Search

The alarming number of deaths due to snake bite are often under-reported and missed due to several interrelated socioeconomic factors. Epidemiology of fatal snake bite have been reported sparsely from West Bengal in recent past. The present investigation was devised to explore the profile of the fatal cases of envenomation in snake bite from a district of northern part of West Bengal. Deaths due to snake bite constituted 02.067% of all unnatural deaths from mortuary data. The mean age of the cases of fatal snake bite was 34.18 with SD 2.67. It was seen that the mean interval between bite and treatment was 3.35 hours with SD 0.48. The present work was a short regional research to supplement epidemiology and add to the database of deaths from snake bite in a district of West Bengal, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Detection of maternal irregular antibodies against red blood cell antigen is vital in the management of hemolytic disease of fetus and newborn. There are no uniform guidelines related to antenatal antibody screening and identification in the developing Country like India. This study was aimed to identify such alloimmunization and its associations. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on antenatal mothers at a tertiary care center. The mothers having a history of anti-D administration, blood transfusion, and autoimmune disorders were excluded from the study. Initial indirect antiglobulin test (IAT) was performed in all blood samples by conventional tube technique (CTT) to identify alloimmunization. IAT-positive samples were screened for irregular antibody by column agglutination technology (CAT). Antibody screen-positive samples were further analyzed in 11-cell panel by CAT. Antibody strength was measured by serial double dilution by CTT. The source of isoimmunization was identified by extended Rh phenotype of women, husband, and newborn. Results: A total of 12 (2.3%) women out of 530 were positive for IAT and antibody screen. Antibody could be identified in 11 women, of which anti-D (5) was the most common, followed by anti-C + anti-D (4), anti-C + anti-E (1), and anti-C (1). All four cases of anti-D + anti-C were distinguished from anti-G by differential adsorption and elution. There was a significant association with alloimmunization versus increased gravid status, antepartum hemorrhage, and past history of newborns with neonatal jaundice. Conclusion: All pregnant women with history of antepartum haemorrhage, newborn with neonatal jundice should be screened for alloantibody for early detection and better management of HDFN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The art of cleansing has progressed immensely over several thousand years from simply scraping the skin to an exercise in relaxation and improvement in the skin's health and appearance in the present day. Soaps - the basic cleansing agent has also undergone a sea change in its evolution with many variants and newer constituents being incorporated into it. In dermatological disorders like acne, rosacea, atopic dermatitis, photoaging, 'sensitive skin', occupational dermatosis cleansers may have a beneficial role along with other therapeutic measures. With the advent of aesthetic dermatology, the act of cleansing and the use of various cleansing agents prior to aesthetic procedures has also assumed significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual assault on women is an important social evil. The increasing number of such cases is alarming. It is grossly underreported due to several social and culture specific reasons. National and regional reports document the facts. In the strict sense the cases of sex offence amounting to rape is notably less than cases where the 'victims' were consenting partners. The paper analyses the change in pattern of sexual assault over a period of ten years in a district of West Bengal. Inference is drawn and hypothesis is tested from the results. The paper contends that the available figures obtained from police cases reported for forensic examination do not reflect the true crux of the problem. The work asserts the relevance of the question marks used in the title of the paper. This however, does not undermine the problem of sex offence in our society where women are still at the receiving end and hapless victims of gender discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, as it manifested in India in April 2020, showed marked heterogeneity in its transmission. Here, we used data collected from contact tracing during the lockdown in response to the first wave of COVID-19 in Punjab, a major state in India, to quantify this heterogeneity, and to examine implications for transmission dynamics. We found evidence of heterogeneity acting at multiple levels: in the number of potentially infectious contacts per index case, and in the per-contact risk of infection. Incorporating these findings in simple mathematical models of disease transmission reveals that these heterogeneities act in combination to strongly influence transmission dynamics. Standard approaches, such as representing heterogeneity through secondary case distributions, could be biased by neglecting these underlying interactions between heterogeneities. We discuss implications for policy, and for more efficient contact tracing in resource-constrained settings such as India. Our results highlight how contact tracing, an important public health measure, can also provide important insights into epidemic spread and control., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hyoid is a U-shaped bone present in the ventral aspect of neck at the level of fourth cervical vertebra. Morphological variants of hyoid are well documented. The present study was designed to identify these morphological features and examine the sexual dimorphism of adult hyoid bone in Indian Bengali population. The present work consisted of direct measurement in autopsy cases in a population specific sample. It was observed that the hyoid was larger in males regarding width, antero-posterior length and slope of cornu. Using t-Test with alpha level of 0.05 the length of greater cornu was found to be the only variable not significantly different in the two sexes (p = .116)., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)