Synthetic Pyrethroid effect on blood plasma biomarker enzymes and histological changes in Catla catla

Alpha‐cypermethrin is an isoform of cypermethrin; it is an active pyrethroid used extensively to control a wide range of pests in agriculture and animal breeding. In this study four groups of six fish were examined. The first group served as a control in fresh water alone, with no pyrethroid. The second, third and fourth groups were exposed to alpha‐cypermethrin for 4, 8 and 96 h respectively. At the end of the each exposure period, the fish were sacrificed, and the required muscle tissues were collected for histological examination. The blood was drawn with heparinized needles and processed for serum enzymatic studies. Serum enzymes such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), amylase, acid phosphatase (ACP) and gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were measured at 4, 8 and 96 h. AST enzyme activity was significantly increased at 4 h, whereas ALT and amylase enzyme activities were significantly reduced at all the time points. ACP enzyme activity was significantly reduced at 4 and 8 h, whereas GGT enzyme activity was significantly increased at all the time points. Hepatocyte cytoplasmic vacuolisation and degeneration, rupture of blood vessels, and necrosis was found at all time points. Congestion of blood vessels, bulging, distortion of filaments, erosion and disintegration of blood corpuscles and hyperplasia of epithelium were found in treated gills at 4, 8 and 96 h. Breakdown of muscle fibres, vacuolation and accumulation of lipids and melanin in white muscle were observed in treated fish muscle at 4, 8 and 96 h.     

Tracheoesophageal fistula following blunt trauma to the right chest

Tracheoesophageal fistula after blunt trauma is very rare. Typically the patient is a young male driving a car and is thrust onto the steering wheel following sudden deceleration as in a high speed road traffic accident. In our case that victim is a motorcyclist who fell down on his right side and developed such a fistula after 3 days. We report the clinical summary and a brief review of literature.     

Echocardiographic Diagnosis of Chronic Rheumatic Valvular Lesions

Rheumatic heart disease continues to be a significant public health problem in many developing countries and in some of the aboriginal populations in developed countries. Echocardiography has become indispensable in the assessment of valve lesions secondary to rheumatic heart disease. It confirms the rheumatic etiology of valvular abnormality as the features are quite typical in most cases. It also helps to exclude nonrheumatic causes of valve lesions. M-mode and cross-sectional echo helps to assess the severity of valve abnormality and its hemodynamic effects on the heart. Further, color flow imaging evaluates the flow across a valve, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Serial echocardiography plays a crucial role in the follow-up of patients with rheumatic heart disease and is very helpful for determining the timing of intervention. Recently, addition of real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography has further improved imaging of cardiac valves, especially the mitral valve.