Pestalotioid fungi: A rare agent of onychomycosis among agriculture workers.

Background And Purpose: Pestalotioid fungi are ubiquitous environmental molds that have received considerable attention in recent times not only because of their role as a plant pathogen but also owing to their high frequency of retrieval from human diseases. Regarding this, the present study was conducted to investigate onychomycosis caused by pestalotioid fungi, commonly considered important phytopathogens causing grey blight disease in .

Materials And Methods: A total of 122 agriculture workers were enrolled from Assam, India.

Maternal and perinatal Health Research Collaboration, India (MaatHRI): methodology for establishing a hospital-based research platform in a low and middle income country setting.

Maternal and perinatal Health Research collaboration, India (MaatHRI) is a research platform that aims to improve evidence-based pregnancy care and outcomes for mothers and babies in India, a country with the second highest burden of maternal and perinatal deaths. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods used to establish and standardise the platform and the results of the process. MaatHRI is a hospital-based collaborative research platform.

The perspective of our future doctors towards organ donation: a national representative study from India.

Introduction: Timely donation of organs has helped many get a new life. But in India, the pace of Organ Donation and Transplant (ODT) has been disturbingly sluggish. There is a wide gap between patients who need transplants and the organs that are available in India.

Biologics in Dermatology: Off-Label Indications.

Skin and subcutaneous diseases affect millions of people worldwide, causing significant morbidity. Biologics are becoming increasingly useful for the treatment of many skin diseases, particularly as alternatives for patients who have failed to tolerate or respond to conventional systemic therapies. Biological therapies provide a targeted approach to treatment through interaction with specific components of the underlying immune and inflammatory disease processes.

Correlation of Dermoscopic and Histopathologic Patterns in Leprosy - A Pilot Study.

Background: Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It is diagnosed based on clinical features and confirmed on the histological findings and peripheral slit-skin smear staining. Dermoscopy is a handy, easily accessible tool to diagnose this granulomatous disease and classify patients based on the immunological and clinical response.

Transformational learning for health professionals through a Theatre of the Oppressed workshop.

Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) is a powerful participatory tool for communities to examine their struggles against oppression. The healthcare community has problems inherent to complex, unequal power equations, and TO may be a useful means to understand and respond to their struggle. A 3-day workshop on TO was facilitated by the authors in the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) in Dehradun, India, in August 2017.

Onychomycosis Associated with Superficial Skin Infection Due to Aspergillus sydowii in an Immunocompromised Patient.

Opportunistic fungal infections of the skin and nail are frequently encountered in human. Recent years have shown increased incidence of fungal infections especially in immunocompromised patients. Onychomycosis in HIV-infected patients is reported to occur in 15-40%, four times more than in the general population.

Geographical distribution of primary & secondary dengue cases in India - 2017: A cross-sectional multicentric study.

Background & Objectives: Dengue virus infection is endemic in India with all the four serotypes of dengue virus in circulation. This study was aimed to determine the geographic distribution of the primary and secondary dengue cases in India.

Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Health Research / Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR)/(ICMR) viral research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDLs) and selected ICMR institutes located in India.

Retraction of papers authored by Yuhji Saitoh - Beyond the Fujii phenomenon.

Background And Aims: Various aspects of retracted articles authored by Yoshitaka Fujii and their retraction notices have been examined. Yuhji Saitoh has coauthored many articles with Yoshitaka Fujii which were subsequently retracted. Japanese Society of Anesthesiology (JSA) recommends retraction of various articles by Yuhji Saitoh, but various attributes of those and their retraction notices have not been examined.

Body mass index and body fat percentage in assessing obesity: An analytical study among the adolescents of Dibrugarh, Assam.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is one of the most commonly used indices to measure the weight status of an individual. However, it takes only height and weight of individual into account. The relative body composition can be calculated regardless of height and weight by body fat percentage (BF%).

A Clinico-epidemiological Study of Childhood Herpes Zoster.

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a viral infection believed to be caused by the re activation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) or human herpes virus type 3 (HHV 3) that persists in the posterior nerve root ganglion. HZ is rarely reported in the pediatric age group with an intact immunity. Past infection with VZV and immunization with chickenpox vaccine are key markers in the onset of varicella zoster in children.

Intracholecystic papillary-tubular neoplasm of gallbladder: A 5-year retrospective pathological study.

Background: Intracholecystic papillary-tubular neoplasm (ICPN) is a relatively new entity which includes neoplastic polyps, adenomas, and papillary neoplasms that are ≥1.0 cm. This study is done to evaluate the pathological features of ICPN and to find out the factors associated with invasion.

Prevalence of anemia among the women of childbearing age belonging to the tea garden community of Assam, India: A community-based study.

