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Havana Syndrome: A Scientific Review of an Unresolved Medical Mystery
No full textBackground
Since 2016, U.S. and Canadian officials have reported Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs), or Havana Syndrome, characterised by a strange sensory experience followed by chronic neurological, cognitive, and vestibular issues. The cause is intensely debated, with primary hypotheses pointing to either psychosocial factors or a directed-energy weapon, creating a significant medical and geopolitical puzzle.
Methods
This review critically assesses the current evidence by analysing peer-reviewed clinical studies and major institutional reports.
Results
The findings are deeply contradictory. A 2020 NASEM report identified directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy as the most plausible mechanism for a core set of symptoms. Conversely, comprehensive 2024 NIH studies found no consistent evidence of brain injury or biological markers, and a 2023 Intelligence assessment concluded foreign adversary involvement was very unlikely.
Conclusions
The etiology of AHIs remains unresolved due to profound discrepancies between major institutional findings. This scientific uncertainty persists even as policy decisions have been implemented to provide care for affected personnel. The situation highlights the immense challenge of addressing a health crisis at the complex intersection of medicine, psychology, and national security
Insights on Human Papillomavirus among Medical Students and Professionals
Full text linkBackground: As per World Health Organization, in 2022, 660000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and 350000 women died from the disease. Sexual behaviour is the major risk factor and exposure to Human Papillomavirus has been established as a causative agent in 70-80% of the cases for development of cervical cancer. Most infections with HPV resolve spontaneously and cause no symptoms, persistent infection can cause cervical cancer in women. Effective primary (HPV vaccination) and secondary prevention approaches (screening and treating precancerous lesions) will prevent most cervical cancer cases. Thus, study was conducted with the objective of assessing the knowledge and attitude among Medical Professionals and Students on Human Papillomavirus.
Methods: MBBS students, interns and postgraduates were asked to fill the google form by circulating through WhatsApp group. 483 participants filled the form, and data was analysed using SPSS V25. Results were represented as Mean, Standard deviation, frequency & Percentage.
Results: 55.5% were females and 44.5% were males, 92.5% have received formal education on HPV, Mean ± SD for knowledge was 5.110 ± 1.88 and Mean ± SD value of attitude was 2.064 ± 1.5345. 44.9% had good knowledge and 34.6% had positive attitude.
Conclusion: A significant portion (55.1%) of students have poor knowledge, and an even higher percentage (65.4%) exhibit a negative attitude toward HPV-related issues. Students with good knowledge had a significantly more positive attitude toward HPV awareness and prevention (p \u3c 0.001), indicating that targeted education and awareness programs could enhance both knowledge and perception
A Comprehensive Study on Clinical Management of Hypertension among the Patients from Selected Suburban Region of Tirupati
Full text linkBackground: Hypertension (HTN) is the major public health concern and non communicable disease affects 29% of global population by 2025.
Aim: This is study was aimed to explore the awareness and knowledge of hypertension and clinical symptoms among adult hypertensive patients in and around suburban/rural region of Tirupati Municipality.
Method: The assessment study was conducted with aid of informed consent, patient demographic and questionnaire forms. Both male and female participants about 250 at the age above 18 years were included. The study was performed in off-line and on-line mode.
Results: Out of 250 study population 106 were males and 144 were of females. The participants were predominantly female and married with adequate knowledge. Despite having high knowledge, this study determined the gaps in self-care practices particularly smoking and alcohol consumption. Multi variant analysis revealed that male participants exhibited greater clinical symptoms significantly and married individuals shows more symptoms related to HTN compared to unmarried. Among participants, 84.8% had adequate knowledge about HTN and 15.2% had moderate knowledge.
