June 2010

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CHEMMAG CHEMMAG CHEMMAG 2010

CHEMVIBES, JUNE 2010

GET READY TO TASTE THE RAINBOW !!GET READY TO TASTE THE RAINBOW !!GET READY TO TASTE THE RAINBOW !!GET READY TO TASTE THE RAINBOW !!

Hello friends!!!Hello friends!!!Hello friends!!!Hello friends!!! Do you have an interesting article, an entertaining experience or a scintillating sketch? Then what are you waiting for? Well, it’s that season of the year once again when it’s time to put on your thinking caps and pen down what comes to your mind ! ChemmagChemmagChemmagChemmag, the annual magazine of Chengalpattu Medical College which provides the students and staff a podium to unleash their thoughts. It's the condensed form of our creativity, hard-work, planning and passion for excellence ! We invite your original articles in English, Tamil or Hindi We invite your original articles in English, Tamil or Hindi We invite your original articles in English, Tamil or Hindi We invite your original articles in English, Tamil or Hindi complimented by pictures (preferably digital images) to be published in Chemmag 2010.Chemmag 2010.Chemmag 2010.Chemmag 2010. Please do submit your work by Please do submit your work by Please do submit your work by Please do submit your work by 1111stststst September 2010 September 2010 September 2010 September 2010 to your class to your class to your class to your class representatives or mail them to representatives or mail them to representatives or mail them to representatives or mail them to [email protected]. [email protected]. [email protected]. [email protected].

“ Writing is exploration; Writing is an adventure and most of the time,

you’ll be surprised where the journey takes you !! ”

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MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION EX.OFFICIO PRESIDENT

DR.P.SHANMUGAM, M.S., M.CH.,

DEAN

EX.OFFICIO VICE PRESIDENT

DR.P.PARASAKTHI, M.D.,

VICE PRINCIPAL

TREASURER

DR.RAVI, M.D.,

DEPT. OF PATHOLOGY

STAFF ADVISORS

DR.EDWIN FERNANDO, M.D., D.M.,

DEPT. OF NEPHROLOGY

DR. UMA SHANTHI, M.D., D.G.O.,

DEPT OF O.G

EDITORS & DESIGNERS

P.SUBRAMANI

M.SOWMYA

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CHEMVIBESCHEMVIBESCHEMVIBESCHEMVIBES

F r o m t h e e d i t o r i a l b o a r d . . .F r o m t h e e d i t o r i a l b o a r d . . .F r o m t h e e d i t o r i a l b o a r d . . .F r o m t h e e d i t o r i a l b o a r d . . .

VOLUME 2; ISSUE 3

Hi Friends! We hope all of you did beat the heat and had a fun filled vacation! We thank the final year departments who were kind enough to give the final year students a break by granting them a ‘kutty’ vacation. This issue, we believe might feel fresh to you, since we have cut down long medical articles to interesting smaller ones, taking into consideration the valuable suggestions from the readers. The details of the essay writing contest have been published in this issue– don’t forget to check them out. Unbelievable medical conditions and Mysterious medical conditions are the 2 new sections that have been added– you are going to enjoy them for sure! Watch out for ECHO voice your views in the next issue. We would like you to share with us any interesting happenings during these vacations! So mail us at [email protected]. Happy Reading !!! P.SUBRAMANIP.SUBRAMANIP.SUBRAMANIP.SUBRAMANI M.SOWMYAM.SOWMYAM.SOWMYAM.SOWMYA MAGAZINE SECRETARY JT.MAGAZINE SECRETARY MAGAZINE SECRETARY JT.MAGAZINE SECRETARY MAGAZINE SECRETARY JT.MAGAZINE SECRETARY MAGAZINE SECRETARY JT.MAGAZINE SECRETARY

JUNE 2010

C H E N G A L P A T T U M E D I C A L C O L L E G EC H E N G A L P A T T U M E D I C A L C O L L E G EC H E N G A L P A T T U M E D I C A L C O L L E G EC H E N G A L P A T T U M E D I C A L C O L L E G E

LIFE IS SHORT... MAKE FUN OF IT !

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INSIDE THIS ISSUEINSIDE THIS ISSUEINSIDE THIS ISSUEINSIDE THIS ISSUE

FETUS IN-FETU 5

VIBES MEETS THE VIBRANT 8

MYSTERIOUS MEDICAL

SYNDROMES 13

HIC..HIC..HICCUPS ! 20

MURDER OR SUICIDE ? 23

ESSAY WRITING CONTEST 29

THINK TANK 30


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FETUS IN-FETU

Sanju Bhagat’s stomach was once so swollen he

looked 9months pregnant and could barely breathe. Living

in the city of Nagpur, Bhagat said he’d felt self conscious

his whole life about his big belly. But one night in June

1999, his problem erupted into something much larger

than cosmetic worry.

