Automatic detection and classification of disease in citrus fruit and leaves using a customized CNN based model / Detección y clasificación automática de enfermedades en frutas y hojas de cítricos utilizando un modelo basado en CNN personalizado

India's commercial advancement and development depend heavily on agriculture. A common fruit grown in tropical settings is citrus. A professional judgment is required while analyzing an illness because different diseases have slight variati ons in their symptoms. In order to recognize and classify diseases in citrus fruits and leaves, a customized CNN - based approach that links CNN with LSTM was developed in this research. By using a CNN - based method, it is possible to automatically differenti ate from healthier fruits and leaves and those that have diseases such fruit blight, fruit greening, fruit scab, and melanoses. In terms of performance, the proposed approach achieves 96% accuracy, 98% sensitivity, 96% Recall, and an F1 - score of 92% for ci trus fruit and leave identification and classification and the proposed method was compared with KNN, SVM, and CNN and concluded that the proposed CNN - based model is more accurate and effective at identifying illnesses in citrus fruits and leaves.

El avance y desarrollo comercial de India dependen en gran medida de la agricultura. Un tipo de fruta comunmente cultivada en en tornos tropicales es el cítrico. Se requiere un juicio profesional al analizar una enfermedad porque diferentes enfermedades tienen ligeras variaciones en sus síntomas. Para reconocer y clasificar enfermedades en frutas y hojas de cítricos, se desarrolló e n esta investigación un enfoque personalizado basado en CNN que vincula CNN con LSTM. Al utilizar un método basado en CNN, es posible diferenciar automáticamente entre frutas y hojas más saludables y aquellas que tienen enfermedades como la plaga de frutas , el verdor de frutas, la sarna de frutas y las melanosis. En términos de desempeño, el enfoque propuesto alcanza una precisión del 96%, una sensibilidad del 98%, una recuperación del 96% y una puntuación F1 del 92% para la identificación y clasificación d e frutas y hojas de cítricos, y el método propuesto se comparó con KNN, SVM y CNN y se concluyó que el modelo basado en CNN propuesto es más preciso y efectivo para identificar enfermedades en frutas y hojas de cítricos.

Lipid Profile as an Indicator of Severity in Cirrhosis of Liver: Hospital based Cross-sectional Study

Background: Various scoring systems are available to assess the severity of cirrhosis, that is, the Child-Pugh score and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. Since the liver is the major site for converting excess carbohydrates into various lipids, the deranged lipid profile can act as a prognostic biomarker of cirrhosis. We assessed the lipid profile abnormalities among patients with cirrhosis of the liver and correlated them with the severity of cirrhosis. Materials and methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study on lipid profile as an indicator of severity in cirrhosis of the liver among patients admitted to the medical ward of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Tamil Nadu. Following detailed investigation and confirmation of cirrhosis, a fasting serum lipid profile was measured in all eligible patients with cirrhosis. Total serum cholesterol, triglyceride (TGL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured by direct method and serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) were calculated by using the Friedwald formula. Results: A total of 120 patients were studied. Of them, 76 (63%) were male. Of them, alcohol (84, 75.0%), hepatitis B (8, 7.1%), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (6, 5.4%) were the most common cause of cirrhosis. A clear dose-response relationship (decreasing trend) is seen in the levels of lipids for increasing severity based on the Child-Pugh score and MELD score (except for a score of ?10). Further, the cholesterol, LDL, and HDL were significantly lower among patients with ascites or with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis compared to their respective groups. However, none of the lipid profiles significantly differed based on the presence of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding. Conclusion: This study observed that there is a significant reduction in levels of lipid profile parameters like serum total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, TGL, and HDL in patients with cirrhosis as the severity increases. Further formulation of the scoring system in association with a preexisting scoring system may provide a better assessment of patients’ prognosis in view of morbidity and mortality. We recommend it is necessary to assess the fasting lipid profile in all patients with cirrhosis and prognosticate their disease progression.

