Anti-inflammatory activity of hydroalcoholic extract of mimosa pudica whole plant in rats

Background: Mimosa pudica is a traditionally used folk medicine to treat various disorders like infections, anxiety, depression, bleeding disorders, convulsions, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular pain, asthma, snake bite etc. We evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Mimosa pudica whole plant (HAEMPWP) in rats.Methods: HAEMPWP was prepared using Soxhlets apparatus. Acute toxicity tests were done with HAEMPWP given orally to albino rats in increasing doses up to 3200 mg/ kg body weight. The anti-inflammatory action was evaluated by Carrageenan induced paw edema method. Thirty albino rats were grouped into five groups and each contained six rats. Group I (control group) received distilled water orally. Group II (standard) received Aspirin orally dissolved in distilled water. Groups III, IV and V received HAEMPWP in doses of 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg and 800mg/kg orally dissolved in distilled water. Data analysis was done by one way ANOVA and unpaired t test using SPSS 16 for windows.Results: HAEMPWP showed a significant anti-inflammatory activity as compared to control. There was no statistically significant dose dependent increase in the anti-inflammatory activity.Conclusions: HAEMPWP possesses significant anti-inflammatory activity and could be an effective treatment option for various inflammatory conditions

Acceptance of birth spacing methods and it’s determinants among postnatal women in a tertiary care setting from Kerala

Background: According to VISION FP2020 healthy birth spacing is defined as delaying the first birth by two years and maintaining the birth interval of at least three years between the two children with the help of various contraceptives.Methods: This was a hospital based cross sectional study conducted among primiparous postnatal women in the department of obstetrics and gynecology SAT hospital, Trivandrum for one year duration. 134 women who had their first delivery were included in this study. A semi structured questionnaire was used to study the sociodemographic variables, reproductive history, contraceptive knowledge, attitude towards contraception and intention to use birth spacing methods by interview technique.Results: The acceptance of birth spacing methods among the study population was 56.8%. 59.1% opted to use family planning methods 6 weeks after delivery while 40.9% planned to use after 6 months. Determinants which were significantly associated with acceptance of family planning methods were education of wife (p<0.01), husbands’ education, socioeconomic status, religion and contraceptive awareness (p<0.01). 47.1% of women preferred DMPA injections, 39.1% opted for intrauterine devices. 13.8% of women opted for condom. Convenience, long term protection, and ease of use were the important reasons cited. The reasons for non-acceptance included fear of side effects, spouse not staying together, opposition from husbands, lack of awareness and religious restrictions.Conclusions: Female literacy, accessibility, cafeteria approach, and counselling contributed to acceptance. If the availability and awareness of injectable contraceptives is made at all the points of health delivery system, the acceptance of birth spacing can further be increased and unplanned pregnancies avoided

Socio-cultural and Economic Impacts of Religious Festivals on Sustainable Local Community Livelihoods in Kerala: The Case of Palakkad

Festivals depict the heritage, culture, and traditions of a particular region. They create a state of exhilaration and enthusiasm. Kerala is a state in southwest India with its own distinct culture and traditions. The state is also known for its religious pluralism. This study attempts to understand the perceived impact of religious festivals on the local community livelihoods in Palakkad, a district in central Kerala. Twelve temples in which religious festivals are held annually, with attendance in the range of thousands, were selected. The selected temples are famous for hosting specific religious festivals which attract a large number of visitors, from within and beyond the region. Using a sample of 420 community members living around these temples, this study examined how the socio-cultural and economic impacts of these religious festivals are perceived by the community. The findings show that there is a statistically significant relationship between the perceived socio-cultural and economic impacts of festivals on local communities. The celebration of local values and distinctiveness were evident in these religious festivals. The local community considers these festivals as part of their community identity and as offering impetus for annual family and community reunions

Biochemical changes associated with fruit development in Abelmoschus esculentus cv. Arka Anamika

Abstract The study intends to trace the time course variations in the biochemical composition of the fruits of Abelmoschus esculentus cv. Arka Anamika, starting from anthesis to full maturity. Nine time points were selected for the study over a period of 33 days and a total of 13 parameters were observed. The total phenol, crude fibre, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid oxidase, catalase and peroxidase, showed a steady increase right from anthesis to fruit maturation. Other parameters such as total protein, carbohydrate, lipid, β carotene and mucilage content though, showed a steady increase at initial stages of development, decreased thereafter. The results of the study provide information on fruit quality at these fruit development stages