An ambulance rushed the 36-year old farmer to the

hospital. Doctors thought he might have a giant tumour,

so they decided to operate and remove the source of the

bulge in his belly.

“ Basically, the tumour was so big that it was pressing on his diaphragm

and that’s why he was very breathless”, said Dr. Ajay Mehta of Tata Memorial

Hospital in Mumbai. “ Because of the sheer size of the tumour, it makes it

difficult to operate. We anticipated a lot of problems” he added.

Mehta said that he can usually spot a tumour just after it begins an operation.

But while operating on Bhagat, Mehta saw something he had never

encountered. As he cut deeper into Bhagat’s stomach, gallons of fluid spilled

out- and then something extraordinary happened.

“ To my surprise and horror, I could shake hands with someone inside” he said.

“It was a bit for shocking for me.”

One doctor recalled that day in the operating room. “ He just put his hand inside and he said there are a lot of bones inside. First,

one limb came out, then another limb. Then some part of genitalia, then some

part of hair.”

Inside Bhagat’s stomach was a strange half formed creature that had feet

and hands that were very developed. Its fingernails were quite long.


6

At first glance, it may look as if Bhagat had given birth. Actually,

Dr.Mehta had removed the mutated body of Bhagat’s twin brother from his

stomach. Bhagat, they discovered, had one of the world’s most bizarre medical

conditions- fetus in fetu. It is an extremely rare abnormality that occurs when a

fetus gets trapped inside its twin. The trapped fetus can survive as a parasite

even past birth by forming an umbilical cord like structure that leaches its twin’s

blood supply until it grows so large that it starts to harm the host, at which the

doctors usually intervene.

According to Dr. Mehta, there are fewer than 90 cases of fetus in fetu

recorded in Medical literature.

Fetus in fetu happens very early in twin pregnancy, when one fetus wraps

around and envelops the other. The dominant fetus grows, while the fetus that

would have been its twin lives on throughout the pregnancy, feeding off its host

twin like a kind of parasite. Usually, both twins die before birth from the strain

of sharing a placenta.

Sometime, however, as in Bhagat’s case, the host twin survives and is delivered.

What makes his case so unusual is that no one suspected Bhagat had a twin inside

him for 36 years.

Bhagat said he was very much relieved after his operation. He was not

interested in knowing what Dr. Mehta did to him or seeing what he had removed

from his abdomen.

There was no placenta inside Bhagat- the enveloped parasitic twin had

connected directly to Bhagat’s blood supply. Right after the surgery,

Bhagat’s pain and inability to breathe disappeared and he recovered

immediately.

The case may have been a medical miracle to doctors, but to Bhagat, his

condition had been a source of shame and misery. All his life, people in his village

had mercilessly teased him and told him that he looked pregnant. Ironically,

they were right in a way•


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5 MOST STUPID QUESTIONS

PEOPLE USUALLY ASK IN OBVIOUS

SITUATIONS

• In the bus : A heavy lady wearing pointed high-heeled shoes steps on

your feet...

STUPID QUESTION : Sorry! Did that hurt ??

ANSWER : No, not at all, I’m on local anaesthesia.. Why don’t you try again ?

• At a restaurant: When someone asks the waiter...

STUPID QUESTION : Is the ‘ Paneer Butter Masala’ good ?

ANSWER : No. It’ll be terrible and made of adulterated cement.

Occasionally, we also split on it.

• When a friend announces her wedding, and someone asks...

STUPID QUESTION : Is the guy you’re marrying good ?

ANSWER : No. He’s miserable wife beating and insensitive. It’s just for the

money.

• When you get woken up at midnight by a phone call...

STUPID QUESTION : Sorry.. Were you sleeping ?

ANSWER : No. I was doing a research on whether the Zulu tribes in Africa

marry or not.

• You are smoking a cigarette and a cute girl asks...

STUPID QUESTION : Oh! So you smoke ??

ANSWER : Gosh, it’s a miracle! It was a piece of chalk and now it’s in

flames !!


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SCHOOLING

St.Josephs Elementary School, Chengalpattu

St.Josephs High School, Chengalpattu ( 1st batch of English medium)

COLLEGE

PUC and 1st year B.Sc Zoology in Madras Christian College, Tambaram.