Significance of Siddha Thirithoda Balancing Food Stuffs

The Siddha system of medicine is an ancient medical system, which provides ‘Holistic Health’. The word ‘Siddha’ originated from the word ‘Siddhi’ meaning achievement of perfection, eternal bliss and accomplishment. The Siddha system evolved based on ninety-six tools (96 Thattuvam) which include physical, physiological, psychological and intellectual aspects of every human being. Among the 96 tools, the five elements i.e. Pancha bootham namely Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space are the fundamental units of everything in the human body and the cosmos. There are three vital life factors (Vaatham, Pittam, Kabham) responsible for good health. There is a relationship between these to maintain the body’s healthy. Any increase or decrease in humour causes diseases. Thirthoda sama porutkal (TSP) maintains these humour when we are using our regular diet. This article details the TSP to maintain the body healthy.

The Psychological Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the General Population of Oman: A National Community-based Study

@#Introduction: Despite evidence that that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in general poses unprecedented risks, it is unclear to what extent these consequences have affected the mental health of the general population. This study aims to evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population in Oman and to associate the physical health status and psychological impact. Methods: A cross-sectional online anonymous survey in which 831 adults from Oman’s general population were randomly sampled as per the inclusion criteria. The medical research and ethics commission approved the project. Data were collected after obtaining informed consent from the study participants. The criteria of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was used to measure the psychological impact. Results: Among 831 respondents in this study, only 4.2 % and 14.9 % of total participants reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. There is a statistically significant difference in psychological scores between males and females at the p < .05 level: F (1, 829) = 16.03, p < .001. As a result of this discovery, it appears that women are mentally affected by the pandemic. Conclusion: The COVID-19 epidemic has had a severe impact on the general population’s psychological health in Oman. This survey found that the global health crisis has a psychological impact on most of the adult population, regardless of their age. As a result, early detection, urgent medical intervention, and counseling are required.

Advancements in molecular marker technologies and their applications in diversity studies

Crop improvement is a continuous effort, since some 10,000 years ago when primitive man made the transitionfrom hunting and foraging to domestication and crop cultivation. Since then, man-made interventions havechanged the entire scenario of crop evolution, by means of genetic alterations of plants and animals made tosatisfy man’s needs. The process of domestication has led to dramatic changes in their appearance, quality andproductivity that have contributed substantially to global food security. The tremendous decline in cultivableland, freshwater, and increasing risk of biotic and abiotic stress demand immediate attention on cropimprovement to cope with the higher demand of *40% of the food by 2020. Therefore, plant genetic variationplays a key role in plant breeding for its improvement. Most of the genetic variations useful for cropimprovement have been deposited and maintained in seed gene banks across the world; they need to be broughtinto the mainstream of breeding lines. Recent advances and progress made in molecular markers have beensubstantial tools for deeper insights of genetics, and greatly complemented breeding strategies. Integration of thenext-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies with precise phenotyping, association mapping, proteome andmetabolome studies has increased the chances of finding candidate genes and their allelic variants controlling atrait of interest. Further, these functional markers (FMMs), genotype-by-sequencing and association mappingmethodologies have opened new avenues for identification of novel genetic resources (lines) that can facilitateaccelerated crop breeding programs for increased yield, high nutritional quality, and tolerance to a variety ofabiotic and biotic stresses. The details of popular molecular markers, advancement in the technologies andstrategies for crop diversity studies and their application in crop breeding programs are presented here.

Folfirinox Neoadjuvant Therapy for Locally Advanced and Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer - A Retrospective Study

Introduction: The management of borderline resectablepancreatic cancer has been heterogeneous and based onretrospective series. Historically, chemoradiotherapy had beenused to reduce the risk of a positive margin, local recurrence,and metastatic progression. Study was aimed to assess clinicaland pathologic efficacy of neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX forlocally advanced (LAPC) and borderline resectable pancreaticcancer (BRPC).Material and Methods: In this retrospective study, patientsreceived neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX for LAPC and BRPCwere included. Post-treatment patients achieving resectabilitywere referred for surgery, whereas unresectable patientscontinued chemotherapy. Clinical and pathological data wereretrospectively recorded.Results: The neoadjuvant group consisted of 29 PDACpatients, 16 with LAPC and 13 with BRPC who receivedneoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX. Reasons for non-resectabilityfollowing treatment included disease progression (10 patients),locally non-resectable disease (3 patients), and deteriorationof patient performance status (1 patient). Tumors size was1.87cm, the rate of lymphovascular invasion was 17.4%,the peripancreatic fat invasion was 52.2%, 22% of patientshad lymph node metastases. R0 resection was achieved inall patients. Evaluation of treatment response grading (TRG)demonstrated complete response (TRG 0) in 2 (15%) patients,and marked response (TRG 1) in 2 (15%) patients.Conclusion: Neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX is aneffective, well-tolerated regimen for patientswith locally advanced and borderline resectable pancreaticcancer

