Onychomycosis is a non-dermatophytic (1%) fungal infections of the nail plates. Among the nondermatophytes, Yeast like- C. albicans, C. tropicalis and moulds like- Scedosporium spp., Lomentospora spp., Cladosporium spp., Syncephalastrum spp., Quambalaria spp., Scopulariopsis spp., Scytalidium spp., fusarium spp. and Aspergillus spp. may be responsible for Onychomycosis. Here in, we report a case of total dystrophic onychomycosis caused by Syncephalastrum recemosum in a 47 year old male, who worked as laborer in waterworks plant and he was getting regular intermittent trauma to nails time to time. Syncephalastrum racemosum was isolated from nail clippings and scrapings on SDA and conrmed by KOH, calcoour white , culture and LPCB wet mount. Patient got complete improvement given by oral therapy of terbinane with combination of uconazole as a pulse therapy for 6 months. This case is being reported due to the rarity of causative organism for onychomycosis with a novel approach in its treatment.

Virtual autopsy, also known as digital autopsy or post-mortem imaging, is an innovative approach of conducting post-mortem examinations without conventional surgical dissection. This technology has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional autopsies in recent years, with the potential to provide more comprehensive and less invasive examinations of deceased individuals. The utility, effectiveness, and restrictions of virtual autopsy in forensic medicine are all covered in this paper, along with a discussion of the various imaging modalities used in virtual autopsy, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and their individual benefits and drawbacks. This paper also emphasized on the potential benefits of virtual autopsy, including faster turnaround times, decreased costs, and improved safety for pathologists and technicians and also the challenges and limitations of virtual autopsy, including the need for specialized training and expertise, limited access to technology in certain areas, and the inability to detect certain types of injuries and lesions is also explored. Virtual autopsy has generally become a useful tool in the field of forensic medicine, providing a quick and effective replacement for traditional autopsies. Virtual autopsy is probably going to be more and more common in the years to come as technology develops and gets better.

Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases persist as a pressing global health challenges, transcending borders and eras. Despite medical advancements, these diseases continue to threaten public health, economies, and societies. This chapter surveys the landscape of emerging infections, exploring their origins, drivers, and the urgent need for a coordinated worldwide response. The 21st century has seen the rapid emergence of novel pathogens and resurgences of familiar diseases. Zoonotic transmission highlights the interconnectedness of human, animal, and ecological health. Globalization accelerates disease spread, necessitating international co-operation. Urbanization, climate change, and antimicrobial resistance compound these challenges. Noteworthy recent infections like SARS, Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 underscore the importance of a proactive approach to disease surveillance, readiness, and containment. The abstract emphasizes the enduring relevance of the 1997 World Health Organization slogan, "Emerging Infectious Diseases: Global Alert, Global Response." In conclusion, these diseases demand constant vigilance, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A fortified defense against infectious diseases is essential for safeguarding global health and well-being.

Here we present a case report on a Leifsonia aquatica (L. aquatica, non-diphtheria Corynebacterium) infection in an apparently immunocompetent patient. The organism was isolated from the collection of a lesion in the thigh that presented 15 days post surgery of a fractured femur. The patient had undergone a surgical procedure for a fractured femur with an external device placed, after which she developed pus discharge from the surgical site. This discharge was not associated with any other symptoms such as fever, malaise, chills, or rigor. Pus was processed conventionally for culture, and sensitivity and identification of organisms were done on an automated system. The organism isolated from the sample was identified as L. aquatica, which is a non-diphtheria coryneform bacteria that is considered a rare cause of infection. It was susceptible to vancomycin, linezolid, teicoplanin, and quinolones. The present case report describes the rare case of L. aquatica from surgical site infection.

