Seasonal incidence of black scale, Saissetia oleae (Olivier) on the fern, Thelypteris tylodes (Kunze) from western Himalaya

Incidence of insect pests on ferns, particularly sap suckers, needs attention as it causes more damage indirectly. Here, we recorded seasonal incidence of black scale, Saissetia oleae (Olivier) on Thelypteris tylodes (Kunze) (Thelypteridaceae) for a period of one year from May 2012 to April 2013 at weekly interval. Results have shown that incidence of S. oleae first occurs in the first week of May 2012 (5.4 scales/rachis).The infestation increases gradually from second week of May (6.6 scales/rachis) and attains its peak during the last week of July 2012 (27.8 scales/rachis) due to high temperature (20–27°) and relative humidity (74-83%). The infestation starts declining gradually from August 2012 to November 2012 (24.7 scales/rachis to 3.4 scales/rachis). The lowest scale incidence was observed during the last week of December 2012 (0.50 scales/ rachis) and second week of January 2013 (0.2 scales/rachis). The scale infestation was not observed from third week of January 2013 to entire March 2013. The incidences of scale infestation during the period of observation have shown to be significant linear positive correlation with temperature, relative humidity and rainfall.

Clinical presentation and bacteriological profile of diabetic foot in Eastern Bihar, India.

Background: Diabetes is a worldwide problem. A majority of diabetic patients develop foot ulcers in one point of time or other during the course of their illness. Chronic wound, especially non-healing types are the most common surgical conditions. The etiopathogenesis of diabetic foot lesions are multi-factorial like diabetic neuropathies, vasculopathy, poor control of diabetes and bacterial infection. The aim of the present study was to study various modes of presentation and microbiological profile in management of diabetic foot. Methods: 100 diagnosed cases of diabetic foot were studied over a period of three years in the department of General Surgery at Katihar Medical College with emphasis on clinical features and microbiological picture of diabetic foot and its complications. Results: Males are more prone to surgical complications three times than females because of more outdoor activities. It is more prevalent in age group 51-60 years (36%). In the present study, cases presenting with ulcer were maximum (52%) followed by cellulitis (20%), cases presenting with gangrene of toe or foot was minimum (12%). Staphylococcus Aureus was found in majority of cases of septic lesions on culture of pus (41%). Other organisms isolated were Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, E.Coli, Proteus etc. Conclusions: Diabetic foot has varied presentation. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its surgical complications can be attributed to poor patient knowledge, education and awareness of the disease. Patient education for care of feet such as pairing of nails, wearing proper footwear and prompt reporting to doctor in case of early lesions is essential.

Effect of fluoride pollution on genetic diversity of a medicinal tree, Syzygium cumini.

Syzygium cumini Linn. (Myrtaceae) is a medicinal tree (Jamun) used worldwide in treatment of diabetes. However, no molecular data is available on genetic polymorphism and its relationship, if any with fluoride pollution. In the present study, the genetic variability of two populations of S. cumini growing in fluoride rich soils and normal soils located in Rajasthan and Haryana regions of India, respectively was determined using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Different measures of diversity in Rajasthan populations: Shannon’s index of phenotypic diversity (I) = 0.440; Nei’s genetic diversity (h) = 0.292; effective number of alleles per locus (Ne) = 1.497; total species diversity (Hsp) = 0.307 and within population diversity (Hpop) = 0.158 showed high diversity in comparison to Haryana populations. Thus, it seems that Rajasthan population responds with increased genetic variation resulting possibly from new mutation that affect allele frequencies as a consequence of adaptation to contaminated environment. This may imply that the increased diversity levels may act as a buffer to combat fluoride stress. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) results showed mixing between the populations.