Acute Toxicity of Commonly used Insecticides to Red Pumpkin Beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis

Acute toxicity of commonly used insecticides viz., fipronil, cyantraniliprole, fluxametamide, phenthoate and thiamethoxam were determined against Red pumpkin beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis collected from the unsprayed pumpkin fields in the orchard of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore using filter paper disc bioassay method. Based on the LC50 values (ppm) of different insecticides, the order of toxicity was found to be fipronil (6.822) > fluxametamide (11.953) > phenthoate (14.732) > cyantraniliprole (14.793) > thiamethoxam (29.465) at 24 and 48 hours after treatment (HAT). The respective LC95 values were 65.396, 87.077, 42.090, 203.017 and 205.013 against A. foveicollis at 24 HAT and 46.585, 54.242, 37.445, 223.682 and 146.267 at 48 HAT for fipronil, cyantraniliprole, fluxametamide, phenthoate and thiamethoxam, respectively. The study results clearly indicated that the phenyl pyrazole insecticide, fipronil was highly effective against the pumpkin beetle, A. foveicollis.

Effect of Seed Testing Temperature on Germination of Bhendi Seed

Temperature is one of the factors which play a major role in deciding the planting value of a seed lot in the seed testing laboratory. The temperature requirement varies with species. High or low temperature may stimulate or inhibit the germination of seeds under testing. The tropical crops may require higher temperature than temperate crops for germination. Eventhough, a seed lot is having high germination and vigour parameter, it could be revealed with suitable seed testing temperature only. Since bhendi is a tropical vegetable crop, two varieties of bhendi, Arka Anamika and CO4 with each five different lots were tested with four different temperature regimes viz., 15, 20, 25 and 30ºC. The experimental results revealed that bhendi seeds performed well at the temperature regime of 30ºC followed by 25ºC which was on par with each other. It was also accompanied with seed quality characteristics of seedling length, vigour index and dry matter production of seedlings. Irrespective of varieties and lots studied, the high temperature showed its superiority over other temperatures. The study also disclosed that the low temperature of 15ºC was not suitable for bhendi seed germination, because none of the seeds produced normal seedling. At low temperature seeds could produce more abnormal seedlings than rest of the temperature regimes studied. It could be inferred that the seed testing temperature suitable for bhendi seed germination is 30°C or 25°C. Low temperature (15°C) is not suitable, since the normal seedlings were not produced at this temperature.

The Association between Serum Uric Acid Level and Dementia in Geriatric Population – A Case–Control Study

Importance: The increasing prevalence of dementia worldwide has reduced the quality of life in geriatric patients, therebyincreasing the burden on the caregivers. As dementia evolves gradually, diagnosis of the disease is often delayed. Thus, theneed for a sensitive biomarker for early diagnosis is instrumental.Objective: The objective of the study was to study the association between serum uric acid levels and dementia in geriatric patients.Design: This is a case–control study comparing the age-matched geriatric patients with and without dementia (cases – 50and controls – 50).Setting and Participants: A total of 100 geriatric patients from Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital wereincluded in this study for a study period of 4 months. Out of this, 50 were cases (with dementia) and 50 were controls (withoutdementia). Mini-mental state examination test was done to categorize the cases into mild, moderate, and severe subgroups(24–30 out of 30 as normal; 20–23 out of 30 as mild; 10–19 out of 30 as moderate; and score lesser than 10 out of 30 as severe).Serum uric acid levels were measured in the study population and compared between the cases and controls.Results: The correlation of serum uric acid levels with cases and controls revealed 16% of the cases had hypouricemia,whereas none in the control group had hypouricemia. When serum uric acid levels were compared, it was found that 44% ofthe control group had normal serum uric acid levels and 82% of the cases had normal serum uric acid levels. Based on minimental state examination score, 10% of mild group and 21% of moderate group had hypouricemia and 4% of moderate grouphad hyperuricemia while the others had normal serum uric acid levels. All the data were statistically significant with “P” < 0.001.Conclusion: The study identified the prevalence of hypouricemia in the study population. This study can pave the path forfurther multicentric research to delineate the role of uric acid level as potential biomarker for dementia.Relevance: The information gained from this study will enable us to diagnose dementia in the early stages and improve thequality of life of the patients.

A Study of Histopathological Spectrum of Breast Lesions

Introduction: Breast cancer accounts for one-third of female cancers and approximately one-fourth of all malignancies.Malignancy not only poses a financial burden on the patient, their family, and society but also is responsible for emotional distress.Aim: This study aims to evaluate the frequency, age, gender, and histopathological features of breast carcinoma in a tertiarycare hospital.Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Pathology, Coimbatore Medical Collegeand Hospital, from January 2017 to October 2018. Tissue for hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) sections was fixed in 10% formalinand subjected to routine paraffin-embedded processing and stained with H and E. The histopathological features were noted, andthe tumors were diagnosed based on the WHO classification and graded adopting modified Bloom–Richardson grading system.Results: Of the 120 specimens received, 116 specimens belonged to female patients (97%). The peak age of the occurrenceof breast masses was in the 3rd decade (32% occurrence). Both malignant and non-malignant lesions were present in thespecimens. Among the 98 benign lesions, 45 cases were of fibroadenoma (46%), 23 cases were of fibroadenosis (23%). Amongthe 22 malignant lesions, 17 cases were of infiltrative duct cell carcinoma (77%).Conclusion: The pattern of breast lesions provides valuable information concerning clinicopathological profile of breast lesions.The clinical diagnosis of a breast lump must be correlated with histopathological diagnosis for correct and adequate treatmentof patient.