S. P. S. Yadav

Serum selenium levels in patients with head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this research was to estimate serum selenium levels in patients with head and neck cancer and to correlate them with tumour burden, as well as to study the effect of radiotherapy on serum selenium levels to determine its prognostic significance. DESIGN This prospective study was carried out by selection of head and neck cancer patients using periodic random numbers. SETTING This was a hospital-based study. METHODS Estimation of serum selenium was done using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Model AAS 4129; Electronic Corporation of India Ltd., Hydrabad, India) with a hydride generator after digestion of the serum sample. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Patients were followed for 1 year postradiotherapy for any change in serum selenium level and its correlation with the outcome of the treatment. RESULTS All 30 patients had serum selenium levels significantly lower as compared with controls, and these levels decreased further as tumour burden increased. Levels came within normal range after 1 year of radiotherapy in 10 patients who were cured but in the remaining patients who had residual disease, levels remained persistently low. CONCLUSIONS The serum selenium level may serve as a useful marker in head and neck cancer.

Tubercular otitis media in children.

Tubercular otitis media rarely is seen these days. Five cases of tubercular otitis media in children are reported. Four cases presented with postaural fistula, 2 of these after incision and drainage by general practitioners. One case presented with facial palsy. None of the cases showed any improvement with antibiotics. The diagnosis was confirmed by cytopathology following modified radical mastoidectomy in all cases. Clinical features, complications, and management of such cases are discussed. Otitis media in children that is refractory to antibiotics should arouse a high degree of suspicion of tuberculosis, and granulations should be submitted for cytopathological examination.

Foreign Body Airway in Neonates

Two cases of foreign body in neonates less than one month of age are reported. Although foreign bodies in neonates are unknown but the possibility should not be overlooked even in neonates especially with sudden onset of respiratory distress, cough or hoarseness in absence of fever.

Oesophageal foreign body in four month old infant.

A 4 month old male infant was brought with only strong suspicion of foreign body ingestion without any symptomatology. X-ray examination revealed foreign body at cricopharyngeus, which was managed successfully emphasizing the fact that a strong suspicion and relevant radiography is the key to early and successful management.

Leukoplakia of larynx: A review update

Leukoplakia of larynx has remained a debatable topic in laryngeal pathology for decades as per classification, histology and treatment is concerned. Smoking and alcohol are the major causes and there is sufficient evidence implicating gastroesophageal reflux and human papilloma virus in its pathogenesis. A wide range of therapeutic strategies are available for different grades of dysplasia. Despite this, a significant proportion of patients progress to carcinoma for which the patients with dysplasia need to be kept in regular follow-up.

Nasal mucociliary clearance in patients with tracheostomy.

Nasal mucociliary clearance (NMC) time was estimated in 30 tracheostomized patients (24 males & 6 females) in the age group of 13–55 years which was 7.04±0.38 minutes: The patients suffering from nose and paranasal sinus disorders; taking drugs like bromhexine; undergoing radiotherapy and smokers were excluded from the study. The nasal mucociliary clearance in 30 age & sex matched healthy controls was 9.16±0.62 minutes. The NMC was found to he significantly lowered in patients with tracheostomy (p<0.01). This decrease in NMC tune was significant in tracheostimized patients of more than 3 weeks duration (p<0.01), whereas, it was not found significantly lowered in patients with tracheostomy of less than 3 weeks duration (p>0.1).

Secretory otitis media: A school health survey.

The present study was carried out to find out prevalence of secretory otitis media in 200 school going children between the age group of 5–7 years by impedance audiometry besides clinical evaluation. 100 children were taken from two different schools catering to higher and lower socioeconomic strata of society. The overall prevalence of secretory otitis media came out to be 20.75%. It was 28.5% in lower socioeconomic group and, 13% in the other group. This high prevalence warrants routine screening for secretory otitis media. Further impedance audiometry was found to be very good method of screening secretory otitis media.

Oesophageal candiasis in AIDS.

With the explosion in the number of AIDS patients, many of these are likely to consult to otolaryngologists the head & neck is a rather common site to be affected. Sometimes only oesophageal candidiasis is the presenting feature as in the present case which is being reported show typical radiological appearance. the differential diagnosis and treatment of nesophageal candidiasis is briefly discussed

Multiple tumors in head and neck region.

Billroth (1889) first reported multiple turnouts in the head and neck region. Their presence changes the whole management strategy both by surgery as well as radiotherapy (Brownson et al, 1973). Ifa second tumor is found simultaneously or within a period of six months from the diagnosis of primary, the second tumor is considered to be synchronous. All malignancies found later than six months after the first primary are considered to be metachronous (Gluckman et al, 1980).

Species Richness and Abundance of Major Insect Pollinators on Aonla, (Phyllanthus emblica L.)

