To investigate two cyanobacteria isolated from different origins i.e. Lyngbya aestuarii(L. aestuarii) from brackish water and Aphanothece bullosa (A. bullosa) from fresh water paddy fields for antifungal and antileishmanila activity taking Candida albicans and Leishmaniadonovain as targets. Methods: Biomass of L. aestuarii and A. bullosa were harvested after 40 and 60 d respectively and lyophilized twice in methanol (100%) and redissolved in methanol (5%) for bioassay. Antifungal bioassay was done by agar well diffusion method while antileishmanial, by counting cell numbers and flageller motility observation of promastigotes and amastigotes fromL. donovani . Fluconazole and 5% methanol were used as control. Results: Both the cyanobacteria were found to be potent source of antifungal activity keeping fluconazole as positive control, however, methanolic crude extract (15 mg/mL) of A. bullosa was found more potent (larger inhibition zone) over that of methanolic crude extract of L. aestuarii. Similarly antileishmanial activity of crude extract (24.0 mg/mL) of A. bullosa was superior over that of methanolic crude extract of L. aestuarii (25.6 mg/mL). Conclusions: Antifungal and antileishmanial drugs are still limited in the market. Screening of microbes possessing antifungal and antileishmanial activity drug is of prime importance. Cyanobacteria are little explored in this context because most of the drugs in human therapy are derived from microorganisms, mainly bacterial, fungal and actinomycetes. Thus in the present study two cyanobacterial strains from different origins showed potent source of antifungal and antileishmanial biomolecules.

PURPOSE: Blunt trauma of pancreas in children is uncommon and its management varies from observational to early operative intervention. We analysed the feasibility and outcome of non-operative management in all grades of paediatric pancreatic injuries. METHODS: A total of 15 patients of pancreatic trauma seen in a Paediatric Surgery Unit were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Age of the patients ranged from 3–11 years (mean, 7.7 years). The mode of injury was local trauma in 9 children. Only 3 patients had associated injuries and all were haemodynamically stable. Serum amylase levels were raised in 12 patients at admission which ranged from 400–1,000 IU. Computed tomography scan made a correct diagnosis in 14 patients. Grades of the injury varied from grade I–V (1, 3, 6, 4, 1 patients respectively). Fourteen patients were managed conservatively. One patient underwent laparotomy for suspected superior mesenteric hematoma. The average duration of enteral feeds was 3.7 days and of hospital stay was 9.4 days. Six patients formed pancreatic pseudocysts; two were managed conservatively while the other four underwent cystogastrostomy. The patients were followed up for a period of 1–12 years. All remained asymptomatic and none had exocrine or endocrine deficiencies. CONCLUSION: Non-operative treatment for isolated blunt trauma of pancreas in children may be safely followed for all the grades of injury; if associated injuries requiring surgical intervention are ruled out with a good quality imaging and the patients are hemodynamically stable. It did not increase the hospital stay and morbidity and avoided operative intervention on acutely injured pancreas.
Amylases ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Length of Stay ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatic Pseudocyst ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: Blunt trauma of pancreas in children is uncommon and its management varies from observational to early operative intervention. We analysed the feasibility and outcome of non-operative management in all grades of paediatric pancreatic injuries. METHODS: A total of 15 patients of pancreatic trauma seen in a Paediatric Surgery Unit were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Age of the patients ranged from 3–11 years (mean, 7.7 years). The mode of injury was local trauma in 9 children. Only 3 patients had associated injuries and all were haemodynamically stable. Serum amylase levels were raised in 12 patients at admission which ranged from 400–1,000 IU. Computed tomography scan made a correct diagnosis in 14 patients. Grades of the injury varied from grade I–V (1, 3, 6, 4, 1 patients respectively). Fourteen patients were managed conservatively. One patient underwent laparotomy for suspected superior mesenteric hematoma. The average duration of enteral feeds was 3.7 days and of hospital stay was 9.4 days. Six patients formed pancreatic pseudocysts; two were managed conservatively while the other four underwent cystogastrostomy. The patients were followed up for a period of 1–12 years. All remained asymptomatic and none had exocrine or endocrine deficiencies. CONCLUSION: Non-operative treatment for isolated blunt trauma of pancreas in children may be safely followed for all the grades of injury; if associated injuries requiring surgical intervention are ruled out with a good quality imaging and the patients are hemodynamically stable. It did not increase the hospital stay and morbidity and avoided operative intervention on acutely injured pancreas.
Amylases ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Length of Stay ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatic Pseudocyst ; Retrospective Studies

