Subject preference for future specialization among undergraduate medical students and their perception towards community medicine as a career option: a cross sectional study

Background: India is currently in need of large number of public health specialists to combat the double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. But it was seen that medical students are less interested in a career as a public health specialists. This study aimed to assess the preferences of subjects for future specialization among medical students and to understand their attitude towards Community Medicine as a future career. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among 200 MBBS students selected by stratified random sampling at Agartala Govt. Medical College of Tripura during April to May 2018. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 25.0). Results: Medicine was the most preferred subject (35%) for specialization followed by obstetrics and gynecology (16%) and surgery (15%). About 4% of the participants opted Community Medicine for future specialization. Lack of personal satisfaction, lack of future career prospective and lack of opportunity to earn name and money ranked top most cause for not choosing Community Medicine as a career. Conclusions: Preference of Community Medicine for future specialization was very limited among medical students. Interest on Community Medicine as a career among MBBS students can be improved by proper counseling and modification of curriculum.

Bioconversion of sugarcane molasses to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3- hydroxyvalerate) by endophytic Bacillus cereus RCL 02

Sugarcane molasses, the by-product of sugar industry are rich in nutrients, growth factors and minerals and areefficiently utilized by the microorganisms for growth and production of primary as well as secondary metabolitesof commercial importance. In this communication, we report the utilization of sugarcane molasses as the solesource of carbon for the production of copolymers of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) with improved materialproperties. The endophytic bacterium Bacillus cereus RCL 02 (MCC 3436) produced 7.8 g/L of PHA whengrown in MS medium with 4% (w/v) sugarcane molasses under batch cultivation. Proton nuclear magneticresonance (1H NMR) analysis revealed that the copolymer so produced contain 12.4 mol% 3-hydroxyvalerate(3HV) along with 87.6 mol% 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB). The copolyester, P(3HB-co-12.4 mol%-3HV)has been isolated and purified following standard solvent extraction method and partially characterized byFourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanningcalorimetric (DSC) analysis. The material and thermal properties of the copolyester so produced indicated itspotential for industrial application.

Levels and determinants of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) status among reproductive age women of Tripura, North East India

Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), a marker of chronic hyperglycemia, has been recommended for use, in the diagnosis of diabetes. Objective: To assess the mean HbA1c level among reproductive age women in Tripura and to study the factors associated with high HbA1c level (≥ 6.5 %). Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tripura among 2000 reproductive age women selected by Cluster sampling using PPS technique. Results: The present study revealed that the mean HbA1c level was 5.29 + 0.83% among the reproductive age women with 3.95% participants having HbA1c level of ≥ 6.5%). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the age group and income of the family had a significant effect on the HbA1c status. Scheduled tribe women had 0.43 odds (0.22-0.81) of having high HbA1cstatus compared to women from general caste. Conclusion: The present study provided the reference values for HbA1c distribution among reproductive age women in Tripura and may be useful in the early identification of at-risk individuals.

Metachronous Cancer of Breast and Adenocarcinoma of Cervix: A Rare Case Report

The occurrence of a second primary cancer in a cancer survivor is well documented. It may be synchronous or metachronous. Incidence of metachronous cancer involving cervix is 0.82% to 1.33%. One such metachronous cancer is that of breast and cervix. We present a case of a woman who received tamoxifen for invasive ductal cancer of breast following a modified radical mastectomy and subsequently developed adenocarcinoma of cervix after six month of tamoxifen therapy. The role of tamoxifen in pathogenesis of cervical cancer and that of human papillomavirus infection in pathogenesis of both cancer of cervix and breast cancer has been well recognized. In our patient, the adenocarcinoma of cervix (rare occurrence) which is likely due to six month of tamoxifen therapy is a perplexing question. Women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer need to be followed up for development of other metachronous gynecological cancers.

Association of Joubert Syndrome and Hirschsprung Disease.

