Social Stigma In Leprosy

Leprosy is a disease associated with a strong social stigma and fear. This is due to the disfigurations and crippling which it causes, resulting in socio-eco­nomic hardships for the victims. Also, misconcep­tions and erroneous beliefs about leprosy abound, even now, and in almost all the sections of the popu­lation. The human and social impact and the age - old prejudices against the disease add insult to injury. Even the law, and media have played a very damaging role for the leprosy patients by perpetuating the stigma of leprosy. The strategy for elimination of leprosy must specially stress on the psycho-social aspects of the disease and also the rehabilitation of the leprosy patient in the home, work place and society. There is absolutely no need to regard leprosy as ‘special’ and the well - being of leprosy patients should become an integral part of the general health services of the community

Study Of Knowledge, Beliefs & Attitudes Towards Leprosy Among Patients Of Leprosy

Research Problem: What is the level of Knowledge and attitudes of leprosy patients towards leprosy? Objectives: To assess the knowledge, beliefs and atti­tude towards leprosy in leprosy patients. Study Design: Hospital - based study by questionnaire method. Setting and Participants: Leprosy patients attending Dermatology OPD. J.N. Medical College Hospital, A.M.U., Aligarh. Sample Size: 200 leprosy patients. Study Variables: Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes re­garding leprosy. Outcome Variables: Percentage of patients having cor­rect Knowledge and positive attitude. Statistical Analysis : By proportions. Results: Ignorance about leprosy is still rampant. 81 % of the patients were not aware of the cause of disease. 89.5% did not know whether the disease was preventable. 91 % patients were optimistic that the disease was curable. 60% of the patients became anxious on learning the diagnosis of the disease. Relations were strained with spouse in 6% cases after learning the diagnosis of the disease. Conclusions: Most of the patients had very little knowl­edge about leprosy, but they were optimistic about the cure of the disease. Interestingly, not much social stigma was encountered by the patients. Recommendations : Raising the literacy status of the populatio

Seroprevalence of Rubella IgG in Pregnant Females

Objective: To find out the seropositivity of IgG rubella in pregnant women in Pakistan, to assess the prevalence of infection and to estimate the requirement of vaccination.Patients and Methods: In this retrospective cross sectional study total 730 females who visited Salma Kafeel Fertility Clinic (Rawalpindi) for antenatal checkup were inducted. Their age range was 18-45 years. The study was carried out from 2011-2016. ELISA serological testing was used to check the seroprevalence of Rubella IgG.Results: In total the 730 subjects were included in the study and divided in four groups according to their ages. The results were as follows: group 1(18-20yrs) 100% positive, group 2 (21-30yrs) 90.5% positive, group 3 (31-40yrs) 93.5% positive and lastly group 4 (>40yrs) 95%positive. Overall 92.32 % seropositivity was seen while 7.70% were found at risk of developing infection.Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of Rubella in females of child bearing age in Pakistan. This is alarming as it can result in high risk of CRS in newborns and fetal death. Therefore, women planning to become pregnant, who do not have natural immunity to rubella should be vaccinated at least 4 weeks prior to conception

Design, development and evaluation of immediate release gliclazide tablets

The aim of the current study was the design, development and optimization of oral immediate release solid dosage forms of gliclazide tablets, intended for rapid action within 30 min, formulated and optimized by in vitro drug release method comparing with reference tablet Diamicron (Servier Lab.). For fast breakdown and rapid dissolution of tablets three different disintegrants (sodium starch glycolate, kollidone CL, and dried maize starch) were used with same percentage (2 %) in the formulations; sodium starch glycolate provide very fast release of gliclazide from tablets in pH 7.4. Two different compression methods, direct compression and wet granulation, were employed in the study. The in vitro drug release profile was better for directly compressed gliclazide tablets, but the flow properties of gliclazide were very poor, which causes high weight variation. Wet granulation method provided tablets of good physical parameters: two types of tablets with different hardness (8-10 kg/cm2 and 5-7 kg/cm2 ) were prepared to observe the effect of compressional forces on drug dissolution and the later one exhibits short disintegration time and rapid dissolution of gliclazide. Friability and weight variation were found within the acceptable range. Incorporation of anionic surfactant in combination with sodium starch glycolate or kollidone CL in the formulation the dissolution rate. In comparison with reference tablet, formulation containing 2 % sodium starch glycolate and 1 % sodium lauryl sulphate with other excipients as lactose, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone K-30, Mg stearate and colloidal silicon dioxide provide better dissolution. Shelf life of the formulated tablets were determined by utilizing stress condition (40 °C and 75 % Relative humidity for 3 months) and found more than 2.5 year in room condition.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Design, development and evaluation of immediate release gliclazide tablets

