Clastogenicity of sugar factory effluent using Allium assay

In the current study, an attempt was made to assess the physicochemical parameters of distillery effluent and its cytotoxic effects on root tip cells of onion (Allium cepa L.). The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) were found to be very high in the effluent. The onion bulbs were treated with different concentrations of the distillery effluent (25, 50, 75 and 100%) at room temperature. The percentage mitotic index and relative division rate were found to be decreased significantly as the concentration of the effluent increased. On the other hand, mitotic inhibition percentage and relative abnormality rate were found to increase as the effluent concentration increased. The chromosomal abnormalities were found to be increased as the concentration of the effluent increased when compared to the control. The observed chromosomal abnormalities include sticky metaphase, disturbed chromosome, sticky telophase, multipolar chromosome, laggards, fragmented metaphase, fragmented anaphase, scattered anaphase and chromosomal bridge. From the present study, it can be concluded that higher concentrations of the effluent inhibit cell division when compared to the control.Â

A questionnaire based study to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacovigilance among exam going second year undergraduate medical students in a South Indian teaching hospital

Background: Pharmacovigilance not only helps in the early detection of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) but also facilitates the identification of both, risk factors and the underlying mechanism. To increase the reporting rate, it is essential to improve the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of healthcare professionals regarding ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance, especially during undergraduate and postgraduate education. The objective of this study was to assess the KAP about pharmacovigilance among exam-going second-year undergraduate medical students.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 150 exam-going second-year undergraduate students from Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore from April 2022 to June 2022. A validated questionnaire consisting of 22 questions divided into 3 sections; knowledge, attitude, and practice was used. Statistical analysis of data was done using an MS excel spreadsheet.Results: Out of the 150 participants 133 had good knowledge about ADR and pharmacovigilance. Majority of the students agreed that reporting of ADRs is necessary (95.3%), mandatory (95.3%), and should be included in pharmacology practicals (94.7%). Only 29.3% of the students had witnessed an ADR and none of the participants had ever reported an ADR indicating poor practice among the undergraduate students.Conclusions: Students had good knowledge and positive attitude towards ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance. Practice regarding pharmacovigilance was found to be poor, indicating the need for training the undergraduate students in ADR reporting by including ADR recognition and reporting as a part of clinical posting curriculum

Cytological effects of herbicide butachlor 50 EC on somatic cells of Triticum Aestivum L.

The widespread use of the herbicides for weed control and crop productivity in modern agriculture exerts a threat on economically important crops by way of cytological damage to the cells of crop plant or side effects. In the present study the cytotoxic effects of herbicide butachlor were investigated in the somatic cells of wheat. The wheat grains were treated with different concentrations of herbicide (0.15-1.0ppm) at room temperature. The percentage mitotic index decreased significantly as the concentration of the herbicide increased when compared to control. The chromosomal abnormalities were found to be increased as the concentration of the herbicide increased when compared to control. The observed chromosomal irregularities were sticky chromatin, chromosomal bridge, nuclear lesion, scattered chromosome, fragmented metaphase, fragmented anaphase, multipolar chromosome and micronuclei. According to our findings we can say that butachlor can produce negative side effects on mitotic division in somatic cells of wheat

Pharmacokinetics of First-Line Antituberculosis Drugs in HIV-Infected Children with Tuberculosis Treated with Intermittent Regimens in India

The objective of this report was to study the pharmacokinetics of rifampin (RMP), isoniazid (INH), and pyrazinamide (PZA) in HIV-infected children with tuberculosis (TB) treated with a thrice-weekly anti-TB regimen in the government program in India. Seventy-seven HIV-infected children with TB aged 1 to 15 years from six hospitals in India were recruited. During the intensive phase of TB treatment with directly observed administration of the drugs, a complete pharmacokinetic study was performed. Drug concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. A multivariable regression analysis was done to explore the factors impacting drug levels and treatment outcomes. The proportions of children with subnormal peak concentrations (C(max)) of RMP, INH, and PZA were 97%, 28%, and 33%, respectively. Children less than 5 years old had a lower median C(max) and lower exposure (area under the time-concentration curve from 0 to 8 h [AUC(0–8)]) of INH (C(max), 2.5 versus 5.1 μg/ml, respectively [P = 0.016]; AUC(0–8), 11.1 versus 22.0 μg/ml · h, respectively [P = 0.047[) and PZA (C(max), 34.1 versus 42.3 μg/ml, respectively [P = 0.055]; AUC(0–8), 177.9 versus 221.7 μg/ml · h, respectively [P = 0.05]) than those more than 5 years old. In children with unfavorable versus favorable outcomes, the median C(max) of RMP (1.0 versus 2.8 μg/ml, respectively; P = 0.002) and PZA (31.9 versus 44.4 μg/ml, respectively; P = 0.045) were significantly lower. Among all factors studied, the PZA C(max) influenced TB treatment outcome (P = 0.011; adjusted odds ratio, 1.094; 95% confidence interval, 1.021 to 1.173). A high proportion of children with HIV and TB had a subnormal RMP C(max). The PZA C(max) significantly influenced treatment outcome. These findings have important clinical implications and emphasize that drug doses in HIV-infected children with TB have to be optimized