The exocrine part of the pancreas has a duct system called the pancreatic ductal system (PDS). Its mechanism of development is complex, and any reorganization during early embryogenesis can give rise to anatomical variants. The aim of this study is to collect, classify, and analyze published evidence on the importance of anatomical variants of the PDS, addressing gaps in our understanding of such variations. The MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar databases were searched to identify publications relevant to this review. R studio with meta-package was used for data extraction, risk of bias estimation, and statistical analysis. A total of 64 studies out of 1,778 proved suitable for this review and metanalysis. The meta-analysis computed the prevalence of normal variants of the PDS (92% of 10,514 subjects). Type 3 variants and “descending” subtypes of the main pancreatic duct (MPD) predominated in the pooled samples. The mean lengths of the MPD and accessory pancreatic duct (APD) were 16.53 cm and 3.36 cm, respectively. The mean diameters of the MPD at the head and the APD were 3.43 mm and 1.69 mm, respectively. The APD was present in only 41% of samples, and the long type predominated. The pancreatic ductal anatomy is highly variable, and the incorrect identification of variants may be challenging for surgeons during ductal anastomosis with gut, failure to which may often cause ductal obstruction or pseudocysts formation.

Background: Unsafe injection practice can transmit various blood borne infections. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of injection safety among injection providers, to obtain information about disposal of injectable devices, and to compare the knowledge and practices of urban and rural injection providers. Methods: The study was conducted with injection providers working at primary health care facilities within Kaski district, Nepal. Ninety-six health care workers from 69 primary health care facilities were studied and 132 injection events observed. A semi-structured checklist was used for observing injection practice and a questionnaire for the survey. Respondents were interviewed to complete the questionnaire and obtain possible explanations for certain observed behaviors. Results: All injection providers knew of at least one pathogen transmitted through use/re-use of unsterile syringes. Proportion of injection providers naming hepatitis/jaundice as one of the diseases transmitted by unsafe injection practice was significantly higher in urban (75.6%) than in rural (39.2%) area. However, compared to urban respondents (13.3%), a significantly higher proportion of rural respondents (37.3%) named Hepatitis B specifically as one of the diseases transmitted. Median (inter-quartile range) number of therapeutic injection and injectable vaccine administered per day by the injection providers were 2 (1) and 1 (1), respectively. Two handed recapping by injection providers was significantly higher in urban area (33.3%) than in rural areas (21.6%). Most providers were not aware of the post exposure prophylaxis guideline. Conclusion: The knowledge of the injection providers about safe injection practice was acceptable. The use of safe injection practice by providers in urban and rural health care facilities was almost similar. The deficiencies noted in the practice must be addressed.
Health Personnel ; Injections

Aim: Isolation, dark field detection and microscopic agglutination test (MAT) are considered ―gold standard‖ tests for diagnosis of Leptospirosis. Several PCR assays are reported but very few have been evaluated for detection of Leptospirosis. Therefore, this study was undertaken. This study aims to design and standardize polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -based DNA sequencing technique for the detection of pathogenic Leptospira from peripheral blood of patients clinically diagnosed with septicemia. Methodology and Results: Two hundred and seven (207) blood samples from patients were diagnosed with septicemia which includes 100 bacterial (other than Leptospira) culture positive and 107 bacterial culture negative samples were studied. Primers for Nested PCR targeting LipL32 gene of Leptospira interrogans were designed and the specificity of primers was tested against serum samples positive/negative by either MAT or dark field microscopy. PCR amplified products were further confirmed by DNA sequencing. The standardized nPCR was sensitive and specific to Leptospira interrogans. Twenty-one (21%) out of 100 culture positive blood samples, three (2.8%) out of 107 culture negative samples showed nPCR positivity and were confirmed as Leptospira interrogans by DNA sequencing (p<0.001). A sensitive nPCR specific to Leptospira interrogans was developed. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The p value (<0.001) signifies that Leptospira is commonly associated with other bacteria circulating in blood indicating that a decreased immune status is created primarily by a bacterium with enhanced possibility of development of Leptospiral infection probably be of an endogenous origin.