Detection of cancer stem cell-related markers in different stages of colorectal carcinoma patients of Indian origin by immunohistochemistry

Context: Although the incidence rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) in all Indian cancer registries is very close to the lowest rate in the world, westernization has shown an increasing trend in the recent years. Recurrence is reported in CRC because the slowly proliferating stem cells escape the chemotherapeutic regimen. Aim: To detect the presence of CD133 and CD44 in human CRC specimens and to correlate the level of marker expression with tumor staging. Materials and Methods: We included 26 colorectal carcinoma patients between 20 and 70 years of age. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis of CD133 and CD44 was done in sections of 5 μm prepared from paraffin-embedded blocks with most representative areas. Statistical Analysis: All analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel 2010 and SPSS version 22. Results: CD133 expression was seen exclusively on the cell membrane at the glandular luminal surface with dot-like cytoplasmic staining. In the normal mucosa, CD44 expression was seen in the superficial region of the cell, whereas in most of the carcinomas, the staining was localized in the basolateral region of the cell. Both CD133 and CD44 showed significant correlation with tumor stage. Conclusions: In the present study, CD133 and CD44 show significant correlation with tumor staging. Cancer stem cell markers have shown similar pattern of expression in the patients of Indian origin. Using combination of markers for staging is preferred as it increases the sensitivity and specificity

Role of magnesium sulphate in patients with pregnancy

Background: Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that cause significant morbidity and mortality in the fetus and mother both in the developed and developing countries. Magnesium sulfate is effective and inexpensive drug for the management of severe preeclampsia and eclampsia. This study was conducted to evaluate and study the prophylactic indications of Magnesium Sulfate in pregnant women and their maternal and Fetal outcomes, toxicity in pregnancy and the obstetrics outcomes. Materials and methods: This study was a hospital based prospective study carried out at a tertiary care centre in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from October 2013 to September 2015. Results: 3504(24%) cases of preterm labour which was indicated as group I, 2117(14.5%) cases were severe pre-eclampsia/ PIH which was indicated as group II and 227(1.55%) cases were eclampsia which was indicated as group III. Among the total number of patients with preterm labour, in 40(80%) patients Isoxsuprine had been used and in 10(20%) patients Magnesium Sulphate was used. Total patients with preterm labour enrolled for the study were only 10. Among the total number of patients with pregnancies reaching term, 8(80%) patients were preterm and 2 (20%) patients were in term. Among the total number of patients the delivery was normal in 6(60%) and 2 (20%) patients had LSCS in preterm cases. In term all the subjects had normal delivery. Neonatal outcome with prophylactic usage of MgSO4 in Preterm Labour were also different, 6 (60%) had prematurity birth and 70% of the subject were admitted in NICU. Among total number of the subject 80% had low birth weight, 10% had still birth. Among the total number of patients with severe Pre-eclampsia, for 74.07%(20) patients Magnesium Sulphate had been used whereas for 25.92%(7) patients other Anticonvulsants has been used. Total patients included in the study group, were only 20. Maximum numbers of cases were within therapeutic range at 1 st hour (100% in Group I, 90% in group II and 85.71% in Group III). The maximum serum Mg value in Group I was 8.6 mg/dl, 8.20 mg/dl in Group Senadhipathi Shakunthala, G. Aparna, C H Akila. Role of magnesium sulphate in patients with pregnancy. IAIM, 2018; 5(5): 129-137. Page 130 II and 8.60 mg/dl in Group III. Maximum numbers of cases were within therapeutic range at 12 th hour (100% in group I, 100% in Group II and 93% in Group III). The maximum serum Mg values were 6.6, 8.8 and 7.6 mg/dl in Group I, Group II and Group III respectively. Conclusion: MgSO4 has been shown to be an effective treatment option for the prevention of eclampsia. Magnesium Sulphate is a superior drug in preventing the recurrence of seizures in eclampsia and in seizure prophylaxis in pre-eclampsia.

Nasolacrimal duct obstruction: Does it really increase the risk of amblyopia in children.