A Survey of Air-to-Ground Propagation Channel Modeling for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), particularly for small UAVs, due to their affordable prices, ease of availability, and ease of operability. Existing and future applications of UAVs include remote surveillance and monitoring, relief operations, package delivery, and communication backhaul infrastructure. Additionally, UAVs are envisioned as an important component of 5G wireless technology and beyond. The unique application scenarios for UAVs necessitate accurate air-to-ground (AG) propagation channel models for designing and evaluating UAV communication links for control/non-payload as well as payload data transmissions. These AG propagation models have not been investigated in detail when compared to terrestrial propagation models. In this paper, a comprehensive survey is provided on available AG channel measurement campaigns, large and small scale fading channel models, their limitations, and future research directions for UAV communication scenarios

Bedaquiline, Delamanid, Linezolid and Clofazimine for Treatment of Pre-extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND Treatment success rates for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remain low globally. Availability of newer drugs has given scope to develop regimens that can be patient-friendly, less toxic, with improved outcomes. We proposed to determine the effectiveness of an entirely oral, short-course regimen with Bedaquiline and Delamanid in treating MDR-TB with additional resistance to fluoroquinolones (MDR-TBFQ+) or second-line injectable (MDR-TBSLI+). METHODS We prospectively determined the effectiveness and safety of combining two new drugs with two repurposed drugs - Bedaquiline, Delamanid, Linezolid, and Clofazimine for 24-36 weeks in adults with pulmonary MDR-TBFQ+ or/and MDR-TBSLI+. The primary outcome was a favorable response at end of treatment, defined as two consecutive negative cultures taken four weeks apart. The unfavorable outcomes included bacteriologic or clinical failure during treatment period. RESULTS Of the 165 participants enrolled, 158 had MDR-TBFQ+. At the end of treatment, after excluding 12 patients due to baseline drug susceptibility and culture negatives, 139 of 153 patients (91%) had a favorable outcome. Fourteen patients (9%) had unfavorable outcomes: four deaths, seven treatment changes, two bacteriological failures, and one withdrawal. During treatment, 85 patients (52%) developed myelosuppression, 69 (42%) reported peripheral neuropathy, and none had QTc(F) prolongation >500msec. At 48 weeks of follow-up, 131 patients showed sustained treatment success with the resolution of adverse events in the majority. CONCLUSION After 24-36 weeks of treatment, this regimen resulted in a satisfactory favorable outcome in pulmonary MDR-TB patients with additional drug resistance. Cardiotoxicity was minimal, and myelosuppression, while common, was detected early and treated successfully

White matter changes in microstructure associated with a maladaptive response to stress in rats

In today's society, every individual is subjected to stressful stimuli with different intensities and duration. This exposure can be a key trigger in several mental illnesses greatly affecting one's quality of life. Yet not all subjects respond equally to the same stimulus and some are able to better adapt to them delaying the onset of its negative consequences. The neural specificities of this adaptation can be essential to understand the true dynamics of stress as well as to design new approaches to reduce its consequences. In the current work, we employed ex vivo high field diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to uncover the differences in white matter properties in the entire brain between Fisher 344 (F344) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, known to present different responses to stress, and to examine the effects of a 2-week repeated inescapable stress paradigm. We applied a tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis approach to a total of 25 animals. After exposure to stress, SD rats were found to have lower values of corticosterone when compared with F344 rats. Overall, stress was found to lead to an overall increase in fractional anisotropy (FA), on top of a reduction in mean and radial diffusivity (MD and RD) in several white matter bundles of the brain. No effect of strain on the white matter diffusion properties was observed. The strain-by-stress interaction revealed an effect on SD rats in MD, RD and axial diffusivity (AD), with lower diffusion metric levels on stressed animals. These effects were localized on the left side of the brain on the external capsule, corpus callosum, deep cerebral white matter, anterior commissure, endopiriform nucleus, dorsal hippocampus and amygdala fibers. The results possibly reveal an adaptation of the SD strain to the stressful stimuli through synaptic and structural plasticity processes, possibly reflecting learning processes.We thank Neurospin (high field MRI center CEA Saclay) for providing its support for MRI acquisition. JB was supported by grants from Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) and Groupe Pasteur Mutualité (GPM). This work was supported by a grant from ANR (SIGMA). This work was performed on a platform of France Life Imaging (FLI) network partly funded by the grant ANR-11-INBS-0006. This work and RM were supported by a fellowship of the project FCT-ANR/NEU-OSD/0258/2012 founded by FCT/MEC (www.fct.pt) and by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). AC was supported by a grant from the Fondation NRJ.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio