Awareness of diabetic retinopathy among physicians and optometrists in a district of West Bengal.
A cross sectional study was done to ascertain the current knowledge among physicians and optometrists regarding diabetic retinopathy in a district of West Bengal. We obtained response from 242 physicians and 36 optometrists working in government health units. The questionnaire comprised of three sections covering magnitude of problem, risk factors and management. The responses were analysed and graded. In different sections, knowledge of 74 - 78% physicians and 83 - 86% optometrists was graded as not acceptable. Existing lack of knowledge among physicians and optometrists regarding diabetic retinopathy needs correction.

title: Inadvertent intracorneal injection of local anesthetic during lid surgery.
abstract: To report a case of inadvertent intracorneal injection of anesthetic agents during lid anesthesia and corneal penetration without full-thickness perforation.



Case report.



Corneal edema with acute loss of vision was noted. The patient was treated with topical, antibiotic, cycloplegic, hyperosmotic agent and lubricant. While the edema slowly subsided, a loss in endothelial cell count was noted.



The effects of intracorneal injection of lignocaine, bupivacaine, and its preservatives have not previously been reported in the literature. A lower postinjection endothelial cell count and associated clinical features in our case indicate that endothelial toxicity occurred. This potential complication should be kept in mind with necessary precautions taken during injection of the eyelid, particularly in cases with preexisting lid laxity.

title: Prospective randomized comparative study of macular thickness following phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgery.
abstract: To compare macular thickness following uncomplicated phacoemulsification with foldable acrylic lens and manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) with non-foldable polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) lens implantation.



Prospective study was carried out with one eye each of 224 patients with senile cataract randomized into two groups, phacoemulsification and MSICS, by simple 1:1 randomization. Following surgery by either of the two methods, macular thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) on the 1st, 7th, 42nd and 180th postoperative day. Main outcome measure was postoperative macular thickness.



On the first postoperative day, central subfield mean thickness (CSMT) in MSICS group was 192.8 +/- 17.9 microm and that in phacoemulsification group was 192.1 +/- 27.4 microm, with no significant difference (p = 0.12). On the 7th day, CSMT in MSICS group (198.9 +/- 21.4 microm) was significantly (p = 0.04) more than that in phacoemulsification group (193.1 +/- 19.3 microm). On the 42nd day, CSMT in MSICS group was 207.8 +/- 26.3 microm and that in phacoemulsification group was 198.3 +/- 23 microm, the difference being significant (p = 0.007). Clinically macular oedema was not diagnosed in any of the patients at any visit. The increase in macular thickness was sub-clinical and did not affect final visual outcome in any patient.



In spite of the greater theoretical risk of increased postoperative inflammation following MSICS, there was no evidence of cystoid macular oedema, either clinically or on OCT. However, chance of sub-clinical increase in CSMT was more following MSICS compared to phacoemulsification.

title: Comparison of the cortical connections of areas 4 gamma and 4 delta in the cat cerebral cortex.
abstract: Area 4 of the cat cerebral cortex has been subdivided into several regions based on cytoarchitectonic studies: areas 4 gamma, 4 delta, 4sfu, and 4fu (Hassler and Muhs-Clement [1964] J. Hirnforsch. 6:377-420). In a previous study, we found separate representations of contralateral limb movements in areas 4 gamma and 4 delta (Ghosh [1997] ). To investigate the relationship between these representations, the ipsilateral cortical connections of area 4 gamma and 4 delta were compared by the use of the retrograde neural tracers. After intracortical microstimulation of area 4, tracer was injected into one or two of the following regions: the forelimb regions of the rostral and caudal subdivisions of areas 4 gamma and 4 delta (r4 gamma, r4 delta, c4 gamma, c4 delta, separated by the cruciate sulcus) and the hindlimb regions of c4 gamma and c4 delta. Retrogradely labeled neural profiles were counted in every fourth section of the coronal series and located in cytoarchitectonic areas of the ipsilateral cortex. We found topographically organized reciprocal connections between areas 4 gamma and 4 delta; these connections were part of a rich network of interconnections between the cytoarchitectonic subdivisions of area 4. The forelimb regions of c4 gamma and c4 delta, of r4 gamma and c4 delta, and of r4 gamma and r4 delta were interconnected. These findings support the location of a secondary motor area in 4 delta. No interconnections between the forelimb regions of r4 gamma and c4 gamma, and of r4 delta and c4 gamma, could be found. Area 6 (particularly area 6a gamma) was found to project strongly to the forelimb regions of r4 gamma and r4 delta and relatively weakly to the forelimb region of c4 delta. Retrogradely labeled neurons were also detected in areas 3a, 3b, 1, 2pri, 5, 7, and insula after tracer injections in area 4.