Podoplanin expression in oral potentially malignant disorders and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Podoplanin is a type I transmembrane sialomucin-like glycoprotein that is specifically expressed in lymphatic endothelial cells. Studies have shown that assessment of podoplanin expression in the epithelial cells can be used to predict the malignant transformation of potentially malignant disorders and the metastatic tendency of primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The aim of our study was to compare the expression of podoplanin in oral leukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis and oral squamous cell carcinoma with that in normal buccal mucosa by immunohistochemical methods. Immunohistochemical expression of podoplanin was analyzed in 20 cases each of oral leukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis, oral squamous cell carcinoma and normal buccal mucosa, with monoclonal antibody D2-40. The expression of podoplanin was graded from grade 0-4. There was a statistically significant upregulation of the grades of podoplanin expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma(100%), oral submucous fibrosis (90%) and oral leukoplakia (65%) when compared to that in normal mucosa(35%). Podoplanin expression increased with decrease in grades of differentiation in oral squamous cell carcinoma . Podoplanin expression in the samples of oral submucous fibrosis was higher than that in oral leukoplakia. Evaluation of podoplanin expression in the epithelial cells of oral dysplastic lesions may provide valuable information to predict their risk of malignant transformation

Drug utilization pattern in Schizophrenia

Background: Pharmacotherapy is the mainstay of treatment in schizophrenia. The economic impact of this illness is wide ranging, long lasting and huge. The emergence of newer antipsychotics has changed the prescribing pattern. Purpose of this study is to determine the prescription pattern of antipsychotic drugs and to analyse the drug utilization in patients with schizophrenia based on WHO prescribing indicators.Methods: A descriptive study was conducted for a period of 1-year duration at inpatient Department of Psychiatry of a Government Medical College in Kerala, India among 230 schizophrenic patients. The case sheets of patients meeting inclusion criteria were scrutinised to find out the antipsychotic prescription pattern and drug utilization was analysed using WHO prescribing indicators. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics.Results: Newer antipsychotics (55.2%) were prescribed slightly more in preference to older antipsychotic (44.8%) drugs. Out of the newer drugs prescribed olanzapine (20.9%) was prescribed the most followed by risperidone (18%). Haloperidol (22.9%) was the most frequently prescribed older antipsychotic. Majority (71.3%) of the patients were given more than one antipsychotics during the hospital stay. Trihexyphenidyl (27.9%) was the most frequently co-prescribed drug with antipsychotics. Average number of drugs per encounter was 4.19, 73.4% of the drugs were prescribed in their generic name, 50.4% of the encounters were with an injection prescribed. 44.4%of the drugs were prescribed from the EDL (WHO-19th edition). Average drug cost per encounter was Rs.45.43. Percentage of drug cost spent on injections was 8.44%.Conclusions: Newer antipsychotics were more prescribed for schizophrenia of which olanzapine was the commonest. Newer antipsychotics are preferred because of their propensity to cause less side effects and more efficacy. Study of pattern of drug utilization is useful for measuring the economic impact of drug use among patients thereby facilitating rational prescribing

COMPARISON OF POSTOPERATIVE CORNEAL ASTIGMATISM IN PHACOEMULSIFICATION AND MANUAL SMALL INCISION CATARACT SURGERY

Objective: Globally a significant proportion of treatable blindness is caused by cataract, especially in India and southeast Asia. Treatment of cataract is surgical correction with intraocular lens implantation. The main drawback of surgical correction is induction of postoperative astigmatism in patients. The aim of this study was to compare the degree of astigmatism in manual small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification 3 mo postoperatively Methods: The study was a retrospective case study on postoperative corneal astigmatism after cataract surgery. It was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Thandalam, Tamil Nadu. A total of 100 patients were selected and divided into two groups, group A (=50) underwent phacoemulsification and group B (=50) underwent manual small incision cataract surgery. Preoperative astigmatic status of the patients was noted from patient records. Both groups were evaluated 3 mo postoperatively using automated keratometry. The data collected was analyzed using Microsoft Excel Independent T test, p&lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant. Power of the study was 80% with an alpha error of 5%. Results: Mean postoperative astigmatism at 3 mo was 0.91±0.255D and 0.34±0.110D due to manual small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification, respectively. Conclusion: Postoperative astigmatism was greater in manual small incision cataract surgery than phacoemulsification. Improvement in preoperative astigmatism was seen in patients who underwent superotemporal incision phacoemulsificatio

What contributes to wellbeing gains – proficiency or duration of meditation related practices?

