Antioxidative role of selected herbs against ethanol induced liver injury in rats

The purpose of this study was to know the hepatotoxicity of ethanol in laboratory rats Rattus rattus and to observe the individual and combined phytotherapeutic role of five herbs viz. Arctium lappa, Curcuma longa, Piper longum, Plumbago zeylanica and Terminalia chebula through biochemical and histopathological parameters. Ethanol is commonly used as solvent, pharmaceutical, drugs and alcohol abuse. Lipidperoxidation, glutathione content, urinary hydroxyproline, collagen and histopathological studies showed hepatotoxicity of 1 ml/kg bodyweight dose of ethanol and protective role of 100 mg/kg body weight dose of herbs. Histopathological changes observed in the liver of rats after ethanol treatment showed hepatitis, collagenesis, fatty infiltration, sclerosis, perilobular necrosis, cytoplasmic degeneration, enlarged bile canaliculi, hydropic degeneration, focal necrosis, binucleated hepatocytes and nuclear degeneration. Mild cytoplasmic degeneration, necrosis, collagenesis and hepatocytes regenerations were observed in rats treated with same dose of ethanol and herbal combination.Ethanol treatment decreased the glutathione content, increased tissue malondialdehyde and collagen content, thus causing tissue injury and liver collagenesis. Urinary hydroxyproline level and biochemical parameters also showed the protective role of herbs against ethanol induced toxicity. Herbal combination i. e. 100ml/kg body weight from the mixture of five herbs given orally was found more effective than their individual role. Herbs and plants contain aromatic substances, secondary metabolites, alkaloids and polyphenols which act as antioxidant thus showing protective role

Effect of weed management on yield and nutrient uptake in mustard (Brassica juncea)

Field investigation was carried out during rabi season of 2014-15 at Udaipur to evaluate the effect of different weed management practices on yield and nutrient uptake of mustard. The maximum seed yield was registered with two hand weeding (1955.25 kg ha-1) except weed free check and was at par with fluazifop-p-butyl 0.055 kg ha-1 10 DAS + hoeing 40 DAS and fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 0.075 kg ha-110 DAS + hoeing 40 DAS. The highest amount of total N, P and K (112.61, 25.31 and 76.90 kg ha-1, respectively) was removed by mustard in weed free treatment followed by two hand weeding while the lowest N, P and K with the values of 70.11, 16.05 and 51.86 kg ha-1, respectively was removed by weedy check followed by isoproturon 0.75 kg ha ha-1. Among the weed management practices, the total uptake of N, P and K by weeds was found significantly less in all the weed management practices as compared to weedy check(5.87, 0.86 and 5.51 kg ha-1, respectively). The least nutrient depletion by weeds was registered with the hand weeding twice (0.52, 0.08 and 0.49 kg ha-1, respectively) followed by fluazifop-p-butyl 0.055 kg ha-1 10 DAS + hoeing 40 DAS and fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 0.075 kg ha-110 DAS + hoeing 40 DAS. Use of post emergence herbicides of ‘fop’ group such as fluazifop-p-butyl, quizalofop-p-ethyl, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (which are mostly used in soybean and groundnut crop) in indian mustard found most effective in controlling grassy weeds in early stage whereas at latterly, one hoeing 40 DAS was found effective in controlling grassy as well as broad leaved weeds under irrigated conditions

Prevalence and associated factors of nomophobia among undergraduate students of AIIMS Patna

