Bio-social correlates of indoor air pollution among women residing in rural areas of Mysuru

Background: Indoor air pollution (IAP) remains a major global public health hazard more so in developing countries where the use of biomass fuels is still very common. Since women tend to be in charge of cooking and young children commonly spend time with their mothers while they are cooking, women and young children are disproportionately affected. In this background, the present study was proposed to assess the bio-social correlates of IAP among women residing in rural areas. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in rural field practice areas of JSS Medical College, Mysuru for six months. Totally 210 households were included by probability proportionate to the size sampling technique. Data was collected by structured questionnaire with details on socio-demographic characteristics, house and fuel characteristics and indoor air pollution meter values of particulate matter (PM) 1, 2.5, 10 respectively. Results: Among 210 study participants, 28 (13%) had indoor air pollution in their houses. 99% of the households were using LPG. The mean concentrations of pollutants like PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.0 were higher among the houses with indoor air pollution compared to their counterparts (p<0.001). A statistically significant association was found between age, socioeconomic status, and poverty line and the presence of indoor air pollution. Conclusions: The present study showed that IAP had a strong relation to socio-cultural factors such as age, poverty and economic level. As women are involved in cooking in the majority of Indian households, they are more prone to be affected by the negative effects of solid fuel usage.

Comparative study of feeding practices among children less than two years attending rural and urban primary health centers, Mysuru, Karnataka

Background: Breastfeeding is considered one of the most significant aspects of a child's health and survival. Breastfeeding is unquestionably the "GOLD STANDARD" dietary intake during the first six months after birth. So it is necessary to know about the feeding practices among children less than two years in both rural and urban areas. Aim of study was to compare the feeding practices among children less than two years attending the urban and rural Primary health centers under JSS Medical College, Mysuru. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 mother and their children residing in both rural and urban areas of Mysuru for six months. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic characteristics and feeding practices. Feeding practices among study subjects were analyzed using SPSS 23 software. Results: In the present study, 35% had poor, 57.1% had average and 7.9% had good infant and early child feeding practices in rural areas, on the other hand, 19.3% had poor, 55.0% had average and 25.7% had good in urban. In this study, the frequency of breastfeeding practices, pre-lacteal feeding, and overall feeding practices were significantly associated with place of residence. Conclusions: This study concludes that though pre-lacteal feeding and bottle feeding were more in urban areas, the overall feeding practices were poorer in rural than urban.

Extraocular muscle surgery on goats' eye: An inexpensive technique to enhance residents' surgical skills

Hands-on resident surgical training for various ocular procedures is essential to impart good surgical skills to the budding ophthalmologists. Here in this report, we demonstrate a simple and inexpensive technique of performing extraocular muscle surgery on goats' eye. These animal eyes possess soft tissue resemblance to that of human eyes to a greater extent in terms of scleral rigidity, muscle elasticity, its width, thickness, and its insertion onto the sclera. Therefore, rectus muscle recession, resection, and plication surgeries can be performed repeatedly to improve an individual's orientation and practical experience before performing the procedure on human eyes.

Pulled into two syndrome (PITS) in a case of congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscle

A four-year-old child with a clinical diagnosis of unilateral congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles (CFEOM) was planned for inferior and medial rectus muscle recession surgery, adjusted with the status of forced duction test. Due to pathological changes within the muscles subsequent to innervational abnormality, intraoperatively the inferior rectus muscle was pulled into two following the insertion of muscle hook. Moreover, the snapped muscle fibers could not be identified, thus further surgery was abandoned and an observation was commenced. At the end of 6 weeks, there was a significant reduction in the amount of hypotropia but clinically significant perverted convergence with esotropia necessitated further surgical intervention. A second surgical intervention consisting of medial rectus transposition to superior rectus with 3 mm recession was performed to achieve acceptable results in the primary gaze.