PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS IN IRULA TRIBAL POPULATION

 Objective: The study is to analyze the prevalence of infections caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), and to analyze of risk factors for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) transmission among the Irula tribes of Tamil Nadu.Methods: Serum samples were collected from 350 participants of Irula tribes from 15 different locations of Tamil Nadu. All serum samples were tested for serological markers of HBV (HBsAg) by 3rd generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit, and the data were subjected to analyze using SPSS (version 17.0) and Chi-square test to determine the risk factors of HBV among Irula tribes.Results: In the study, HBsAg positivity was observed in a higher percentage in males 10 (8.47%) than females 9 (3.54%) and their all age groups indicate the high prevalence of HBV infection in Irula tribes. Analysis of risk factors showed that jaundice in family (JF), tattooing, series of injection, sexual promiscuity, and surgery with blood transfusion plays a major role in transmission in spread of HBV.Conclusion: Hepatitis B is a major health problem in Irula tribes and needs to design intervention strategies among Irula tribal population

Tikhonov type regularization for unbounded operators

In this paper, we introduce a Tikhonov type regularization method for an ill-posed operator equation T x = y, where T is a closed densely defined unbounded operator on a Hilbert space H

Verbal ability in postmenopausal women in relation to age, cognitive and reproductive factors

Word-finding difficulties have been associated with age and, in women, lowered sex hormone levels following menopause. However, there is limited understanding of the ways that specific aspects of word-finding are shaped by women's age, reproductive histories, and background factors such as education. The current study investigated the effects of age, cognitive and reproductive factors on word-finding abilities in 53 healthy postmenopausal women aged 48-79. A questionnaire was used to gather demographic information and reproductive history. A battery of verbal fluency, continuous series, and naming tasks was designed to assess word-finding across different sensory modalities and cognitive demands. Category and letter fluency were quantified as total number of correct words produced on each task. For continuous series, switch rates and switch costs were computed. For the naming tasks, accuracy and latency measures were used. There were three key findings. Firstly, there was a consistent positive association between education and all word-finding measures, i.e., verbal fluency, continuous series, and naming. Secondly, age-related declines were seen on tasks heavily dependent on working memory such as the continuous series task. Thirdly, reproductive factors across the lifespan such as age at menarche and reproductive years showed subtle effects on naming abilities, but not on verbal fluency or continuous series. The results highlight that word-finding abilities in healthy postmenopausal women are shaped by factors associated with their early years (education, age at menarche) and later adult life (age, reproductive years). The study also distinguished between the more global effects of education, and the more task-specific associations with age and reproductive variables, on verbal task performance after menopause

ANATOMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USING FOLDSCOPE: A PAPER BASED ORIGAMI MICROSCOPE-(NEW DIAGNOSTIC TOOL)

Objective: This study mainly focussed how foldscope can be used as an efficient viewable tool to detect in morphological and anatomical investigation of various bioactive medicinal plants. Microscope provides a beneficial instrument for visualization of living cells. Its cost is very high which is not affordable for rural based educational institutes. Foldscope is the ultra-affordable and versatile, paper microscope designed to be extremely portable, durable and to give optical quality similar to conventional research microscopes. Methods: For enhancing scientific temperament among rural children, Indian Born Scientist (Dr. Manu Prakash) has introduced an ultra-low-cost foldable origami-based approach for large-scale manufacturing of microscope, specifically demonstrating bright field, dark field and fluorescence microscopes. However, its potential as in research tool in the area of aromatic medicinal plants is still not known. The slides were prepared by own and were observed with the magnification power of 140X. Results: The result of the present study reported that the Foldcsope images revealed viable stained areas in the respective plant parts like trichomes, stomata, pollen grains, stem and leaf of different medicinal plants and indicating their live activities. Conclusion: Based on the attractive images captured from the Foldscope, the uses of foldscope were recommended to public. Previously we had organized some awareness cum demonstration programme regarding foldscope and its applications in the field of science education in the different educational institute of Erode District, Tamilnadu. Based on the clarity of images and easy handling of Foldscope the uses of origami microscope were recommended for higher studies

To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards prevention of medication error in children among staff nurses working at selected settings in Chennai

