Profile of patients coming to the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation for locomotor disability certification: a 5-years observational study

Background: The persons with locomotor disability are eligible for various social welfare benefits from the Government under ‘The persons with disabilities (Equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, 1995’ along with other causes of disabilities like blindness, hearing impairment etc. and recent enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. Understanding the utilization of services is crucial in enhancing assistance for individuals with certifiable disabilities. This study aimed to observe the clinico-demographic profile of patients coming to outpatient Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitations for locomotor disabilities certification and 5 years’ trend in the number of patients getting disability certificate. Methods: This retrospective study was based on the data taken at time of disability certification in a multispecialty tertiary care government medical college in Northern India. All persons with locomotor disability who were issued disability certificate between 2014 and 2018 were included in the study. Results: A total of 857 patients were issued disability certificates during the study period of 2014 to 2018. Among the 744 adult patients, only 149 (20%) were female. Most of them were urban residents. In locomotor disability, post-polio residual paralysis was the most common diagnosis encountered, followed by amputations and cerebral palsy. Most of the applicants were having a disability of 40-50%. Conclusions: Awareness has to be generated about the disability benefits and disability certification. Utilisation of services by females should be encouraged. Robust data and literature need to be built up for prevention and management of locomotor disability.

Patterns of aldosterone, renin level and aldosterone/renin ratio in young hypertensive patients

Background: Hypertension is a common disease that affects a vast and diverse patient group. Aldosterone, the primary human mineralocorticoid, is increasingly recognized as playing a key role in cardiovascular morbidity, and its involvement in hypertension has lately been evaluated by studies. It is estimated that it accounts for up to 13% of all hypertension patients and 20% of resistant hypertension cases. This study aimed to observe the patterns of aldosterone, renin level, and aldosterone/ renin ratio in young hypertensive patients. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study and was conducted in the Department of Medicine Popular Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from June, 2023 to December, 2023. In our study, we included 124 hypertensive patients who visited the outdoor department of medicine of our hospital. Results: In our study, we found mean age was 33.38�49 years. The majority (75%) of our patients were male. The mean SBP and DBP were 136.77�.54 and 88.58�.72 mmHg respectively. The mean aldosterone level was 148.74�5.91 pmol/L. The mean plasma renin activity and aldosterone to renin ratio were 10.03�.04 ng/mL/hr and 22.98�.66 respectively. Conclusions: In our study, we aimed to determine the pattern of ARR ratio in young hypertensive patients. We found that aldosterone renin ratio (ARR) levels play a crucial role in identifying the etiological patterns of young hypertensive patients e.g. Conn's syndrome, Liddle's syndrome, etc.

The Double Trouble: Caudal Duplication Syndrome-A rare case series with a review of literature

Caudal duplication syndrome (CDS) is a very rare disease entity with prevalence of less than 1 per 100,000 at birth.It includes a broad range of abnormalities and clinical symptoms , from single or partial duplication of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary and distal neural tube system organs to total duplication.There have been several ideas proposed to explain the complicated yet symmetrical abnormalities and the wide range of clinical manifestations of caudal duplication syndrome.In this case series, we present two confirmed cases of Caudal Duplication Syndrome in our institute.The management for this syndrome is individualized and may include surgical intervention to fuse or excise the duplicated organs.

Prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical carcinoma in a tertiary care hospital at Rajshahi

Background: Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is a precancerous cervical condition with the potential to develop into cervical carcinoma if untreated. While research on CIN and cervical carcinoma exists in various regions, the Rajshahi area lacks such investigations. Examining the prevalence of CIN and cervical carcinoma in this region is essential. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of CIN and cervical carcinoma in a tertiary care hospital at Rajshahi in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the department of pathology, Rajshahi medical college, and the department of gynaecology and obstetrics, Rajshahi medical college hospital, Rajshahi, Bangladesh from July 2019 to June 2022. A total of 1000 VIA test-positive cases of cervical lesions were enrolled as study subjects purposively. Data were processed and analyzed by the MS office tools. Results: Cervical carcinoma was identified through cytological analysis in 4.6% of cases, with 7.6% exhibiting high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and 13.1% showing low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL). Through histopathological analysis, cervical carcinoma found in 5.3% of cases, CIN-grade III (CIN-III) in 7.1%, and CIN-II and CIN-I in 2.2%, 16.4% of cases, respectively. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rate was 0.70%. Conclusions: The prevalence of CIN and cervical carcinoma in the Rajshahi region of Bangladesh is alarmingly high. These findings underscore the pressing need for the immediate implementation of a comprehensive vaccination and awareness development program for cervical carcinoma.

