The sugar industry is one of the earliest and most successful users of biomass for commercial energy production. Sugar cane harvesting by burning is an environmental health issue due to respiratory effects of smoke. The present study is to investigate the current situation concerning sugarcane burning as a potential cause of disease in affected individuals of households in Uitvlugt and Ogle, Guyana. A total of 50 households investigated at each study site, results showed that there were no chronically exposed households to sugarcane smoke and soot for the study site used as the control when compared to the study site at Ogle and Uitvlugt. Out of 50 a total of fifteen households investigated at parfait harmony which reported the presence of respiratory disease within their households; asthma and bronchitis was the most commonly reported. Ogle showed the least number of nine, and Uitvlugt showed the highest number of twenty three, both with asthma being the most common. Uitvlugt showed a complete total of fifty households reporting dermatological problems, they all complained of unbearable itching when exposed to the sugarcane soot. Ogle reported one incidence of this, and Recht door zee (control site) reported nil. In the case of cardiovascular problems, Uitvlugt showed the highest incidence of thirty seven, and both Ogle and Recht door zee (control site) showed five. Cancer was reported by nine households in Uitvlugt, two in Recht door zee (control site), and nil in Ogle. To conclude, there is a high prevalence of chronic exposure to sugarcane smoke and soot in Uitvlugt, and negligible prevalence of chronic exposure to sugarcane smoke and soot in Ogle. There is a high prevalence of these diseases in Uitvlugt, followed substantially less by Recht door zee (control site), and Ogle having a very small prevalence.

Blood is a fluid which we have in our bodies that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body and also waste to be eliminated from the body. ABO and Rh blood group system is the most important system in transfusion and organ transplants. Though, many studies have been conducted in various parts of India to determine the local ABO and Rh distribution, no Indian study has so far been conducted to explore the South Indian especially Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry ABO and Rh distribution. The present study made an attempt to provide data on ABO and Rh blood group distribution across Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. A total of 25,000 subjects of college students were included in this study and ABO and Rh (D) grouping was performed on all these samples. Data on the frequency of ABO and Rh(D) blood groups was expressed in simple numbers and percentages. The present study explored Among the ABO grouping system the highest frequency of blood group was found to be group O [10023(40.09%)], followed by group B [7447(29.79%)], and group A[6393(25.57%)]. The least common blood group was AB group [1137(4.55%)]. 94.69% Rh antigen was detected and the prevalence of Rh – ve was 5.13%. Of the 25000 individuals, the most common blood group was O followed by B and A and the least blood group was AB. The present study provides information about the relative distribution of various ABO blood grouping in the Tamil nadu and Pondicherry. This vital information may be helpful in planning for future health care blood transfusion services.

Background: Thyroid dysfunction is relatively a common disease which affects people, irrespective of their age and gender. Hypothyroidism is a clinical syndrome resulting from deficiency of thyroid hormones, which in turn results in a generalized slowing down of the metabolic processes. Newly diagnosed hypothyroidism has been reported to be associated with inflammation, dyslipidemia which leads to CV risk. hs-CRP is a marker of subclinical inflammation and a predictor of CVD. Vitamin D deficiency is involved in autoimmune diseases, metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. Recent evidence has demonstrated an association between low vitamin D status and autoimmune thyroid diseases. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare vitamin D, hs CRP levels and lipid profile with that of thyroid profile among newly diagnosed hypothyroid subjects. Materials and methods: A total of 70 subjects with the clinical features and investigative reports suggestive of hypothyroidism and newly diagnosed as hypothyroid patients in General Medicine department, Meenakshi medical college, kanchipuram, were compared with 70 healthy controls. Results: The levels of vitamin D were significantly reduced compared to controls and negatively correlate with TSH in hypothyroid cases. hs-CRP levels were significantly increased and positively correlate with TSH in hypothyroid patients. Total cholesterol and TGL levels were significantly higher compared to control group and positively correlate with TSH in hypothyroid cases but the level of HDL was significantly reduced compared to controls and negatively correlate with TSH in hypothyroid patients. Conclusion: Our results indicated that newly diagnosed hypothyroid patients become an important entity due to possible link between diagnosed hypothyroid patients and cardiovascular risk factors, especially lipid abnormalities and alteration of BMI levels. Patients with hypothyroidism suffered from hypovitaminosis D and also significant association between TSH and hs-CRP is an important finding in this study.