Conclusion: The study highlighted the importance of clinical symptom awareness (blurred vision) and importance of targeted interventions to address the gaps and improve hypertension management. Healthcare authorities may provide personalized counselling on diet, physical activity and stress management
Overview of Chromatographic Methods of Analysis of Penicillins in Food Matrices of Animal Origin
Full text linkPenicillins are β-lactam antibiotics indicated for preventing and treating diseases in veterinary medical practice. Improper use of these antibiotics in animals may result in residues in foodstuffs such as milk, egg, and meat, which can cause unwanted effects like allergy, and development of bacterial resistance. So, it is important to regulate the use of penicillins in foodstuffs of animal origin. Regulatory bodies in different countries established maximum residue levels to be allowed in food matrices. To address the regulatory requirements, food matrices need to be investigated with proper methods of analysis. Several analytical methods were developed and validated to determine penicillin residues in food products of animal origin. Among the developed methods of analysis in the last two decades, chromatographic techniques were the most commonly reported ones. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to compile up-to-date literature on chromatographic methods of analysis for the determination of penicillin residues in foodstuffs of animal origin
Phytosynthesis of Magnetite Nanoparticles from Piper betle (L.) var. Mysore and Evaluation of Anti-microbial properties
Full text linkBackground: Piper betle L., is a well-known herb in Asia, popular for its fragrance and mouth-refreshing properties. With more than 100 varieties, it has a number of medicinal and socio-economic benefits. Its phenolic constituents have been displayed to treat oral anaerobes, animate lipase action, and reduces lipid peroxidation. Magnetite nanoparticles, with their novel properties, are utilized in different applications, and amalgamating with plant sources, increases the efficacy of the nanoparticles to many folds.
Methods: In this study, biogenic synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) was carried out using aqueous solutions of Ferric Chloride and Ferrous Sulphate in a ratio of 2:1 with the utilization of crude ethyl acetate extract of Piper betel var. Mysore as reducing, stabilizing, capping and tailing agent. The phytosynthesized MNPs were subjected to check for the inhibition of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, A. baumanii, S. aureus, S. mutans, S. pneumoniae, and C. albicans.
Results: The phytosynthesized MNPs are having varying size with diameter of 155nm and zeta potential value of 3.6mV. Upon comparing of the plant extracts and MNPs for the inhibition the microbial cultures, MNPs inhibit the growth of all the cultures having the maximum inhibition percentage with S. pneumoniae, and C. albicans of 90.24% and 83.10% respectively.
Conclusions: MNPs are being cheap; ecofriendly and ease of synthesis, making them an ideal candidate for the upscale synthesis. With the incorporation of the betel leaf bioactive metabolites, it increases the antimicrobial properties to many folds as well as with the high surface to volume ratio, it can be utilized in various formulations like ointment, oral pill etc
EXPLORING THE VITAMIN D RECEPTOR GENE POLYMORPHISMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY
Full text linkThe Vitamin D endocrine system, comprising of Vitamin D, its receptor (VDR), and metabolic enzymes, coordinates essential physiological functions influencing skeletal metabolism, immune response, and various diseases including osteoarthritis, cancer, and obesity. Understanding the impact of genetic variations, particularly the VDR gene, on disease susceptibility is crucial. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Vitamin D metabolism, deciphering how the VDR gene works and understanding how different versions of the gene impact complex diseases. It provides a brief overview of the association between VDR gene polymorphisms in inflammatory disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, coronary artery disease, asthma, cancer, and infectious diseases. Despite significant findings linking VDR gene polymorphisms to disease risk; inconsistencies across populations warrant further investigation. Future research works are vital for elucidating the intricate connections between gene variations and susceptibility of disease, paving the way for personalized healthcare interventions and targeted therapies
EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL CONTEXT OF SPEECH IN RACE, GENDER AND AUTONOMIC DETECTION OF HATE SPEECH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Full text linkThis review studies the development on the work done on the effects of social context factors of race and gender on the automated detection of hate speech found in social media from the period of 2013 to 2023. The review initially discussed the variables of social media and social context of speech and then discussed the literature produced on the effects of race and gender on social media, hate speech and social media research, the work done on automated detection of online hate speech and then the effect of race and gender in hate speech detection. The review found that race and gender have a positive impact on hate speech detection but also showcased that there is a significant lack of literature produced on the subject, the current detection methods ae unable to take into account the influence of the two factors. There is a need to conduct more research on the subject among different populations and methods to incorporate race and gender factors into automated detection system must be developed in the future
Academic Stress among JSS High School Students in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts: A Cross-sectional study
Full text linkBackground
In today\u27s world, students face academic stress which leading to anxiety, poor performance in academics and many other issues like nervousness, panic attacks and depression mainly derived from grades, parental pressure, and competition between the students. With the above background study aims to estimate the prevalence and assess the associated factors of academic stress among high school adolescents.