Introduction: In recent years, the popularity of smartphones has grown to the point that it is unimaginable for individuals to do anything without using one. Nomophobia is the fear of being cut off from one's mobile phone, and it relates to the discomfort, anxiety, tension, uneasiness, and anguish that comes with it. Since the first decade of the twenty-first century, when this social phobia was coined, a growing number of research have investigated and reported the prevalence of this technology-related condition. This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated factors of nomophobia and to determine association of prevalence and associated factors of nomophobia with selected socio demographic variables among undergraduate students of AIIMS Patna. Material and Methods: The research approach here is quantitative approach and the design used here is descriptive. Undergraduate students of AIIMS, Patna are taken as target population in which minimum required sample size was 210 but it was increased to 230 for this study. Data was collected by sending questionnaire via social media. Data analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: It shows that out of the taken 230 samples, total 229(99.56%) are having nomophobia in which 55(23.913%) are having mild nomophobia, 128(55.652) are having moderate nomophobia, 46(20%) are having severe nomophobia i.e. most of the students are moderately nomophobia. The findings also reveal that there is association of prevalence and associated factors of nomophobia with selected socio demographic variables (Duration of using smartphone per day) with p value 0.000 and the Fisher exact value is 22.169 by using SPSS, the p value for this study is 0.05. Conclusion: The study shows that 99.56% of students are having nomophobia and it is an alarming wake up

Clinical Manifestations and Etiology of Liver Abscess in Children in Tertiary Care Hospital

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Development and evaluation of RTE (Ready To Eat) extruded snack using egg albumin powder and cheese powder

Extruded snacks were prepared from flour blends made with corn flour, rice flour and egg albumin powder / Cheese powder in a proportion of 35-50 : 35-50 : 5-30 respectively, and moisture was adjusted to 17-20.  Different formulations were extruded at 80 ± 5℃ (heater I) and 75-105℃ (heater II) temperature, 300-350 r m-1 screw speed, 100 ± 10℃ die temperature,  3 mm exit diameter of circular die and 15 ± 2 kg h-1 feed rate.  Sensory acceptability, physical parameters and nutrient analysis along with storage stability of the products was conducted.  The protein content of the RTE extruded snack improved by 20% to 50% in experimental samples prepared using egg albumin powder and cheese powder.  The physical parameters showed improved expansion ratio compared to control samples with good sensory properties.  Storage studies showed increase in moisture content in the extrudates on storage which can be improved using packaging materials with better barrier properties.  The use of egg albumin powder / cheese powder in an RTE snack product could make a great contribution to food security in developing countries. Keywords: Egg albumin powder, Cheese powder, Extrusion, RTE extruded snack&nbsp

Outcomes of multi drug resistant tuberculosis under programmatic conditions: the experience

Background: Tuberculosis is the most common cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide after HIV/AIDS. Drug resistant tuberculosis continues to be a public health crisis. India stands, one among 27 “high burden” MDR countries and has over 2 million new TB cases every year and TB kill’s nearly 1000 people every day. The WHO 2018 Global Tuberculosis Report estimated that, worldwide, approximately 3.5 percent of all new TB cases and 18 percent of previously treated cases are caused by MDR or rifampicin-mono resistant strains.Methods: Presumptive drug resistance TB cases were subjected for CBNAAT or LPA to detect resistance patterns. About 231 cases of MDR/RR TB cases after pre-treatment evaluation started on CAT- IV regimen and both interim and final outcomes were analyzed.Results: Out of 231cases 172(74.4%) were males and 59(25.6%) were females with age between 13-75yrs. Total of 194 cases culture conversion occurred out of which 28 cases the cultures were reverted back to positives. Final Outcomes were, cured in 84 (36.3%) cases, treatment completed in 42 (18.18%) cases, defaulters in 31 (13.4%) cases, turned to be XDR in 10 (4.32%) cases, treatment failure in 10 (4.32%) cases, 50 (21.6%) cases died, 3(1.29%) cases were transferred out.Conclusions: Approximately 2/3rd of MDR/RR TB cases are retreatment sputum positive cases. Successful outcome observed in 54.54% of cases only. High rates of deaths and defaulters alarm the necessity of more effective implementation and surveillance of the programme

Larvicidal Activity of Citrus aurantifolia Decoction against Aedes aegypti Larvae