A medication is a substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, relief or prevention of health alterations. In fact, medications are the primary treatment for client associate with restoration of health. Too much of a medicine may cause severe unwanted effects. An expired medicine or one that is stored wrongly can be ineffective or even dangerous. An inappropriate route can cause unnecessary pain and ineffectiveness of a medication. Taking the wrong medicine can be as dangerous as being poisoned. It is the physician’s responsibility to prescribe drugs in the correct dosage to achieve the desired effect without endangering the health of the child. However, nurses must have an understanding of the safe dosage of medication administration to children, as well as the expected action, possible side-effects and signs of toxicity. The safe administration of medication to children presents a number of problems that are not encountered when giving medication to adult patients. Children vary widely in age, weight, body surface area and the ability to absorb, metabolize and excrete medications. However, medication safety issues in children may be different to those for adults and require different preventive measures. Nurses working with pediatric patients require special knowledge and skills, concerning the proper care throughout the medication administration. � � STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM A study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards prevention of medication error in children among staff nurses working at selected settings in Chennai. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY • To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of medication error in children. • To compare the knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of medication error in children. • To correlate the knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of medication error in children • To associate the knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of medication error in children with demographic variables of staff nurses. METHODOLOGY The research approach was evaluative in nature. A descriptive design was used for this study. The study was conducted among 100 staff nurses working in Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital, Chennai. A non-probability convenient sampling technique was used to select samples based on the inclusion criteria. Structured self administered questionnaire and likert scale was used to assess the knowledge and attitude towards prevention of medication error in children. Checklist was used to observe the practice towards prevention of medication error in children. � � RESULTS Majority (86%) of the staff nurses belonged to 20-30 years. Majority (96%) of the staff nurses were female. Regarding total years of experience, majority (73%) of the staff nurses had 1-5 years of experience. Majority (48%) of the staff nurses had maximum work experience in paediatric intensive care units. The assessment of level of knowledge towards prevention of medication error in children among staff nurses showed that 53% of them had moderately adequate knowledge. The assessment of level of attitude towards prevention of medication error in children among staff nurses showed that 62% of them had favourable attitude. The assessment of level of practice towards prevention of medication error in children among staff nurses showed that 85.2% of the staff nurses had good practice. There was a significant difference between knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of medication error in children at 0.05% level of significance. There was a positive, significant and moderate correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of medication error in children at 1% level of significance. There was a significant association between level of knowledge, attitude and practice towards prevention of medication error in children and demographic variables such as age, educational status, total years of experience as staff nurse and total years of experience in paediatric unit/ward at 5% level of significance. CONCLUSION It is possible to eliminate medication errors. However, the nurses play a vital role in reducing and preventing medication error in children. Nurses had adequate knowledge, favorable attitude and good practice towards prevention of medication error in children. This study proved a significant, positive, moderate correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of � � medication error in children. There was a statistically significant association between knowledge, attitude and practice of staff nurses towards prevention of medication error in children with age, educational status and total years of experience. It seems that education and experience serves to increase nurses confidence and overcoming oppression towards safe administration of medication in children

Accuracy of Alvarado Score in Diagnosing Acute Appendicitis

INTRODUCTION: Acute appendicitis is a surgical emergency, which is associated with morbidity and mortality occasionally, so accurate diagnosis and timely intervention is needed. Therefore the present study is conducted to evaluate the Alvarado scoring system in diagnosing acute appendicitis and its co relation with histopathology AIMS: The aim is to study the effectiveness of Alvarado score in diagnosing acute appendicitis and histopathological correlation METHODS: The study population consists of 100 patients admitted in casualty with suspicion of acute appendicitis. The severity of acute appendicitis is scored by Alvarado scoring system and the patients were divided into three groups and managed according to the severity RESULTS: Group A had 54 patients with score 7-10 and considered to have acute appendicitis and taken for emergency appendicectomy. Out of 31 patients in group B, 18 were conservatively managed and 13 were diagnosed with acute appendicitis and operated. Out of 15 patients in group C, two were operated and 13 were managed conservatively. CONCLUSION: In this study the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 89.66%, 59.52% and 75.36% respectively. There is a predominance in younger age group. This scoring system is a dynamic one, allowing observation and re evaluation of clinical picture. Its value in decision making is high both in males and females.. Its application improves diagnostic accuracy and considerably reduces the negative laparotomy rate

ECOLOGY AND THE RAPD TECHNIQUES USED TO ASSESS THE GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PTEROLOBIUM HEXAPETALUM, A SCRAMBLING MEDICINAL SHRUB IN MARUTHAMALAI AND CHENNIMALAI HILLS, THE WESTERN GHATS

Objective: To investigate the ecological and genetic diversity, climatic factors, edaphic factors morphological and reproductive characters and RAPD analysis of medicinal plant species Pterolobium hexapetalum in two hills viz., Maruthamalai (arid) and Chennimalai (very arid), which is located in Coimbatore and Erode districts, Tamil Nadu. Methods: The present research was carried out by using a random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was made to determine the genetic variation between the two populations of the medicinal shrub, Pterolobium hexapetalum in an environmental gradient. Among the five primers tested, the OPN7 (80 %) and OPN17 (71.4 %) produced higher polymorphism was used in RAPD analysis. Results: The results of RAPD analysis showed the presence of 51 individual bands were formed, out of which, 29 were polymorphic bands which showed the existence of genetic variation between populations. A dendrogram was constructed based on Jaccard’s coefficient to determine the degree of genetic relationship among the two populations and analysed. The primers OPN7 and OPN17 were clustered together at a genetic distance level 10. Considering the elevation and proximity, the temperature ranges from 18 °C to 37.6 °C in Maruthamalai hill and 20 °C to 39.4 °C in Chennimalai hill. Conclusion: From the morphoecological studies the results indicated that both arid and very arid climatic conditions showed slight differences in their vegetative and reproductive characters

MOSES: Supporting and Enforcing Security Profiles on Smart Phones

ABSTRACT: Smart phones are very effective tools for increasing the productivity of business users. With their increasing computational power and storage capacity, smart phones allow end users to perform several tasks and be always updated while on the move. Companies are willing to support employee-owned smart phones because of the increase in productivity of their employees. However, security concerns about data sharing, leakage and loss have hindered the adoption of smart phones for corporate use. Present MOSES, a policy-based framework for enforcing software isolation of applications and data on the Android platform. In MOSES, it is possible to define distinct Security Profiles within a single smart phone. Each security profile is associated with a set of policies that control the access to applications and data. Profiles are not predefined or hardcoded, they can be specified and applied at any time. One of the main characteristics of MOSES is the dynamic switching from one security profile to another. To run a thorough set of experiments using our full implementation of MOSES. The results of the experiments confirm the feasibility of our proposa