EFFECT OF SUPPLEMENTATION OF WITHANIA COAGULANS FRUIT ON THE FASTING PLASMA GLUCOSE LEVELS OF TYPE 2 DIABETIC SUBJECTS

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the effect of supplementation of Withania coagulans fruit on the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels of type 2 diabetic subjects.Methods: In the natural system of medicine, many plants have been claimed to be useful for the management of diabetes mellitus. W. coagulans (Paneer poo) is one such source in which the fruit of the plant possesses hypoglycemic properties. The study was designed to determine the effect of a 60-day supplementation of W. coagulans fruit drink on the FPG levels of Type 2 diabetic subjects. W. coagulans fruit (6 numbers - approximately 2.5 g) was soaked overnight in 100 ml of water. This was administered to the experimental group. The control group received a placebo.Results: There was a significant decrease in the FPG levels of the experimental group on the 61st day. There was a statistically significant increase in the FPG level of the control group on the 61st day, showing that the placebo did not have any hypoglycemic effect.Conclusion: A significant reduction in FPG levels in the experimental group at the end of the study period proves that W. coagulans is a good hypoglycemic agent

Women in environmental protection

Quality of life has become an important concern of all people. Environmental quality is considered as an important parameter in assessing the quality of life. Women share the environment as much as the men share. There are many areas where women are directly connected with the environmental quality. Women in India, spend a major part of their time in indoor conditions. Cooking in the kitchen, washing clothes, cleaning the house and its surroundings are the important duties which the women perform. Women are exposed to environmental pollution while performing these duties. This is the environment to which women are exposed in particular, however, the general environmental quality affects them equally. Women are victims of environmental pollution. Women, forming 50 per cent of the population can be a very important human resource to combat environmental pollution. Role of women in increasing the awareness of the requirement of environmental protection is important. Individual and mass movements of women organisations in India have paid rich dividends. Legal battles fought by women in India to protect the environment are worth noting. The present paper covers the role of women in environmental protection. Legal battles fought by women and achievements made by women organisations in India are also incorporated in the paper

Awareness of adverse drug reactions reporting among doctors in a tertiary care centre

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are more commonly observed during treatment course in a substantial number of patients. Though we have a functioning pharmacovigilance programme in India, we have only fewer number of adverse drug reactions being reported indicating lack of awareness, the unsure attitude and reluctance in reporting adverse drug reactions.Methods: We conducted a cross sectional pretested questionnaire based study for a period of six months. 600 questionnaires were distributed. 521 responded back to the questionnaire of which 29.6% were interns, 56.8% were junior residents, 5.2% doctors were senior residents, and 8.4% were Assistant professors. Awareness on ADR reporting, ADRs encountered in practice, common causative drugs for ADR, and awareness on the functions of Pharmacovigilance programme of India were assessed.Results: 44.9% were not aware of the pharmacovigilance programme; 59.5% of the study population were not aware of the voluntary reporting of ADRs. 100% of the doctors who participated actively in the study responded that have not reported any ADR so far under pharmacovigilance programme of India. 88.1% of the doctors who participated in the study were willing to undergo a training on ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance.Conclusions: This study concludes that serious measures have to be taken to educate the doctors on ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance. By means of involving pharmacovigilance as a part of the undergraduate programme and by organising regular workshops, group discussion and continuous medical education, we can improve the awareness among doctors regarding ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance

Hyper Market Industry in Dubai – An Evaluation Using AHP Technique

Among all retail formats hypermarket is growing very fast in UAE that is at the rate of 150 percent.The major players in this sector are Carrefour, Spinney’s, United, Choithram and Lulu.The focus of the problem is selecting a best hypermarket among the existing operators of Dubai andfor which we used seven major criteria for evaluating the hypermarkets such as product availabilityand variety, market coverage, channel density, customer density, nationality served, facilities andservices and customer spending pattern. We used Analytic hierarchy process (AHP), developed byThomas saaty (1980) to provide a simple but theoretically sound multiple criteria methodology forevaluating the alternatives

Analysis of maternal mortality at tertiary care centre

Background: The aim of the study was to analyse the causes of maternal mortality at a tertiary care centre and find measures to reduce it.Methods: A retrospective study of maternal deaths from January 2018 to December 2020 that occurred at Government Vellore Medical College and Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu. Data collected from case records and death reviews.Results: There was total of 71 deaths at the tertiary care hospital during the period January 2018 to December 2020 out of 31407 live births giving Maternal mortality rate of 226/1,00,000 live births. The MMR is high as it is a tertiary hospital catering referral from six districts. Most of the cases were due to late referrals. The majority of the deaths occurred in primigravida (50.7%), in the age group of 21 to 25 years (35.2%) and around term gestational age (49.3%). The most common cause of death in our study was hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (29.5%) followed by PPH (14.08%).Conclusions: From our study we concluded that the most common causes of maternal death were due to direct obstetric causes like severe pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and post-partum haemorrhage. Early identification of high-risk cases, early identification of GHT, anaemia and its correction, early referral of high-risk cases to tertiary centre can prevent most of the deaths.

