Being poor man's apple, banana has a wide popularity worldwide. It's one of the important horticultural crops used irrespective of rich and poor alike. Manipur along with the other states of Northeast India harboured with plenty of wild and cultivated species of banana that are not fully explored. A data base named DEBDOM has been developed here describing the diversity of banana resources of Manipur and it comprises twenty eight genotypes of Musaceae. The database DEBDOM provides a sophisticated web base access to the details of the taxonomy, morphological characteristics, utility as well as sites of collection of Musa genotypes, and it would have contribute as a potential gene pool sources for the conservation, sustainability as well as for crop improvement in the future breeding programmes.

Availability

http://ibsd.gov.in/debdom/

Despite advances in imaging techniques, the detection of vegetative foreign bodies in soft tissues remains a difficult and sometimes even a challenging task. Clinical evaluation of such patient may present several months or even years after the initial injury and clinician may fail to elicit an antecedent skin puncture. X-ray examination will miss radiolucent foreign bodies. A 15-year-old boy presented with a draining non-healing sinus at the lateral aspect of his right thigh for 9 months. Musculoskeletal ultrasonography was ordered after ruling out chronic osteomyelitis to detect possible lesions around the thigh. High-frequency linear ultrasonic probe readily detected an elongated foreign body within the vastus lateralis muscle. A long piece of wood was confirmed at surgery. Non-healing sinus with normal finding in radiograph following old trauma should raise the suspicion of implanted radiolucent foreign body/bodies. The role of diagnostic ultrasound as a valuable screening tool for the detection of foreign body is briefly reviewed.

The rich wealth of Citrus genetic resources makes India to enjoy a remarkable position in the “Citrus belt of the world”. We have developed CIBMAN, a unique database on Citrus biodiversity of Manipur which comprises 33 accessions collected through extensive survey for more than three years. CIBMAN provides integrated access to Citrus species through sophisticated web interface which has following capabilities a) morphological details, b) socio-economic details, c) taxonomic details and d) geographical distribution. Morphological variability among Citrus accessions is due to variance in their genome which contributes to diverse agronomical traits and diverse bioactive compounds of high value. This diverse gene pool can be potential source for genetic improvement of existing cultivars and rootstocks. Systematic collection, characterization and conservation of the underutilized or lesser exploited varieties is required for incorporating in breeding program and conserve the germplasm from ever going on genetic erosion. This database will be useful for scientific validations and updating of traditional wisdom in bioprospecting aspects especially industrialization of Citrus found in the state. Further, the features will be suited for detailed investigation on potential medicinal and edible Citrus that make CIBMAN a powerful tool for sustainable management.

Availability

http://ibsd.gov.in/cibman

Summary

Cerebral mycotic aneurysms (MAs) also called infective aneurysms, are uncommon and are usually encountered in patients with infective endocarditis. These aneurysms often present with intracranial hemorrhage. MAs may resolve on treatment with antibiotics alone. However prognosis with medical management alone is unpredictable. Good prognosis with surgery has been reported for single accessible ruptured MAs. However surgery is associated with significant morbidity. Endovascular treatment of MAs along with appropriate antibiotics is emerging as an acceptable option for these patients.

We describe two cases of infective endocarditis complicated by ruptured MA treated successfully by liquid embolic glue material.