ASSESSMENT OF PRESCRIBING PATTERN AMONG ORTHOPEDIC IN-PATIENTS USING WHO PRESCRIBING INDICATORS

Objective: Evaluating the prescribing indicators regularly help to monitor the prescriptions to reduce indiscriminate use of drugs. The present study was conducted to explore the prescribing pattern in orthopedic in-patients using the WHO prescribing indicators in a tertiary care teaching hospital, Mangalore.Methods: Data was collected from case records of orthopedic in-patients regarding patient demographics, diagnosis, and details of drugs in a structured pro forma and analyzed for the WHO prescribing indicators using descriptive statistics. Values are expressed as mean ± standard deviation, percentages as applicable.Results: A total of 379 patient prescriptions were included in the study which consisted of 2195 drugs. Of the 379 patients, 221 (58.3%) were male and 158 (41.7%) were female. The mean age group of the patients was 44 years. Acute trauma such as fractures, tendon damage, and disc prolapse (57.8%) were the most common indications for admission. Analgesics were the most commonly prescribed group of drugs comprising 27.28% of the prescriptions followed by multivitamins (20.68%) and proton-pump inhibitors (17.12%). The most commonly prescribed analgesic was nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (86.81%). Most of the drugs (65.80%) were administered through the oral route and 40.31% of drugs were fixed-dose combinations. The mean number of drugs per prescription was 5.79± 2.59. Antibiotics were prescribed in 60.4% of the prescriptions. 76.3% of prescriptions were with injectables. Use of drugs by generic name was 7.7% and only 44% of drugs were from the national list of essential medicines 2015.Conclusion: The study provides an insight into the prescribing pattern in orthopedic in-patients. It highlights the importance of emphasizing rational drug prescribing and toward improving awareness of the physicians and medical students to the WHO recommended standards on prescribing indicators

Is the Scyphozoan jellyfish Lychnorhiza malayensis symbiotically associated with the crucifix crab Charybdis feriatus?

Scyphozoan jellyfish (Medusae), the gelatinous invertebrate group, plays a vital role in the global oceanic and coastal ecosystems. By virtue of their floating nature, and horizontal and vertical spread in the water column, they are known to have varied associations with other invertebrates and teleosts, which make them an integral part of the marine ecosystem

Design and evaluation of timolol maleate ocuserts

A remarkable attempt was made to prepare timolol maleate ocuserts, which is significant beta adreno receptor antagonist, by the aid of different of different ratio of composition of polymers such as EC, HPMC and Eudragit RS 100. Twelve batches of suitable ophthalmic films formulated by the method of solvent casting technique. Out of which the best formulation was found out the zero order release was observed in batch and was considered as the least drug releasing one. The formulated ocuserts were flexible, uniform and was meant for physic-chemical evaluator parameters, in vitro drug release profile and in vivo evaluation made on male rabbit

RS-based regional crop identification and mapping: A case study of Barwala sub-branch of Western Yamuna Canal in Haryana (India)

Information on spatial land use is the main input in strategic and tactical plan-making by all agricultural participants in countries like India with agriculture at the mainstay of the economy. In addition, accurately evaluation of the management of crops in a spatio-temporal context, information on cropping systems is also required, but such information on a regional scale are scarcely available. The spectrum of multiannual patterns of land use on cultivable land, however, remains unknown. The paper thus focuses on the mapping of the cropping systems that are actually practiced in Hisar District of Haryana (India). The objective of this research was to use satellite data and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques to identify the cropping pattern of Barwala sub-branch of Sirsa branch of the Western Yamuna Canal in Haryana. To identify classes of interest, handheld GPS was used to collect ground-truth information. Mask of mixed classes was developed to reclassify an image under the mask. Moreover, appropriate classification of images and application of logical combinations helped in generating cropping pattern maps and statistics. Results revealed that major crops identified in the study area were cotton, rice and pearl-millet in Kharif season, which accounts for about 70% of total cultivated area. In the case of Rabi season, wheat and mustard were observed as the major crops covering approximately 57% of total area. RS technology is currently capable of providing cropping pattern with 90% accuracy. The results of the current study could be useful in the land use and efficient water management in the canal command areas in the water-scarce southern Haryana, India. Some crops like guar, pearl-millet, horticultural crops, etc. were also identified during this period but the major crops that were identified during Kharif season were Rice and Cotton

Microbial dissolution of a low grade Indian chalcopyrite ore using mixed culture of Mesophiles

