Effect of available nutrients on yield and quality of pear fruit Bartlett in Kashmir Valley India.

Pear is one of the most important commercial crops grown in the Kashmir valley of India. A study was conducted during 2008 to find out the effect of available nutrients on yield and quality parameters of pear cultivar “Bartlett” which revealed that nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium exhibited significant and positive relationship with fruit length (0.882, 0.856, and 0.482 mm, respectively), diameter (0.869, 0.794 and 0.458 mm, respectively), weight (0.876, 0.825 and 0.439 g, respectively), volume (0.908, 0.806 and 0.404, Cm3 respectively) and yield (0.908, 0.764 and 0.702 kg tree-1, respectively) however, only nitrogen and phosphorus showed similar relationship with total sugars (0.833 and 0.838 % respectively). The calcium indicated significant and negative relationship with fruit diameter (-0.433) and yield (-0.589), while as it showed significant and positive correlation with fruit firmness (0.442) only. The sulphur revealed significant and positive relationship with fruit length (0.440), diameter (0.434), TSS (0.482) and yield (0.729) whereas zinc, copper, iron and manganese exhibited significant and positive relationship with fruit length (0.889, 793, 0.671 and 0.619, respectively), diameter (0.875, 0.807, 0.653 and 0.576, respectively) weight (0.881, 0.784, 0.669 and 0.615, respectively), volume (0.885, 0.832, 0.692 and 0.572, respectively) TSS (0.858, 0.761, 0.735 and 0.609, respectively), total sugars (0.853, 0.890, 0.705 and 0.517, respectively) and yield (0.777, 0.618, 0.789 and 0.701, respectively). It is therefore suggested that nutrients have effect on quality and yield of pear fruits.

What is cardiac resynchronisation therapy and who will benefit?

Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT) has been used extensively over the last years in the therapeutic management of the patients with end stage heart failure based on the data of large randomized trials on CRT. CRT improves symptoms, exercise capacity, quality of life and echocardiographic indices of severe systolic heart failure besides reduction in heart failure related hospitalizations and improvement in survival. However, there may be some non-responders as well. There is on-going research, which will identify patients without conventional indications for CRT so as to improve the responder rate. Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) techniques will assume an important role in identifying patients for CRT.

Pulmonary function profile in chronic congestive heart failure and the effect of ipratropium bromide.

Twenty-five symptomatic patients of chronic heart failure were subjected to spirometry to detect abnormalities of pulmonary function and to assess the effect of ipratropium bromide in reversing or minimising these abnormalities. All the patients exhibited abnormal pulmonary function manifesting as obstructive (15/25) or restrictive (10/25) ventilatory defect. There was overall improvement in lung functions with ipratropium bromide especially in those with obstructive ventilatory defects and mostly comprised of smokers. Forced expiratory volume in one second increased by 47.7 percent (p < 0.02), forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio by 14.1 percent (p < 0.001) and maximal voluntary ventilation by 40.6 percent (p < 0.05) in these patients. It is concluded that ipratropium bromide can prove as a promising adjunctive therapeutic intervention in improving quality of life in patients of chronic congestive heart failure who are incapacitated by dyspnoea and have clearly documented ventilatory defects.

Silent myocardial ischemia and cardiac autonomic neuropathy in diabetics.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) with cardiac autonomic neuropathy in asymptomatic diabetic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two hundred asymptomatic patients of diabetes mellitus were assessed for evidence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy. Of these, 30 (15 males, 15 females; mean age 44.7 +/- 8.8 years) were found to have cardiac autonomic neuropathy. Thirty (30) age and sex matched diabetic patients (mean age 42.4 +/- 7.6 years) who had no evidence autonomic neuropathy were included in the study as control group. Both the groups of patients were evaluated for SMI by 24 hour ambulatory electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring. RESULTS: Incidence of SMI was significantly higher in patients with autonomic neuropathy 12/30 (40%) compared to those without 3/30 (10%) p < 0.001. Duration of diabetes was more (13 +/- 1.59 years) in patients with autonomic neuropathy compared to the control group (8.66 +/- 1.55 years) p < 0.001. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in patients with autonomic neuropathy in comparison to control group < 0.05 and < 0.01, respectively. There was no difference in the pattern of SMI in the two groups (p = N.S). CONCLUSION: Cardiac autonomic neuropathy predisposes patients with diabetes mellitus to SMI. Twenty four hour ambulatory ECG monitoring provides useful diagnostic information in early detection and evaluation of SMI in asymptomatic diabetic patients.

Clinical spectrum of infective endocarditis: 15 years experience.

Four hundred and sixty-six patients (277 males, 189 females; mean age 23.2 years) diagnosed as cases of infective endocarditis during the past 15 years were retrospectively analysed. Two-thirds of patients belonged to the 15 to 35 years age group. The most common predisposing cardiac lesion was rheumatic heart disease seen in 73.4 percent patients. Mitral valve prolapse and right-sided endocarditis were infrequent, seen in four patients each. Blood culture positivity was 28.7 percent in adults and 61 percent in children. Commonest organism isolated was staphylococcus aureus in adults (39.3%) and streptococcus viridans in children (48%). Salmonella typhi was detected in 17 patients and showed excellent response to ciprofloxacin and gentamycin. Overall mortality was 13.9 percent and resistant heart failure was the leading cause of death. Our study presents the clinical spectrum of infective endocarditis and highlights the comparison with western studies.