IMPORTANCE:Invasive fungal infections have recently become a public health problem, particularly in India following the second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). India harbors the world's largest population of patients suffering from diabetes. What prompted the sudden spike of mucormycosis infections in the COVID pandemic needs investigation.OBJECTIVE:To determine if COVID-19 infection prompted the spike in invasive fungal infections in diabetic population. To determine the long-term outcome of COVID-associated mucormycosis. To determine if COVID-19 infection causes diabetes mellitus transiently.DESIGN:The study was a prospective cohort study comprising patients suffering from mucormycosis. The study was planned from 20 May 2021, until 30 November 2022, to investigate the long-term follow-up (1 year) of mucormycosis patients.SETTING:The study setting was a referral hospital.PARTICIPANTS:All the consecutive patients admitted to this hospital for treatment of mucormycosis were included in the study who consented to it. Intervention(s) (for clinical trials) or exposure(s) (for observational studies): All patients suffering with mucormycosis underwent treatment at this hospital with surgery and injectable systemic antifungal drugs alongside diabetes management.MAIN OUTCOME(S) AND MEASURE(S):Primary outcome measurement was in the form of survival with cure of mucormycosis. Hypothesis being tested was formulated during data collection.RESULTS:The data of 98 participants was collected, but analysis was done after excluding the case of cutaneous mucormycosis (infant patient). Mean age for patients was 55.5 years, varying from 28 to 88 years. In our study, 63.3% of patients with mucormycosis were males and 37.8% were females, of which 55.7% (34) and 58.3% (21) were known diabetics, respectively. Previous history of diabetes mellitus was identified as an underlying comorbid condition in 56.7% of patients, while the rest were diagnosed with new-onset diabetes mellitus. Sugar levels ranged (on admission) from 112 to 494 mg/dL (median 212 mg/dL) for known diabetics and from 132 to 356 mg/dL (median 204 mg/dL) for newly diagnosed diabetics. Other comorbidities included hypertension (19.5%), ischemic heart disease (8.2%), chronic renal illness (3.09%), and one case (1.03%) of postoperative renal cell carcinoma (disease-free). The majority of cases (91.8%) were not vaccinated for COVID-19, while only two patients reported a history of vaccination with two doses, and six others had received only a single dose. At the 1-year follow-up, 57.7% of cases were disease-free, 30.9% had expired, and 11.3% were lost to follow-up. The mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) at the time of admission was found to be statistically significant when compared between known diabetics and newly diagnosed ones [confidence interval (CI)-95%, p ≤ 0.01]. A total of seven patients from the newly diagnosed diabetic group no longer required medicines for diabetes at the end of 1 year (CI-95%, p ≤ 0.01).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:Diabetes mellitus, particularly with poor glycemic control, was the single most important factor associated with and predictor of outcome. Contrary to the popular hypothesis, industrial oxygen and oxygen masks were not the reasons for the mucormycosis pandemic. Additionally, immunization against COVID provided protection not only from severe COVID but also from COVID-associated mucormycosis. It is recommended that patients with mucormycosis be followed for longer periods as a few patients could be suffering from transient diabetes, particularly against the backdrop of a pandemic.

Background: A novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2) that emerged in China in December 2019 has spread rapidly globally to many countries including India and World Health Organization declared it as a pandemic on March 11th, 2020. Aims and Objectives: The current study endeavors to determine the SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate as well as epidemiological, clinical, and diagnostic profiles from the second wave. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all suspected COVID-19 cases from January 2021 to October 2021 presenting at a large testing center for SARS-CoV-2 infection by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Descriptive analysis has been performed for profiling of clinical-epidemiological aspects of suspected cases. Results: A total of 694427 participants were enrolled during the study from January 2021 to October 2021. Overall RT-PCR positivity rate was found to be 1.7% in the year 2021 and the positivity was maximum in April 2021 which represents the second wave of COVID-19 infection in India. In the study population, more than half (57.07%) of the persons screened for COVID-19 infection were between 21 and 40 years of age, and about two-thirds (65.20%) of the persons screened were male followed by 34.79% were female. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 poses a high burden of infections in the community. Males had a higher RT-PCR detection rate as compared to females. The younger age group (<20 years) expressed the least RT-PCR positivity rate and the elderly population (>80 years) expressed the highest positivity rate.