Purpose: To report the prevalence of amblyopia risk factors in children with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Methods: A retrospective review of records of children with the diagnosis of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO), who underwent probing from January 2009 to October 2011, was done. All of them underwent a complete ophthalmic evaluation including cycloplegic refraction and strabismus evaluation before probing. Results: A total of 142 children were included in this study. The mean age at presentation was 22.38 months (sample standard deviation (SSD) ‑ 15.88). Amblyopia risk factors were defined according to two sets of guidelines: The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) referral criteria guidelines and the new AAPOS Vision Screening Committee guidelines. Twenty‑eight (20%) children were found to have some form of amblyopia risk factor based on the referral criteria prescribed by AAPOS . However, on applying modified guidelines described by Donahue et al., to analyze the same cohort, 21 children were found to have amblyogenic risk factors. Of these 28 children, 13 had significant astigmatism (>1.50 D), 8 children had hypermetropia (>3.50 D), and six children had anisometropia (>1.50 D). One child had significant cataract (media opacity >1 mm). None of the children in this series had either myopia or strabismus. Conclusion: Prevalence of amblyopia risk factor was found to be 20% in our study based on the older guidelines; however, it reduces to 14.78% by applying the modified guidelines. Despite this reduction, importance of a comprehensive ophthalmic examination including cycloplegic refraction in all children presenting with NLDO cannot be overstated. A close follow‑up of these children is also essential to prevent the development of amblyopia.

The risk of lymphedema after postoperative radiation therapy in endometrial cancer / 부인종양

OBJECTIVE: Lower extremity lymphedema adversely affects quality of life by causing discomfort, impaired mobility and increased risk of infection. The goal of this study is to investigate factors that influence the likelihood of lymphedema in patients with endometrial cancer who undergo adjuvant radiation with or without chemotherapy. METHODS: A retrospective chart review identified all stage I-III endometrial cancer patients who had a hysterectomy with or without complete staging lymphadenectomy and adjuvant radiation therapy between January 2006 and February 2013. Patients with new-onset lymphedema after treatment were identified. Logistic regression was used to find factors that influenced lymphedema risk. RESULTS: Of 212 patients who met inclusion criteria, 15 patients (7.1%) developed new-onset lymphedema. Lymphedema was associated with lymph-node dissection (odds ratio [OR], 5.6; 95% CI, 1.01 to 105.5; p=0.048) and with the presence of pathologically positive lymph nodes (OR, 4.1; 95% CI, 1.4 to 12.3; p=0.01). Multivariate logistic regression confirmed the association with lymph-node positivity (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.0007 to 10.7; p=0.0499) when controlled for lymph-node dissection. Median time to lymphedema onset was 8 months (range, 1 to 58 months) with resolution or improvement in eight patients (53.3%) after a median of 10 months. CONCLUSION: Lymph-node positivity was associated with an increased risk of lymphedema in endometrial cancer patients who received adjuvant radiation. Future studies are needed to explore whether node-positive patients may benefit from early lymphedema-controlling interventions.

Cost analysis of different brands of antianginal drugs available in India.

Background: Ischemic heart disease is the most common cardiovascular disease in developed countries such as United States and Angina pectoris is the most frequent among them. If not managed adequately angina results in significant morbidity and mortality too due to the complications. Antianginal therapy is lifelong. Therefore, analysis of the price of drugs used in ischemic heart disease will help to improve patient compliance. Methods: Prices of various antianginal drugs of different strengths and combinations marketed by different companies was obtained from current index of medical stores. The variation between highest and lowest price of the same medication manufactured by various pharma companies and percentage variation in price for ten tablets was calculated. Results: In India, percentage variation in price for antianginal drugs was found to be: tablet isosorbide dinitrate (5 mg) 250%, glyceryltrinitrate (6.4 mg) 24.44%. In calcium channel blockers group, tablet amlodipine 10 mg shows maximum price variation of 1045%, closely followed by 5 mg of amlodipine with a variation of 1040%, while 120 mg of diltiazem shows the least variation of 262%. In betaadrenergic receptor blockers group, tablet atenolol 50 mg shows maximum price variation of 563%, whereas 100 mg of extended release metoprolol shows the least variation of 42%. Conclusions: To increase the benefit to the patient and reduce drug in compliance, doctors should be trained to be familiar from internship period itself about the brand names of cost-effective drugs with good safety profile for a long period.