Multidimensional Scope, Current Status, Uses and Contribution of Green Gold Bamboo: A Comprehensive Review

Bamboo is a versatile group of fastest growing plant which is capable of providing ecological, economical, environmental and livelihood security to the people. The study investigates uses, contribution, scope of the green gold plant bamboo. The review of this study showed that bamboo has evolved into a highly valuable and superior plant which serves for food, fodder and many more also bamboo-based products have the potential to replace wood, plastics in a variety of industrial uses without harming the nature by maintaining sustainability. So in this review paper comprehensive overview of the recent literatures about multidimensional scope of bamboo in form of its greatest potential is being discussed.

Atypical chest pain with non-specific ST changes: an incidental finding of myocardial bridge without flow limiting coronary lesion

Myocardial bridging is a developmental anomaly characterized by intramural course of a short segment of epicardial coronary artery which mostly remains silent in the initial few decades of life. A 42 years old male non diabetic, hypertensive on single regime therapy presented with atypical chest pain for the last two hours. Serial 12 lead ECGs on an interval of half-hour showing nonspecific dynamic ST changes in lead II, III and aVF suggesting of inferior wall changes with negative bio markers like troponin-T and troponin-I. Coronary angiography reveals myocardial bridge in mid segment of left anterior descending artery (LAD). Considering superficial type of bridging in this case, a conservative management strategy was planned accordingly. Physicians should be more vigilant on possibilities of underlying myocardial bridging as a major differential in emergency scenarios with low suspicion of atherosclerosis but with a picture equivalent to acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Myocardial bridge carries a wide array of complications depending on variabilities like depth of tunnelling, collapsibility, loss of wall sheer stress and vasospastic changes. Hence it needs to be promptly diagnosed with immediate treatment.

