This paper reports on a detailed phytosociological analysis of forests in the NW catchment of the Gola River in Kumaun Himalaya,' E. Fourteen sites and 56 stands at elevations ranging from 1 200 to 2 523 m and covering the following five forest types were investigated: Pinus roxburghii, mixed, Quercus leucotrichophora, Q. lanuginosa, and Q. floribunda. The basal cover of the forests differed according to slope position and aspect. The three oak forests had more basal cover than the other two, and Q. lanuginosa had the most. The performance of individual tree and shrub species and the number of saplings and seedlings differed according to slope position and aspect. The mixed forest had the greatest tree diversity, and among the others diversity increased with increasing basal cover. The diversity of trees, saplings, and herb layer was greatest on aspects with intermediate temperature and moisture conditions; whereas that of shrubs and seedlings increased towards the cooler (and wetter) and warmer (and drier) exposures. There was a positive relation between the diversity of shrubs plus seedlings and trees plus saplings in P. roxburghii and mixed forests; whereas this relationship was inverse in the three oak forests. In general, the dominance-diversity curves for the tree layer followed a geometric series conforming to the niche pre-emption situation in communities of low diversity. Among the forests, the regeneration was best in Q. lanuginosa and worst in Q. leucotrichophora.

This study deals with the regeneration status of certain tree components of forests in the northwestern catchment of the river Gola in Kumaun Himalaya and explores possible compositional changes in time.Pinus roxburghii, Quercusfloribunda and Quercus lanuginosa in their respective forest types had a stable population structure with a large percentage of young individuals (seedlings) and relatively few old ones, indicating that these species are frequent reproducers. The girth class distribution of the individuals of Quercus leucotrichophora in the Quercus leucotrichophora forest suggests that this species is likely to disappear gradually. In this forest, although forest composition will remain unchanged for some time, a complete absence of seedlings of any species shows the possibility of its complete replacement by a scrub or a grassland vegetation. In the mixed forest, the dominant species, viz., Quercus leucotrichophora, Persea odoratissima and Bauhinia retusa did not have saplings/seedlings, indicating a possible change in forest composition in the near future when Sapium insigne, Cocculus laurifolius, Celtis eriocarpa and Acer oblongum are likely to gain dominance. Finally, suggestions are made to explain the poor regeneration of Quercus leucotrichophora.

Lipomas are the slow growing soft tissue tumors of benign nature. They commonly grow on torso and extremities but may also develop in head and neck region. Rarely lipomas can grow to acquire gigantic proportions, turning into an entity termed as giant lipoma. Such lipomas are entitled to immediate attention as they have a relatively high malignant potential. We report a rare case of giant cervical lipoma in an elderly gentleman, followed by a brief discussion on diagnosis and management of the disorder.

Virulence system of Salmonella is very complex as many genes are involved in contributing the virulence of Salmonella. Some of the genes are involved in enhancing the invasion of organism in host defense system; some are playing their role in survival and replication of organism inside the host, while some genes are involved in the production of molecules that produce the clinical symptoms of the disease. Broadly, we can classify virulence genes into two categories: genes that are located on the virulence contributing plasmid like spvc gene and genes that are chromosomal in nature like stn. On chromosome, virulence genes are located in various clusters, which are known as Salmonella pathogenicity islands and till today seventeen pathogenicity islands have been identified. The genes located on these pathogenicity islands produce several effector molecules, which assist in invasion, replication and survival of Salmonella inside the host. The role of plasmid is still not very clear, but it is presumed that the genes located on virulence plasmids affect the intracellular growth of Salmonella in macrophages. Though lot of research work has been carried out to understand the virulence regulation system of Salmonella, still many questions are to be answered to decode the virulence regulation of Salmonella.

Schwannoma is a benign tumour of peripheral nerve sheath. It usually arises from head, neck, and trunk. Retroperitoneal schwannoma is a rare entity, accounting for only 0.3–3% of total schwannomas. Majority of retroperitoneal schwannomas reported in literature have a diameter of 5 to 15 cm. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult due to low frequency, nonspecific clinical course, and nonspecific imaging features. Histology usually provides definitive diagnosis. Schwannomas are solitary, well-circumscribed, and noninvasive, so complete surgical excision provides good result. We report a case of a 23-year-old male, who presented with progressive abdominal distension and intermittent episodes of intestinal obstruction. CECT was suggestive of huge solid-cystic mass in abdominopelvic region. Image guided percutaneous aspiration revealed around 1 litre of frank pus and FNAC was suggestive of abscess. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a large 32 × 28 × 26 cm mass with solid and cystic components containing 1 litre of pus. Histological features of tumour were suggestive of benign schwannoma and immunohistochemistry for S-100 was positive. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. We report this case of a retroperitoneal schwannoma because of giant size, rare location, unusual presentation, and diagnostic dilemma.

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