Intra-class Correlation among Heart Rate Variability analysis softwares across different physiological postures.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a simple technique which helps to assess the alterations in cardiac autonomic activity in healthy and diseased individuals. It is performed in various research centers using different hardwares and softwares. Hence, HRV reports generated from these centers cannot be compared unless their HRV data acquisition systems and the HRV analysis softwares correlate or agree with each other. In this study, Intra-class correlation coefficient test was done to see the extent of correlation among three HRV analysis softwares used by researchers in India, namely, (1). Kubios HRV version 2.0, Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, Finland, (2). HRV soft 1.1 Version, Autonomic Function Laboratory, Department of Physiology, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and (3). Nevrokard aHRV 12.0.0. (Medistar Inc., Slovenia). Following standard guidelines, five minutes ECG data was acquired from twenty six healthy volunteers in supine, sitting and standing positions. The R-R intervals were computed from the ECG data and was subjected to short-term HRV analysis using the above three softwares. Statistical analysis revealed a highly significantly (p<0.001) perfect positive correlation (ICC values > 0.8) among the three softwares for both time domain and frequency domain parameters in the three different positions. Hence, it may be proposed that the interpretation of short-term HRV reports generated by the three softwares, across laboratories, can be equated.

Health Promotion Board-Ministry of Health Clinical Practice Guidelines: Falls Prevention among Older Adults Living in the Community

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has developed the Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) on Falls Prevention among Older Adults Living in the Community to provide health professionals in Singapore with recommendations for evidence-based assessments and interventions for falls prevention. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary of the key recommendations from the HPB-MOH CPG on Falls Prevention among Older Adults Living in the Community for the information of SMJ readers. The chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Health Promotion Board website: http://www.hpb.gov. sg/cpg-falls-prevention. The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.

IgG Western Blot for Confirmatory Diagnosis of Equivocal Cases of Toxoplasmosis by EIA-IgG and Fluorescent Antibody Test

The performance values of available techniques used in serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis are satisfactory but they raise problems of equivocal and discordant results for very low IgG titers. Recently marketed, LDBio-Toxo II IgG Western blot (IB) showed an excellent correlation with the dye test. We estimated the proportion of equivocal and discordant results between the enzyme immunoassay Platelia Toxo IgG (EIA-IgG) and fluorescent antibody test (FAT) and assessed the usefulness of the IB as a confirmatory test. Out of 2,136 sera collected from pregnant women, 1,644 (77.0%) tested unequivocally positive and 407 (19.0%) were negative in both EIA-IgG and FAT. The remaining 85 (4%) sera showed equivocal or discordant results. Among them, 73 (85.9%) were positive and 12 (14.1%) were negative in IB. Forty-one (89.1%) equivocal sera in EIA-IgG and 46 (86.8%) equivocal sera in FAT were positive in IB. Reducing the cut-off values of both screening techniques improved significantly their sensitivity in detecting very low IgG titers at the expense of their specificity. In conclusion, equivocal results in routine-used techniques and their discordance in determination of the immune status in pregnancy women were not uncommon. IB test appeard to be highly useful in these situations as a confirmatory technique.

Environmental lead levels in a coastal city of India: The lead burden continues.

Background: Urbanization, rapid industrialization, increased vehicular traffic, and consequent increase in the use of petroleum fuels in India are constantly emitting lead along with other pollutants into the environment. Apart from atmospheric lead, this element is the most widely used in everyday life. Although infants and children are the most susceptible to the effects of lead, adults are also affected to varying degrees and it had ranked as one of the most serious environmental threats to human health. Hence, we must understand the benefits of preventing lead exposure as it reduces treatment costs, increases productivity in industry, and also reduces infant mortality. These are good enough reasons for a nation wide program to prevent lead poisoning. Objectives: In the view of elevated blood lead levels (BLL) in majority of the school children in the city of Mangalore, we aimed to identify the potential sources of lead in the environment which would have probably caused the elevated BLL. Materials and Methods: More than 600 readings were taken throughout the city of Mangalore using X-ray fluorimeter. Results: Our results showed that there were elevated levels of lead in the environment surrounding the battery repair shops, battery recyclers, automotive workshops, and tyre retreaders, but interestingly, the soil around the petrol bunks did not show elevated levels of lead. Among the paints, the yellow paint showed high levels of lead. Conclusion: Similar surveys would be useful elsewhere in India and in other developing countries in order to identify the potential sources of lead and to prevent lead poisoning.