UG

MBBS in Chengalpattu Medical College, 1970, 1st Co-Education batch.

PG

M.D Paediatrics, Stanley Medical College, 1979-81

Sir, Why did you choose this field ?

Initially I wanted to do Dermatology or Radiology. But later I

changed my mind to serve children.

According to you the difference between paediatric and adult

medicine ?

Children are innocent. So they show love & affection outwards

without acting.


A man who lives his childhood every

day, a man of few words, simple, straight

forward and a great teacher – that’s

Dr. Sekar. He shares his experience with

Vibes.

VIBES MEETS THE VIBRANT Interview with DR.Sekar M.D Paediatrics

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CHEMVIBES, MAY 2010

How different is our college from the time you studied here ?

It has improved a lot in various aspects and I’m very happy

about it.

How do you think paediatric diagnosis and treatment has

changed since you first went into practice ?

Technical aspects have improved. So diagnosis and treat-

ment has reached its depth.

How do you keep current and informed about your industry ?

By reading paediatric journals and attending CME

programmes.

Something about your other interests ?

Listening to music- especially classical.

Describe how you handled a stressful situation in the past.

Once a couple came to treat their child. The mother was ar-

rogant and behaved roughly. I did not react and kept quiet. I

treated their child and sent them home. The child’s father re-

turned later and fell at my feet and asked excuse with tears for

his wife’s attitude.

According to you the greatest moment in your life so far ?

Meeting the musical legend M.S.Subbulakshmi and being

served by her and attending 6-8 recitals by her.


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Your strengths?

Love and affection to all.

Your weakness ?

I’m emotional and short tempered.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think

the title should be ?

As the other person is writing the biography, I’ll give him

the full freedom. If he still persists I would choose “ Human

Touches .“

What are the difficulties that you commonly come across in

paediatric field ?

The innocence and ignorance of the parents.

How has life changed after retirement ?

I am ever R.K.Sekar from birth till my last breath. So

neither I nor my life has changed.

What advice do you give the parents in bringing up a child ?

Show your maximum love and affection equally to all your

children. Mistakes and mischiefs should be forgiven and forgot-

ten. Sometimes, when they cross their limits to extremes, minor

punishments is reasonable.


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OLMESARTAN OLMESARTAN OLMESARTAN OLMESARTAN – IN HYPERTENSIONIN HYPERTENSIONIN HYPERTENSIONIN HYPERTENSION

•Serum creatinine C concentration is an alternative measure of kidney function. It is a

more sensitive indicator of early renal dysfunction than creatinine based estimation of

GFR.

Olmesartan decreases serum creatinine C levels and urine albumin : creatinine

ratio in patients with hypertension. This is the first study to show that Olmesartan

decreases serum cystatin C levels as it may counteract end organ damage.

Olmesartan improves myocardial function independent of BP reduction in hypertensive

patients

- Heart vessels 2009 24:94-30

•Olmesartan ameliorates endothelial dysfunction in patients with hypertension or

diabetes

- Vascular health and risk management 2009:5 301-304

•Olmesartan provides robust reduction of urinary protein in normotensive IgA neph-

ropathy patients.

- Journal of nephrology 2009

COMPILED BY S. Nazreen Begam

Celestians 2006

Your advice to students regarding how to deal with

paediatric patients ?

Remember that as you start examining the pa-

tients, they start examining us. Be simple. Don’t be

greedy for money. Work sincerely. Have self

content•

DR.R.SEKAR M.D

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The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly,

and lie about your age !!

CELESTIANS

Fahad — 10 M.Divya — 26 Kailash - 29

STALWARTZ

Yashwanth raj - 6 Akshya - 6 Nikhil - 8

Sumeeth anand - 14 Karthika - 15 Deepalakshmi - 18

ZENPHORIANS

Srinidhi - 1 Kanmani - 10 Deepak - 27

KRENOVIANTZ

Ganesh keshav - 3 Suganya - 7


JUNE JULY

CELESTIANS

Abirami - 4 Shah and - 6 Anand babu Gopikrishnan - 4

Raahavendar - 5 Arvind - 18 Ajay - 27 Anushri - 29

STALWARTZ

Murugavel — 24

ZENPHORIANS

Ajmal - 5 Anjana— 6 Aniruthan — 13

Subashri - 18 Nithya - 22 Dinesh — 31

KRENOVIANTZ

Preetha — 6 Gokulan - 10

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MYSTERIOUS MEDICAL SYNDROMES

