4 to 5 decades has become highly degraded in the lower stretches by the effluents of Gwalior Rayons and in the upper stretches by various anthropogenic factors like deforestation, high siltation, dynamite fishing and use of copper sulphate for fishing. During the summer months, the water in the river is very low due to high run off during the wet months

Good doctor and bad doctor: A qualitative study of first year medical students’ views on professionalism

Introduction: Professionalism is emphasized in medical school curricula; however, there is lack of consensus on what constitutes professionalism. This study aimed at exploring incoming medical students’ views on professionalism through student constructs of the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ doctor. Methods: After Institutional Ethics Committee approval and informed consent, all (n=150) incoming first-year medical students were asked their reasons for pursuing medicine and their perceptions of the attributes of a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ doctor. Following the anonymous survey, we used nominal group discussions to achieve consensus about the desirable and undesirable attributes that emerged from student responses. After an iterative theming process, a list of themes were derived from the written reflections of students. Results: Competence, communication, and professionalism were some of the perceived attributes of a good doctor, while being money-minded, having inadequate knowledge or competence, and rudeness were some of the reported attributes of a bad doctor. We identified six themes for the question 'Why pursue medicine?': affective / humanitarian response; thoughts about further pursuits; fulfillment; traits of the profession; ability to contribute to society; and personal experiences. Conclusion: Our results suggest that first year medical students have a fair idea of the behavior expected from a good doctor. Formal reflection on these expectations may hone the concept of professionalism for new entrants into the profession. The teaching of professionalism could incorporate such activities to allow students and educators to articulate and explore tensions between what is taught and what is experienced as they progress through the profession

Bilateral Variability of the Quadriceps Angle (Q angle) in an Adult Indian Population

Abstract Objective(s) The objective of this study was to document and explain bilateral differences in the Q angle. Materials and Methods Two hundred limbs of healthy adult Indian volunteers were studied. The Q angle was measured using a goniometric method with the subjects supine, quadriceps relaxed and lower limbs in neutral rotation. The relative lateral placement of the tibial tuberosity with respect to the centre of the patella was measured. Appropriate statistical tests were used to determine the bilateral variability in the Q angle and the lateral placement of the tibial tuberosity. Inter-observer variation of the above mentioned parameters were studied in twenty limbs. Results The average Q angle value of all the 200 limbs was 12.73 °C; the mean value on the right was 12.86 °C and 12.60 °C on the left. When the Q angle and the lateral placement of the tibial tuberosity were considered in pairs a significant difference was noted in males. The Q angle value on the right side was more often greater than the left. The relative lateral placement of the tibial tuberosity showed a significant positive correlation with the Q angle. The intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.66 for the Q angle and 0.8 for the lateral placement of the tibial tuberosity. Conclusion The present study shows that bilateral variability in the Q angle could be attributed to an alteration of the relative placement of the tibial tuberosity with respect to the centre of the patella

<i>In Vitro</i> Activity of Two Cefepime-Based Novel Combinations, Cefepime/Taniborbactam and Cefepime/Zidebactam, against Carbapenemase-Expressing <i>Enterobacterales </i>Collected in India

In recent times, discovery efforts for novel antibiotics have mostly targeted carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative organisms. Two different combination approaches are pertinent: b-lactam-b-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) or b-lactam-b-lactam enhancer (BL/ BLE). Cefepime combined with a BLI, taniborbactam, or with a BLE, zidebactam, has been shown to be promising. In this study, we determined the in vitro activity of both these agents along with comparators against multicentric carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). Nonduplicate CPE isolates of Escherichia coli (n = 270) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 300), collected from nine different tertiary-care hospitals across India during 2019 to 2021, were included in the study. Carbapenemases in these isolates were detected by PCR. E. coli isolates were also screened for the presence of the 4-Amino-Acid insert in penicillin binding protein 3 (PBP3). MICs were determined by reference broth microdilution. Higher MICs of cefepime/taniborbactam (.8 mg/L) were linked to NDM, both in K. pneumoniae and in E. coli. In particular, such higher MICs were observed in 88 to 90% of E. coli isolates producing NDM and OXA-48-like or NDM alone. On the other hand, OXA-48-like-producing E. coli or K. pneumoniae isolates were nearly 100% susceptible to cefepime/taniborbactam. Regardless of the carbapenemase types and the pathogens, cefepime/ zidebactam showed potent activity (.99% inhibited at#8mg/L). It seems that the 4-amino-Acid insert in PBP3 (present universally in the study E. coli isolates) along with NDM adversely impact the activity of cefepime/taniborbactam. Thus, the limitations of the BL/BLI approach in tackling the complex interplay of enzymatic and nonenzymatic resistance mechanisms were better revealed in whole-cell studies where the activity observed was a net effect of b-lactamase inhibition, cellular uptake, and target affinity of the combination. IMPORTANCE The study revealed the differential ability of cefepime/taniborbactam and cefepime/zidebactam in tackling carbapenemase-producing Indian clinical isolates that also harbored additional mechanisms of resistance. NDM-expressing E. coli with 4-Amino-Acid insert in PBP3 are predominately resistant to cefepime/taniborbactam, while the b-lactam enhancer mechanism-based cefepime/zidebactam showed consistent activity against single-or dual-carbapenemase-producing isolates including E. coli with PBP3 inserts.</p

Unraveling a 146 Years Old Taxonomic Puzzle: Validation of Malabar Snakehead, Species-Status and Its Relevance for Channid Systematics and Evolution

The current distribution of C. diplogramma and C. micropeltes is best explained by vicariance. The significant variation in the key taxonomic characters and the results of the molecular marker analysis points towards an allopatric speciation event or vicariant divergence from a common ancestor, which molecular data suggests to have occurred as early as 21.76 million years ago. The resurrection of C. diplogramma from the synonymy of C. micropeltes has hence been confirmed 146 years after its initial description and 134 years after it was synonymised, establishing it is an endemic species of peninsular India and prioritizing its conservation value

Extension of range of distribution of Horadandia atukorali Deraniyagala (Pisces: Cyprinidae: Rasborinae) to Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu

Volume: 93Start Page: 303End Page: 30