Pulmonary Involvement in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: In half of the individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), over the course of the disease, pulmonary involvement occurs frequently and is one of the parts in the array of presenting symptoms. But the published research and information on SLE have historically concentrated on renal, central nervous system (CNS), and dermatological manifestations, while the pulmonary effects of SLE have received very less attention. Objective: To know the extent and pattern of pulmonary involvement in SLE patients in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 70 diagnosed SLE [who fulfilled the revised American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for the classification of SLE] patients attending a tertiary care center. Seventy diagnosed SLE patients who met the updated ACR criteria for the classification of SLE and were enrolled in a tertiary care facility in West Bengal participated in a cross-sectional observational study. After informed consent, clinical examinations, general survey, respiratory examination, cardiovascular examination, and relevant investigations [chest X-ray, pulmonary function test, echocardiography and electrocardiography, and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT)/chest computed tomography (CT) scan] were performed. Results: The majority of the study subjects belonged to the 21–30 years of age-group (45.7%) and were females. Most of the study subjects were treatment-naïve as they were newly diagnosed. Among the chief presenting complaints, the most common was cough followed by dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain. Chest X-rays showed pleural pathology in 37% of study subjects and pulmonary function tests were found to have a restrictive pattern in 4.3%. Echocardiography documented that 19.6% had pulmonary artery hypertension. HRCT revealed that 19.4% of subjects had definitive findings of interstitial lung diseases (ILD). Conclusion: A substantial contributor to morbidity and death, SLE is a potentially fatal, commonly debilitating autoimmune illness with pulmonary symptoms. Cough was the most common presenting complaint, and the most common radiological abnormality detected was pleural effusion. Spirometry revealed, as expected, a restrictive pattern in most of the cases. Around 29% of cases revealed features suggestive of or confirmatory evidence for intestinal lung disease. As a whole, the prevalence of lung involvement in SLE in the study was 67%. But this being a study with only 70 participants, a further longitudinal is recommended to study disease activity correlation with the incidence of early pulmonary involvement in SLE disease course.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Sleep Quality in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder in women of reproductive age. Although PCOS patients have a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there is limited data on sleep quality and abnormalities in sleep architecture among this patient population. We conducted a study to assess the frequency of OSA and poor sleep quality in women with PCOS and to assess any association between these sleep disorders and metabolic abnormalities. Materials and methods: An observational study of adults with PCOS (by revised Rotterdam criteria) from May 2015 to June 2017 was conducted. Patients with thyroid disorders, pre-existing depression, current pregnancy, and recent drug use (benzodiazepines, antidiabetics, antiepileptics, steroids, and androgens) were excluded. The evaluations included the following: overnight polysomnography (PSG), lipid profile, testosterone, fasting insulin, fasting glucose levels, free androgen index (FAI), and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR); sleep quality [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS)], daytime sleepiness and possible depression were assessed by standard questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, t-test/Mann朩hitney test, Chi-squared test/Fischer's test were used as appropriate; p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 65 patients, mean age 24.3 � 4.0 years; mean body mass index (BMI) 26.4 � 5.3 kg/m2 were included. Frequencies of sleep disorders were evaluated as follows: Obstructive sleep apnea 10.9% (7/64) [95% confidence interval (CI): 5.4�.9%], poor sleep quality 35.0% (21/60) (95% CI: 24.2�.6%) by JSS, 54.2% (32/59) (95% CI: 41.6�.3%) by PSQI. The PSG indicators of sleep quality were abnormal in arousal index, 96.8% (62); %wake time, 62.5% (40); sleep latency, 40.6% (26); and sleep efficiency, 12.5% (8). Anthropometric indicators of obesity were higher in OSA vs non-OSA patients (p <0.05). The OSA patients had lower total sleep time and %N2 stage, and higher desaturation index than non-OSA patients. When patients with good and poor sleep quality were compared, poor sleepers (by JSS and PSQI) had higher depression scores; poor sleepers by JSS had a lower waist杊ip ratio (p <0.05). Daytime sleepiness scores were similar in OSA and non-OSA patients, and in good and poor sleepers. Conclusion: Sleep disorders, particularly poor sleep quality, are frequent in women with PCOS. Patients should be screened for these disorders using specific questionnaires. Further research into the metabolic consequences of these sleep disorders is mandated.

An audit of US FDA warning letters issued to sponsors, institutional review boards and investigators over a six-year period.

The present audit was carried out with the objective of evaluating warning letters (WLs) issued to trial sponsors, clinical investigators and institutional review boards (IRBs) by the United States Food and Drug Administration during a six-year period and compare it with two similar earlier audits. WLs were reviewed and classified as per stakeholders and further categorised as per predefined violation themes. The chi-square test was performed for trend analysis of WLs. A total of 62 WLs were issued to the three stakeholders. The maximum number of WLs were issued to the clinical investigators (36/62, 58.06%), followed by sponsors (19/62, 30.64%), and least to the IRBs (7/62, 11.29%). Among sponsors, lack of standard operating procedures for the monitoring, receipt, evaluation and reporting of post-marketing adverse drug events was the most common violation theme (8/19, 42.1%). Among clinical investigators, deviation from investigational plan was the most common violation theme (31/36, 86.11%.). For IRBs, inadequate documentation was the most common violation theme (6/7, 85.71%). We saw an overall reduction in the number of WLs issued to the stakeholders. Thus, we identified multiple areas on which each stakeholder should work for improvement.

An analysis of invitations for article submission received via emails

Predatory journals charge publication fees from authors and publish without an adequate peer review, and often do not provide editorial and/or publishing services. Our objective was to evaluate e-mail solicitations received by authors in a defined time period to identify attributes of these solicitations as a metric to identify legitimacy of the journal. All e-mails seeking article submission received between January 1 and September 30, 2019, were evaluated. Each e-mail along with its respective webpage was evaluated for the journal’s and publisher’s names, mention of peer review, any assurance of publication, a mention of article processing charges (APC), composite invites [in the e-mail] and mention of peer review, the presence and functionality of archives, presence of manuscript management tab, mention of APC [on the webpage]. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. Of the 135 e-mails screened, 100 were finally included in the analysis. We found that 72% of the journals and/ or publishers were included in Beall’s list. According to our criteria, a total of 85% of the solicitations were from journals that we identified as “presumed predatory”. Our study has identified assurance of publication, rapid turnaround time, ambiguous information in the email and webpage, false claims of indexing as some descriptors which may help young authors and researchers assess a journal’s legitimacy.

Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy for COVID-19: Global and Indian internet search trends in 2 years of pandemic

Background: Alternative medicine systems in India are growing with the advancement of research and pharmaceuticals. The disease – COVID-19 has still no specific treatment modality and the pandemic is continuing. Among the alternative medicine systems, which one is searched more with a connection to the pandemic, are still unknown. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to assess the global and Indian internet search volume of alternative system medicine – Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy during the past 2 years of the pandemic (March 2020–March 2022). Materials and Methods: On the Google Trends website (https://trends.google.com), we used the following combination of phrases to search the trend and compare the trends: “COVID Ayurveda,” “COVID Yoga,” “COVID Unani,” “COVID Siddha,” and “COVID Homeopathy.” The data were filtered with the date range from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022. First, the data were collected for the whole world and then India. All the comma separated values were downloaded for further data analysis. Results: Globally, there were two spikes of searching the COVID and Yoga in the second wave and third wave. Search for homeopathy and Ayurveda also showed two peaks during the first and second waves. In India, there were three spikes of search volume for yoga in three waves. The search for homeopathy showed a peak in the first wave. We found a significant positive correlation between global searches and Indian searches. This indicates a correlated demand or knowledge-seeking regarding alternative medicine. Conclusion: People around the world search for alternative medicine as a possible treatment method for COVID-19. The most common search was for Yoga, followed by homeopathy and Ayurveda in the global population. In India, yoga was the highest searched method followed by homeopathy and Ayurveda.

Comparison Of Pulse Rate Variability Among Type 2 Diabetics And Normal Individuals

Background:Cardiac autonomic dysfunction is one of the most common and serious complication of type 2 diabetesmellitus (DM). Pulse rate variability (PRV) is a simple and non-invasive indicator of cardiac autonomic functions. Aim:To assess and compare the cardiac autonomic functions using PRV in type2 diabetes patients and normal individuals.Material And Methods:The study included 38type2 diabetic individuals and 37 healthy controls. Five minutes PRV was recorded in all the subjects. PRV indices, namely standard deviation of Normal to Normal(SDNN), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), total power (TP)and ratio of low to high frequency power of PRV, were calculated.Result:All parameters were summarised using median and interquartile range. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare median differences in all the parameters between the two groups. Statistically significant differences (p?0.05) were found inSDNN,RMSSD, TP, low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) parameters. Median SDNN of controls was 91.8ms with an interquartile range of (58.03 –236.55)ms and in diabetics median SDNN was 21.15ms with an interquartile range of (16.07 –26.92)ms. In controls median total power was 3904ms2 with an interquartile range of (3267 –5370 )ms2. In cases median total power was 1025.50ms2with an interquartile range of (492 –1250) ms2.Conclusion:Decrease in PRV indicates the presence of cardiac autonomic dysfunction in diabetics. Therefore PRV can be used as a simple, non-invasive method for assessing cardiac autonomic function in diabetic individuals.

Antibacterial Activity Of Desiccated Cyanobacterium Anabaena Sp. Isolated From Terracotta Monuments Of Bishnupur, West Bengal

Anabaena sp. are the dominant cyanobacterial species on terracotta monuments of Bishnupur which exposed to high solar radiation, ultraviolet and in a desiccated condition in most part of the year. In the present study three Anabaena species were isolated from crust samples and its antibacterial activities were evaluated against pathogenic bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli. We observed good antibacterial activity in ethyl acetate and ethanol extract of Anabaena sp. (VBCCA 052002) which having highest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli respectively. We have validated the antibacterial assay by using resazurin based antimicrobial assay in microtiter plates and calculated the MIC value of ethyl acetate extract of Anabaena sp. (VBCCA 052002) which is found to be 100 µg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus and 150 µg/ml against Salmonella typhimurium.