Several studies have shown physical and mental health benefits associated with different schools of meditation. However, reviews have recommended interpretation of study outcomes in the context of school specific traditional practices. In the literature, practice proficiency is often conflated with hours or years of meditation practice and it is difficult to attribute wellbeing gains directly to the proficiency of practice. We carried out two studies to examine wellbeing, practice proficiency, and duration of practice amongst Brahma Kumaris Rajayoga (BKRY) practitioners from India. In Study 1, we surveyed participants (n = 1009) to record the socio-demographics, spiritual lifestyle components, and wellbeing enhancement attributed to their spiritual practice. We developed new measures for evaluating proficiency of BKRY practice and for assessment of progress in wellbeing attributed to BKRY practice. Both measures had high internal consistency scores (alphas 0.95, 0.93). Block-wise hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that after accounting for demographic variables, BKRY practice proficiency strongly predicted progress in wellbeing, explaining over 51.6% of the total variance. In Study 2, we took three well-matched groups (n = 86) that were distinct on the basis of duration of practice (long term, short term and zero term). We examined wellbeing differences in these three groups and the extent of correlation of wellbeing with practice proficiency, progress in wellbeing and duration of practice. We conclude that meditation practice does improve wellbeing and that proficiency of practice is better correlated with most aspects of wellbeing than duration of practice but there are a few aspects of wellbeing that increase with sustained practice over a long time. We recommend that studies involving other schools of spiritual/religious practice incorporate tradition-specific proficiency assessment (instead of using years of practice as a proxy) and also use the Progress in Wellbeing scale for assessing practice-aided improvements in wellbeing

Improvement of shelf life quality of tomatoes using a novel edible coating formulation

The development and use of novel formulations as edible coatings on fruits and vegetables has been a subject of intensive agro based research. The multifunctional and eco-friendly attributes of these coatings give added value to the final product. The present study focuses on the potential application of a novel coating suspension to extend the shelf life of whole tomato fruits. The film forming suspensions were made from Hibiscus rosa-sinensis mucilage with various concentrations of gelatin, chitosan, cassava starch. Tomatoes were coated with already standardized suspensions. Shelf-life was evaluated using parameters such as changes in weight loss, pH, appearance and sensorial analyses. Mucilage-based coatings significantly reduced the harvested fruit weight loss and maintained the general appearance and hence acceptability during the storage period in comparison to non-mucilage based coatings and uncoated ones. Thus, mucilage-based coatings appeared more useful than the non-mucilage-based coatings in extending the tomato shelf-life by providing an ideal microenvironment

Post-CaRMS match survey for fourth year medical students

Background: We aimed to analyze which medical school experiences contribute to success in an increasingly competitive CaRMS match. Methods: We surveyed all matched University of Saskatchewan 2019 medical graduates on characteristics of their applications: number of program applications, interviews obtained, experiences (research, volunteer, leadership), awards and money spent on the residency match process, and qualitative reflections on the process. Using published CaRMS statistics based on number of positions versus applicants, specialties were divided into high availability/low demand (HA) (e.g. family and internal medicine) and low availability/high demand (LA) (e.g. dermatology and emergency medicine). Quantitative results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and t-tests, and qualitative results thematically. Results: Data from 27 of 94 matched students were included. LA applicants were more likely to report at least one research project on their CV (66.67% among LA vs. 15.38% among HA, n = 27, χ2 = 8.640, p = 0.013), with a greater number of research presentations (mean=3.75 presentations vs. 2.07, t (25) = -2.251, p = 0.033). LA applicants had more elective weeks outside Saskatchewan (mean 11.75 weeks vs. 7.40 weeks, t (25) = -2.532, p = 0.018). Other application variables were not different between groups. Some students endorsed broader electives strategies, others (especially in surgical disciplines) supported narrower ones. Students reported travel, financial burden, document submission, and uncertainty as the greatest match process stressors. Conclusions: LA applicants cited more research projects and presentations, spent more elective weeks outside Saskatchewan, but were otherwise similar to HA applicants. Further studies should be done on student factors in the residency match process