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Abstract Groundwater arsenic poisoning has posed serious health hazards in the exposed population. The objective of the study is to evaluate the arsenic ingestion from breastmilk among pediatric population in Bihar. In the present study, the total women selected were n = 513. Out of which n = 378 women after consent provided their breastmilk for the study, n = 58 subjects were non-lactating but had some type of disease in them and n = 77 subjects denied for the breastmilk sample. Hence, they were selected for the women health study. In addition, urine samples from n = 184 infants’ urine were collected for human arsenic exposure study. The study reveals that the arsenic content in the exposed women (in 55%) was significantly high in the breast milk against the WHO permissible limit 0.64 µg/L followed by their urine and blood samples as biological marker. Moreover, the child’s urine also had arsenic content greater than the permissible limit (

Abstract Background Capsicum or chilli is an important crop in India which exhibits immense structural and genetic variations reflecting their intra- and inter-specific relationships. The aim of this study was to establish relationships amongst 54 Capsicum accessions through analysis of genetic and population structure using ISSR markers. Results Out of 19, successful DNA amplifications were shown by 7 ISSR primers and a total of 80 bands were identified ranging between 8 and 14 with an average of 11.43 bands/primer. A significant degree of polymorphic information content (PIC), discriminating power (DP), resolving power (RP), effective multiplex ratio (EMR), and marker index (MI) were identified as 0.39, 0.70, 6.40, 5.88, and 2.30, respectively, using ISSR markers in chillies. The cross-transferability ranged from 8.0 to 72.15% with an average of 52.63% among chillies. Amongst genetic information, grand mean values were 0.264, 0.180, 0.376, 0.296, and 0.180, which correspond to Shannon’s information index (I), expected heterozygosity (He), Nei’s gene diversity, total diversity among species (Ht), diversity within species (Hs), respectively. Further, the coefficients of gene differentiation (Gst) and gene flow (Nm) were 0.393 and 0.773, representing higher genetic variation among the population which was confirmed by analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Conclusion ISSR markers represented a potent system for the estimation of relationships or variation studies and generated information useful for planning crop management and improvement strategies in chilli breeding.

Parallelism is the key to enhancing the throughput of computing structures. However, it is well established that the presence of data-flow dependencies adversely impacts the exploitation of such parallelism. This paper presents a case for a new computing paradigm namely subscalar digital arithmetic which is aimed at mitigating this issue. It proposes to break up atomic data and atomic operations thereon into sub-atomic data fragments and sub-atomic partial operations. Such a break-up exposes hitherto unexploited levels of parallelism by way of allowing overlap of operations even if data-dependent. Surprisingly this enhanced exploitation of latent parallelism comes with a favorable impact on the area-power characteristics of corresponding computing structures which is contrary to common sense. The paper also proposes a novel micro cell library with logic primitives at corresponding subscalar levels. The synthesized circuits for several sequential benchmarks show an order of magnitude improvement in their area-throughput figure-of-merit (FOM).

Moringa oleifera Lam. (MO) is a fast-growing drought-resistant tree belonging to the family Moringaceae and native to the Indian subcontinent and cultivated and/or naturalized worldwide with a semi-arid climate. MO is also popularly known as a miracle tree for its repertoire of nutraceutical, pharmacological, and phytochemical properties. The MO germplasm is collected, conserved, and maintained by various institutions across the globe. Various morphological, biochemical, and molecular markers are used for determining the genetic diversity in MO accessions. A higher yield of leaves and pods is often desirable for making various products with commercial viability and amenable for trade in the international market. Therefore, breeding elite varieties adapted to local agroclimatic conditions and in vitro propagation are viable and sustainable approaches. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of MO germplasm conservation and various markers that are employed for assessing the genetic diversity among them. Further, breeding and in vitro propagation of MO for various desirable agronomic traits are discussed. Finally, trade and commerce of various functional and biofortified foods and non-food products are enumerated albeit with a need for a rigorous and stringent toxicity evaluation.