Morphometric Analysis Of Typical Thoracic Vertebrae And Its Clinical Relevance

Background: The frequent surgical interventions of thoracic spine are more common due to a wide array oftraumatic, degenerative and neoplastic diseases. For successful surgical management of these conditions, adetailed anatomical knowledge of the thoracic vertebrae is required.Aim: The aim of this study was to present a morphometric reference database for Pedicle morphometry of typicalthoracic vertebrae in Indian population.Material and methods: The study was conducted on 120 dry human typical (T2-T8) thoracic vertebrae selectedfrom the bone bank of the Department of Anatomy, SGT Medical College Hospital and research institute, Gurugram.Linear measurements of the vertebrae were taken with the help of digital Vernier caliper .Statistical Analysis:Mean and standard deviation of the morphometric parameters taken into account were analyzed. The comparisonof morphometric dimensions of the right and left sides was performed using Student’s t-test and p-value wascalculated.Results: The morphometric analysis of the thoracic vertebrae demonstrated that the Pedicle height (PH) was10.35 ± 1.22 mm and Pedicle Width (PW) was 5.65±2.06mm.Conclusion: The results provide a comprehensive database for more accurate modelling and design of vertebralbody implants and instrumentations for Indian population.

Morphological Variations Of Glenoid Cavity Of Human Scapulae: An Anatomical Study With Clinical Relevance

Purpose: The purpose of this present study was to observe the morphological variations of glenoid process ofadult human scapulae by subjective evaluation, because morphologic variants of adult glenoid process play animportant role in various shoulder joint pathologies especially dislocations with fractures of the glenoid cavitywhich is also quite common.Materialsand Methods: Two hundred sixty adult dry scapulae (127 right & 133 left) from the osteology museumof department of Anatomy, belonging to Indian population of unknown sex & age were obtained for the morphologicpattern of glenoid cavity by subjective evaluation. We have examined the presence of notch in the glenoidprocess of each scapulae& according to the presence of notch, we evaluated the bones for the morphologicalclassification as pear; inverted comma & oval shaped glenoid process. Our observations were compared withother osteological studies performed on different other population groups.Results: Out of total 260 scapulae, 187 bones showed notch in the margin of the glenoid cavity.Most of the boneswithout a notch were termed as oval shaped (73 scapulae) glenoid & rest of the bones were of pear shapedvariety. Among the pear shaped glenoid, 113 scapulae showed pear shaped cavity with slight notch; 71 scapulaeshowed an inverted comma shaped glenoid. Not only the basic morphology, we have also reported some of thescapulae with special morphologic features like a very prominent infraglenoid tubercle; presence of foramen inthe glenoid cavity &highly special nodular glenoid cavity.Conclusions: Though glenoid cavities showed highly variable morphological pictures, but the clinicians shouldbe well versed with the normal appearance & anatomic variants of glenoid cavities on dry bones, so that they caninterpret its morphology on radiographs and MRI scans. Our results of this subjective evaluation may be of helpas baseline data for theclinicians especially for the orthopaedic surgeons for the diagnosis &treatment modalitiesof shoulder dislocations & fracture.

Clinical and surgical outcomes of 3 cycles versus 6 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced ovarian carcinoma

Background: Epithelial cancers are the most common ovarian malignancy accounting for 90% of all type of ovarian cancer. Objective of this study was to evaluate the surgical morbidity and to study clinical outcomes of 3 cycles versus 6 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Methods: A total 30 women with diagnosis of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer were randomly divided equally to receive either 3 cycles (Group 1) or 6 cycles (Group 2) of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. End points noted were duration of surgery, extent of surgery, perioperative complications and length of stay.Results: Both groups had comparable demographic profile. Surgery was more difficult in early IDS group with lesser percentage of patients achieving minimum intended surgery in early IDS (61.53% versus 80. 47%) peri-operative complications were seen more commonly in early IDS group compared to late IDS group (26.66% versus 69.2%). However mean duration of surgery was similar in both groups. Mean duration of stay in hospital was 5.4 days in late IDS group and 7.6 days in early IDS group. The mean follow-up period in late IDS was 7 months and in early IDS was 5 months. Survival in both groups when patients were followed up till the end of study period (12 months) was similar (p=0.186).Conclusions: Authors conclude that late IDS may be used as a treatment option in the high-risk group of patients. Though there was no significant difference at 6 months follow up, higher percent of women were disease free in late IDS.

