There is high incidence of cervical cancer in Bihar, India. Vaccination for cervical cancer in developed countries has played a crucial role in limiting the incidence rate of cervical cancer worldwide. In consideration of debate on clinical efficacy of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine in India, study on the prevalence of high risk HPV 16/18 strains in different regions of the nation becomes very crucial. Few individual states have started vaccination but centralised vaccination program does not exist due to lack of sufficient genotypic study of Human Papilloma Virus in different parts of India. Bihar is the third most populous state of India and HPV 16/18 distribution has not been reported yet. The nationwide data of HPV 16/18will help to develop a unified centralised vaccination program. We carried out a distribution study of high risk HPV type 16 and 18 in cervical cancer patients attending a tertiary care hospital of Bihar, India.HPV 16/18 types were analysed in cervical cancer tissues (n = 96) of patients attending the regional cancer hospital of Bihar. Tissue samples were analysed for HPV 16 and HPV 18 using a Real Time PCR technique. The results suggest very high prevalence of HPV 16/18. HPV was identified in all the samples (96/96). About, 74 (77.08%) samples presented with HPV 16 whereas, 16 (16.67%) of the samples presented with HPV 18. 6 Co-infection was presented in 6 (6.25%) of the samples of cervical cancer tissues. HPV 16/18 prevalence is more in the women aged between 41 to 61 years.We report 100% prevalence of HPV16/18 in the cervical cancer tissue samples. A way to minimise this gynaecological concern would be to introduce prophylactic vaccines and early screening in the state of Bihar. The data generated would be crucial in drafting for community screening of HPV. We strongly emphasize the prophylactic HPV Vaccination against HPV 16 to control the alarming rate of cervical cancer in one of the most populous state of India, Bihar.

Globally, ~ 300 million people are exposed to arsenic poisoning while in India an estimated 70 million people are affected by consumption of arsenic contaminated water. The state of Bihar is an endemic belt for arsenic contamination in groundwater affecting over 10 million people with moderate to serious health manifestations. Life threatening disease like cancer is not uncommon now, and carcinoma type of cancer cases are on the rise. Breast cancer incidences in the state follows closely with more and more women getting affected. Approximately, 23% of the cancer types in women are related to breast cancer, diagnosed at a fairly advanced stage (III or IV) of the disease. The etiology of the disease is not clearly known though faulty lifestyle and genetic makeup cannot be ruled out. The present study attempts to derive a relation between increasing breast cancer cases with the sustained arsenic intake in the second most populated state of the country. Pathologically confirmed, female breast cancer patients (n = 55) from across the state were included in the study. Sampling of the breast tissue, blood, hair and toe nail was carried out by the surgical oncology department of the institute. As a part of cross-sectional study, (n = 12) female breast benign cases were taken as the control group and their biological samples were also collected. All the samples as per the protocol of NIOSH were digested and analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. For the epidemiological parameter study, their age, type of malignancy, stage and demographic information was compiled. The results were correlated with the arsenic concentration in groundwater as per their endemic status and anomalous values on GIS platform. The role of geological studies to establish the morpho-stratigraphic control and aquifers with higher concentration was brought to use. The results are fairly indicative of the high correlation of anomalous concentration of arsenic with the sample population with diagnosed malignancy as compared to the control group. The maximum arsenic concentration observed in the biological samples in blood was 1856µg/L, in breast tissue 446.4µg/Kg, in hair 1296·9µg/Kg and in toenail 621·83µg/Kg respectively. The scattered plots correlate the relationship between age of the breast cancer patients with arsenic contamination, while the geospatial distribution positively correlates with the districts with increased arsenic endemicity in a predominantly alluvium dominated country. The high arsenic contamination in the biological samples of the breast cancer patients is an indicative marker to the possible relation of the disease to arsenic, as compared to the control population exposed to a much lesser toxicity. Consumption of water with more than 10 ppb arsenic contamination over a sustained longer time span has possibly exposed the population to a larger threat to disease as inferred from the findings. The disease breeding as a silent killer with reduced or unnoticeable symptoms upto a fairly advanced stage has further accentuated the problem. The present study thus endeavours to identify a significant relation of the disease with sustained intake of arsenic consumed through water and food products laden with anomalous concentration.

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Leishmania is an intracellular digenetic obligate parasite spread by insects and poses grave health issues throughout the world. Extensive use of antimony compounds as drugs poses high toxicity and cost and therefore, a position has been identied for herbal medicine. This study has been carried out to explore the developmental biochemical characteristics of Leishmania donovani promastigote. In addition, the mode of action of Datura stramonium (Solanaceae) plant extract on promastigote form of leishmania have been examined. Friedman's repeated measures analysis showed that 96hr of development is the junction point in promastigotes ontogeny. Post 96hr, it grows with a long stationary phase with higher enzymatic activities viz., acid phosphatase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione (oxidized and reduced). Total protein estimated, showed a linear relationship (R2 = 0.999). Phytochemical screening of extracts showed the presence of alkaloid, avonoid, xed oil and fats, saponin, tannin and phenolic compounds etc, and showed an effectual free radical scavenging in the DPPH assay with an IC50 value of extract of D. stramonium (55.63 µg/ml). A concentration of 250 µg/mL of the plant extract completely inhibited the L. donovani promastigotes in vitro while concentrations of 50 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL decreased the survival level by 25-50%. Our ndings corroborate the ethnopharmacological use of this plant for the treatment of Leishmaniasis. Also, our results are promoters as potential sources to search antileishmanial bioactive agents.