Selected risk factors of infertility in women: case control study

Background: Infertility implies apparent failure of a couple to conceive. If a couple fails to achieve pregnancy after one year of unprotected intercourse, it is an indication to investigate the couple. This is based on the observation that, 80% of the normal couples achieve conception within a year.Methods: A case control study on the selected risk factors of female infertility among fifty females attending the Tertiary care centre was conducted. The data was collected from fifty cases and fifty controls, matched for age, using a pre-structured questionnaire. The data collected included menstrual details, uterine or ovarian disorders, genito-urinary infections, systemic illness, hyperprolactinemia and weight gain. Data was analysed to find out risk factors and its association using Odds ratio, chi-square and logistic regression.Results: The factors include age, duration of menstrual cycles, dysmenorrhea, Hyperprolactinemia, recent weight gain, body mass index (BMI), ovarian dysfunctions, thyroid disorders and uterine abnormalities.Conclusions: Early screening and diagnosis of menstrual disorders and diseases like hyperprolactinemia, Thyroid disorders, uterine abnormalities, ovarian dysfunctions and correcting them by appropriate treatment

Estimation of fetal weight in utero by Dawn's formula and Johnson's formula: a comparative study

Background: Survival of the premature infant has been shown to be related more to fetal weight than to any other consideration. A lot of work has been done to find out accurate methods for estimation of fetal size and weight in utero.Methods: This study consists of total 200 case studies included patient of different parity all delivered in these hospitals either vaginally or by caesarian section. Two methods of estimation of birth weight were assessed and compared.Results: 33.5% of cases were within ±100gms by Johnson's formula, whereas in Dawn's formula 51.5% cases were within +100 gm of actual birth weight.73% of cases by Johnson's formula were within ±250 gms and 88.5% of cases by Dawn's formula were within ±250 gms of actual birth weight.91% of cases by Johnson's formula and 99% of cases by Dawn's formula were within ±500 gms of actual birth weight.Conclusions: Dawn's formula was found to be more accurate (88.5% within ±250 gms) than Johnson's formula (53.5% within ±250 gms) in prediction of antenatal fetal weight

ELEMENTAL PROFILE ANALYSIS OF SOME INDIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL SPICE PLANTS OF, BELLARI DISTRICT, KARNATAKA USING AAS TECHNIQUE

Objective: Karnataka (India) is the darling child of nature where about 722 medicinal plants are available. Ions of different metal elements have an important role in both the reactions. Few elements are essential to the body as nutrients called minerals. Present study deals with trace element analysis was carried out in Ballari district, Karnataka, India.Methods: 0.25g each of the powdered medicinal plant spice seeds samples digested in 6.5 ml of acid solution to study the trace element like Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Cr in Coriander seeds, Ajwain seeds, Pepper seeds, Cumin seeds and Sweet cumin seeds at ppm levels were figured out by using AAS analysis.Results: Analysed trace mineral contents of these spice plants resulted highest level of Manganese is 1.92 ppm, Ferrous is 3.69 ppm and in Chromium is 0.0980 ppm in Ajwain seeds, Copper is 0.42 ppm in Coriander seeds, Zinc is 3.02 ppm and Cadmium is 0.0070 ppm in Sweet cumin seeds and lowest were found Mn is 0.65 ppm, Fe is 2.43 ppm in Coriander seeds, Cu is 0.15 ppm in Cumin seeds, Zn is 1.64 ppm in Pepper seeds, Cd is 0.0018 in Ajwain seeds and Cr is 0.0669 ppm in Sweet cumin seeds were studied in (n=3 ppm) all the sample selected spice seeds by AAS and suggests that the monitoring of trace elements in these medicinal plants does not exceed the limiting values set by World Health Organization to use it as a medicinal application.Conclusion: These Indian traditional medicinal spice plants can be safely used for food and medicinal purposes.Keywords: Medicinal Plants, Spices, AAS, Trace elements, Microelement

Serological Characterization of Autoantibodies in Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and Its Clinical Implications: A Study from Atertiary Care Center in South India