An enriched culture of mesophiles namely, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans derived from mine water of Malanjhkhand Copper Project (MCP), India in the ratio of 4:1, and adapted on 5%(w/v) ore at 35oC was used for the bioleaching of a low grade chalcopyrite ore (0.27% Cu). Optimum copper recovery of 91% was achieved at 1.5pH and 10% (w/v) pulp density in 30days using <50μm particles. Copper recovery decreased to 82% when pH was raised to 2.5 under similar conditions. Higher copper recovery at pH 1.5 may be attributed to the improved bacterial activity (7.0x108 cells/mL), higher redox potential (666mV) and formation of minimum amount of hydronium jarosite, which was prominent at higher pH. Copper recovery was 41.2% in sterile control leaching conditions at 1.5pH. However, unadapted bacterial consortium yielded copper recovery of 69.4% only in 30 days at pH 1.5 under the above conditions. Higher metal recovery with adapted mixed culture may be attributed to increased rate of iron bio-oxidation. The biorecovery of copper from the MCP lean grade ore appeared to follow direct as well as indirect mechanism

Copper biodissolution from a low grade chalcopyrite ore by unadapted/adapted acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

The depletion of high-grade deposit of copper around the world has drawn attention for the utilisation of low-grade reserves . Malanjkhand Copper Project (MCP) in India is a low-grade ore containing -0.3% Cu in which copper metal is found to be present as chalcopyrite associated with pyrite in quartz veins and granitic rocks. In order to extract copper from this material , an alternate processing option such as bioleaching has been followed. Bench scale bioleaching experiments were carried out using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (Ac. Ti) isolated from mine water. On using unadapted Ac. Tf isolate directly at pH 2.0 and 35°C, the optimum leaching conditions in shake flask were found to be 5% pulp density (PD), 2.OpH , 35°C temperature for <50p .m particles , yielding 72% Cu biorecovery in 35days. The Tf isolate when adapted to the ore and employed for the bioleaching of the ore at 5% PD (w/v), 2.OpH and 25 °C with three particle sizes viz.150 -76μm, 76-5011m and <50μm, resulted in recovery of 38 .31%, 29.68% and 47.5% Cu respectively with a rise in Eh from 530 to 654 mV in 35 days. Under similar conditions , the unadapted strain gave maximum recovery of 44.0 % for <50pm ore size with rise in Eh from 525 to 650mV . Copper biorecovery increased to 75.3% with the adapted isolates at 35°C for the finer particles of <50gm at 2.OpH with a rise in cell count from lx l 07 cells/mL to 1.13x109 cells/mL in 35 days. The biodissolution of copper from chalcopyrite with the involvement of adapted Ac. Tf species resulted in the improvement of iron oxidation rate (Fe2+ to Fe'`) and consequently higher redox potential

Simulation and extended range prediction of monsoon intraseasonal oscillations in NCEP CFS/GFS version 2 framework

The present study investigates the role of ocean-atmosphere coupling in improving the simulation and extended range prediction skill of the monsoon intraseasonal oscillations (MISOs) using the NCEP CFS (version 2) vis-Ã -vis its atmospheric component GFS (version 2) forced with bias-corrected sea-surface temperature (SST) derived from CFS. Though the CFS free-run analysis shows dry bias over Indian land as compared to GFS, the interactive air-sea coupling in CFS has considerably improved the simulation of large-scale dynamical fields, SST-rainfall relationship, and the northward propagation of the MISOs with respect to GFS. However, the improvement of MISO simulation in CFS over GFS has not necessarily guaranteed the improvement of real-time extended range prediction during 2011 and 2012. CFS shows better skill over GFS (forced with bias-corrected CFS derived SST) at pentad lead 4. The phases of MISOs are better predicted in GFS and the amplitude prediction skill is marginally improved in CFS. The present study also advocates the need of probabilistic category (active, normal or break) forecast at extended range

Effects of residual stresses on interlaminar radial strength of Glass-Epoxy L-bend composite laminates

The built-in heterogeneity of the composite laminates has been exploited to tailor the stiffness and strength requirements of modern structures to meet the specific functional demands. However, the non-homogeneity in these composites is the root cause for most of their failures. One of the undesirable consequences of the inherited heterogeneity is the development of cure-induced stresses during composite manufacturing. This work aims to investigate the influence of process-induced stresses on interlaminar radial strength in curved composite laminates. Glass-Epoxy (GE) laminates of two different thicknesses were prepared by hand lamination technique using V-shaped tooling and cured under room temperature. The state of residual stresses in GE laminates is varied by post-curing these laminates at different temperatures. Curved bending strength (CBS) and corresponding interlaminar radial stress for delamination of L-bend laminates were evaluated experimentally using four points bending test. The residual stress profile in each GE laminate is experimentally characterized by employing the Slitting method. The results indicate that the residual stresses have a negligible effect on the critical stress for initial delamination in GE laminates. But, the critical stress for delamination was found to be independent of the laminate thickness and increased with higher curing temperatures. The delaminated surfaces of L-bend laminates were studied using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The enhancement in the critical stress due to post-curing can be attributed to the improved fiber-matrix interfacial bonding with higher curing temperature