Method
A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the academic stress among JSS high school students of Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts. A total of 379 were selected through Probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling. Structured questionnaire was used to assess the academic stress among participants. Collected data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analyse the entered data using SPSS V.26. Descriptive statistics like frequency and percentage were used and to assess the significance of differences between categorical data, a chi-square test was performed and the statistical significance level was set at 5%.
Result
Among 379 students, 248 (65.43%) students reported academic stress, while 131 (34.56%) reported as normal. The high school students comprising of 48% boys and 52% girls had different levels of stress namely extreme stress (0.8%), high stress (16.09%), moderate stress (34%) and slight stress (39.9%) when assessed using the Academic Stress Scale.
Conclusion
Stress among high school students affects academic performance and their achievement. Our findings revealed that there was a need for school administrators to improve interpersonal relationships and need of developing effective counselling and intervention strategies to reduce stress.
Key words:
Stress, Adolescents, High school students, Academic stress, Emotional Well-bein
Self-inflicted, Non-sexual, Non-masturbatory Penile Fracture Case Report - An Atypical Presentation
No full textBackground: Traumatic injuries to the genitalia are uncommon due to the mobility of the penis and scrotum. Penile fracture is a relatively rare condition arising from disruption of tunica albuginea with rupture of the corpus cavernosum. In order to ensure that such an injury is not missed, it is necessary to have a high index of suspicion to diagnose this condition.
Result: Patient underwent an emergency repair of penile fracture.
Conclusion: We hereby, report a rare case of accidental, non-masturbatory, self-inflicted penile fracture which was diagnosed promptly based on clinical assessment, confirmed radiologically and managed surgically, resulting in a good long-term clinica
ASSESSMENT OF TOTAL CARDIOVASCULAR RISK USING WHO/ISH RISK PREDICTION CHART AMONG ADULTS IN RURAL AREAS OF MYSURU: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
No full textBackground:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in rural India, where preventive healthcare infrastructure remains underdeveloped. Myocardial infarction and stroke are among the deadly events that are caused by a combination of risk factors that are present in the majority of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study aimed to estimate the 10-year CVD risk among adults in rural Mysuru using the WHO/ISH risk prediction charts, a practical tool designed for low-resource settings.
Methodology:
This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted over three months (January 2025- March 2025), involving 172 study participants from the rural field practice area affiliated with the Department of Community Medicine at JSS Medical College, Mysuru. A convenient sampling method was used to select the study participants. Data were collected through a house-to-house visit using the semi-structured questionnaire and the WHO/ISH risk prediction chart (non-laboratory based) for the South East region to assess the participants\u27 CVD risk.
Results:
The mean age of the 172 study participants was 59.24 + 5.52 years. The proportion of male participants and female participants was 114 (66%) and 58 (34%), respectively. Based on WHO/ISH charts, moderate cardiovascular risk increased with age, particularly among those over 60 years, 17 (35.4%), although the trend was not statistically significant (p = 0.617). Gender and smoking status showed no significant association with high-risk categories, though females 3 (5.2%) and non-smokers 1(9.1%) had slightly higher high-risk proportions compared to males 2 (1.8%) and smokers 4 (2.5%).
Conclusion:
The study highlights the utility of the WHO/ISH risk prediction charts in identifying cardiovascular risk, early screening and targeted interventions focusing on these modifiable risk factors are essential to reduce the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases in rural populations.
Keywords: Cardiovascular risk, WHO/ISH Risk Chart, Rural population, Hypertensio