Background and Aims: febrile illnesses are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in India, which are very common in the monsoon and post-monsoon season in tropical countries. Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness (AUFI) is a term usually used to refer to such conditions until diagnosed. This study was conducted to understand the prevalence of mixed infections, and the etiology and seasonal distribution of AUFI cases during the Corona Virus Disease (COVID) pandemic. Materials and Methods: this study was a hospital-based crosssectional study of six months (August 2021 to January 2022). Samples were collected by random sampling method from SN Medical College, Agra, and Mathura District. The diagnosis was made by Rapid Diagnostic Test for Malaria, and ELISA for Dengue, Chikungunya, Leptospira, and Scrub typhus. Results: a total of 9016 non-repetitive serum samples were collected, from males (4657) and females (4359), with a mean age of 42 years. The most common infections were: dengue (26.5%), malaria (0.85%), leptospira (0.54%), scrub typhus (0.32%), and Chikungunya (0.14%). The commonest co-infection was dengue with scrub typhus. Triple infections were also observed. Conclusions: the diversity of clinical presentations and etiological agents with limited diagnostic facilities demonstrates the complexity of AUFI. The knowledge of the local and seasonal distribution of acute febrile illnesses is thus very useful to formulate clinical, diagnostic, and management algorithms for positive outcomes, reducing hospital costs, and burden on healthcare facilities. Further upliftment of health services at the root level is still a long way to go.

The experiment was conducted at Instruction farm, College of Horticulture, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda (U.P.) during the year 2021-2022. The trail consisting of ten treatments (T1 -Thai Ber, T2 -Umran, T3 -Banarasi Karaka, T4 -Seb, T5 -Gola, T6 -Chhuhara, T7 -Kaithali, T8 -Mundia, T9 -Elaichi and T10 –Rashmi). The variability was recorded in fruit shape (ovate oblong, oblong, ovate and round), fruit colour (green, yellow green, golden yellow and green) and pulp colour (creamy white and creamy). The yield attributes variability was observed in fruit length (3.40-5.72 cm), fruit width (2.13-4.20 cm), fruit weight (20.27-48.33 g), fruit volume (21.21-49.25 cc), stone length (1.59-2.80 cm), stone width (0.86-2.07 cm), stone weight (1.41-2.83 g), pulp weight (16.22-44.24 g), pulp and stone ratio (11.31-15.61) and specific gravity (0.95-0.98). The quality attributes parameter also showed wide range of variation in chemical properties i.e., TSS (10.61-16.62 0Brix), ascorbic acid (80.5-115.33 mg/100g), reducing sugars (4.05-7.11 %), non-reducing sugars (3.90-4.75 %), total sugars (7.95-11.86 %), acidity (0.32-0.75 %), protein (0.40-0.70 %) and pH (3.0-5.0). Therefore, on the basis of quality attribute among the different evaluation; the variety T7 (Kaithali), T2 (Umran) and T3 (Banarasi Karaka) found to be superior. These promising varieties can be recommended for commercial cultivation at farmer’s field.

Urbanization is a worldwide trend that has changed economies, landscapes, and communities. It alludes to the process of population concentration in urban regions, which fosters the development of cities and the enlargement of their infrastructure. This article highlights the effects of urbanization on numerous facets of society along with urbanization's causes, products, and implications. Push and pull variables work together to cause urbanization. People are pushed out of rural regions by various circumstances, including a lack of work prospects, poor agricultural production, poverty, and natural catastrophes. Factors that attract people, on the other side, are the allures and possibilities provided by metropolitan regions, such as increased career chances, access to healthcare, education, and attributes of life enhancements. Urbanization has a serious effect on environmental health quality, both positive and negative. While urban areas can provide numerous economic and social opportunities, they also place considerable stress on the environment, leading to various environmental health challenges.