MEDICAL STUDENTS' SYMEDICAL STUDENTS' SYMEDICAL STUDENTS' SYMEDICAL STUDENTS' SYNDROMENDROMENDROMENDROME

Medical students' syndrome is a temporary,

hypochondria�like mental condition that strikes medical

students, causing them to believe that they are suffering from

the diseases that they're studying. By some reports, up to

80% of medical students experience it at some point as a

result of studying such frightening diseases in such a highly

suggestible environment.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROMEALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROMEALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROMEALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROME

AIWS is a neurological condition that causes distorted

visuals that make objects appear either much smaller

(micropsia) or larger (macropsia) than they are. It's a

temporary condition that's often associated with migraines,

although it can also be caused by brain tumors and

hallucinogenic drugs.

WALKING CORPSE SYNDRWALKING CORPSE SYNDRWALKING CORPSE SYNDRWALKING CORPSE SYNDROMEOMEOMEOME

Sufferers of walking corpse syndrome, also known as the

Cotard delusion, believe that they are dead, decaying or have

lost body parts or internal organs. In some cases, victims believe

that they don't even exist. Walking corpse syndrome is typically

the result of brain damage or mental illness.


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EXCITING HEALTH NEWS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBEEXCITING HEALTH NEWS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBEEXCITING HEALTH NEWS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE

Researchers in the US have developed a new way of making

synthetic antibodies (" Synbodies ") that offers a cheap, high

throughput alternative to traditional methods, and may also open the

door to new diagnostic tools and treatments.

Compared to conventional methods that start with a pathogen,

injects it into an animal and then waits to see what kind of natural

antibodies develop, the Arizona State University researchers' method

works "backwards" : they synthesized antibodies from random

peptides and then looked for the proteins they might have a high

affinity for.

Antibodies are useful for research too, but they are time-

consuming, difficult and expensive to make, since we have to wait for a

lab animal's immune system to make it. The process starts with a

target protein, which is then injected into the animal whose immune

system hopefully responds by making antibodies. The antibodies, or the

cells that produce them, are then extracted.

Now researchers have developed a way to make antibodies that

works in reverse: you take amino acid sequences (peptides) and link

them together to make a synthetic antibody or "synbody" that binds to

one or more molecules in the human "proteome", the vast repository of

protein molecules that occur in human beings - making the antibody

SYNBODIES


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chemically, then finding out what it's an antibody to.

The researchers said synbodies have the potential not only to

target proteins of disease-causing pathogens, but also to be a useful tool

for research into new diagnostics and treatments.

To test the method they made a high affinity synbody that binds to

AKT-1, a protein that is thought to play a key role in aging, obesity and

cancer.They started with a 20-unit random sequence of amino acids, and

linked them up to make a peptide, rather like stringing beads onto a

necklace.

They then took two peptide "necklaces" and joined them together using a

"chemical scaffold" to make a binding molecule or "ligand". When they

screened it against potential target proteins they found it was highly

attracted to AKT-1.

What was remarkable about this method was that the two halves of

the synbody (the two peptide necklaces) had low affinity to AKT-1,

suggesting that two peptide chains with weak attraction to a given

protein can combine to make a synbody with strong binding properties.

The raw material for the synbody came from a library of 10,000

peptides, each comprising a randomly assembled sequence of amino

acids. The randomness turned out to be the key to all of this, because a

random sequence has more flexibility and degrees of freedom than life

sequences do, explaining that each peptide "necklace" of amino acids is

able to find 2 or 3 points of contact with just about any protein.

When two such peptides are combined to form a synbody, a

high-affinity ligand is produced, displaying specificity for a given protein.

Another advantage of synbodies over biologically produced antibodies,

said the researchers, is that they remain stable over time, which makes

them more attractive for use in diagnostic tools •


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UNBELIEVABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONSUNBELIEVABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONSUNBELIEVABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONSUNBELIEVABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONS

THE MAN WHO NEVER FEELS COLDTHE MAN WHO NEVER FEELS COLDTHE MAN WHO NEVER FEELS COLDTHE MAN WHO NEVER FEELS COLD

Dutchman Wim Hof, also known as the Iceman, is the man who

swam under ice, and stood in bins filled with ice.

He climbed the Mt. Blanc in shorts in the icy cold, harvested

world records and always stands for new challenges.