OBJECTIVE : Autoimmune hemolytic anaemia (AIHA) has a wide range of clinical presentation from mild to fulminant life threatening anaemia. Immunoglobulin class, subclass, titre, ability to activate complement, thermal amplitude and strength of direct antiglobulin test (DAT) have been implicated as factors affecting severity. This study was undertaken to analyze factors which influence the severity of AIHA in Indian population. METHODOLOGY : In this crosssectional study,all patients with evidence of haemolysis and who were also positive for polyspecific DAT were included.DAT positive patient samples were further evaluated by monospecific DAT(column agglutination technique) to identify presence of IgG, IgM, IgA class and complement. If monospecific IgG was present, further subtyping was undertaken to identify the presence IgG1 and IgG3. Correlations were drawn between the severity of AIHA and Immunoglobulin class, strength of direct antiglobulintest (DAT,) IgG subtype and the titre of the latter. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION : Among 94 patients included in the analysis, the median age was 35.2(Range1-77 years), with a male: female ratio of 1:1.9. Primary AIHA was identified in 54.3% and secondary AIHA in 45.7%. Spread of autoantibodies identified included, 28.7% with solitary IgG followed by complement alone in 8.5% as opposed to 62.8% of patients who had a combination of autoantibodies. Severe haemolysis was greater in patients with primary AIHA (71.2%) as compared to patients with secondary AIHA(28.7%, p<0.001). Severe haemolysis was also seen in 89.1%, of patients who had a combination of autoantibodies as compared to 10.9% patients, with solitary IgG(p<0.001). IgG subtyping revealed the most common subtype to be IgG1(58.1%) followed by combination of IgG1 & IgG3 (11.6%).The remaining 30.2% were negative for IgG1or IgG3. Presence of IgG1 and IgG3 in combination, or IgG1alone showed statistically significant association with severity of haemolysis(p=0.04 and 0.012respectively). Correlating strength of DAT revealed that severe haemolysis occurred in 80.8% patients with DAT strength of 4+ (p =0.006). This association was consistent even in the IgG subgroups where IgG1 and IgG3 were not detected However there was an association with complement fixation in this group. (p=0.04). Identifying patients with AIHA at risk of severe haemolysis is critical for prognostication, appropriate intervention and follow up planning. This association in our study of DAT strength, IgG1 and IgG3 positivity, and complement fixation on severity of haemolysis suggest that an algorithm of following up DAT positivity, in patients with AIHA, with a monospecific DAT and IgG subtype analysis will allow for identification of this critical subgroup of patients in whom more intense clinical intervention and close follow up might be indicated

Efficient Task Scheduling and Fair Load Distribution Among Federated Clouds

The federated cloud is the future generation of cloud computing, allowing sharing of computing and storage resources, and servicing of user tasks among cloud providers through a centralized control mechanism. However, a great challenge lies in the efficient management of such federated clouds and fair distribution of the load among heterogeneous cloud providers. In our proposed approach, called QPFS_MASG, at the federated cloud level, the incoming tasks queue are partitioned in order to achieve a fair distribution of the load among all cloud providers of the federated cloud. Then, at the cloud level, task scheduling using the Modified Activity Selection by Greedy (MASG) technique assigns the tasks to different virtual machines (VMs), considering the task deadline as the key factor in achieving good quality of service (QoS). The proposed approach takes care of servicing tasks within their deadline, reducing service level agreement (SLA) violations, improving the response time of user tasks as well as achieving fair distribution of the load among all participating cloud providers. The QPFS_MASG was implemented using CloudSim and the evaluation result revealed a guaranteed degree of fairness in service distribution among the cloud providers with reduced response time and SLA violations compared to existing approaches. Also, the evaluation results showed that the proposed approach serviced the user tasks with minimum number of VMs

Drug utilization pattern in geriatric inpatients of medicine department in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Background: The objective of present study was to assess the drug utilization pattern among the geriatric patients.Methods: Totally, 150 prescriptions of patients’ ≥65 years admitted in the medicine inpatient department of MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital, Hoskote were noted from September 2013 to March 2014 and demographic profile, drug utilization pattern, commonly used drugs as per anatomical therapeutic chemical classification (ATC) and WHO core indicators were assessed after taking informed consent from the patients.Results: Out of 150 patients, average age of geriatric patients was 66.83 years with female preponderance (59%). Maximum number of patients were having respiratory disorders (66.67%) followed by diabetes mellitus (35.3%), and cardiovascular diseases (32.67%). 76% patients had co-morbid diseases like diabetes mellitus (n=53), hypertension (n=49), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n=41). A total of 849 drug formulations, containing 1050 active ingredients, were prescribed with average number of 7 (1050/150) drugs per prescription. Only 70 formulations were prescribed by their generic names, which is less than that prescribed by their brand names 779 and total of 146 (17.19%) drugs were prescribed as fixed dose combinations. Only 45.47% drugs were according to WHO Essential Medicines List. Drugs acting on respiratory system (n=189) were the most commonly used drugs in our study followed by drugs acting on the gastrointestinal system (n=130), antimicrobials (n=113), cardiovascular system (n=112), endocrine (n=83), and nutritional supplements (n=72). Polypharmacy was prevalent in 62% and about 22.67% of patients received <5 drugs. Pantoprazole was most frequently prescribed drug followed by aspirin 75 mg, adrenergic, and anticholinergic bronchodilators.Conclusion: Thus, irrational prescribing and polypharmacy were prevalent among elderly. Drug utilization data can help in assessing the quality of care given to the geriatric patients and promote rational use of medicines

To investigate the role of Memantine as anxiolytic in elevated plus maze test and as antidepressant in tail suspension test in Swiss albino mice