Aim: The aim is to analyze various possible etiological factors for the sudden outbreak of mucormycosis. Methods: A prospective observational study involving consecutive individuals with proven mucormycosis was undertaken at a tertiary care teaching hospital in North India from May 2021 to July 2021. A total of 88 patients with mucormycosis were studied for the demographic profile, COVID-19 status, various risk factors, COVID-19 immunization status, clinical staging of disease, and outcome of patients. Results: Out of 88 patients, 54 (61%) were males and 34 (39%) were females. The mean age of male patients was 50.5 ± 13.8 and female patients was 52.1 ± 14.1. Most of the patients were in stage two, i.e., 45 (51.1%) and 26 (29.5%) in stage three of the disease. Past history of diabetes was present in 49 (55%) patients. Forty-one (46.6%) patients had documented Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) reports in favor of COVID-19 and others had clinical features consistent with COVID-19. Only 1% of patient took COVID-vaccination. Of the total 88 patients, 42 (47%) were on oxygen therapy, 72 (81%) had history of blood transfusion, and 48 (54%) were given steroids. Conclusions: No conclusive etiological factor was identified although few recommendations are suggested for prevention, early diagnosis, and prompt management of mucormycosis in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Background: Dengue is the most widespread mosquito-borne viral infection, found in tropical and subtropical climates worldwide. The World Health Organization has included dengue as one of the 10 threats to global health in 2019 with rapidly evolving epidemiology. Aims and Objectives: Given the limitation of data in regard to dengue burden, we have planned the present study with the objectives to provide a comprehensive overview of the seroprevalence, clinicoepidemiological profile, and serotype of dengue virus in Agra region of Uttar Pradesh. Materials and Methods: We conducted an observational study at viral diagnostic and research laboratory, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, from August to December 2021. Our study included all blood specimens received at virology laboratory from clinically suspected cases of dengue infection. For the identification of serotype, NS1-positive samples were sent to King Georges Medical University, Lucknow. For clinical-epidemiological profile of dengue positive patients, data were obtained from records of 203 patients from our hospital. Results: We received total of 5457 serum samples from suspected patients for dengue serology during the study period. In total, positivity rate was 27.29% (1489/5457) and peak of cases was reported in month of October. Median age of dengue positive cases was 17 years. Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) was diagnosed in almost 41% of patients of 203 patients admitted in our hospital. DEN-2 was reported to be most common serotype (97.1%). In our analsyis, we found that in most patients fall in platelets levels below 50,000 happened during the 5th and 6th day in Dengue fever. Conclusion: We conclude that our study showed higher seroprevalence of dengue in Agra region with the age group of 0–20 years being infected most. DEN-2 was most prevalent circulating strain, which leads to more severe dengue infection.

Background : Despite of having the largest number of medical colleges in the world, India is one of the 57 countries with a human resource for health crises having a major shortage of doctors in primary care. By knowing the career preferences of medical students, the policy makers can influence these choices to ensure a fair distribution of doctors in various branches and in rural/urban areas. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The freshly joined 100 medical entrants in year 2018 were enrolled in this study and asked about their views for joining medicine as career as well as their future dreams. Results: Out of the 100 study subjects, majorities were males (78.0%) and did schooling from private schools (71.0%). The most common reasons/motivations stated by the students to choose medicine as a career was: Desire to serve people (76%). About 95% were interested in some or the other specialization or super-specialization. A larger proportion of female students intend to join the government sector than their male counterparts ( P = 0.003). Non-medical education of the father was significantly related to two findings: the child giving “prestige reason” as the single most important reason for joining MBBS ( P = 0.03) and the child intending to join government sector ( P = 0.001). Conclusion: The medical students enter the noble profession with good intentions of serving the society and joining the public sector and have some basic expectations of job security and good income from their careers. However, majority is naive to the idea of primary care. Key words: Education, medical, undergraduate, medicine, India

Children must be nurtured adequately throughout their formative years to grow up to become valuable members of society. Because children are the most vulnerable group in society, they are more susceptible to various abuses, especially sexual assault. It is a blatant violation of human rights to use children for sexual pleasure, which is the definition of child sexual abuse. The problem worsens quickly and has taken on a global nature, causing physical, emotional, and psychic harm to children when they do not disclose it to adults.

The present research sought to comprehend consumer behaviour throughout the covid-19 timeframe. The pandemic of covid-19 has impacted every area of the Indian economy and consumer behaviour. This pandemic has changed consumer purchasing behavior away from conventional, i.e., offline, venues, and online platforms. This shift boosted the sale of e-commerce companies but the initial days of nationwide lockdown when the cases were increasing in India day by day had to keep their services of delivering goods at home on hold. The lockdown period stopped the economic activities and created a negative impact on consumer behaviour. Consumers across the country were forced to spend only essential commodities, increasing the value of money among consumers. Consumers were noticed more conscious of buying commodities in the market due to the financial crisis. Through this study, we have tried to measure the effect of covid-19 on consumer behaviour and their buying pattern and policy measure taken by Govt of India at the central and state levels to alleviate this pandemic situation.