Scientists can't really explain it, but the 48-year-old Dutchman

is able to withstand, and even thrive, in temperatures that could

be fatal to the average person.•


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MEDTOON

HEALTH TIP

Don't eat late at night as having a late night

meal can make you fat. Recent tests on mice found

that those who eat when they would normally be

asleep put on more weight than others who had meals

at normal times, according to a study in the journal

Obesity•


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MEMORY IS LEARNING THAT PERSISTS MEMORY IS LEARNING THAT PERSISTS MEMORY IS LEARNING THAT PERSISTS MEMORY IS LEARNING THAT PERSISTS ( PART( PART( PART( PART---- II )II )II )II )

Here are a few more points for a better understanding of subjects and

concept based learning, continued from the previous issue

6. Changed Cues

You may have all the information you need stored away in your mind some-

where but be unable to get at it if the right cue is missing. Recall what

happens on tests. You studied the material one way, the test question was

presented in another (cues were changed). If you learn material with too

great dependence upon the phraseology of the textbook, you may be at a loss

to remember some of the material if you cannot recall the exact wording of

the text. As with your outlining assignments, restate or rephrase the ideas in

your own words to insure remembering.

7. Lack of Attention and Effort

The art of memory is the art of attention – that is, attending to the

material WHOLLY. Moreover, there must be an effort to remember.

The general principles for this are

-Concentration

- Interest

- Intention to Remember

- Confidence

- Starting Right

- Selection

- Understanding

Experiences- both real and vicarious - that are systematically related or as-

sociated with previous knowledge will improve your memory.


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What do they suggest? What do they remind you of? Note differences as well

as similarities, or else there will be confusion.

8. Organization

A place for everything and everything in its place applies to the mind also.

A good memory is like a well-organized and well-maintained filing system. When

a new fact presents itself, the first consideration is whether to keep it or

throw it away. If you keep it, then you must decide where to out it. Thus, after

understanding it and associating it with other facts already filed, you will file it

in its natural or logical group.

Keep the larger pattern of the chapter and of the book as you progress through

it in mind so that you can relate or hook subordinate ideas or details to the

larger pattern

9. Review

The best time for review is soon after learning has taken place. The

beginning and the end of material is best remembered, so pay close attention to

the middle which is likely to be forgotten. The peak of difficulty in remembering

is just beyond the middle, toward the end.

10. Sleeping Over It

Study before going to bed unless you are physically or mentally overtired.

Freshly learned material is better remembered after a period of sleep than

after an equal period of daytime activity because retroactive interference

takes place •


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HIC… HIC… HICCUPS HIC… HIC… HICCUPS HIC… HIC… HICCUPS HIC… HIC… HICCUPS !!!! We very often get hiccups… Many of

us might have wondered about the

physiology behind it... This article throws limelight on

its cause and some simple home remedies!

If a person gets hiccups and wants to know what has set them off,

there is a long list of medical or physiological disorders that are

associated with hiccups and seem to cause them. The most common by

far is distension or expansion of the stomach and movement

of stomach acid into the esophagus. After that, a disease or

irritation in the thorax could be to blame. Irritation of the phrenic

nerve (the nerve to the diaphragm) or the diaphragm is often cited as

a cause of hiccups, but this is only speculation about the exact

mechanism. Hiccups can also arise from a variety of neurological

lesions, many of them involving the brain stem, or some metabolic

disorders (particularly renal failure). Medications, often ones that

promote acid reflux into the esophagus, and a variety of other

disorders have also been linked to hiccups.

In medical practice, however, we do not start looking for any of

these causes unless the hiccups are very persistent or if they came on

very dramatically for no obvious reason. For ordinary bothersome

hiccups that come back or stay longer than usual, treatment for

stomach acid reflux is usually offered before other investigations are

done.

In regards to the physiological process behind hiccupping,

some information and speculations exist, but a complete answer has

not yet been determined. A hiccup is not simply a twitch of the

diaphragm but a complex motor act.


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During one, the diaphragm and the complete set of inspiratory

muscles (intercostal muscles, neck muscles and others) make a sudden, very

strong, contraction. The expiratory muscles are also strongly inhibited. Just

after the contraction begins, the glottis (commonly called the vocal cords)

clamp shut, making the "hic" sound. Before the diaphragm contracts, the

roof of the mouth moves up, as does the back of the tongue, and there is

often an associated burp. The heart slows a bit as well. In addition, hiccups

are seldom isolated events but tend to recur every few seconds, sometimes

for hours.

