JBiopest 7(2):110-123(2014) Management of early blight of tomato JBiopest 5(1): 1-6 ©449 Cinnamomum zeylanicum extracts and their formulations control early blight of tomato

ABSTRACT Alternaria solani causes early blight in plants belonging to family Solanaceae

Synthesis and characterization of polystyrene-blockpoly(vinylbenzoic acid): a promising compound for manipulating photoresponsive properties at the nanoscale

"Published online: 27 January 2015"Using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, the effect of PSt macroRAFT and 4VBA ratio on the synthesis of a carboxylic acid functional block copolymer (PSt-b-P4VBA) was studied. PSt macroRAFT polymer was initially prepared followed by the insertion of 4-vinylbenzoic acid (4VBA) monomer. The chemical structure of the diblock copolymer was confirmed by NMR and FTIR. The effect of PSt macroRAFT and 4VBA ratio on copolymerization yield and on molecular weight distribution was assessed by gel permeation chromatography. The rate of polymerization did not change as the 4VBA/PSt macroRAFT ratio increased, indicating an ideal amount of 4VBA insertion. An optimal ratio of [PSt macroRAFT]:[AIBN]:[4VBA] was 1.2:1:180. DSC and XRD confirmed the amorphous structure of homo and copolymer. Thermal stability was higher for PSt-b-P4VBA forming activated porous carbon char by dehydration, carbonization and oxidation. SEM and STEM observations showed a morphological evolution between PSt macroRAFT and the correspondent copolymer.The authors acknowledge the n-STeP-Nanostructured systems for Tailored Performance, with reference NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000039, supported by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2), PEst-C/CTM/LA0025/2013 (Strategic Project-LA 25-2013-2014)

From habits of attrition to modes of inclusion: enhancing the role of private practitioners in routine disease surveillance

Background: Private practitioners are the preferred first point of care in a majority of low and middle-income countries and in this position, best placed for the surveillance of diseases. However their contribution to routine surveillance data is marginal. This systematic review aims to explore evidence with regards to the role, contribution, and involvement of private practitioners in routine disease data notification. We examined the factors that determine the inclusion of, and the participation thereof of private practitioners in disease surveillance activities. Methods: Literature search was conducted using the PubMed, Web of Knowledge, WHOLIS, and WHO-IRIS databases to identify peer reviewed and gray full-text documents in English with no limits for year of publication or study design. Forty manuscripts were reviewed. Results: The current participation of private practitioners in disease surveillance efforts is appalling. The main barriers to their participation are inadequate knowledge leading to unsatisfactory attitudes and misperceptions that influence their practices. Complicated reporting mechanisms with unclear guidelines, along with unsatisfactory attitudes on behalf of the government and surveillance program managers also contribute to the underreporting of cases. Infrastructural barriers especially the availability of computers and skilled human resources are critical to improving private sector participation in routine disease surveillance. Conclusion: The issues identified are similar to those for underreporting within the Integrated infectious Disease Surveillance and Response systems (IDSR) which collects data mainly from public healthcare facilities. We recommend that surveillance program officers should provide periodic training, supportive supervision and offer regular feedback to the practitioners from both public as well as private sectors in order to improve case notification. Governments need to take leadership and foster collaborative partnerships between the public and private sectors and most importantly exercise regulatory authority where needed

Evaluation of chemiluminescence, toluidine blue and histopathology for detection of high risk oral precancerous lesions: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early detection holds the key to an effective control of cancers in general and of oral cancers in particular. However, screening procedures for oral cancer are not straightforward due to procedural requirements as well as feasibility issues, especially in resource-limited countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare the performance of chemiluminescence, toluidine blue and histopathology for detection of high-risk precancerous oral lesions. We evaluated 99 lesions from 55 patients who underwent chemiluminescence and toluidine blue tests along with biopsy and histopathological examination. We studied inter-as well as intra-rater agreement in the histopathological evaluation and then using latent class modeling, we estimated the operating characteristics of these tests in the absence of a reference standard test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a weak inter-rater agreement (kappa < 0.15) as well as a weak intra-rater reproducibility (Pearson's r = 0.28, intra-class correlation rho = 0.03) in the histopathological evaluation of potentially high-risk precancerous lesions. When compared to histopathology, chemiluminescence and toluidine blue retention had a sensitivity of 1.00 and 0.59, respectively and a specificity of 0.01 and 0.79, respectively. However, latent class analysis indicated a low sensitivity (0.37) and high specificity (0.90) of histopathological evaluation. Toluidine blue had a near perfect high sensitivity and specificity for detection of high-risk lesions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In our study, there was variability in the histopathological evaluation of oral precancerous lesions. Our results indicate that toluidine blue retention test may be better suited than chemiluminescence to detect high-risk oral precancerous lesions in a high-prevalence and low-resource setting like India.</p

