Comparative study was conducted to observe the efficacy of different feeding regimes on growth of Channa punctata. Six iso- proteinous diets were prepared by using different agro industrial by-products. Maximum weight gain was recorded with diet having 66.75% rice bran, 11.50% mustard cake, 23.0% groundnut cake, 5% molasses, 1.5% vitamin-mineral mixture and 0.5% salt with specific growth rate of 0.408. The experimental fish recorded the value of exponent ‘b’ in the range of 2.7675 to 4.3922. The condition factor ‘K’ of all experimental fish was above 1.0 (1.094- 1.235) indicating robustness or well being of experimented fish.

No abstract

Thyroid function tests are very important for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with thyroid dysfunction. The guidelines recommend serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) as the single most reliable test to diagnose all common forms of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The aim of this study was to analyze the ordering pattern for thyroid function tests by physicians and the analysis of results based on the clinical history. The mean age of the patients was 32.5 ± 6.5 years. Majority of samples (87.7% of total) were received from the departments of Medicine and Gynae. Thyroid profiles (47.5%) were ordered more frequently as compared to TSH only (46%). There was no significant difference in the percentage of normal reports for both types of tests. 77.8% of TFT and 76.6% of TSH samples had results within the reference range. The percentage of abnormal results was 13.7% in the patients who were screened for thyroid disorders. There is a need to redefine the case definition for thyroid dysfunction and order the appropriate test in a rational and cost effective manner.

Overnight fasting samples of 1,031 apparently healthy people of Punjab visiting the hospital over a period of 3 years were tested for serum lipid profile. The mean ± SD of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol in mg/dl were 182.2 ± 33.9, 122.4 ± 33.4, 44.1 ± 6.8, 113.9 ± 32.0, 24.6 ± 7.1 respectively. When these subjects were grouped according to age and sex, no appreciable difference was observed between most of the groups. Serum triglycerides were found to be low and HDL-C was high in females when compared with males of similar age and vice versa. With advancing age, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were found to be higher in women. The present study suggests that the obtained lipid values should be taken into consideration during clinical evaluation.

No abstract