Prospective study on prescribing pattern of antihypertensive drugs at a tertiary care hospital

Background: Hypertension is the leading non-communicable disease risk attributing to cardio vascular morbidity and mortality. Various reasons are socio-economic, behavioural, sedentary life style, nutritional, age, obesity and poor health maintenance. A wide range of antihypertensive drugs belonging to different pharmacological classes are available alone or in combinations. Present study was done to evaluate the prescribing pattern of antihypertensive drugs at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: A prospective, observational, non-interventional, hospital-based study was carried out in hypertensive patients attending outpatient department of General Medicine at Medical College Hospital attached to Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari. Data was collected from outpatient slip of patients in a predesigned case record form, which was analysed using descriptive statistics.Results: Among 200 patients analysed 95 (47.5%) were males and 105 (52.5%) were females, with maximum number of patients falling in the age group 61-70years. Among antihypertensives prescribed, amlodipine (78.5%) was most frequently prescribed drug. Frequently used drugs for monotherapy - amlodipine (37.5%), for two drug therapy - amlodipine + atenolol (25.5%), and for three drug therapy - amlodipine + atenolol + telmisartan (2.5%). WHO prescribing indicators: Average number of drugs per encounter is 2.38 (±1.19). Percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name is 76.47%. Percentage of drugs prescribed from essential drug list is 97.89%.Conclusions: Present study shows current trends in prescription of antihypertensives in tertiary care hospital and their rational use. Study emphasizes need for preventive and educative measures about hypertension in population

Temperature and Mass Dispersion of Free Convective Radiative Non - Newtonian Nano Fluid Flow between Two Parallel Plates

497-508In the current study, impact of the thermal radiation along with thermophoretic diffusion and Brownian motion ramifications on the flow of non-Newtonian nanofluid represented by Couple stress fluid between horizontal parallel plates are discussed. Where the parallel plates are kept at various temperatures and concentrations, the fluid is periodically sucked and injected at the upper plate and lower plate respectively. The governing non-linear partial differential equations are reduced into a non-linear system of ordinary differential equations with the aid of similarity transformations. The resultant non-dimensional equations are subsequently solved by using shooting-method with the usual 4th order Runge-Kutta scheme. The non-dimensional velocity and temperature variations along with mass transfer profiles are analyzed for different fluid and parameters as well as geometric parameters and the same are plotted in the form of graphs. Skin- friction coefficient in non-dimensional along with heat & mass transfer rates are studied numerically. It is found that there is a direct relationship between temperature component of the fluid and the Brownian movement parameter, while the concentration component of the fluid is decreasing with respect to that of thermophoresis parameter. Further, mass transfer decreases with increasing couple stress fluid parameter

Immunohistochemical, histopathological study and chemoprotective effect of Solanum nigrum in N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in Wistar rats

Background and Aim: Cancer is a devastating disease with a severe impact on the physical and psychological well-being of patients. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported in various species of animals including dogs, cats, sheep, and pigs. The present study aimed to study the immunohistochemical and histopathological changes and chemoprotective effect of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Solanum nigrum on N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-induced HCC rat model. Materials and Methods: Eighty-two male Wistar rats of 15 weeks of age weighing 200-250 g were selected for the experiment. They were randomly divided into ten groups. Group I served as normal control consisted of healthy rats. HCC was induced in Group II, IV, V, VI, VII, and X rats using NDEA as inducing agent followed by phenobarbitone as a promoter for 16 weeks. Group II rats were kept untreated as HCC control. Group III rats were kept as vehicle control (0.05% Sodium bicarbonate). Group IV and V rats were treated with aqueous extract of S. nigrum at 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg, respectively, and Group VI and VII rats were treated with an alcoholic extract of S. nigrum at 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg, respectively, daily orally for 28 days. Group X rats were treated with sorafenib as reference drug at a dose of 11.4 mg/kg daily orally for 28 days. Group VIII and IX rats were kept as aqueous and alcoholic extract control for studying the effect of the same on normal rats. Liver samples were collected to study the gross and histopathological lesions and the activity of cleaved caspase-3 and chemopreventive effect of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of S. nigrum on HCC. Results: The liver sections of rats from HCC control (Group II) showed loss of lobular architecture, necrosis, fatty change, enlarged and darkened nuclei with variable size, dilatation of hepatic sinusoids with Kupffer cell hyperplasia, dilatation and proliferation of bile duct, and intranuclear vacuoles and also showed the presence of more than one nucleolus. Administration of alcoholic extract of S. nigrum and sorafenib to NDEA/phenobarbital-treated rats reduced the severity of lesions in the liver. Immunohistochemical analysis of liver sections for caspase-3-positive cells of hepatic cancer-induced group showed immunoreactivity to rarely few. The immunoreactivity of the hepatocytes treated with a higher dose of alcoholic extract of S. nigrum was limited and was comparable to a standard drug, sorafenib. Conclusion: Oral administration of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of S. nigrum for 28 days showed significant rejuvenation in the structure of the liver in the histopathological section in a dose-dependent manner in rats

Inhibition of snake venom metalloproteinase by β-Lactoglobulin peptide from buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) colostrum