A Validated HPTLC Method for Determination of Ondansetron in Combination with Omeprazole or Rabeprazole in Solid Dosage Form

A simple, precise, accurate and rapid high performance thin layer chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous estimation of ondansetron combinations in solid dosage form with omeprazole and rabeprazole, respectively. The method involved separation of components by TLC on a precoated silica gel 60 F254 using a mixture of dichloromethane:methanol (9:1) as a mobile phase. Detection of spots was carried out at 309 nm and 294 nm for ondansetron with omeprazole and ondansetron with rabeprazole combinations, respectively. The mean retardation factor for ondansetron and omeprazole were found to be 0.42±0.02, 0.54±0.03, respectively while for ondansetron and rabeprazole, 0.41± 0.02 and 0.51±0.02, respectively. The linearity and range was 0.1 to 0.5 μg/spot for three drugs. The method was validated for precision, accuracy and reproducibility

Characteristics of patients attending rapid access clinics during the West of Scotland Cancer Awareness Programme oral cancer campaign

Aim In 2003, the West of Scotland Cancer Awareness Programme (WoSCAP) launched their oral cancer campaign to raise public awareness of the disease in five NHS boards across the West of Scotland. The aim of this study was to evaluate the campaign by reviewing patients attending rapid access clinics in the 11 secondary care units across the five boards. Design Data were collected in 2004 during the second phase of the campaign via a two part self-completing questionnaire; the first part collected information from the patients and the second part from the clinicians, in rapid access clinics in the secondary care units. Results In total, 580 questionnaires were given out in the clinics with 538 completed patient sections (response rate 93%) and 500 completed clinician sections (response rate of 86%). More than two thirds of rapid access secondary care patients had seen a recent health campaign related to mouth cancer, and 46% responded that the campaign had encouraged them to seek advice more quickly. Of the patients examined in the clinics, 5% had a provisional diagnosis of a malignant lesion, 7% a potentially malignant lesion, and the majority of lesions were benign. The clinicians deemed 30% of the referrals to be inappropriate. Conclusions The results show a high percentage of patients attending rapid access clinics were aware of the campaign. However, there were a disproportionate number of inappropriate referrals to the rapid access clinics compared to genuinely urgent cases

Potentially inappropriate medication use in elderly patients: A study of prevalence and predictors in two teaching hospitals

Background: Geriatrics is an emerging clinical specialty in India. Information about the appropriateness of prescription medication use among the elderly in India is limited. Aims: To determine the prevalence and predictors of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use, and assess the relationship between PIM use and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the hospitalized elderly. Settings: Medicine wards at two teaching hospitals. Design: Prospective observational study. Materials and Methods: Patients aged > 60 years admitted to medicine wards between January 2008 and June 2009 were included and reviewed for PIM use according to the Beers Criteria 2003 (BC). Severity of PIM use was classified as per BC as ′high′ or ′low′. ADRs observed in the study patients were also recorded. Statistical Analysis: Association between ADRs and PIM use was assessed using Chi Square test. Bivariate analysis and subsequently multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of PIM use. Results: PIM use was observed in 191 of 814 enrolled patients. At least one PIM at admission and during hospital stay was received by 2.4% (20) and 22.1% (180) patients respectively. High-severity PIM use showed a higher prevalence compared to low severity [26.8% (218) vs. 5.5% (45)]. Amongst the patients who received polypharmacy (> 5 concurrent medications), 1.4% (5/362) and 22.1% (163/736) patients received PIMs at admission and during hospital stay respectively. Use of aspirin/clopidogrel/diclofenac in the presence of blood clotting disorder or anticoagulant therapy (8.3%) was the most commonly encountered PIM use. Medications not listed in BC were associated with increased occurrence of ADRs compared to medications listed in BC (349 vs. 11) (χ2 =98.4, P<0.001). Increased number of concurrent medications′ use (≥9) during the stay in medicine wards was identified as an influential predictor of PIM use [Odds ratio: 1.9, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.34-2.69, P<0.001) in the hospitalized elderly. Conclusion: PIM use was common (23.5%) among the elderly patients during their stay in medicine wards in two tertiary care hospitals. Measures targeted only at BC medications may do little to change the risk of ADRs in elderly