Epidemiology of gastro-intestinal and respiratory tract diseases in rural areas of Varanasi (India)

The pattern of gastro-intestinal (GIT) and Respiratory tract (RTI) diseases in rural areas of the Varanasi district, U.P. (India) was studied from the outpatient (OPD) attendance between July 1985 to June 1986. Out of a total of new patients, 19.71% had respiratory diseases in contrast to 27.9% with GIT disease. A decreasing trend was observed in attendance rates as age advanced. The difference in age distribution of males and females was statistically significant. The attendance rates for GIT diseases were higher in female (29.16%) than in males (25.16%) whereas in RTI, the rates were higher in males (19.39%) than in females (18.77%). The attendance rate was found to be higher in rainy season (23.59%) followed by summer (14.50%). Diarrhoea (15.44%) and upper (URTI) respiratory tract infection (19.93%) occupied the major recorded episodes.     

Myopia and plasma cortisol

Estimation of plasma cortisol by fluorometric technique desorbed by Mallingly's was carried out in 56 cases, including 38 cases of myopia (19 cases of simple myopia and 19 cases of degenerative myopia) and 18 normal individuals. Urinary 17-keto steroids/24 hours was also estimated by Zimmermann technique in 12 out of the 56 cases, which include 8 cases of myopia (4 cases of simple myopia and 4 cases of degenerative myopia) and 4 normal individuals as control. Plasma cortisol level is lower in simple and degenerative myopia than in normal subjects, but on statistical analysis the difference was not of much significance. Patients with simple myopia with positive family history showed lower value of plasma cortisol than patients with simple myopia with negative family history, the difference was also statistically insignificant (P-0.1). In degenerative myopia patients, with and without family history, there was very little difference in plasma cortisol level and statistically highly insignificant (P-0.8). Urinary 17 keto steroid/24 hour values are lower in simple and degenerative myopia than in normal subjects.     

Fine needle aspiration cytology, imprint cytology and tru-cut needle biopsy in breast lumps: a comparative evaluation

Fine needle aspiration cytology, imprint cytology and tru-cut needle biopsy were performed in 86 patients with breast lump and the results of these techniques were finally compared with the incisional or excisional biopsy in all the patients. Fine needle aspiration cytology had the sensitivity of 96.8% and specificity of 100%, the imprint cytology had the sensitivity of 98.4% and specificity of 100%. While the tru-cut needle biopsy had the sensitivity and specificity of 100% though in this technique 15 of 86 (17.4%) specimens were rejected as insufficient for any diagnosis.     

Occult spinal dysraphism in children: need for early neurosurgical referral

The natural history of occult spinal dysraphism in children is one of progressive and unpredictable neurological deficit. The modern role of neurosurgery is in the prevention of deterioration rather than correction of established disability. A prospective study was carried out on 40 consecutive patients to analyse the referral pattern of children with this condition. The age, reason for referral, clinical history and source of referral was recorded in each case. The reason for referral varied with age. Of the 40 patients studied, only 12 were found to be without neurological deficit at the time of referral. The incidence of progressive neurological deterioration increased with increasing age. The referral source in different age groups varied, but in all age groups relatively few were referred by the general paediatricians or paediatric neurologists. For optimum surgical results, early referral and treatment is desirable and should become our objective.     

SQ 30,957, a new antibiotic produced by Penicillium funiculosum. Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation, structure determination, synthesis and antibacterial activity

A new antibiotic, SQ 30,957, 4-diazo-3-methoxy-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one, has been isolated from fermentation broths of Penicillium funiculosum. The structure (1) was deduced from its spectroscopic properties and its degradation reaction. SQ 30,957 has excellent activity against anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium and Bacteroides and has moderate activity against aerobic bacteria. The compound has an LD50 of less than 17 mg/kg in mice by intraperitoneal administration.