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Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is the beat-to-beat variation in time of consecutive heartbeats. It is one of the indicators of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function. The ANS control of the cardiovascular system in obesity and hypertension remains controversial. Aims and Objectives: The objectives of the study were to analyze the effects of isotonic exercise on frequency domain indicators of HRV in young obese adults with parental history of hypertension and compare the same with that of normal controls along with an assessment of their recovery. Materials and Methods: Normotensive subjects in the age group of 18-22 years were selected and classified into two groups, based on body mass index and parental history of hypertension. Electrocardiogram was recorded before exercise, immediately after exercise and during recovery using powerlab. Result: Statistically significant variations were observed when values of low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and LF/HF ratio were compared in all the three conditions. Obese students with positive history of parental hypertension reflected a sympathovagal imbalance that exaggerated during exercise with delayed recovery. Conclusion: This study reveals the importance of vagal inhibition during exercise. It has also enabled us to detect cardiovascular autonomic imbalance that is exaggerated during exercises in young obese subjects who are genetically susceptible and more prone to develop hypertension later in life.

Introduction and Aim: Attention plays a huge role in cognitive processes like comprehension and reasoning. Lack of focused attention and easy distractibility adversely affects learning. It has been observed that the optimal attention span of medical students was about twenty minutes which is not quiet adequate. There is a need for improving attention of learners to sustain their ability to focus. Yoga addresses this need. Hence this study was taken up to assess the effectiveness of yoga on sustained and divided attention in Medical students. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional, interventional study done on sixty healthy  volunteer Medical Students in the age group of 18-22 years. Thirty volunteer students formed the yoga group and thirty participated in the study but did not perform yoga. Attention tests namely, Digit vigilance test, Colour trail test 1 and 2 were administered for all participants. Yoga training was conducted by yoga expert with a curated yoga module for one hour daily evening for 30 hours. Same tests were repeated following intervention. Results: A significant reduction in the completion timings of all attention tests were observed post intervention in the yoga group.  A reduction in the number of errors in DVT was also noted in the same group. Conclusion: A pronounced improvement in sustained and focused attention along with enhanced attention control processing, was observed post intervention. This indicates that the yoga module has been effective in improving the mental focus of Medical Students.  Regular Yoga practice complements in improving attention in medical students thus facilitating their academic performance.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most prevalent, multifactorial, heterogeneous and complex disorders that affects up to 1 in 5 people over their lifetime. It significantly reduces patients' quality of life. Individuals diagnosed with IBS have "low-grade intestinal inflammation", and increased intestinal permeability. This can create an electrolyte imbalance. This study was taken up as there is a paucity of literature and controversial reports on serum electrolytes in IBS. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to estimate serum electrolyte levels in patients with IBS and to compare the same with that of normal healthy adults. Materials and methods: This study was conducted on 108 individuals in the age group of 18-60 years of whom 54 were diagnosed IBS cases and 54 were normal controls. Estimation of serum electrolytes was done with the collected venous blood samples using the Ion selective electrode technique in an electrolyte analyzer. Results: Near normal mean serum sodium levels and a slight decrease in mean potassium level with a statistically significant increase in the mean serum chloride were the findings observed in our study group when compared with the controls. Conclusion: IBS remains an enigmatic cause of significant distress, morbidity and disability. Our study implies that serum electrolyte levels are not greatly altered in IBS cases probably due to the rapid transit in colon, mucoidal consistency and small volume of stools. Lack of specific biomarkers adds to its complexity. Hence a multipronged approach is essential to improve the health related quality of life in these patients. Clinical significance: Since this functional disorder is highly associated with significant emotional distress, impaired health-related quality of life, disability and high health care costs, this study tries to understand the possible changes that can be incorporated in the diet or serum electrolyte supplementation in IBS cases.

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