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Byline: Rudra. Goswami, Swati. Mondal, Subrata. Basu, Partha. Karmakar, Alakendu. Ghosh Benzodiazepine is a commonly encountered agent of poisoning, which is readily diagnosed by a pertinent history of drug ingestion [...]

"Lona ilish" is a salt fermented fish product prepared exclusively from fatty Indian shad (Tenualosa ilisha). Despite the presence of salt and metals coming from the container used for fermentation, rancidity is not observed as long as the products are kept immersed in the fermenting brine. To understand the technical principles of this indigenous preservation method, the traditional preparation was followed along with analyses of chemical and microbiological changes. The biochemical and microbiological changes were followed at 15 day intervals during the fermentation period of 150 days. From the 45th day of fermentation onwards, the microbial flora in the product was composed of only two species, tentatively identified as Bacillus licheniformis and Micrococcus kristinae. Because Bacillus licheniformis showed some atypical biochemical reactions, it was tentatively identified as Bacillus licheniformis var. III. These two bacterial species either singly or collectively were involved in the fermentation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has considerable effects on cardiac functions primarily affecting the pulmonary vasculature and then right ventricle along with left ventricle. One of the important causes of increased morbidity and mortality associated with COPD is cor pulmonale. Echocardiography provides a rapid, non-invasive method to evaluate cardiac changes. Our aim was to evaluate RVfunction in COPD as per guidelines of American Society of Echocardiography with an aim to find a simpler way of predicting cardiac morbidity. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional observational study was conducted on 17 COPD patients attending Respiratory Medicine outdoor of R. G. KAR Medical College, Kolkata, India, through history taking, clinical examination, PFT (PFT) and Echocardiography. Statistical analysis was done by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version-17. Results: Fractional area change of RV (FAC-%) was positively correlated with Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second (FEV1) (r = 0.4879), FEV1/ Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) ratio (r = 0.5048) and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) (r = 0.5361). There was strong negative correlation of Systolic Pulmonary Artery Pressure (SPAP) with FEV1/FVC ratio (r = -0.5553) and PEFR (r = - 0.4604). Right Index of Myocardial Performance (RIMP) of right ventricle was negatively correlated with FEV1/FVC ratio (r = - 0.598), PEFR (r = - 0.619), Forced Expiratory Flow (FEF) 25-75 (r = -0.515). Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) did not show any association with PFT parameters though it showed strong positive correlation with RV wall thickness. Conclusion: This study substantiates that FAC% and RIMP can be vital prognostic factors for RV function apart from SPAP, TAPSE to define RV dysfunction and predict morbidity in COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Os odontoideum is a rare anomaly of the second cervical vertebra. Here, a young male patient with quadriparesis secondary to myelopathy associated with os odontoideum is reported. The patient was totally asymptomatic prior to this episode which was precipitated by trivial neck injury. He started recovering with conservative measures and was referred to our neurosurgery department for further evaluation and definitive surgical intervention as there is always a chance of recurrence of symptoms in these patients. There is a role for conservative treatment of an asymptomatic incidentally found, radiologically stable, and noncompressive os odontoideum, however surgery has a definite role in symptomatic cases.