ABSTRACT
Objective Histoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum . Histoplasmosis is considered to be endemic to India, especially the Gangetic belt. Disseminated histoplasmosis may affect almost all systems. Disseminated histoplasmosis with asymptomatic adrenal involvement has been described in immunocompromised patients, whereas isolated adrenal involvement as the presenting manifestation in immunocompetent is uncommon. We aimed to determine the clinicopathological and radiological findings of adrenal histoplasmosis in immunocompetent patients attending a multispecialty diagnostic center referred from different clinics and hospitals. Materials and Methods All tissue samples were initially examined microscopically by performing potassium hydroxide (KOH) wet mounts, followed by culture on two tubes of Sabouraud dextrose agar and phase conversion. Histopathological correlation was done using tissue stains, hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-Schiff, and Gomori methenamine silver. Results We evaluated 84 clinically suspected cases radiologically for adrenal mass. The pathological and microbiological work-up was done from these suspected cases. A total of 19 cases were evident from the tissue stain and fungal culture methods. The affected population were mostly above 45 years and male. Seven patients had bilateral adrenal involvement. All these patients received amphotericin B and/or itraconazole treatment, which led to symptomatic improvement in most cases. Conclusion Diagnosis of invasive fungal infection requires a high index of suspicion, especially in immunocompetent patients presenting with nonspecific symptoms, clinical signs, and laboratory and radiological features that often resemble adrenal neoplasms. Clinical specimens, together with fungal culture, must be sent for cytopathology/histopathology for a definite diagnosis and appropriate management.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Milk is a highly perishable commodity, which is subjected to various types of contamination right from the farm level to the consumers' table. This study aimed to assess the quality of raw milk sold in and around Guwahati city based on the microbial load. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 200 raw pooled milk samples collected from 25 different locations in and around Guwahati city were subjected to quality evaluation based on the methylene blue reduction test (MBRT), standard plate count, and coliform count as per the standard procedure. RESULTS: Out of the 200 samples evaluated, more than 50% of them were graded as poor to very poor quality based on the MBRT results. None of the samples could be graded as excellent quality and only 14.5% were graded as good quality. The standard plate count and coliform count of all the raw milk samples were found to be significantly higher than the legal standard. A highly significant (p<0.01) difference was observed for standard plate count and coliform count among the different locations in and around Guwahati city. CONCLUSION: From the present study, it could be inferred that raw milk sold in most parts of Guwahati city do not confer to the legal microbiological standard and may pose a high risk of milk-borne illness among consumers of the city, which needs a systematic series of actions to be implemented properly.
ABSTRACT
AIM: An experiment was conducted to evaluate the nutritional, physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory attributes of pork sausages treated with conventional smoking (CS) and liquid smoke (LS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pork sausages were prepared by employing CS (T1) and by addition of LS at 3% (T2A), 5% (T2B), and 7% (T2C) while smoking was not done in control (C) sausages. The ready-to-eat pork sausages were evaluated in terms of proximate composition, emulsion stability (ES), cooking loss (CL), pH, water activity (aw), texture profile analysis (TPA), and shear force on the day of preparation and the shelf life of the sausages was evaluated on the basis of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) value, organoleptic qualities, total viable plate count, total psychrophilic count, and yeast and mold counts at 5-day interval up to 15 days under refrigerated storage (6±1°C). RESULTS: The mean percentage moisture and percentage ether extract contents of the conventionally smoked sausages (T1) exhibited significant difference (p≤0.01) with the rest of the formulations. However, in terms of mean percentage crude protein and percentage total solids, no significant difference (p≥0.05) was recorded between the treatment groups. The mean ES (ml of oil/100 g emulsion) of the different sausage emulsions ranged from 1.88 to 3.20, while the mean aw values among the sausage formulations were found to be non-significant. In terms of mean percentage, CL and pH values, significantly lowest (p≤0.01) values were recorded by the T1 sausages. The mean TBARS values recorded at different periods of time in respect of all the treatment groups ranged from 0.10 to 0.33 mg malanoldehyde [MDA]/kg of sausages which are well within the permissible limit. The highest shear force values (KgF) were recorded by the sausages of T1 formulation (p≤0.01), while TPA of the sausages did not record any significant difference (p≥0.05) among the treatments. Organoleptic studies revealed acceptability of the sausages up to 10 days of refrigerated storage irrespective of treatments employed; however, the sausages of T1 formulation scored significantly (p≤0.01) higher panel ratings. Microbiologically, sausages with different formulations were found to be within the acceptable limit up to the 15th day of refrigerated storage. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that traditional hot smoking has slightly higher edges over the LS-treated sausages in terms of lipid oxidation, microbiological safety, and sensory panel ratings. However, if not superior, the same was found to be well within the acceptable limit in case of LS-treated sausages proving the potentiality of the use of LS as a suitable replacement for the traditional hazardous hot smoking process.