Abstract Purpose To measure the choroidal thickness in patients with high myopia from staphyloma using swept source OCT (SS-OCT) in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) fields and compare to normal cohort. The study also evaluated the correlation between choroidal thickness with axial length and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Methods In this prospective cross sectional study, 37 eyes of 20 patients with high myopia from staphyloma and 86 eyes of 43 normal subjects were included. In each eye, horizontal scans centered on the fovea (12 × 9 mm) were performed using SS-OCT (DRI-OCT, Topcon, Japan). Choroidal thickness in 9 ETDRS subfields, including central subfield (CSF) was analyzed and correlated with axial length as well as BCVA. Results The axial length and BCVA in the high myopia from staphyloma group ranged from 25.12 to 33.54 mm (28.4 ± 1.2) and 20/20–20/400, respectively. The choroidal thickness in staphyloma group was 85.53 ± 48.61 μm as compared to 250.24 ± 71.01 μm in the normal group (p

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was introduced about two decades ago and has revolutionized ophthalmic practice in recent years. It is a noninvasive noncontact imaging modality that provides a high-resolution cross-sectional image of the cornea, retina, choroid and optic nerve head, analogous to that of the histological section. Advances in OCT technology in signal detection technique from time-domain (TD) to spectral-domain (SD) detection have given us the potential to study various retinal layers more precisely and in less time. SD-OCT better delineates structural changes and fine lesions in the individual retinal layers. Thus, we have gained substantial information about the pathologic and structural changes in ocular conditions with primary or secondary retinal involvement. This review we discuss the clinical application of currently available SD-OCT in various retinal pathologies. Furthermore, highlights the benefits of SD-OCT over TD. With the introduction of enhanced depth imaging and swept – source OCT visualization of the choroid and choriocapillaris has become possible. Therefore, OCT has become an indispensable ancillary test in the diagnosis and management of diseases involving the retina and/or the choroid. As OCT technology continues to develop further it will provide new insights into the retinal and choroidal structure and the pathogenesis of posterior segment of the eye.

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a new, non-invasive imaging system that generates volumetric data of retinal and choroidal layers. It has the ability to show both structural and blood flow information. Split-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography (SSADA) algorithm (a vital component of OCTA software) helps to decrease the signal to noise ratio of flow detection thus enhancing visualization of retinal vasculature using motion contrast. Published studies describe potential efficacy for OCTA in the evaluation of common ophthalmologic diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, age related macular degeneration (AMD), retinal vascular occlusions and sickle cell disease. OCTA provides a detailed view of the retinal vasculature, which allows accurate delineation of microvascular abnormalities in diabetic eyes and vascular occlusions. It helps quantify vascular compromise depending upon the severity of diabetic retinopathy. OCTA can also elucidate the presence of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in wet AMD. In this paper, we review the knowledge, available in English language publications regarding OCTA, and compare it with the conventional angiographic standard, fluorescein angiography (FA). Finally, we summarize its potential applications to retinal vascular diseases. Its current limitations include a relatively small field of view, inability to show leakage, and tendency for image artifacts. Further larger studies will define OCTA's utility in clinical settings and establish if the technology may offer a non-invasive option of visualizing the retinal vasculature, enabling us to decrease morbidity through early detection and intervention in retinal diseases.

Purpose: We report a case of erlotinib-associated severe recalcitrant bilateral keratouveitis after uneventful corneal ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) chelation in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); discontinuation of erlotinib led to complete resolution. Observations: An elderly person presented with band keratopathy (BSK) of undetermined etiology in the both eyes, associated with foreign body sensation and constant tearing. The patient was on oral erlotinib treatment 150 mg PO daily for 1 year for NSCLC status post radiation therapy. Corneal EDTA chelation was performed in both eyes under topical anesthesia for BSK. Four days after surgery, the patient presented with severe pain in both eyes. Slit lamp evaluation revealed 5 mm × 7 mm epithelial defect with clear margins in the right eye and 6 × 7 mm epithelial defect with thick central corneal infiltrate in the left eye. Hypopyon was noticed in both eyes and intense inflammation obscured the details of anterior segment. Intense antibiotic treatment was initiated. After discussion with the oncology services, oral erlotinib was temporarily discontinued. This resulted in resolution of keratitis and hypopyon in both eyes, within one week. Conclusions: and importance: Systemic use of erlotinib suppresses local immunity, facilitates infection and enhances inflammatory reaction in the eye. Clinicians should be cautious and plan any ocular interventional treatment in collaboration with oncology team to prevent adverse outcomes.