Introduction Potential (Underutilized) plant species are only different from other crops because these crops needs to be acknowledged employed and explored for todays’ and future generations. A large number of underutilized edible fruits exist in tropic and subtropics of the world. They have been used in Indian system of medicine such as Ayurvedic and Unani since time immemorial. Pollination research based on several fruit crops revealed that management of pollinators had a significant effect in improvement of the qualitative as well as quantitative parameters of all cultivars. An effective pollinator makes sequential visits to the flowers, carries pollen and transfers them to stigma during a visit (Corbet et al., 1991). The utilisation of pollinators especially honeybees is considered as one of the cheapest eco-friendly approaches in maximising the yield of the cross-pollinated International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 08 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Aonla blossoms attracted total twelve insect species belonged to 5 orders, 7 families and 9 genera. Out of these, Diptera was most diversified and consists of major floral visitors followed by Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera. Irrespective of different day hours, significantly maximum abundance recorded by Episyrphus sp. followed by Sphaerophora sp. and A. florea. Peak abundance of Episyrphus sp. and A. florea were recorded between 1000h-1200h during full bloom of crop. Minimum abundance was recorded at 0600h-0800h irrespective of weeks. Present research findings helpful in identification of insects which are helpful in pollination. Farmers will be saved from misconception of every insect is a pest and helpful in reducing pesticide use and maintaining pollinators diversity and also provided lead for future research for exploitation of underutilized fruit crops. Integration of indigenous underutilized fruits could be one of the appropriate facets to enhance overall horticultural production in the region. Being tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses, these fruit species are suitable for growing in the disasterand drought-prone areas. Diversification of agriculture by utilizing these underutilized fruits is a key to doubling farmer’s income by providing extra income as their availability is low. K e y w o r d s Diversity, Diptera, Episyrphus, Apis florea, Pollination Accepted: 08 July 2018 Available Online: 10 August 2018 Article Info Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 1256-1263 1257 crops. Lot of work has been done in India and abroad on commercial fruit crops as bee forage but scanty information is available on underutilized fruit and medicinal plants such as Phyllanthus emblica L. (Aonla). Aonla (Phyllanthus emblica L.), also known as Indian gooseberry, Amla or Emblic, belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae and is native of tropical south eastern Asia. It is grown commercially in India particularly in Uttar Pradesh (FAO, 1982). Fruits are generally used in cooking, preserves, sauce, pickles, jams and jellies, etc. The fruits are very rich in vitamin C (500-600 mg/100g pulp) and have great importance in Ayurvedic medicine (Ghosal et al., 1996) having antiscorbutic properties and used in treatment of ailments associated with digestive system. Aonla is a highly branched monoecious shrub or tree growing up to 9-18 m high. Leaves are linear-oblong, obtuse, nearly sessile distichously branched on slender branchlets. Small greenish yellow flowers are borne in compact clusters in the axils of the lower leaves. The male flowers are present usually at the lower end of branchlets with female flowers above them. Occasionally, the trees are dioecious. Fruit is a hard berry, round, indented at base and smooth obscurely 6 lobed. The stone contains 6 small seeds (Brun et al., 1987). Present studies were conducted with the objectives to know about species richness and abundance of insect visitors of aonla. Materials and Methods Species richness of insect visitors/pollinators of aonla Present studies on aonla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) were conducted during 2014 and 2015 at Research Farm of the Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, India. To record the species richness of insect visitors and pollinators of Phyllanthus emblica L. were collected by sweep net during their blooming period i.e., March –April 2014 and 2015. Sweeps were made at two hourly intervals from the morning to the evening throughout flowering period of the crop (0600h-1600h). Abundance of insect visitors/pollinators of aonla Abundance of different insect visitors/ pollinators, number of visitors/m 2 branch of a tree/5minutes was recorded from five randomly selected branches at two hourly intervals, starting from commencement to the cessation of insect activity and