Comparative study of labetalol and nifedipine in management of non- severe preeclampsia and its fetomaternal outcome

Background: In developed countries, 16 percent of maternal deaths were attributed to hypertensive disorders. Of hypertensive disorders, the preeclampsia syndrome, either alone or superimposed on chronic hypertension, is the most dangerous. The incidence of preeclampsia in nulliparous populations ranged from 3 to 10 percent.Methods: The present study was conducted at Government Raja Mirasudhar Hospital, Thanjavur Medical College, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India from October 2017 to October 2018. The study consisted of 100 antenatal women with non-severe preeclampsia. The efficacy of labetalol verses nifedipine in its management was studied along with the fetomaternal outcome.Results: In this study, in the labetalol and in the nifedipine groups adequate control of blood pressure was achieved. However, labetalol was well tolerated by our women without much side effects.Conclusions: The present study indicates both labetalol and nifedipine are equally efficacious in the control of hypertension in non-severe preeclampsia. Pathology of the disease was not altered significantly in both the groups. There was no significant difference in the neonatal outcome between the two groups

A study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme regarding Sex Education among Adolescent girls in Vivekanada Higher Secondary School at Appakudal, Erode district

NAME OF STUDY: "A study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme regarding Sex Education among Adolescent girls in Vivekanada Higher Secondary School at Appakudal, Erode district” OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: 1. To assess the pretest and post test knowledge of experimental group and control group regarding sex education among adolescent girls. 2. To compare the pretest and post test knowledge of experimental group and control group regarding sex education among adolescent girls. 3. To compare the post test knowledge of experimental group and control group regarding sex education among adolescent girls. 4. To find out the association between knowledge of experimental group with selected demographic variables. HYPOTHESIS: 1. There is significant difference between pretest and post test knowledge of experimental group of adolescents. 2. There is significant difference between the post test knowledge of experimental and control group. 3. There is significant association between the level of knowledge regarding sex education with demographic variables. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: The conceptual frame work adopted for this study was based on Van Bertalanffy General System Theory. METHODS: The research approach adopted for the study was evaluative and educative approach. The research design adopted for this study was experimental design for assessing the knowledge of the adolescents regarding sex education. The simple random sampling technique was utilized for the selection of adolescents which includes a sample of 60 adolescents were selected for the study and among 60 adolescents, 30 adolescents selected for the experimental group by alerting odd numbers and 30 adolescents were selected for the control group by allotting even numbers with help of a randomization table. Data was collected by using a structured interview schedule, which consists of Two section. Section I : Demographic variables of the adolescents. Section II : Questionnaire regarding knowledge of sex education among Adolescents. RESULTS: The result of this study shows that pre test knowledge of sex education in the experimental group 20.40(51%) of the adolescence were having the knowledge of sex education. In the control group 19.80(49.50%) of adolescents were having the knowledge of sex education. Post test knowledge of adolescents in the experimental group is 34.40(86%) and in the control group only 21.72(54.30%) of the adolescents were having the knowledge of sex education. Hence comparison in pretest and post test percentage of sex education knowledge of the experimental group of adolescents were having 35% difference during assessment whereas in the control group 4.80% of the adolescents were having difference between pretest and post test assessment. In the experimental group, the difference among adolescents between pretest and post test knowledge is significant and statically significant was tested by paired ‘t’ test (p<0.001). There is a significant association between post test knowledge score in the experimental group and in the demographic data like mothers education, age of menarche, source of information of the adolescents INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: The findings of this study support is needed for pediatric nurses to conduct Inservice education programme, to increase the knowledge of the adolescents regarding sex education. This study has proved that the adolescents had a remarkable increase in the knowledge regarding sex education, when compared to their previous knowledge, prior to the administration of the structured teaching programme, Thus in future there is a need to improve their knowledge by conducting education programme and also by modifying the individual and behavioral factors of the adolescents regarding sex education