Objective: To explore sleep patterns in individuals with essential tremor (ET) and essential tremor plus (ET-Plus) compared with healthy controls and assess differences between ET and ET-Plus, given the lack of established polysomnography (PSG) data on these groups and the potential for sleep disturbances to serve as clinical markers. Methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, from November 2021 to August 2023 on 45 patients (26 ET, 19 ET-Plus) and 45 controls. Tremor severity was assessed using The Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS) and Fahn‐Tolosa‐Marin Clinical Rating Scale (FTMRS). Sleep symptoms were assessed via the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Mayo Sleep Questionnaire, restless legs syndrome questionnaire, Berlin questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. All patients and controls underwent overnight video PSG. Sleep scoring was manually performed by a trained sleep research technician and the first author following the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2017) guidelines, with data analyzed using R studio. Results: Compared with ET-Plus patients, ET patients had a younger onset age (46.8±11.1 years versus 30.8±16.7 years, respectively). Compared with ET patients, ET-Plus patients had higher TETRAS and FTMRS scores (p<0.005). Compared with controls, both ET patients and ET-Plus patients presented poorer sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, and restless legs syndrome symptoms. PSG findings supported these clinical observations, showing an elevated apnea‒hypopnea index, reduced total sleep time, prolonged REM latency, decreased sleep efficiency, increased N1 stage duration, and reduced N2/N3 durations and percentages in patients versus controls. Conclusion The study highlights significant sleep architecture abnormalities in both ET and ET-Plus patients compared with healthy controls, with no differences between the ET groups.

Objective: To explore sleep patterns in individuals with essential tremor (ET) and essential tremor plus (ET-Plus) compared with healthy controls and assess differences between ET and ET-Plus, given the lack of established polysomnography (PSG) data on these groups and the potential for sleep disturbances to serve as clinical markers. Methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, from November 2021 to August 2023 on 45 patients (26 ET, 19 ET-Plus) and 45 controls. Tremor severity was assessed using The Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS) and Fahn‐Tolosa‐Marin Clinical Rating Scale (FTMRS). Sleep symptoms were assessed via the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Mayo Sleep Questionnaire, restless legs syndrome questionnaire, Berlin questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. All patients and controls underwent overnight video PSG. Sleep scoring was manually performed by a trained sleep research technician and the first author following the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2017) guidelines, with data analyzed using R studio. Results: Compared with ET-Plus patients, ET patients had a younger onset age (46.8±11.1 years versus 30.8±16.7 years, respectively). Compared with ET patients, ET-Plus patients had higher TETRAS and FTMRS scores (p<0.005). Compared with controls, both ET patients and ET-Plus patients presented poorer sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, and restless legs syndrome symptoms. PSG findings supported these clinical observations, showing an elevated apnea‒hypopnea index, reduced total sleep time, prolonged REM latency, decreased sleep efficiency, increased N1 stage duration, and reduced N2/N3 durations and percentages in patients versus controls. Conclusion The study highlights significant sleep architecture abnormalities in both ET and ET-Plus patients compared with healthy controls, with no differences between the ET groups.

Objective: To explore sleep patterns in individuals with essential tremor (ET) and essential tremor plus (ET-Plus) compared with healthy controls and assess differences between ET and ET-Plus, given the lack of established polysomnography (PSG) data on these groups and the potential for sleep disturbances to serve as clinical markers. Methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, from November 2021 to August 2023 on 45 patients (26 ET, 19 ET-Plus) and 45 controls. Tremor severity was assessed using The Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS) and Fahn‐Tolosa‐Marin Clinical Rating Scale (FTMRS). Sleep symptoms were assessed via the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Mayo Sleep Questionnaire, restless legs syndrome questionnaire, Berlin questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. All patients and controls underwent overnight video PSG. Sleep scoring was manually performed by a trained sleep research technician and the first author following the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2017) guidelines, with data analyzed using R studio. Results: Compared with ET-Plus patients, ET patients had a younger onset age (46.8±11.1 years versus 30.8±16.7 years, respectively). Compared with ET patients, ET-Plus patients had higher TETRAS and FTMRS scores (p<0.005). Compared with controls, both ET patients and ET-Plus patients presented poorer sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, and restless legs syndrome symptoms. PSG findings supported these clinical observations, showing an elevated apnea‒hypopnea index, reduced total sleep time, prolonged REM latency, decreased sleep efficiency, increased N1 stage duration, and reduced N2/N3 durations and percentages in patients versus controls. Conclusion The study highlights significant sleep architecture abnormalities in both ET and ET-Plus patients compared with healthy controls, with no differences between the ET groups.

No abstract available.