Together these observations imply that somewhere in the brain we

have a "central pattern generator," or CPG, for hiccups. In other words,

there is a neuronal circuit designed for generating hiccups similar to the ones

we have for actions such as breathing, coughing and walking. And like most

of those CPGs, it is an oscillator: it sends out a recurring, periodic signal to

set off a hiccup. We don't have hiccups all the time, however, so the oscillator

must be a "conditional oscillator" that fires only under certain conditions.

Hiccups are seen in a wide variety of animals and are very common

in the fetus. They have been recorded physiologically in animal studies and

are easily recognized on ultrasounds of human babies. Hiccups appear

before breathing movements as the fetus develops and are common in

newborns but gradually disappear over the next few months.

HOME REMEDIES FOR HICCUPSHOME REMEDIES FOR HICCUPSHOME REMEDIES FOR HICCUPSHOME REMEDIES FOR HICCUPS

Some of the home remedies for hiccups are as follows- Hold your breath, Gargle with water, Place an ice bag on the diaphragm for sometime, Sip ice water quickly, Close your eyes and gently press your eye balls, Drink a glass of soda water quickly, Eat some sugar, Eat one tbsp peanut butter.


22

Another interesting method suggested by a researcher is as follows.

Step 1: Start by inhaling through your mouth until your lungs feel full (when it feels like you cannot inhale any more.... your lungs will basically stop taking in air). Step 2: Swallow. You are not really swallowing anything but it seems that without this act, it doesn’t work. Do not let any air out. Step 3: Now inhale some more until your lungs feel full again. You may not be able to inhale a lot, but do get some more air in. It will start to get difficult to do this as you go, but keep trying. You obviously can’t suck in as much air as you did initially, but just a little will do (think of it as taking a “sip” of air but directly into your lungs). Step 4: Swallow again. This too will start to get difficult as you go. Do not let any air out. Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 (inhale and swallow) until you cannot swallow again. While it seems you can almost always suck in just a little more air, it is actually the swallowing that gets to be impossible. When you feel like you cannot swallow again, swallow again anyway. It will be hard to do, your face will probably turn red, and you may make squeaking sounds. But you CAN swallow one last time. By this time, your lungs should also be quite full and it should be difficult to get much more air in as well. While you should try not to let any air out, if you have really repeated steps 3 and 4 as many times as you can, you probably will end up letting a little air out before you can take that last swallow. If you find that air keeps escaping out of your nose even early in the process, try squeezing it shut with your fingers. Step 6: Exhale.

If done correctly, the whole process should take around 30 seconds, and

your hiccups will be gone!

Though this is not an approved method u can try your luck !

—— K.MADHUMITHAK.MADHUMITHAK.MADHUMITHAK.MADHUMITHA

CELESTIANS ‘06CELESTIANS ‘06CELESTIANS ‘06CELESTIANS ‘06


23

On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald

Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr.

Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-storey building intending to commit

suicide.

He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency.

As he fell past the ninth floor, his life was interrupted by a shot gun

blast passing through a window which killed him instantly. Neither the

shooter nor the deceased was were that a safety net had been installed just

below the 8th

floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald

Opus wouldn’t not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had

planned.

That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but probably would

not have been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical

examiner to feel he had a homicide on his hands.

In the room on the 9th

floor, where the shot gun blast emanated, was

occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and

he was threatening her with a shotgun/ the man was so upset that when he

pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went

through the window striking Mr. Opus.

When confronted with the murder charge, the old man and his wife were

both adamant and both said that they thought the shotgun was unloaded.

The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the

unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore killing

Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, if the gun had been

accidentally loaded.


24

The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old

couple’s son loading the shotgun about 6 weeks prior to the fatal accident. It

transpired that the old lady had cut off her son’s financial support and the

son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly,

loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother.

Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder

even though he didn’t actually pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of

murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.

Now comes the exquisite twist...

Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus!

He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to

engineer his mother’s murder. This led him to jump off the ten storey building

on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the 9th

storey window. The son had actually murdered himself so the Medical

examiner closed the case as a suicide.

BIZARRE OR WHAT ?BIZARRE OR WHAT ?BIZARRE OR WHAT ?BIZARRE OR WHAT ?

---- Aishwarya ChandranAishwarya ChandranAishwarya ChandranAishwarya Chandran

StalwartzStalwartzStalwartzStalwartz


25

MEDICAL MYTH BUSTER

D O W E R E A L L Y L O S E M O S T H E A T

T H R O U G H O U R H E A D ?

THE MYTH

You lose most of your heat through your head, so the

most important piece of outdoor clothing is a hat.

THE "TRUTH"

Everyone knows this. But apparently, it’s not true.