Purpose: We studied the incidence and outcome of endophthalmitis after manual small incision cataract surgery in a high volume tertiary eye care center. Materials and Method: It was a retrospective study and the data were retrieved from the hospital records of the patients who underwent manual small incision cataract surgery in a tertiary eye care center from April 2010 to October 2012. The preoperative visual acuity, cataract grading, preoperative risk factors, surgical complications, postoperative visual acuity, time interval between surgery and endopthalmitis, microbiological profile, treatment given, and final visual acuity were recorded. Results: A total of 64,926 patients were operated between April 2010 and October 2012. All the patients were followed up at Day 1, Day 7, and 6 weeks postoperatively. Of these, 31 cases were diagnosed as endophthalmitis and were treated accordingly. Conclusion: The incidence of endophthamitis in this study is 0.048%, which is comparable to all modern studies.

We report a novel management technique in case of advanced vitreomacular traction which avoids deroofing of macula and prevent the formation of iatrogenic macular hole. The primary treatment modality in the management of such cases is pars plana vitrectomy with posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) induction and with or without membrane peeling. We performed pars plana vitrectomy with minimal induction of PVD and release of traction all around the macula. No membrane peeling was done due to risk of deroofing of the macula and formation of iatrogenic macular hole. Postoperative course was stable with improvement in visual acuity (VA) and flattening of macula. This technique marked an alternative surgical approach in treatment of advanced vitreomacular traction.

We are presenting the initial results of inverted internal limiting membrane (ILM) flap technique for large macular hole. Five eyes of five patients with large diameter macular hole (>700 μm) were selected. All patients underwent inverted ILM flap technique for macular hole. Anatomical closure and functional success were achieved in all patients. There was no loss of best-corrected visual acuity in any of the patients. Inverted ILM flap technique in macular hole surgery seems to have a better hole closure rates, especially in large diameter macular holes. Larger case series is required to assess the efficacy and safety of this technique.

Primary localized amyloidosis of the conjunctiva is a rare occurrence. This case report describes a 35-year-old male, who presented with drooping of both upper eyelids and a pricking sensation in the left eye. Examination of the conjunctiva showed granular swellings. The biopsy revealed amyloid deposition. Systemic amyloidosis was ruled out on further investigation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of amyloidosis of the conjunctiva and tarsus, presenting as ptosis with entropion, from India.

We report the use of a novel technique "syndrome evaluation system" (Xcyton) as a rapid diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of a case of post-operative polymicrobial endophthalmitis. A patient with low-grade chronic endophthalmitis caused by Propionibacterium acnes and Candida species was diagnosed using this technology from aqueous sample and then treated with intravitreal antibiotics and antifungals.

In India, the field of counselling and therapy predominantly consists of female practitioners. Despite the increasing breadth of research within this field, there remains a notable dearth of research focusing on the experiences of male counsellors or therapists within the Indian context. This research endeavours to address this gap by delving into the challenges encountered by male therapists and counsellors in India. Employing a qualitative research paradigm, the study utilized semi-structured interviews to engage with nine male counsellors or therapists, each possessing a minimum of one year of professional experience. The participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Thematic network analysis served as the interpretive framework for the findings, which revealed a diverse range of challenges. These challenges encompassed financial constraints, limited employment prospects, client preferences favouring female therapists, difficulties in fostering client engagement, workplace challenges, mental and emotional strains, as well as struggles in maintaining a harmonious work-life balance. By shedding light on these multifaceted challenges, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the unique obstacles faced by male counsellors and therapists in India's counselling landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]