ANTIMIGRAINE ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF ABROMA AUGUSTA L. IN LABORATORY ANIMALS

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate of antimigraine activity of methanolic extract of Abroma augusta L. leaves in laboratory animals. Methods: The antimigraine activity was evaluated against nitroglycerine (NTG, 10 mg·kg−1, i. p.) and bradykinin (BK, 10 µg, intra-arterial) induced hyperalgesia in rats. Rats were divided randomly into six groups: normal, control, standard (sumatriptan, 42 mg·kg−1, s. c.), and Abroma augusta L. (100,200 and 400 mg·kg−1, p. o.). In the nitroglycerin (NTG) induced hyperalgesia model, rats were pre-treated with standard drug sumatriptan and Abroma augusta L. for 0, 7 and 14 d and tail flick latency were recorded separately in 0-day, 7-day and 14-day pretreatment study. Brain serotonin concentration was also estimated by HPLC method at the end of the study. In bradykinin induced hyperalgesia model the number of vocalizations were recorded as a measure of hyperalgesia in rats. Results: Abroma augusta L. showed a significant (P<0.001) elevation in the tail-flick latency (at dose 400 mg·kg−1) and body weight (at doses 100, 200, and 400 mg·kg−1) in NTG-induced hyperalgesia model in rats. Further, A. augusta L. (400 mg/kg) showed a significant (P<0.001) increase in brain serotonin concentration compared to NTG control group animal. It showed a significant (P<0.01, P<0.001) reduction in the elevated number of vocalizations at doses (200 and 400 mg·kg−1) in the bradykinin-induced hyperalgesia model in rats. Conclusion: We concluded that the methanolic extract of Aroma augusta L. possessed an anti-migraine effect in nitroglycerine and bradykinin-induced hyperalgesia model in rats

Evaluation of endometrial thickness with transvaginal ultrasonography in perimenopausal women presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding and correlation with its histopathological findings

Background: Abnormal uterine bleeding is the most common presenting menstrual complaint in women of perimenopausal age group. Most frequently used diagnostics tests to investigate the causes of abnormal bleeding are Transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) and endometrial biopsy. Uterine curettage is an invasive procedure and is performed with anaesthesia. TVS is a non-invasive method that has been used to evaluate the endometrium and uterine cavity. The objectives of this study were to measure and evaluate the role and accuracy of endometrial thickness by transvaginal ultrasonography study to detect endometrial pathology in perimenopausal women presenting with Abnormal Uterine Bleeding. To correlate the transvaginal sonographic results with the Histopathological findings to discriminate normal from pathological endometrium.Methods: Prospective study including 150 perimenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding. Endometrial thickness was measured by TVS and then D and C was performed for all the patients.Results: Out of 150 women, 128 (85.3%) had normal and 22 (15%) had an abnormal endometrium. 43.3% were of 41-45 years and 65.3% patients presented with complaint of heavy menstrual bleeding. Majority of the patients in the study group were para 2 or more. Fibroid uterus (24%) was the commonest uterine pathology detected on TVS. 53.3% of patients had endometrial thickness in the range 10-14.9 mm. Most common finding on HPE was secretory endometrium (44.6%). Endometrial carcinoma was found in 3%. Endometrial thickness <14mm was associated with least abnormal endometrial pathology.Conclusions: Endometrial thickness of less than 14 mm need not be indicated for D and C in perimenopausal abnormal uterine bleeding. In perimenopausal women with AUB, TVS should be the investigation of choice due to its convenience, accuracy and non- invasiveness

Pelvic pressure packing for intractable obstetric and gynaecological hemorrhage in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Haemorrhage is one of the most common complication of any surgery. Haemorrhage can be arterial, venous or capillary ooze. Massive haemorrhage if not timely managed may lead to fatal consequences. There are various medical and surgical methods to control haemorrhage. This study aims to achieve hemostasis with the help of pelvic pressure pack in Obstetric and Gynaecologic surgeries when standard methods are failed and to evaluate efficacy of simple and modified technique of pack preparation.Methods: This is an observational study of 11 cases conducted over a period of 4yrs. This study reports modification of standard packing techniques which overcomes some of its limitations. Here the pack was used in different gynaecologic and Obstetric cases, where intractable haemorrhage was the major problem and standard methods to control haemorrhage had failed. Here a simple foley’s catheter rolled with condom and filled with normal saline was used to prepare a pack and kept over the bleeding surface. This specific pack will adopt the shape of the body cavity it is inserted into, thereby causing pressure tamponade against bleeding surfaces. Pack was removed after 48-72 hours of insertion. Postoperative control of bleeding, patient stability and morbidity were studied.Results: The pelvic pressure pack successfully controlled bleeding in 100% of cases without any morbidity and mortality.Conclusions: In the contemporary management of post-hysterectomy or adhesiolysis induced uncontrolled pelvic bleeding and venous oozes, the pelvic pressure pack appears to be valuable and effective option, affording correction of coagulopathy and further stabilization. We believe all Obstetricians and Gynaecologists should be familiar with this simple safe and cheap potentially lifesaving technique