Bioactive peptide research has experienced considerable therapeutic interest owing to varied physiological functions, efficacy in excretion, and tolerability of peptides. Colostrum is a rich natural source of bioactive peptides with many properties elucidated such as anti-thrombotic, anti-hypertensive, opioid, immunomodulatory, etc. In this study, a variant peptide derived from β-lactoglobulin from buffalo colostrum was evaluated for the anti-ophidian property by targeting snake venom metalloproteinases. These are responsible for rapid local tissue damages that develop after snakebite such as edema, hemorrhage, myonecrosis, and extracellular matrix degradation. The peptide identified by LC-MS/MS effectively neutralized hemorrhagic activity of the Echis carinatus venom in a dose-dependent manner. Histological examinations revealed that the peptide mitigated basement membrane degradation and accumulation of inflammatory leucocytes at the venom-injected site. Inhibition of proteolytic activity was evidenced in both casein and gelatin zymograms. Also, inhibition of fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic activities was seen. The UV-visible spectral study implicated Zn2+ chelation, which was further confirmed by molecular docking and dynamic studies by assessing molecular interactions, thus implicating the probable mechanism for inhibition of venom-induced proteolytic and hemorrhagic activities. The present investigation establishes newer vista for the BLG-col peptide with anti-ophidian efficacy as a promising candidate for therapeutic interventions

Inhibition of snake venom metalloproteinase by β-Lactoglobulin peptide from buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) colostrum

Bioactive peptide research has experienced considerable therapeutic interest owing to varied physiological functions, efficacy in excretion, and tolerability of peptides. Colostrum is a rich natural source of bioactive peptides with many properties elucidated such as anti-thrombotic, anti-hypertensive, opioid, immunomodulatory, etc. In this study, a variant peptide derived from β-lactoglobulin from buffalo colostrum was evaluated for the anti-ophidian property by targeting snake venom metalloproteinases. These are responsible for rapid local tissue damages that develop after snakebite such as edema, hemorrhage, myonecrosis, and extracellular matrix degradation. The peptide identified by LC-MS/MS effectively neutralized hemorrhagic activity of the Echis carinatus venom in a dose-dependent manner. Histological examinations revealed that the peptide mitigated basement membrane degradation and accumulation of inflammatory leucocytes at the venom-injected site. Inhibition of proteolytic activity was evidenced in both casein and gelatin zymograms. Also, inhibition of fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic activities was seen. The UV-visible spectral study implicated Zn2+ chelation, which was further confirmed by molecular docking and dynamic studies by assessing molecular interactions, thus implicating the probable mechanism for inhibition of venom-induced proteolytic and hemorrhagic activities. The present investigation establishes newer vista for the BLG-col peptide with anti-ophidian efficacy as a promising candidate for therapeutic interventions

Scavenging Efficiency of Activated Charcoal of Sweet Corn Cop and Areca Nut Shell for Carcinogenic Salicylic Acid and Methylene Blue

Activated plant charcoal plays major role in adsorption chemistry and finds a huge application in industry, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and water treatment. Present work planned to utilize waste sweet corn cop and areca nut husk to prepare charcoal by chemical method. The charcoal was carbonized at 8000C using muffle furnace. The adsorption efficiency of the experimental activated carbon adsorbents towards the model organic compounds methylene blue and salicylic acid were assessed by UV-Vis spectrophotometric method. Experimental results clearly indicates that sweet corn cop charcoal recorded maximum absorption for salicylic acid 640ppm/g in compare to areca nut shell husk charcoal 480ppm/g. Sweet corn cop charcoal recorded optimum absorption for methylene blue 240 ppm/g in compare to areca nut shell husk charcoal 240ppm/g. The experimental charcoal projects noticeable results in scavenging salicylic acid and methylene blue from polluted samples. This experimental results and affordable cost the raw material made the sweet corn cop and areca nut husk activated carbon a powerful alternative for the adsorption of carcinogenic organic compounds salicylic acid and methylene blue

Extraction and characterization of vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) and kenaf fiber (Hibiscus cannabinus) as reinforcement materials for epoxy based composite structures

The study deals with the mechanical characterization of vetiver grass fiber and kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy-based hybrid composites. Five types of composite laminates were developed through the hand lay-up process by varying the percentage of vetiver grass and kenaf fibers. The tensile, flexural, compression and impact tests were conducted as per ASTM. The fractured surfaces of the tested specimens were studied using a scanning electron microscope. From the results, it was shown that properties of epoxy composites were improved by hybridization with vetiver grass and kenaf fibers. The improved mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced composites were noticed in increment of percentage composition of kenaf fibers

A New Online Astronomy Resource for Education and Outreach

A new web site called Teach Astronomy (http://www.teachastronomy.com) has been created to serve astronomy instructors and their students, amateur astronomers, and members of the public interested in astronomy. The content includes an online textbook of 400 000 words and 1200 images, 40 000 articles from Wikipedia, over 1100 video clips covering all topics in astronomy, over 6300 images from Astronomy Picture of the Day and AstroPix, over 1400 podcasts from 365 Days of Astronomy, and 25–30 astronomy news stories each week from Science Daily. All these resources are navigable by a keyword search and via a unique visual interface called a Wikimap, which presents the items clustered by degree of keyword overlap and allows surfing among related items. The site can serve as a replacement for a textbook and as an information resource for formal and informal learners. Future development includes building an instructor and learner community and creating homework assignments that utilize different content areas within Teach Astronomy