Additive potential of ginger starch on antifungal potency of honey against Candida albicans

Objective: To evaluate the additive action of ginger starch on the antifungal activity of honey against Candida albicans (C. albicans). Methods: C. albicans was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of four varieties of Algerian honey. Lower concentrations of honey than the MIC were incubated with a set of concentrations of starch and then added to media to determine the minimum additive inhibitory concentration (MAIC). Results: The MIC for the four varieties of honey without starch against C. albicans ranged between 38% and 42% (v/v). When starch was incubated with honey and then added to media, a MIC drop was noticed with each variety. MAIC of the four varieties ranged between 32% honey (v/v) with 4% starch and 36% honey (v/v) with 2% starch. Conclusions: The use of ginger starch allows honey benefit and will constitute an alternative way against the resistance to antifungal agents.

Gut Hormones and Appetite Control: A Focus on PYY and GLP-1 as Therapeutic Targets in Obesity

The global obesity epidemic has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality. However, the medical treatment of obesity is limited. Gastric bypass is an effective surgical treatment but carries significant perioperative risks. The gut hormones, peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), are elevated following gastric bypass and have been shown to reduce food intake. They may provide new therapeutic targets. This review article provides an overview of the central control of food intake and the role of PYY and GLP-1 in appetite control. Key translational animal and human studies are reviewed.

[Acanthamoeba keratitis: report of 3 cases diagnosed in central Tunisia]

Amoeba of the genus Acanthamoeba are ubiquitous free-living protozoa encountered in water and soil. They frequently cause sight-threatening keratitis. Report of the three first cases diagnosed at the laboratory of Parasitology of Sousse Hospital. [Tunisia]. Our study concerned three lens-wearing female patients. aged 17, 20 and 29 years respectively. The patients originate from central Tunisia and presented with unilateral [2 cases] or bilateral [one case] keratitis. Diagnosis was made by demonstrating Acanthamoeba trophozoites and/or cysts on direct examination and/or culture [in agar-Escherichia coli medium] of contact lenses and/or lenses' solution. Direct examination of corneal swabs was negative in three cases but culture was positive in one. The three patients were treated with hexamidine and neomycine eye-drops for three months. Treatment led to scarring of lesions with however sequellar opacities that was minor to moderate in two cases and consisted of a central leucoma with a poor visual outcome in the last case. The need for systematic research of amoeba in lenses wearing patients with keratitis is emphasized

Timing of Zero dose of OPV, first dose of hepatitis B and BCG vaccines.

The Indian Academy of Pediatrics has been recommending Hepatitis B vaccination for infants since 1992. This community based cross sectional study carried out in the rural and urban areas of Tamil Nadu found no significant rural urban difference in the proportions of children who had received BCG in 3 days/7 days and OPV-zero dose in 3 days/7 days after birth. The proportion of children who had received first dose of Hepatitis B in 3 days was significantly lower than those who had received BCG and OPV within 3 days after birth. The proportion of children who had received Hepatitis B on the day of birth was significantly lower in the rural area than in the urban area.

Reduce the acrylamide content in frying potatoes by olive leaves and reduce the toxicity of acrylamide by arginine in rats

Acrylamide was determined in some traditionally commercial and homemade Egyptian foods in addition to mother milk. Some additives were used during preparation of home fried potatoes. Fried onions and fried eggplants contained very high amounts of acrylamide. Olive leaves prevented formation of acrylamide in home fried potatoes. Egyptian mother milk contained large quantities of acrylamide [482 microg/L]. Arginine, lysine or valine was administrated into rats without or with acrylamide daily for 35 consecutive days, as antidotes. Two groups of rats were administrated acrylamide and vehicle [control]. Acrylamide decreased the initial weight of rats, serum and brain contents of total proteins, albumin and glutathione in addition to lactate dehydrogenase activity, while malonaldehyde content, glutathione-Stransferase, superoxide dismutase and lysosomal enzymes activities [Acid phosphatase, N-acety-beta-galactosidase and beta galactosidase] were increased comparing to control. Histopathological studies showed also a great damage in brain by acrylamide. Arginine ameliorated the harmful effects of acrylamide to great extent followed by lysine to lesser extent