A study of sharp coefficient bounds for a new subfamily of starlike functions

AbstractIn this article, by employing the hyperbolic tangent function tanhz, a subfamily$\mathcal{S}_{\tanh }^{\ast }$Stanh∗of starlike functions in the open unit disk$\mathbb{D}\subset \mathbb{C}$D⊂C:$$\begin{aligned} \mathbb{D}= \bigl\{ z:z\in \mathbb{C} \text{ and } \vert z \vert < 1 \bigr\} \end{aligned}$$D={z:z∈C and |z|<1}is introduced and investigated. The main contribution of this article includes derivations of sharp inequalities involving the Taylor–Maclaurin coefficients for functions belonging to the class$\mathcal{S}_{\tanh }^{\ast }$Stanh∗of starlike functions in$\mathbb{D}$D. In particular, the bounds of the first three Taylor–Maclaurin coefficients, the estimates of the Fekete–Szegö type functionals, and the estimates of the second- and third-order Hankel determinants are the main problems that are proposed to be studied here

Polymer/Fullerene Nanocomposite for Optoelectronics—Moving toward Green Technology

Optoelectronic devices have been developed using the polymer/fullerene nanocomposite, as focused in this review. The polymer/fullerene nanocomposite shows significant structural, electronics, optical, and useful physical properties in optoelectronics. Non-conducting and conducting polymeric nanocomposites have been applied in optoelectronics, such as light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and sensors. Inclusion of fullerene has further broadened the methodological application of the polymer/fullerene nanocomposite. The polymeric matrices and fullerene may have covalent or physical interactions for charge or electron transportation and superior optical features. Green systems have also been explored in optoelectronic devices; however, due to limited efforts, further design innovations are desirable in green optoelectronics. Nevertheless, the advantages and challenges of the green polymer/fullerene nanocomposite in optoelectronic devices yet need to be explored

Screening of Mutated K-Ras Inhibitors from Malaysian Typhonium flagelliforme for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

K-ras is an oncogenic GTPase responsible for at least 15-25% of all non-small cell lung cancer cases worldwide. Lung cancer of both types is increasing with an alarming rate due to smoking habits in Malaysia among men and women. Natural products always offer alternate treatment therapies that are safe and effective. Typhonium flagelliforme or Keladi Tikus is a local plant known to possess anticancer properties. The whole extract is considered more potent than individual constituents. Since K-ras is the key protein in lung cancer, our aim was to identify the constituents of the plant that could target the mutated K-ras. Using docking strategies, reported potentially active compounds of Typhonium flagelliforme were docked into the allosteric surface pockets and switch regions of the K-ras protein to identify possible inhibitors. The selected ligands were found to have a high binding affinity for the switch II and the interphase region of the ras-SOS binding surface

The importance of incorporating functional habitats into conservation planning for highly mobile species in dynamic systems

The distribution of mobile species in dynamic systems can vary greatly over time and space. Estimating their population size and geographic range can be problematic and affect the accuracy of conservation assessments. Scarce data on mobile species and the resources they need can also limit the type of analytical approaches available to derive such estimates. We quantified change in availability and use of key ecological resources required for breeding for a critically endangered nomadic habitat specialist, the Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor). We compared estimates of occupied habitat derived from dynamic presence-background (i.e., presence-only data) climatic models with estimates derived from dynamic occupancy models that included a direct measure of food availability. We then compared estimates that incorporate fine-resolution spatial data on the availability of key ecological resources (i.e., functional habitats) with more common approaches that focus on broader climatic suitability or vegetation cover (due to the absence of fine-resolution data). The occupancy models produced significantly (P < 0.001) smaller (up to an order of magnitude) and more spatially discrete estimates of the total occupied area than climate-based models. The spatial location and extent of the total area occupied with the occupancy models was highly variable between years (131 and 1498 km2 ). Estimates accounting for the area of functional habitats were significantly smaller (2-58% [SD 16]) than estimates based only on the total area occupied. An increase or decrease in the area of one functional habitat (foraging or nesting) did not necessarily correspond to an increase or decrease in the other. Thus, an increase in the extent of occupied area may not equate to improved habitat quality or function. We argue these patterns are typical for mobile resource specialists but often go unnoticed because of limited data over relevant spatial and temporal scales and lack of spatial data on the availability of key resources. Understanding changes in the relative availability of functional habitats is crucial to informing conservation planning and accurately assessing extinction risk for mobile resource specialists

Relationship between knowledge and treatment satisfaction with psychological well-being among haemodialysis patients: a single center study

Background: Haemodialysis (HD) patients are subjected to bio-psychosocial stress in many ways even after successful hemodialysis session. Therefore, this study was designed to survey on relationship between knowledge and treatment satisfaction with psychological well-being among haemodialysis patients.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 100 HD patients who were referred to emergency dialysis unit, nephrology and transplant unit, National Hospital, Kandy during the year 2019. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire.Results: Mean age of this study group was 45.17 (13.6) years; two dominant etiologies of chronic renal failure were diabetic nephropathy and hypertension accounting for nearly 61% of the study population. Only 19% of patients presented with emotional suffering and 40% of patients worried about their disease condition. However, majority of the patients satisfied with nursing care and nurses’ co-operation while they are on HD treatment. Moreover, they confirmed nurses’ co-operation helped to reduce their stress level. Further, knowledge on HD compliance (p=0.000), satisfaction on nursing staff attitudes (p=0.001), satisfaction on nursing staff concern about the health issues (p=0.001) and worrying about the kidney disease condition (p=0.000) had statistically significant association with mental stress in this study cohort.Conclusions: The topic of stressors is very important among patients receiving dialysis, as these affect their psycho-social and physiological wellbeing. Thus, health care team is playing an important role in providing patients with effective psycho-social and physiological support