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Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan), the essential vegetarian protein diet of India is yielding lesser than as potential. The major constraints for productivity of pigeonpea are inadequate availability of seeds of high yielding short duration improved varieties, biotic and abiotic stress and poor crop management. To utilize the genomic resources for yield improvement it is necessary to evaluate the pigeonpea germplasm for yield traits and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. The present investigation led to the identification of better performing lines based on yield. A total collection of 2000 accessions were subjected to initial evaluation. From these 2000 accessions better performing lines were selected for crossing and generation of mapping populations. Initial data was evaluated to identify better performing accessions over the check varieties used in evaluation. Based on days to first flowering, days to 50 per cent flowering and days to maturity parental lines for crossing were identified. Among selected accessions IC33671 and Palamedu local were found to have short stature and early maturing independently. These selected accessions were crossed and progenies were evaluated to identify high yielding individuals. The resultant high yielding determinant short duration crop DG (RG) 55 has been evaluated for its performance under multiple locations and identified to yield up to 15 per cent more than the better performing check varieties Asha and APK1.

Introduction: Incisional hernia is one of the common complications following abdominal surgery in patients undergoing laparotomy. Various surgical procedures are performed by creating a potential space and placing a foreign body (mesh), which may render the wound susceptible for many postoperative complications. It is clinically important to evaluate the efficacy of Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (INPWT) in reducing wound complications. Aim: To compare the efficacy of INPWT dressing with traditional gauze dressing in reducing postoperative complications following meshplasty in incisional hernia repair. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based randomised controlled trial, conducted in the Department of General Surgery, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, India, from October 2013 to July 2015. 64 consenting patients with incisional hernias undergoing meshplasty were included in this study. After being randomised into the two study groups, they had their postoperative wounds dressed with either INPWT (Group A) for five days, or traditional gauze (Group B) based dressings. Operative parameters like duration of surgery, type of dissection and type of skin sutures used were studied and analysed. Also, postoperative outcomes like Surgical Site Infection (SSI), seroma, duration of drain, hospital stay were analysed using Chi-square or Fisher’s-exact test. Results: Out of total 64 patients, there was a statistically significant reduction in the volume of drain (p=0.004) and duration of wound drainage (p=0.029) with the use of INPWT. There was also a reduction in the incidence of SSI (6.7% vs 17.6%) and seroma (6.7% vs 11.8%) and the duration of postoperative hospital stay (6.03±1.99 days vs 7.09±2.31 days) in the INPWT group, which were however not statistically significant. Age, comorbidities, Body Mass Index (BMI), duration of surgery, type of dissection and type of skin sutures were not found to have any effect on the parameters assessed. Conclusion: Incisional negative pressure wound therapy in postoperative wounds, following meshplasty for incisional hernia significantly reduces the volume and duration of wound drainage. It also reduces the incidence of SSI, seroma and the duration of hospital stay

The ectopic tissue of the thyroid gland along the descent of thyroglossal duct is a rare congenital aberration with or without the presence of normal thyroid gland. Single or dual ectopic thyroid has been reported. Three ectopic focuses at different locations are extremely rare. We present a rare case report of twenty years old female who presented with swelling over the anterior aspect of the neck mimicking thyroglossal cyst. Up on imaging evaluation ectopic thyroid at three different levels were diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) neck. Hence surgery was avoided and patient was managed with thyroxine supplement and follow up.