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Background: Allergic eye diseases are the commonest causes of ocular morbidity worldwide. To choose the best therapy in allergic conjunctivitis, understanding of underlying mechanisms implicated in triggering the allergy is very important. Olopatadine with a wide spectrum has proven to be very effective in allergic conjunctivitis. The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of ophthalmic solutions of olopatadine 0.2% once daily, olopatadine 0.1% twice daily and sodium cromoglycate 2% four times daily in allergic conjunctivitis for 3 weeks. Methods: This was a prospective, single centre study enrolling 304 patients with allergic conjunctivitis attending ophthalmology clinics. Subjects were assessed for ocular signs and symptoms at 3 visits-baseline, week 2, week 3. The change from baseline in the mean scores of itching and redness at 3 weeks was primary outcome variable. Results: The reduction in signs and symptoms were statistically significant in all the three groups (p <0.001). Both the olopatadine receiving groups were better than sodium cromoglycate receiving group in reducing ocular signs and symptoms by pairwise comparison by wilcoxon signed rank test. Conclusions: Olopatadine ophthalmic solution is better than sodium cromoglycate ophthalmic solution in reducing the ocular signs and symptoms in allergic conjunctivitis.

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Introduction: Due to stigma, the transgender (TG) population experiences socioeconomic and health disparities, including decreased access to care. Use of gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) may place TG individuals at increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. The objective of this study is to identify the baseline CV risk of TG individuals presenting for gender affirming care. Methods: This was a retrospective study of TG patients seeking GAHT from a multi-disciplinary transgender program. Patients were included if they had not yet initiated GAHT. Once patients were identified, the EMR was queried for the following data: demographics, medical history, vitals, medications, and laboratory results. The ACC/AHA ASCVD and QRISK3 risk scores were calculated for all patients who did not have documented CV disease. Results: 427 patients met inclusion criteria. Demographics are in Table 1. Of the patients, 237 (55.4%) had a chronic medical condition. The incidence of undiagnosed hypertension and hyperlipidemia was 6.8% and11.3% respectively, and of these cases, only 64.4% and 24.1% were on appropriate therapies. Mean ASCVD risk and QRISK3 for ages 40-65 was 8.3% and 12.2%, respectively. Mean QRISK for ages 25-39 years was 4.6%. Of those patients who fell into intermediate or high risk categories, there was limited statin use (Figure 1). Conclusions: TG individuals presenting for GAHT have elevated CV risk, including high rates of undiagnosed and untreated CV risk factors with inadequate CV prevention. They appear to be at higher risk than their age matched historical cohorts regardless of gender.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), as a cereal grain, is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in Asia and Africa. Rice production is often subjected to several biotic and abiotic stresses. Rice sheath blight is one of the most destructive diseases causing economic losses in rice yields and affecting quality worldwide. Twenty soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of rice crop from different regions of Northern Karnataka. Trichoderma spp. were isolated from the rhizospheric soil samples. The antagonistic potential of Trichoderma spp. was studied using dual culture technique. Among twenty strains of Trichoderma the highest inhibition (>50%) was recorded in nine strains which ranged from 54.20 to 65.10 per cent. Trichoderma harzianum recorded highest seed germination (100%), root length (13.73 cm), shoot length (8.64 cm) and seedling vigour index. In pot culture experiment, the Trichoderma strains significantly improved the growth parameters such as root length, shoot length and number of tillers per plant. Among the different treatments, seed treatment + root dipping + foliar spray with T. harzianum strain was highly effective in increasing the shoot length, root length and seedling vigour index at 30, 60 and 90 days after sowing. This strain was found highly effective in inhibiting the pathogen and promoting the growth of rice plants.