Background: Anemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells becomes insufficient to meet the body's physiologic needs. Anemia is one of the major public health problems in India. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence and determinants of anemia among the adult females of tea garden community of Assam.

Nilotinib-induced Perforating Folliculitis: Two Cases.

Cutaneous adverse effects of chemotherapy are widely known but underreported. A significant advancement is made in the field of oncology with the advent of new classes of drug being added to the existing classes at a fast pace. Most of these cutaneous adverse effects are self-limiting and subsides on suspending the drug either temporarily or permanently.

Morbidity pattern and health-seeking behavior of elderly in urban slums: A cross-sectional study in Assam, India.

Background: Elderly population in India is increasing fast which indicates a growing share of population with more special needs for health and support. Understanding the morbidities and health-seeking behavior of elderly is essential for strengthening geriatric health-care services delivery.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to study the morbidity profile of elderly in urban slum areas and assess their health-seeking behavior.

Micronucleus Assay: An Early Diagnostic Tool to Assess Genotoxic Changes in Patients with Tobacco Use, Oral Leukoplakia and Oral Submucous Fibrosis.

Introduction: Micronuclei (MNi) are acentric chromatid or chromosome fragments produced via genetic damage through genotoxic agents contained in tobacco and betel nut. Evidently, the various Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMDs) like oral lichen Planus, oral leukoplakia and Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF) demonstrate MNi, as a substantiation of genetic damage. As these changes can be easily appreciated in oral exfoliated cells, an exfoliated cell based MNi assay might be utilized as handy and non invasive biomonitoring tool for gauging the genetic damage and hence the propensity for malignant transformation in OPMDs.

Cutaneotrichosporon (Trichosporon) debeurmannianum: A Rare Yeast Isolated from Blood and Urine Samples.

Cutaneotrichosporon (Trichosporon) debeurmannianum is a rarely isolated yeast from clinical samples. Nine isolates of this yeast were identified from clinical samples within a period of 3 years from June 2012 to May 2015. These isolates were from blood and urine samples sent to a clinical mycology laboratory of a tertiary care hospital in Assam, North East India.

Bacteriological Profile of Diabetic Foot Ulcer with Special Reference to Drug-resistant Strains in a Tertiary Care Center in North-East India.

Aim: This study was carried out to determine the bacteriological profile of infected diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and the antibiotic resistance pattern from the isolates. An attempt was made to suggest an empiric antibiotic regimen to treat such patients.

Materials And Methods: Tissue samples were collected from 150 patients between February 2015 and January 2016 with DFUs under aseptic precautions and they were processed as per the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines.

Fine-Needle Aspiration of De Quervain's Thyroiditis (Subacute Granulomatous Thyroiditis): A Cytological Review of 20 Cases.

Introduction: De Quervain's Thyroiditis (DQT) is a self limiting inflammatory disease of the thyroid gland that presents with pain and sore throat. Although the diagnosis is usually made clinically, Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) may provide assistance, particularly in excluding other thyroid lesions.

Aim: The objective of this study was to reveal the cytological characteristics of DQT.

Harnessing the medical humanities for experiential learning.

A month-long workshop on medical humanities was held in the Jorhat Medical College, Assam in September 2015. It employed experiential learning (both online and onsite) using humanities tools, such as the theatre of the oppressed, art, literature, reflective narratives, movies, the history of medicine, graphic medicine, poetry and diversity studies. As a result of the interactions, 28 volunteer participants, comprising students and faculty members, wrote reflective narratives on doctor​-patient relationships, produced a newsletter and a logo for their medical humanities group, and staged cultural performances and forum theatre.

Haemoglobinopathies and β-Thalassaemia among the Tribals Working in the Tea Gardens of Assam, India.

Introduction: Prevalence of haemoglobinopathies and β-thalassaemia are very high in India but information about its status among the tribals working in the tea gardens of Assam is very less.

Aim: The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of haemoglobinopathies and β-thalassaemia among the tribals working in the tea gardens of Assam.

Materials And Methods: A total 1204 samples from the tribals working in tea gardens of Assam were analysed for both Complete Blood Count (CBC) and High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) for detection of haemoglobinopathies and β-thalassaemia.

Poetry in teaching pharmacology: Exploring the possibilities.

Objectives: To explore poetry as a tool for active learning in linking knowledge and affective domains and to find if correlating learning with imagination can be used in "assessment for learning."

Materials And Methods: After taking a conventional lecture on Asthma, a creative writing assignment in the form of poetry writing was given to the students. Different triggers were given to the students to channelize their thought pattern in a given direction that was linked to specific areas of academic relevance.