Cocoa Butter Extender from Simarouba glauca Fat

ABSTRACT: Simarouba glauca is a rich source of fat, having a melting point of about 29°C and consisting of palmitic (12.5%), stearic (27%) and oleic (56%) as major fatty acids. It consists of about 30% of symmetrical monounsaturated-type triacylglycerols and appears to be a good source of fat for preparation of cocoa butter (CB) extender. The stearin fraction (35% yield) obtained by solvent fractionation showed an increased supercooling property and a sudden rise in temperature during solidification compared to native fat as shown by cooling curves. The fraction had a narrow melting range and consisted of a high content (66%) of symmetrical monounsaturated-type triacylglycerols like CB. The fraction was compatible with CB even at 50% substitution. In addition, the fraction did not affect the formation of stable or other polymorphic forms of CB at different tempering conditions. The fraction obtained by dry fractionation also had properties similar to that obtained by solvent fractionation. The conditions of the fractionation determine the yield of stearin, which in turn alters the melting characteristics of the fractions. The stearin obtained after removal of about 60-65% olein was found to be suitable as a CB extender to replace up to 25% of CB in chocolate products. Paper no. J9656 in JAOCS 78, 271-276 (2001). KEY WORDS: Chocolate, cocoa butter extenders, confectionery fat, fractionation, Simarouba glauca fat. Simarouba glauca, D.C. (Simaroubaceae), which is native to El Salvador in Central America and popularly known as aceituno, was introduced to India in the early 1960s. It is an evergreen tree with profuse deep green, glossy foliage on its rounded crown and has the habit of growing sprawling branches from almost the ground level in its early stages of growth. The plant begins fruiting at about 5-6 yr of age and yields for up to 50-60 yr. A mature plant yields about 20-50 kg of brown-colored oval-shaped seeds (1). It has been reported that the seeds contain 40% kernels and the kernels contain 60% fat, which is edible. The odorless, greenish-yellow fat melts at 26.4°C, has an iodine value of 52.6, and a saponification value of 190.5. The average values of major fatty acids reported were: oleic (51.1%), stearic (30.4%), and palmitic (12.6%) (2-6). Further, it has been reported that the characteristics of the fat and the fatty acid composition of Indian origin do not significantly differ from those reported from seeds of other countries (5,6). Considering the high fat content in the kernels and moderate iodine value and high content of oleic and stearic acids, the fat has good potential for use as edible fat or for blending with vanaspati or for use as a cocoa butter (CB) substitute or extender. Preparation of CB extender from S. glauca fat by fractionation and its effect on polymorphic behavior of CB are reported in this paper. MATERIALS AND METHODS Simarouba glauca seeds were procured from the Assistant Soil Conservation Officer (Keonjhar, Orissa, India). The fat was extracted from the kernels using hexane and refined with alkali. Refined fat was also procured from Regional Research Laboratory (Bhubaneswar, India). Standard triacylglycerol and fatty acid methyl esters were obtained from Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, MO). Fractionation. (i) Solvent fractionation. Refined S. glauca fat (200 g) was dissolved in 400 mL of acetone by heating to about 50°C. The solution was gradually cooled to 18°C and held at this temperature for about 2 h. The partially crystallized mass was filtered through a Büchner funnel under suction to separate stearin and olein fractions. The solvent from the fractions was removed under vacuum. The yield of stearin (Fr. 1) was 35% by weight of the fat. In another experiment, the holding time was increased to obtain stearin of 45% (Fr. 2) yield, and in yet another experiment, the solution was held at 16°C for 1 h to obtain 21% stearin (Fr. 3). (ii) Dry fractionation. Simarouba glauca fat (200 g) was melted by heating to ca. 45°C to destroy all crystal nuclei. The fat was cooled gradually to 25°C and held at this temperature for 3 h. The solid and liquid fractions were separated by filtration to yield 38% stearin (Fr. 4). Cooling curves. Solidification characteristics of the samples were determined by cooling curves obtained by using Shukoff&apos;s flask according to the procedure described by Wilton and Wode (7). The method is simple, quick, and provides information regarding how crystallization proceeds during cooling, though the crystals are not completely transformed into the most stable form. The method is also sensitive to impurities and an admixture of foreign triacylglycerols and it has been used to assess both the quality of CB from different countries of origin (8) and palm oil fractions as CB replacers (9). The temperature rise is an index of amount of crystallization formed during the experiment, the time taken shows the rate of transition of α to β′ (9,10), and the minimum temperature reached on the curve indicates the supercooling property of the sample. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A Mettler (Zurich, Switzerland) differential scanning calorimeter was used to obtain melting and crystallization characteristics o

Gut Endosymbiont Disruption through Antibiotics Influences the Metabolic Homeostasis in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Larvae

Fall armyworm as a polyphagous voracious feeder reported causing yield losses in most agriculturally important crops. As this insect had developed resistance against most of the insecticides, there is a need for an alternate approach to management. Gut endosymbiotic bacteria play a significant role in host feeding, digestion, and defense response throughout the life stages of insects. In the present study, we have isolated and identified the gut endosymbiotic bacteria of fall armyworm and the larvae were treated with antibiotics. The results showed that the maximum bacterial population was observed in the fourth instar of field-caught larvae and the least population was observed in the fourth instar artificially reared population. Based on the biochemical results the isolated gut endosymbiotic bacteria mainly comprised of Bacillus sp, Enterococcus sp., and Enterobacter sp. Based on the susceptibility of gut bacteria to different antibiotics, 6 antibiotic treatments with one insecticide treatment were administered to an artificial diet reared with third instar larvae and their dietary indices were evaluated. Among the antibiotic treatment, there was a reduction in the dietary indices in the larvae treated with Ciprofloxacin CIP5 (45.33%) and Cefotaxime CTX30 (41.73%) and an increase in dietary indices in the larvae treated with Nalidixin NA30 (31.58%), Doxycycline DO30 (8.82%), Vancomycin VA30 (22.05). Elimination of gut bacteria with a suitable antibiotic will affect the insect’s feeding and dietary indices subsequently decreasing the relative growth rate and insect’s physiology. Hence, gut bacteria-based green control measures might be used as an alternative approach for insecticides for the effective management of fall armyworm

Efficacy of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin SBI-Ma-SF 5 strain against tomato fruit borer Helicoverpa armigera Hubner (Lepidopetra: Noctuidae)

The polyphagous tomato fruit borer Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) causes yield loss of 40 – 60 per cent under favourable conditions in Tomato. The farmers rely upon chemical insecticides for its management and its injudicious use leads to unwarranted problems. The use of bio pesticides as a component of integrated pest management is one of the important factor to overcome the pesticides related issue. Among the bio-pesticides entomopathogenic fungi proved their ability against many Lepidopterans. The pathogenicity of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin SBI SF Ma 5 strain was studied against tomato fruit borer H. armigera. The median concentration (LC50) of M. anisopliae SBI Ma SF 1 strain was 3.1 x 108 conidia/ml&nbsp; with fiducial limits 2.2 x 107 to 4.2 x 109 conidia/ml. The median lethal time (LT50) value was to be 6.53 days. The SBI SF Ma 5 strain caused 88.83 per cent mortality in second instar H. armigera at 1 x 109 conidia/ml concentration. The decrease in conidial concentration reduced the efficacy of M. anisopliae strain. This strain can be used in the H. armigera management after field evaluation