Background: Infected female Aedes mosquito is the primary vector of virus transmission for dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Natural phytochemical larvicide is becoming a complementary way for vector control management. The citrus plant extract has natural chemical reactions against mosquito larvae. This study aimed to identify the larvicidal activity of Citrus aurantifolia leaves decoction against larvae of Aedes aegypti as an effort to discover natural phytochemical repellant.Methods: This was an analytic experimental study using twenty-five Aedes aegypti larvae. The larvae were placed in translucent cups containing different concentrations of C. aurantifolia leaves decoction. The cups were filled with Abate as positive controls and water as negative controls. The experiment was repeated for three consecutive days, and the mortality of larvae was monitored for 48 hours as described in the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for laboratory and field testing for mosquito larvicides (WHOPES).Results: C.aurantifolia decoction significantly decreased the number of larvae. The highest mortality was shown in 30% concentration with a total of 224 dead larvae. Probit analysis showed LC50 was 38.5% and 6.6% at 24 and 48 hours, respectively. The highest rate of killing the larvae was taken at LC60 with 91.6% for 24 hours and LC65 64.4% for the 48 hours; thus LC90 could not be determined. The significance of the decoction concentration was analyzed by one way ANOVA preceded with Post-hoc test (p-values 0.000).Conclusions: Decoction of C.aurantifolia leaves has proved to have larvicidal activity against larvae of Aedes aegypti and could be used as phytochemical larvicides in controlling vector of DHF

REVIEW ON FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF SOLID LIPID NANOPARTICLES FOR VAGINAL APPLICATION

Vaginal drug administration can improve prophylaxis and treatment of many conditions affecting the female reproductive tract, which includes fungal and bacterial infections, sexually transmitted diseases and cancer also. This is the best route for the administration of proteins, peptides, and also other therapeutic drugs like macro-molecules. For the administration of drugs like contraceptives, steroids, metronidazole, anti-retroviral, vaginal drug delivery is the most preferable route. However, achieving sufficient drug concentration in the vagina can be challenging because of its low permeability. The benefits of the vaginal drug delivery system are it increases the bioavailability, least systemic side effects; easiness of use and self-medication is possible. However vaginal drug delivery system is considered as a less effective route because of the unfortunate absorption of drugs across the vaginal epithelium. The traditional commercial preparations, such as creams, foams, gels, irrigations and tablets, are known to reside in the vaginal cavity for a relatively short period of time owing to the self-cleaning action of the vaginal tract and often require multiple daily doses to ensure the desired therapeutic effect. With the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology, the use of specifically designed carrier systems such as Nanoparticle-based drug delivery has been proven an excellent choice for vaginal application to overcome the challenges associated with the low permeability

Evaluation of postmenopausal bleeding: a cross sectional study

Background: Postmenopausal bleeding (PMB) is one of the most common reasons for referral to tertiary care centres with a strong suspicion of malignancy. Endometrial cancer is the most common cause of gynaecological malignancy in the West, but in India the incidence rates are low. Eighty to ninety percent (80-90%) women have benign conditions in India. The aim and objectives of my study are to evaluate causes of PMB and sociodemographic characteristics among postmenopausal women. Methods: A hospital based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among women above 45 years with PMB admitted in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, regional institute of medical sciences (RIMS), Imphal. The study was conducted for a period of two years from October 2019 to September 2021. Results: In this study, out of 50 postmenopausal women 35 (70%) belong to age group >50 years and only 15 (30%) belong to age group <50 years. The most common cause of PMB in this study was found to be endometrial atrophy (12 out of 50) and two thirds of them having ET between 2-4 mm. This association is found to be statistically significant. The incidence of genital tract malignancy in our study is 14%. Incidence of endometrial carcinoma (8%) is slightly higher than cervical cancer (6%). The incidence of premalignant lesions (endometrial hyperplasia with atypia, endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) is 20% in this study. The study did not show significant association of clinical variables with benign, premalignant or malignant causes of PMB. Conclusions: With increase in life expectancy the incidence of PMB is expected to increase in future. Since the incidence of malignancy is quite high, any bleeding in that age group should be evaluated in the line of malignancy unless proved to be otherwise