Study of Spilled Oil Behavior on the Topsoil Induced by Thermal Diffusion

The fate and transport of oil spilled in soil has long been a focus for experimental and theoretical research in subsurface hydrology. Oil transport in the soil is affected by a large number of physical, chemical and microbial processes; and the properties of the media. This study is a two layer problem containing horizontal oil layer overlying the subsurface topsoil region saturated with oil and water (native fluid). To explain the method by which the convective flow in the oil region affect the transportation of oil, modeling is carried out in two regions (oil and topsoil). The two dimensional, transient oil flow equations for both the regions include thermal and concentration buoyancy effects. The species equations include the effects of energy flux caused by the temperature gradient on the unsteady advective-diffusion equation. The resulting fluid flow, heat and mass transfer processes are discussed numerically with the aid of graphs. The validity of the results obtained is verified by comparison with available results and good agreement is found

Effect of smoking on vitamin C and MDA: a cross sectional comparative study

Background: Plasma gets exposed to the gases present in the smoke of the cigarette which leads to peroxidation. The ascorbic acid present in the body gets oxidized there is danger of derangement of lipid profile. The measure of malondialdehyde which is formed in lipid peroxidation reaction is indicative of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress seen among the smokers has been attributed to high MDA levels. Objective was to study the effect of smoking on vitamin C and MDA.Methods: Present study was cross sectional study. Two groups of subjects were compared. Out of 100 study subjects, 25 were non smokers and were kept in one group. Remaining 75 were smokers. These two groups were compared to find out how the smoking habit affects the MDA as well as vitamin C levels among them.Results: The levels of MDA were more in smokers compared to those who did not smoke and this difference was significant. The levels of vitamin C were less in smokers compared to those who did not smoke and this difference was significant (p<0.05). It was found that the MDA levels were significantly more among all degrees of smokers. It was less in smokers with mild degree compared to smokers with heavy or moderate degree. Level of vitamin C was more in non smokers compared to smokers. Mild degree of smokers had better levels of vitamin C compared to moderate degree of smokers.Conclusions: Smoking affects the vitamin C levels and MDA levels in the human body

A study of serum lipid profile in smokers and non-smokers: evaluation of role of smoking on lipid profile

Background: Several studies have reported elevated blood cholesterol levels among persons who regularly smoke cigarettes and lowered blood cholesterol levels among persons quitting smoking. Other studies have also shown that smoking lowers high density lipoprotein level, resulting in an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Smoking also leads to increase in LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The objective was to study serum lipid profile in smokers and non-smokers.Methods: A cross sectional comparative study was carried in 100 subjects. The subjects were divided into two groups. First group consisted of 25 nonsmokers and second group of 75 smokers. The group of 75 smokers was again divided into three equal sub groups of 25 each depending upon the duration and intensity of smoking. Concentration of serum total cholesterol and HDL was determined by Zak’s method. Concentration of serum LDL and VLDL cholesterol was determined by Friedwald’s formula. Concentration of serum triglyceride level was determined by enzymatic end point peroxidase coupled method.Results: All the values of lipid profile i.e., total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, VLDL were found to be significantly higher among the smokers compared to the non-smokers. HDL value was significantly lower among smokers. As the degree of smoking increased from mild to heavy smokers, the values of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and VLDL increased. The degree of smoking was inversely proportional to HDL values i.e., the HDL value decreased as the smoking degree increased.Conclusions: Thus, it can be said based on the present study that smoking affects and deranges the lipid profile of the person

Mathematical model to study The spread of spilled oil in the soil

A mathematical model describing the spread of spilled oil through the soil is discussed. The spread of spilled oil in soil is controlled by the flow of water and is described by multiphase equations. In this context, the two-phase flow characteristics of oil-water flow with varying viscosity in the subsurface coupled to an advective-diffusion equation are examined to study the transport of oil. The terms that model the interaction between the multiple phases are introduced at the boundary, such as the slip condition at the porous-fluid interface, shear stress condition at the fluid-fluid interface, and the continuity of velocity at both the interfaces. The effect of various physical parameters such as Schmidt number, retardation factor, viscosity ratio, porous and slip parameter on the velocity and concentration profiles are discussed in detail with the help of graphs. The surface plots of velocity and concentration of oil against axial distance at different time are also analyzed. The obtained results show that the velocity of oil accelerates linearly with axial length and there is a decrease in the concentration of the spilled oil through the media. The validity of the results obtained is verified by comparison with available experimental result, and good agreement is found