Logically, if this myth were true, wearing a hat but no trou-

sers would keep you warmer than wearing trousers but no hat: it

won’t.

Hypothermia expert Dr Daniel Sessler of the University of

Louisville medical school, United States, blames the belief on

military experiments, using Arctic survival suits, conducted half a

century ago. The suits did not cover the subjects’ heads, so

of course most heat loss was from the top.

Someone wearing just a swimsuit in cold conditions, says

Dr. Sessler, would lose only about 10 per cent of their heat via

their heads •


26

A DETAILED ANSWER TO THE EINSTEIN’S A DETAILED ANSWER TO THE EINSTEIN’S A DETAILED ANSWER TO THE EINSTEIN’S A DETAILED ANSWER TO THE EINSTEIN’S

RIDDLE IN THE LAST IRIDDLE IN THE LAST IRIDDLE IN THE LAST IRIDDLE IN THE LAST ISSUE...SSUE...SSUE...SSUE...

A chart seems like the most useful tool to help solve this riddle: Five columns for the five houses, and five rows for nationality, house color, type of drink, type of cigar, and finally, pets.

Clue #8 states the man in the middle house drinks milk, so we can start by filling in that one of the 25 boxes created.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Nation

Color

Drink Milk

Cigar

Pet

The Norwegian living in the first house (# 9), an easy clue.

Clue# 14 says the Norwegian lives next to the blue house, so we can fill in the house color in the second column.

Clue # 4 says the green house is to the left of the white house, and #5 says it is occupied by a coffee drinker. The only place that works is in column four, so we can fill in color and drink there, and white for the color of the fifth.

Clue #1 says the British man is in the red house, and the third house is the only one that has neither color nor nationality specified yet, so we can fill in those two boxes. This also gives us the color of the first house, since only yellow is left. Yellow smokes Dunhill (#7), so we get that too.

Horses are next to the Dunhill smoker (#11). Put that in the second column and here we are so far:


27

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Nation Norwegian British

Color Yellow Blue Red Green White

Drink Milk Coffee

Cigar Dunhill

Pet Horses

Then the clue # 12: The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer. That is two bits of information that go together.

Now we have to determine what other bit of information can be "attached" to that. From what we have on the chart, we can see that the Norwegian smokes Dunhill and the British man drinks milk, so we rule out two nationalities. Clue # 13 says the German smokes Prince, and #3 says the Danish man drinks tea, so we are left with just the Swedish man, who we now know smokes Blue Master and drinks beer. Scanning the clues for more information about the Swedish man we see that he has dogs (# 2). The only place that these four items fit is column five, so we fill that in.

Now it gets a bit easier. The "Blends" smoker is next to a water-drinker (#15) and the cat owner (# 10), which fits only in house 2 now, so we can put "blends" in 2 and "water" in 1. That leaves only "tea" for 2. Clue # 3 says the Danish man drinks tea, so we get that as well, which leaves just one slot (house 4) for the German.

The German smokes Prince (#13), which leaves only one slot (house 3) for the Pall Malls. This is how the chart now looks:

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Nation Norwegian Danish British German Swedish

Color Yellow Blue Red Green White

Drink Water Tea Milk Coffee Beer

Cigar Dunhill Blends Pall Mall Prince Blue Master

Pet Horses Dogs

Clue # 6 says the person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds (house 3). Clue #10 says the man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats, so "cats" can only fit in the house 1 column.

That leaves but one slot open, so the coffee-drinking, Prince Cigar-smoking German in the green house owns the fish in Einstein's riddle.


28

JUST FOR LAUGHS A man is strolling past the mental hospital and suddenly

remembers an important meeting. Unfortunately, his watch has stopped, and he cannot tell if he is late or not.

Then, he notices a patient similarly strolling about within the hospital

fence.

Calling out to the patient, the man says, "Pardon me, sir, but do you have

the time?"

The patient calls back, "One moment!" and throws himself upon the ground,

pulling out a short stick as he does. He pushes the stick into the ground,

and, pulling out a carpenter's level, assures himself that the stick is

vertical.

With a compass, the patient locates north and with a steel ruler, measures

the precise length of the shadow cast by the stick.

Withdrawing a slide rule from his pocket, the patient calculates rapidly,

then swiftly packs up all his tools and turns back to the pedestrian, saying,

"It is now precisely 3:29 pm, provided today is August 16th, which I believe

it is."

The man can't help but be impressed by this demonstration, and sets his

watch accordingly.