Background: The magnitude of improvement seen with present conventional medicines for anxiety and depression remain disappointing thereby providing a scope for the study of newer drugs. In the literature, there is evidence demonstrating the modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)receptors in anxiety and depression. The present study is undertaken to evaluate the antianxiety effect of memantine in elevated plus maze (EPZ) test and its antidepressant effect in tail suspension test (TST)in Swiss albino mice.Methods: Animals were divided into six groups (n=6). First group mice were given normal saline (10 ml/kg), second group were administered lorazepam (0.5 mg/kg), third group with memantine (3 mg/kg) and fourth group with memantine plus lorazepam, fifth group was administered amitriptyline (10 mg/kg)and sixth group received memantine plus amitriptyline. All drugs were administered by intraperitoneal route daily for 7 consecutive days. Results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc Tukey’s test.Results: Memantine treated mice showed significant increase (p<0.001)in time spent and number of entries in open arm and significant decrease in time spent and number of entries in closed arm in EPZ when compared to control group. Duration of immobility was significantly (p<0.001)reduced in animals treated with memantine when compared to the control group in TST.Conclusions: NMDA antagonist, memantine has showed significant antianxiety effect in EPZ test and antidepressant effect in TST

Effect of Clerodendrum serratum leaf extract on biochemical and oxidative stress parameters of testis in 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene induced skin carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice

The biochemical contents and antioxidant potential of Clerodendrum serratum (Verbenaceae) leaf extract (CSLE) on 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) induced skin carcinogenicity in testis of mice was investigated. Group I received distilled water served as control. The skin lesions were induced by twice-weekly topical application of DMBA for 2 weeks on the shaved backs of group II, III, IV and V mice. CSLE was administered to group III, IV and V mice at the dose of 300, 600 and 900 mg/kg b.wt/day, for 4 week before DMBA application, and continued till 45 days. On 46th day the mice were sacrificed, testis were dissected out freed from adherent tissue and weighed to nearest milligram and evaluated the biochemical contents DNA, RNA, protein, glycogen, cholesterol, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Succinic dehydrogenase (SDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activities, oxidative stress parameters, levels of glutathione (GSH), thiobarbaturic acid reactive substances (TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-s-transferase (GST). DMBA induced skin carcinogenesis decreased body and testis weight, DNA, RNA, protein, glycogen, GSH level, SDH, AKP, SOD, CAT and GST activities. But there was increase in cholesterol content, LDH, ACP activities and TBARS level. DMBA act via generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) as tumor initiator and free radicals inducing oxidative stress. The results revealed that there was a recovery in biochemical contents, dehydrogenases, phosphatases and oxidative stress parameters in testis. Thus, the present study inferred that CSLE administration significantly curtailed tumor development and counteracted all the biochemical effects. Many plant secondary metabolites exhibit potent anticarcinogenic potential and known to exert their effects by quenching reactive oxygen, inhibiting lipid peroxidation

PERCEPTION OF SECOND-YEAR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS ON SEMINAR AS A TEACHING-LEARNING METHOD

Objectives: The present study was carried out to assess the perception of 2nd-year medical students on seminar as a teaching-learning method. Methods: This was a questionnaire based and cross-sectional study, conducted in pharmacology department on 2nd-year undergraduate students at a medical college in South India. The study was conducted for a period of 1 month to assess student’s perception of seminars in the teaching learning process. The questionnaire was pre-designed, pre-validated, and self-administered about usefulness of seminar in teaching-learning methods. The feedback was obtained from students immediately after the seminar and the responses received were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Of total 88 students, 82 students were of the opinion that seminars help in better interaction with both teachers and friends. About 97.7% of the students said that seminar is good and informative tool for learning. Eighty-one students (92%) preferred drugs acting on gastrointestinal tract as topic for seminar, followed by drugs acting on blood and blood formation (84%). When opinion on whether the seminar is helpful for theory topics or practical or both, 79.5% of the students said that seminar will more useful for theory topics than practical topics (5.6%). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that the most of the students found that seminars are more informative than didactic lectures. Seminar should be considered as a modern teaching-learning tool, as it analyzes all the domains of teaching (cognitive, psychomotor skills, and affective). Seminar can definitely be implemented as a modern teaching learning method on regular basis for higher education like medical education

Ayurvedic management of Chirakari Vicharchika (Eczema) : A Case Report

Skin is the largest organ of the body that constitutes the first line of defence and hence is first to be exposed to disease. Among them eczema is one of the most common clinical presentations. With an incidence of 2 -3 % of all medical problems and about 30 percent of all the dermatitis. Eczema is a non-contagious inflammation of the skin, characterised by erythema, scaling, oedema, vesiculation and oozing. In Ayurveda it is correlated with Vicharchika because of similar features like Kandu, Srava, Pidaka. Vicharchika is considered as Kshudra Kushta.[1] In the contemporary science there is no satisfactory treatment available with a lot of side effects and increased rate of recurrence. The unique line of management in Ayurveda helps in removing disease right from its root. Here is a case of Vicharchika (eczema) treated with this thinking to highlight treatment principles