Introduction: When doctors assume the role of a researcher, then they have to play from both ends – many times, the enthusiasm of research might play with morality of a physician. The quality of research in India is not at par with most countries and it has a publication share of only 1.59%. Objectives: The objectives were to find out the research practices of doctors to identify loopholes in research and recommend rectifications. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional study done with the help of an anonymous online pretested questionnaire. The questionnaire was randomly mailed from a mailing list to 500 doctors of different places and specialties and 100 of them filled the form and participated in the study. Results: Out of the 100 participants, 77 (77%) said that they had received some training or have attended some workshop on research methodology. More than one-fourth of the researchers agreed to modifying data to get desired results and 14% agreed to producing false data owing to the pressure by a supervisor. Almost one-third of the researchers agreed to having deliberately ignored bias or errors in their studies. Twenty-three percent revealed that they do not always take informed consent from their study subjects. More than one-third researchers revealed that they do not seek the permission of the institutional ethics committee (IEC) before commencing a study. The proportion of researchers having low, medium, or high good research practices score is 15.4%, 21.8%, and 62.8%, respectively. Conclusion: Majority of researchers indulge in misconduct, knowing, and unknowingly. These issues need to be tackled through capacity building, training of investigators and IEC members, strengthening of IEC functioning, and encouraging greater community participation.

Background: In April and May 2021, India faced massive second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and then became the hotspots of mucormycosis across globe. Hence, we planned the first analysis of mucormycosis in Uttar Pradesh. Aim and Objectives: coThe objectives were to explore the epidemiology, vaccination status, clinical features, microbiological findings, treatment of mucormycosis and outcome. Material and Methods: This was an observational study of mucormycosis at tertiary care centre of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India from 20 May 2021 to 15 July 2021. Results: 98 patients’ data with mucormycosis was analyzed. Patients had median age of 55 years. COVID-19 infection was present in 69.4% of participants and diabetes mellitus was present as underlying co-morbid condition in more than 85% of patients. 91.8 % of cases were unvaccinated with steroid consumption in almost 60% of patients. R. arrhizus was among the most common agent while we found less commonly reported fungi like R.homothallicus, Apophysomyces, Cunninghamella. 41.8% of cases were successfully treated and 16.3% of cases expired. Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus was labeled as major predisposing factor and most patients were unvaccinated. Awareness about fungal infections, rigorous monitoring of chronic diseases, judicious use of drugs, early diagnosis and prompt treatment is decisive for better outcome.

Introduction: Dengue virus infection is a major public health issue prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical countries all over the world mostly in urban and semi-urban areas. WHO estimates about 50-100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. The present study is aimed to assess the prevalence and seasonal distribution of dengue disease during three consecutive years from 2016-2018 at a tertiary care centre of North India. Method: This is an observational retrospective study conducted on total 6,481 clinical suspected cases referred from indoor and outdoor departments of Medicine and Pediatrics of one of the medical colleges of Agra during the period from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2018. Results: The maximum positivity was recorded in the year 2016 (16.66%), followed by 2017 (14.07%) and 2018(13.56%).Our study shows male preponderance with maximum cases in the year 2018 was recorded in the month of October (22.75%) whereas the lowest in the month of May (1.96%). Most of the cases were in the age group 0-30 years with a male preponderance. The outbreak occurred during the months of August to November indicating vector transmission in the monsoon and post-monsoon season. Conclusion: From the analysis, this study reflects that the numbers of dengue cases in 2016 were maximum and outnumbered the dengue cases among three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018. The peak in dengue positivity was observed during September to October. As this disease affects the population in the monsoon and post monsoon months therefore continuous monitoring of dengue infection is important during the post-monsoon season.

Botryomycosis is a rare chronic suppurative granulomatous bacterial infection, involving the skin and viscera, in which the organisms form granules composed of bacterial masses that are bound to each other [1]. The cutaneous form may present as nodules, abscesses, and sinuses with purulent discharge and grains, that may heal after several months to leave atrophic scars [2]. In 1870, botryomycosis was originally discovered by Otto Bollinger, as a post-castration complication in a horse and in 1884, the name was coined by Sebastiano Rivolta, which refers to its grape like granules (Gr. botryo = bunch of grapes, mykes = fungus) and the mistakenly implied fungal aetiology. The first paper on botryomycosis in humans was published in 1919, which stated Staphylococcus aureus as the aetiological agent, contrary to the initial thoughts and the granules were not composed of mycotic masses, but were the bacteria that adhered to each other [3]. The nomenclature is a misnomer as it is caused by true bacteria and not by fungus [4]. Staphylococcus aureus has been incriminated in 40% cases, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 20% cases, while other organisms have also been reported which include coagulase negative International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 07 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com