Background: Association between Joubert Syndrome and Hirschsprung disease is rare. Case characteristics: A 9-month-old girl having developmental delay and chronic constipation. Observation: Molar tooth sign on MRI brain and absence of ganglion cells in rectal biopsy specimen. Outcome: Child underwent surgical repair for Hirschsprung disease. Message: Association of these two rare entities could be explained by ciliopathy.

Screening and Production of Biodegradable Polyester Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) by Bacteria Endophytic to Brassica nigra L.

Aims: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)], the microbially produced biodegradable thermoplastics has find wide range of applications in recent years. Development of low cost production strategies utilizing novel organisms is a crucial challenge. Present study is aimed to isolate and screen bacterial endophytes of Brassica nigra L. for the production of P(3HB). Place and Duration of Study: The experiments were performed in the Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, Kolkata during 2012-2014. Methodology: Culturable bacterial endophytes were isolated from surface sterilized healthy tissues of B. nigra L. and screened for P(3HB) production in mineral salts medium. The chloroform extracted dried polymer was treated with H2SO4 and quantified spectrophotometrically at 235 nm. Results: About 78% of the bacterial endophytes recovered from surface sterilized B. nigra L. tissues showed different degrees of P(3HB) accumulation. Isolates (9) showing P(3HB) accumulation exceeding 10% of the cell dry weight (CDW) were characterized and tentatively identified as members of Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas, Alcaligenes and Acetobacter. The most potent isolate, BNL 06 identified as Bacillus pumilus BNL 06 (GenBank Accession No. KP202723), accumulated P(3HB) accounting 18% of CDW with an yield of 0.55 g/l. Finally the nature of the polymer was further confirmed by FTIR analysis. Conclusion: Exploration of the endophytic bacterial diversity of B. nigra L. have clearly revealed the potential of Bacillus pumilus BNL 06 for P(3HB) production as an alternative source of thermoplastics.

T cell ageing: Effects of age on development, survival & function.

Age associated decline of the immune system continues to be a major health concern. All components of innate and adaptive immunity are adversely affected to lesser or greater extent by ageing resulting in an overall decline of immunocompetence. As a result in the aged population, there is increased susceptibility to infection, poor responses to vaccination, and increased incidence of autoreactivity. There is an increasing focus on the role of T cells during ageing because of their impact on the overall immune responses. A steady decline in the production of fresh naïve T cells, more restricted T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire and weak activation of T cells are some of the effects of ageing. In this review we summarize our present understanding of the effects of ageing on naïve CD4 T cells and potential approaches for therapeutic interventions to restore protective immunity in the aged population.

Analysis of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

Background & objectives : Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative, cocco-bacillus aerobic pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections in hospitals. In the recent past A. baumannii 0had developed resistance against β-lactams, even against carbapenems. Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) are crucial for the cell wall biosynthesis during cell proliferation and these are the target for β-lactams. Therefore, the present study was carried out to identify the PBPs in three (low, intermediate and high MICs) groups of carbapenem resistant isolates strains of A. baumannii. Methods: ATCC 19606 and 20 β-lactam resistant isolates of A. baumannii were obtained. Selective identification of the PBPs was done using Bocillin FL, a non-radioactive fluorescent derivative of penicillin. Results: The fluorescence emission from Bocillin-tag in SDS-PAGE gel of native strain identified eight PBPs, with apparent molecular weight of 94, 65, 49, 40, 30, 24, 22 and 17 kDa, however, these PBPs revealed alteration in carbapenem-resistant isolates. Interpretation & conclusions: A comparative analysis of PBPs in the resistant isolates with those of ATCC revealed a decreased expression of all PBPs except that of 65 and 17 kDa PBPs which were marginally downregulated, and simultaneous appearance of new 28 kDa PBP (in low and intermediate resistant isolates) and 36 kDa in high meropenem resistant group of A. baumannii. The present study indicated an association between alteration in PBPs and β-lactam resistance in A. baumannii.