title: Solitary fibrous tumour: a diagnostic dilemma.
abstract: Solitary fibrous tumour (SFT) is a rare spindle cell neoplasm arising at pleural and extrapleural sites. Five cases of SFT diagnosed at our institution over a five year period were reviewed. Haematoxylin and eosin stained histological sections, immuno-histochemical markers including CD34 and electron microscopy were the different methods used to study these tumours. Three histological features were consistently observed in all the tumours: the tumours were composed of short spindle cells separated by dense collagen bands and arranged in alternate hypocellular and hypercellular areas. CD34 positivity was seen in all the cases. SFT's have been reported to behave in an unpredictable fashion and hence prolonged follow up is essential. Histology, CD34 positivity and electron microscopy are useful tools in diagnosing SFT. While the pleural tumours can be diagnosed based on histology, this must be substantiated by ancillary techniques in case of extrapleural tumours.

title: Existence of cholinephosphotransferase in mitochondria and microsomes of liver and lung of guinea pig and rat
abstract: We reported earlier on the occurrence of cholinephosphotransferase in the mitochondria of guinea pig lung. In order to determine whether organ and/or species specificities exist in regard to the cholinephosphotransferase activity in mitochondria, we have compared the subcellular distribution of the enzyme in the liver and lungs of rats and guinea pigs. Even though the activity of the enzyme was higher in microsomes than it was in mitochondria, the mitochondrial activity was authentic in both tissues of both species. The authenticity of mitochondrial activity was established by marker enzyme studies and ultrastructural examination of mitochondrial preparations.

title: Characterization of spores of Bacillus subtilis that lack most coat layers.
abstract: Spores of Bacillus subtilis have a thick outer layer of relatively insoluble protein called the coat, which protects spores against a number of treatments and may also play roles in spore germination. However, elucidation of precise roles of the coat in spore properties has been hampered by the inability to prepare spores lacking all or most coat material. In this work, we show that spores of a strain with mutations in both the cotE and gerE genes, which encode proteins involved in coat assembly and expression of genes encoding coat proteins, respectively, lack most extractable coat protein as seen by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, as well as the great majority of the coat as seen by atomic force microscopy. However, the cotE gerE spores did retain a thin layer of insoluble coat material that was most easily seen by microscopy following digestion of these spores with lysozyme. These severely coat-deficient spores germinated relatively normally with nutrients and even better with dodecylamine but not with a 1:1 chelate of Ca(2+) and dipicolinic acid. These spores were also quite resistant to wet heat, to mechanical disruption, and to treatment with detergents at an elevated temperature and pH but were exquisitely sensitive to killing by sodium hypochlorite. These results provide new insight into the role of the coat layer in spore properties.

title: Evidence for interstate transmission and increase in prevalence of bovine group B rotavirus strains with a novel VP7 genotype among diarrhoeic calves in Eastern and Northern states of India.
abstract: During a surveillance study (2003-2005) in a cattle market in Kolkata city, state of West Bengal, Eastern India, 34 (13.0%) of 260 calves with diarrhoea were positive for group B rotaviruses (GBR) by RNA electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. Analysis of the partial VP7 gene sequence of 28 of the 34 GBR strains revealed maximum identities (97.7-99.5% at nucleotide level and 97.8-100% at amino-acid level) with the novel bovine GBR 'Kolkata strains' reported in an earlier surveillance study (1.5%, n=192, 2001-2002) from the same cattle market, and shared low identities of 73.7-78.9% and 80.8-89.6%; 62.6-66.2% and 59.8-65.4%; 58.9-62.2% and 48.6-54.9% at nucleotide and amino-acid level with other bovine, human, and murine GBR. The GBR-infected calves were traced to districts in neighbouring states of West Bengal. Therefore, the present study reports a rapid increase in prevalence (13.0% in 2003-2005 against 1.5% in 2001-2002) of novel GBR strains among calves with diarrhoea, and provides evidence for interstate transmission of GBR.