The aim of the current study was the design, development and optimization of oral immediate release solid dosage forms of gliclazide tablets, intended for rapid action within 30 min, formulated and optimized by in vitro drug release method comparing with reference tablet Diamicron (Servier Lab.). For fast breakdown and rapid dissolution of tablets three different disintegrants (sodium starch glycolate, kollidone CL, and dried maize starch) were used with same percentage (2 %) in the formulations; sodium starch glycolate provide very fast release of gliclazide from tablets in pH 7.4. Two different compression methods, direct compression and wet granulation, were employed in the study. The in vitro drug release profile was better for directly compressed gliclazide tablets, but the flow properties of gliclazide were very poor, which causes high weight variation. Wet granulation method provided tablets of good physical parameters: two types of tablets with different hardness (8-10 kg/cm2 and 5-7 kg/cm2 ) were prepared to observe the effect of compressional forces on drug dissolution and the later one exhibits short disintegration time and rapid dissolution of gliclazide. Friability and weight variation were found within the acceptable range. Incorporation of anionic surfactant in combination with sodium starch glycolate or kollidone CL in the formulation the dissolution rate. In comparison with reference tablet, formulation containing 2 % sodium starch glycolate and 1 % sodium lauryl sulphate with other excipients as lactose, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone K-30, Mg stearate and colloidal silicon dioxide provide better dissolution. Shelf life of the formulated tablets were determined by utilizing stress condition (40 °C and 75 % Relative humidity for 3 months) and found more than 2.5 year in room condition.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Design, development and evaluation of immediate release gliclazide tablets

The aim of the current study was the design, development and optimization of oral immediate release solid dosage forms of gliclazide tablets, intended for rapid action within 30 min, formulated and optimized by in vitro drug release method comparing with reference tablet Diamicron (Servier Lab.). For fast breakdown and rapid dissolution of tablets three different disintegrants (sodium starch glycolate, kollidone CL, and dried maize starch) were used with same percentage (2 %) in the formulations; sodium starch glycolate provide very fast release of gliclazide from tablets in pH 7.4. Two different compression methods, direct compression and wet granulation, were employed in the study. The in vitro drug release profile was better for directly compressed gliclazide tablets, but the flow properties of gliclazide were very poor, which causes high weight variation. Wet granulation method provided tablets of good physical parameters: two types of tablets with different hardness (8-10 kg/cm2 and 5-7 kg/cm2 ) were prepared to observe the effect of compressional forces on drug dissolution and the later one exhibits short disintegration time and rapid dissolution of gliclazide. Friability and weight variation were found within the acceptable range. Incorporation of anionic surfactant in combination with sodium starch glycolate or kollidone CL in the formulation the dissolution rate. In comparison with reference tablet, formulation containing 2 % sodium starch glycolate and 1 % sodium lauryl sulphate with other excipients as lactose, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone K-30, Mg stearate and colloidal silicon dioxide provide better dissolution. Shelf life of the formulated tablets were determined by utilizing stress condition (40 °C and 75 % Relative humidity for 3 months) and found more than 2.5 year in room condition.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Study Of Socio- Economic Factors In Relation To Leprosy

Research question: what are the socio-economic factors in relation to leprosy and their implications? Objectives: (i) To study the socio-economic factors in relation to leprosy.(ii) To assess the impact of disease on patients†job/income. Study design: Cross-sectional. Setting and Participants: Patients attending the dermatology OPD, J.N. Medical college hospital, A.M.U., Aligarh. Sample size: 200 leprosy patients. Study variables: education, occupation, social class, incapacitation, change in job, reduction in income. Statically analysis: Chi-square test Results: 46% of the leprosy patients were illiterate. A large majority of patients (78%) were involved in heavy manual work as farmers and labourers. 68.5% patients belonged to low social classes (IV and V). More males (26.3%) suffered from incapacitation than females (8.5%). 2.5% patients lost their job or were unable to work and 11.5% had to change their jobs due to the disease or disability caused by it. 17.5% patients had a history of reduction in their income after occurrence of leprosy