repeated at weekly intervals during blooming period. Recorded data were analyzed in Randomized Block Design (Snedecor and Cochran, 1989) and the results were compared. Results and Discussion Species richness of insect visitors/pollinators of aonla Aonla blossoms attracted insects belonging to 5 orders, 7 families, 9 genera and 12 species. Of all these insects, four belongs to order Hymenoptera, two to Coleoptera, four to Diptera, one to Hemiptera and one to Lepidoptera. Among these, Dipterans were the major floral visitors comprising of three families viz., Syrphidae (Sphaerophoria sp. and Episyrphus sp.), Sarcophagidae (Sarcophaga sp.) and Muscidae (Musca domestica). They were followed in order of diversity by hymenopterans from one family viz., Apidae (Apis florea, A. dorsata, A. cerana and A. mellifera). Coleopterans belong to family, Coccinellidae (Coccinella septempunctata and Chilomenes sexmaculata), Hemipteran to Scutellaridae (Chrysocoris stolli) and one Lepidopteran to Arctiidae Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 1256-1263 1258 (Amata sp.). Out of 12 insects, all were top foragers except Amata sp. which was side forager also. Abundance of major insect visitors/pollinators of aonla During 2014, three species of flower visiting insects belonging to two orders, namely Hymenoptera (1), and Diptera (2) were collected from the aonla flowers (Table 2). The majority belonged to Diptera comprising syrphid flies (Episyrphus sp. and Sphaerophoria sp.). Among Dipterans, maximum mean population of Episyrphus sp. (8.57 flies/m 2 branch/5min) followed by that of Sphaerophoria sp. (4.47 flies/m 2 branch/5 min) (Table 2). In Hymenoptera, Apis florea was recorded with mean population of 3.53 bees/m 2 branch/5min. Similar trend followed during 2015, Among Dipterans, maximum mean population of Episyrphus sp. (8.56 flies/m 2 branch/5min) followed by that of Sphaerophoria sp. (3.54 flies/m 2 branch/5 min) (Table 3). In Hymenoptera, mean population of Apis florea was 5.70 bees/m 2 branch/5min. Present pollination study revealed that Dipteran insect species were most abundant insect pollinators on aonla flowers. Irrespective of different day hours, significantly maximum number of Episyrphus sp. was recorded from aonla flowers followed by Sphaerophora sp. and A. florea. Peak abundance of Episyrphus sp. was recorded between 1000h-1200h during full bloom of crop. Maximum abundance of A. florea was recorded at 1000h-1200h and minimum abundance was recorded at 0600h-0800h irrespective of weeks. During 2014 and 2015, highest pooled mean of abundance (8.79 and 8.56 flies/m 2 branch/5min) was recorded in Episyrphus sp. followed by A. florea (5.40 and 5.70 bees/m 2 branch/5min), while lowest pooled mean of abundance was recorded in Sphaerophoria sp. (3.62 and 3.54 flies/m 2 branch/5min) (Table 1–3). Table.1 Diversity of Insect visitors/pollinators of Aonla Order Family Insect Species IP/IV* Working Behaviour Hymenoptera Apidae Apis florea Fabricius IP T Apis dorsata Fabricius IP T Apis cerana Fabricius IP T Apis mellifera Linnaeus IP T Coleoptera Coccinellidae Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus IV T Chilomenes sexmaculata Fabricius IV T Diptera Syrphidae Sphaerophoria sp. IP T Episyrphus sp. IP T Sarcophagidae Sarcophaga sp. IV T Muscidae Musca domestica Linnaeus IV T Hemiptera Scutellaridae Chrysocoris stolli Wolff IV T Lepidoptera Arctiidae Amata sp. IV T and S *IP –Insect Pollinator and IV – Insect Visitor *T – Top worker and SSide worker Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(8): 1256-1263 1259 Table.2 Abundance of insect visitors/pollinators on Aonla flowers during 2014 Each value represents mean of 5 observations *Figures in parentheses are square root transformed values S. No. Insect visitors 25/3/14 Over all mean 1/4/14 Over all mean 8/4/14 Over all mean Pooled mean 0600h0800h 08001000h 1000h1200h 1200h1400h 1400h1600h 1600h1800h 0600h0800h 08001000h 1000h1200h 1200h1400h 1400h1600h 1600h1800h 0600h0800h 08001000h 1000h1200h 1200h1400h 1400h1600h 1600h1800h 1 Episyrphus sp. 9.40 (3.22) 9.40 (3.21) 12.40 (3.65) 9.20 (3.19) 7.40 (2.89) 3.60 (2.14) 8.57 (3.05) 13.00 (3.74) 12.40 (3.65) 14.00 (3.87) 7.40 (2.89) 10.40 (3.37) 5.00 (2.44) 10.37 (3.33) 12.40 (3.65) 7.80 (2..96) 7.80 (2.96) 5.80 (2.60) 8.40 (3.06) 2.40 (1.83) 7.43 (2.84) 8.79 (3.07) 2 Apis florea 0.00 (1.00) 5.00 (2.44) 8.80 (3.12) 4.20 (2.27) 3.20 (2.04) 0.00 (1.00) 3.53 (1.98) 0.40 (1.16) 5.20 (2.47) 12.80 (3.71) 10.20 (3.34) 4.60 (2.36) 0.40 (1.14) 5.60 (2.36) 0.00 (1.00) 9.20 (3.18) 13.80 (3.84) 12.00 (3.60) 7.20 (2.86) 0.20 (1.08) 7.07 (2.59) 5.40 (2.31) 3 Sphaerophoria sp. 7.60 (2.93) 3.80 (2.18) 5.80 (2.60) 3.20 (2.04) 4.20 (2.27) 2.20 (1.77) 4.47 (2.30) 4.20 (2.27) 4.80 (2.40) 7.00 (2.82) 5.00 (2.43) 3.20 (2.04) 1.80 (1.65) 4.33 (2.27) 1.80 (1.65) 4.40 (2.31) 3.00 (1.99) 1.60 (1.59) 1.00 (1.39) 0.60 (1.24) 2.07 (1.70) 3.62 (2.09)