Characterization of Xanthomonas campestris pv. viticola causing bacterial leaf spot of grapes in Maharashtra, India

Aim: The aim of the present study was to isolate, characterize and identify pathogenic bacteria from bacterial leaf spot infected grape vineyards of Maharashtra. Methodology: Collected diseased samples were subjected to isolation. All isolates were further subjected to different morphological and biochemical characterization. These isolates were also used to standardize inoculation methods to study host range and test pathogenicity to confirm infectivity. Genomic DNA was isolated from bacteria for phylogeneitc analysis using 16 rDNA. Results: The disease is characterized by water soaked, angular leaf spot which later turns to irregular, dark brown to black necrotic region on the leaf surface. Microbial studies confirmed that it is a Gram negative, rod shaped bacterium with white, mucoid, glistening and convex circular colonies on artificial medium. Pathogenicity test was performed to confirm virulence. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA gene exhibited more than 99% similarity with other Xanthomonas campestris pv. viticola. The bacterium was found resistant to vancomycin, peniciliin and oxacillin antibiotics. The bacterium is also capable of infecting Mangifera indica and Citrus limon along with eight weed species.

Current status of treatment of latent tuberculosis infection in India

In view of the high burden of latency of tuberculosis (TB) in India, tackling latent TB in the right way is a menace. All latent TB’s infection (LTBI) are treated in countries having low burden such as the United States. However, this approach cannot be implemented in high burden countries like India until concrete evidence or consensus by experts on this subject is made. There are very specific risk groups where these patients are to be treated as far as current evidence-based medicine is concerned. Hence, the need to develop a document was felt, through which the treatment of LTBI becomes homogeneous by each and every physician who is practicing and treating TB. The last attempt to review the topic was made in 2015, after which there have been many changes and update in this subject.

Radiation induced mutagen sensitivity and chlorophyll mutation frequency on sesame seeds

Aim: Effect of gamma irradiation on genomic disorder in sesame are scanty. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the mutagenic effects of gamma rays on different parameters in two popular cultivars of sesame, Roma and Tilottama. Methodology: Seeds of these two cultivars were irradiated with five doses of gamma rays: (250, 300, 350, 400, and 450 Gy) at BARC, Trombay and were sown (along with the un-irradiated control) during March 2015 in a split plot design with 3 replications keeping row to row and plant to plant distance at 30 cm and 10 cm, respectively to determine mutagen sensitivity with regard to pollen fertility (%), germination (%) and seedling height (cm), root-shoot length (cm), plant survival (%) at maturity in M1 generation. To study mutability, four to five capsules from each M1 plants in all the treatments were collected separately to give rise the M2 generation. Individual plant progeny rows were sown in M2 during March 2016. ID50 was determined by probit analysis for germination, shoot-root length and plant survival. Since the dose requirement for pollen fertility is very high, ID30 was calculated instead of ID50 value. Results: It was observed that with increasing doses of gamma rays, the response of all characters decreased significantly and followed a linear relationship in both varieties. The root system was more profound to gamma rays than the shoot. Chlorophyll mutations showed independent response to different doses of gamma rays as they occurred in random. The mutability of genotype Roma induced with different doses of gamma rays was higher than that of Tilottama. Interpretation: Due to saturation in the mutational actions, response of characters decreased with increase in gamma ray doses but magnitudes of effect differed between genotypes. The cultivar Tilottama was found to be more sensitive than Roma.

Use of TaqMan Array card for the detection of respiratory viral pathogens in children under 5 years old hospitalised with acute medical illness in Ballabgarh, Haryana, India

Historical specimens collected from hospitalized children were tested for the following 13 viruses: influenza A and B; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); parainfluenza viruses 1� human metapneumovirus; rhinovirus; coronaviruses 229E, OC43, NL63 and HKU1 and Adenovirus using monoplex real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). They were retested using TaqMan Array Card (TAC), a micro-fluidic system, capable of simultaneous multi-pathogen testing, to evaluate its sensitivity and specificity against monoplex rRT-PCR. TAC showed high sensitivity (71%�0%) and specificity (98%�0%) for these viruses in comparison to monoplex rRT-PCR. Multi-specimen detection with high sensitivity and specificity makes TAC a potentially useful tool for both surveillance and outbreak investigations.