Before he leaves, he says to the patient, "That was really quite

remarkable, but tell me, what do you do on a cloudy day, or at night,

when the stick casts no shadow?"

The patient holds up his wrist and says,

"I suppose I'd just look at my watch."


28

29

Hi chemcos !

Oil your brains and get ready for an exciting essay

writing contest !!

• TOPIC : The extinction of general practice and the reign of the

specialists.

• Your essay should not exceed 1500 words. It should carry your

name along with your batch name and contact number.

• Last date for submission July 31, 2010

• Submit it to your class representative or mail us at

[email protected]. We will send you a confirmation on

receiving your entry.

• In joining this contest, the contestant should warrant that the work is

original and has not been previously published.

• 3 winning entries will be selected by our Staff advisors and will

be published in CHEMMAG 2010 along with the cash prize.

Their decision is final.

FIRST PRIZE: RS.1500/-

SECOND PRIZE: RS.1000/-

THIRD PRIZE: RS.600 /-

————THE EDITORIAL BOARDTHE EDITORIAL BOARDTHE EDITORIAL BOARDTHE EDITORIAL BOARD CHMCCHMCCHMCCHMC

29

30


1. What is the term used for osteomalacia of the lunate

bone?

2. A 13-year old girl presents with menorrhagia and is

found to have von Willebrand's disease. Which of the

following coagulation parameters would be expected to

be abnormal?

A. Activated partial thromboplastin time

B. Prothrombin time

C. Thrombin time

D. Factor 7 activity

3. “Chin on chest deformity” is seen in which condition?

4. Question from last month’s Chemvibes : Which gene is

essential for correctly regenerating a head and brain in

planarian worms ?

SMS to 9840834067 with your name and college OR mail us at

[email protected]. Hurry up!!

3 lucky winners will receive gifts along with discount vouchers for PG

entrance training sponsored by SPEED MEDICAL CENTRE.

31

THE�WINNERS�ARE...THE�WINNERS�ARE...THE�WINNERS�ARE...THE�WINNERS�ARE...��

1. M.KALAISELVI, STALWARTZ1. M.KALAISELVI, STALWARTZ1. M.KALAISELVI, STALWARTZ1. M.KALAISELVI, STALWARTZ

2. SURESH KUMAR, ZENPHORIANS2. SURESH KUMAR, ZENPHORIANS2. SURESH KUMAR, ZENPHORIANS2. SURESH KUMAR, ZENPHORIANS

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CONGRATULATIONS�!!!CONGRATULATIONS�!!!CONGRATULATIONS�!!!CONGRATULATIONS�!!!��

ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S THINK TANK

1.)In olden days , a method was used to ascertain the level

of wine in barrels. This method is now a part of any clinical

examination. Name the method and the person who first ap-

plied this in medicine.

The method that was used to ascertain the level of wine

in barrels in olden days was PERCUSSION, which is now an

indispensable aspect of clinical examination.

LEOPOLD AUENBRUGGER, an Austrian physician whose father

was an innkeeper introduced this procedure in medicine.

2.)Which organ in the human body literally means ‘like a

shield’ in Greek? (it was named so because it looks like a shield).

The THYROID GLAND. It was so-named by Thomas

Wharton in 1656 because it was shaped like an ancient Greek

shield.

3.)Plural of

Diagnosis – Diagnoses

Adenoma – Adenomata

Singular of

Meninges – Meninx

Protozoa – Protozoon

4.)Question from last month’s vibes— What is the technique

that can help you choose your child’s gender ?

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).


32

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EQUAL IN COMPARISON WITH A GOVERNMENT MEDICAL

COLLEGE ??

SMS A/B/C TO 9444969384 ALONG WITH YOUR NAME AND

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LASTLASTLASTLAST MONTH’SMONTH’SMONTH’SMONTH’S PULSEPULSEPULSEPULSE��

WHICH KIND OF STUDY IS BETTER IN MBBS ?

A. STUDYING ALONE

B. GROUP STUDIES WITH FRIENDS

C. STUDYING ALONE THEN DISCUSSING WITH FRIENDS

YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO US

Your suggestions and feedback on the issue are most

welcome. Please send in your articles, photos and

interesting happenings to [email protected]

P.SUBRAMANI M.SOWMYA

9444969384 9840834067

A. IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE 14 %

B. GOVT. IS BETTER 82 %

C. PRIVATE IS BETTER 4 %


June 2010

Documents

trapped fetus

cases of fetus

dominant fetus

medical articles

t h e e d i t o r

mysterious medical conditions

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