Difficulty Index, Discrimination Index and Distractor Efficiency in Multiple Choice Questions

Objective: Our first objective was to evaluate the quality of MCQs by analyzing difficulty index, discrimination index and distractor efficiency. Our second objective was to find out the association of MCQs having good difficulty and discrimination indices with distractor efficiency.Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at department of Pathology, Islamabad medical and dental college. Midterm paper comprising of total 65 MCQs was assessed for difficulty index (DIF), discrimination index (DI) and distractor efficiency (DE). Data was entered in Microsoft Excel 2010 and SPSS 21. Quantitative variables were expressed as mean±SD. Qualitative variables were written as number and percentage. Independent t-test was applied to find out the association of DIF and DI with DE.Results: According to DIF, out of total 65, 53(81%) MCQs were in acceptable category, only 1(2%) MCQ was too difficult and 11(17%) were too easy. Regarding DI, total 34(62%) MCQs showed excellent discrimination tendency to distinguish low and high performer students. While 15(23%), 5(8%) and 11(17%) MCQs demonstrated good, acceptable and poor discrimination ability respectively. Out of total 260 distractors, 72% were functional and only 28% were non-functional. Total 16(25%) MCQs had zero non-functional distractor (NFDs), while 30(46%) and 16(25%) MCQs had 1 and 2 NFDs respectively. Only 3(5%) MCQs were with 3 or more NFDs. DE was significantly more (100%) in 1 difficult item as compared to 11 easy items in which DE was less (36.33%). However, DE in MCQs having poor and good DI was almost same.Conclusion: In this paper of Pathology, large number of MCQs have acceptable level of DIF (81%) and DI (83%). Distractor efficiency related to presence of zero or 1 NFD is 71%. Through item analysis, standardized MCQs having average DIF, high discrimination power with large number of functioning distractors can be developed. Thus it is an effective way to improve the validity of examination and to efficiently assess the student performance

Performance comparison of medium access control schemes for IEEE 802.11

This conference paper was presented in the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference on Communications: "Green and Smart Communications for IT Innovation", APCC 2012; Jeju Island; South Korea; 15 October 2012 through 17 October 2012 [© 2012 IEEE ] The conference paper's definite version is available at: http://doi.org/10.1109/APCC.2012.6388275The distributed coordination function (DCF) of the IEEE 802.11 standard based medium access control has drawn significant interest from the researchers in the past decade. Many proposals of its performance analysis and modifications to remove its limitations are proposed. In this paper we are considering some recent proposals to make a detailed study of the performance comparison between DCF, CONTI, k-EC, and PREMA, which are various contention resolution schemes proposed in various independent researches. The criteria for performance comparison that we use are collision rate, throughput, and average delay between successful transmissions. Also, we consider queuing delay using an exponential on-off based unsaturated model for these protocols whose implementation and performance is consistent with the saturated mode used in the above contention schemes.Publishe

Mucosal immunity to poliovirus in children 0-15 years of age: A community-based study in Karachi, Pakistan in 2019

This study assesses poliovirus type 1 (PV1) immunity in children to inform the contribution of mucosal immunity in and preventing poliovirus circulation. A community-based study was conducted in peri-urban Karachi, Pakistan. Randomly selected children (0-15 years) received oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) challenge dose. Blood and stool samples were collected at several time points and evaluated for polio-neutralizing antibodies and serotype-specific poliovirus, respectively. 81/589 (14%) children excreted PV1 7 days post-OPV-challenge; 70/81 (86%) were seropositive at baseline. 12/610 (2%) were asymptomatic Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1) excretors. Most poliovirus excretors had humoral immunity, suggesting mucosal immunity in these children likely waned or never developed. Without mucosal immunity, they are susceptible to poliovirus infection, shedding, and transmission. Asymptomatic WPV1 excretion suggests undetected poliovirus circulation within the community