Plant sterols for human health- A review

The aim of the article was to review phytosterols as functional food and its significance in lowering cholesterol as well as its specific effect on human health. Phytosterols has been known for its cholesterol lowering action long time back but the uprising of phytosterols in form of functional foods gained the interest once again. Fatty food matrix provides optimal solubility but fortification of phytosterols with other food matrices like low fat fermented milk, bread, juice are showing positive results. A dose of 2 g/day of either steryl or stanyl esters has been prescribed for an optimum effect which has been confirmed by FDA and EC. A number of studies have documented the safety and the efficiency of phytosterols. But there is still a big question mark on the use of it because of their adverse effect on body in form of Phytosterol oxidation products (POPs). It needs further investigation to elucidate effect of POPs within body

Development and sensory evaluation of ready to eat supplementary food using garden cress (Lepidium sativum) seeds

Ready-to-eat traditional supplementary food was prepared using different substitution levels of garden cress seeds and evaluated using 9 point hedonic scale for sensory attributes. Addition of garden cress seeds showed significant difference at 15 and 10 per cent for Indian food pinni and panjiri and 5 per cent level for laddu and burfi for overall acceptability. For chikki, non significant difference was found in the mean scores for overall acceptability (P<0.05). In case of biscuits, values did not differ significantly at 7.5 per cent while significant difference was shown at 10 per cent. Supplementation of garden cress did not affect texture of foods except burfi where at 15 percent level significant difference was found. Overall acceptability of all developed products was found to be highest for control which decreased gradually with the increase in the level of garden cress powder. It may be concluded that garden cress can be utilized successfully up to 10-25 per cent level to prepare ready-to-eat supplementary food with high nutritional value without imposing a negative impact on sensory perception, which may prove a boon to malnourished population

Morbidity pattern and health seeking behavior in elderly population of Raipur City, Chhattisgarh, India

Background: Epidemiological transition across globe is considered as the net result of the demographic transition. The shape of the population pyramid is gradually changing from a wide-based and narrow topped form to a barrel-shaped form in recent future (1). Aims & Objectives: 1. To determine morbidity pattern in elderly population, 2. To assess their health care seeking behavior. Material & Methods: Study design- A Community based cross sectional observational study. Study setting - Pt J.N.M. Medical College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Study Duration: July 2013 to June 2014. Sampling method: - Multi stage simple random sampling. Sample size: 640. Sample Size were calculated by using statistical formula, n= Z21-?/2 P(1-P)/d. Study tool: Pre-designed, Pre-tested Performa. Ethical consideration-Written document from institutional ethical Committee and Informed Consent from subject. Inclusion criteria: 1. All elderly persons in the age group of 60 years and above who were residing in the study area for at least one year, and willing to Participate in study without compulsion. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Those who were not willing to participate in study. Results & Conclusions: Prevalence of morbidity was 95.31%. Morbidity was positively associated with advancement of age and predominant in females (98.92%) and those belong to slum (98.43%) and lower (98.14%) socio-economic status while inversely associated with Physical activity. Out of total morbid population 70.49% had chronic illness. Most common system involvement was Gastro intestinal system (82.62%). Perception about illness was increased with advancement of age. Majority were seeking therapy from private registered practitioner (35.52%)

Primary aneurysmal bone cyst of coronoid process

BACKGROUND: Aneurysmal bone cysts are relatively uncommon in the facial skeleton. These usually affect the mandible but origin from the coronoid process is even rarer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a coronoid process aneurysmal bone cyst presenting as temporal fossa swelling. CASE PRESENTATION: A 17 year old boy presented with a progressively increasing swelling in the left temporal region developed over the previous 8 months. An expansile lytic cystic lesion originating from the coronoid process of the left mandible and extending into the infratemporal and temporal fossa regions was found on CT scan. It was removed by a superior approach to the infratemporal fossa. CONCLUSION: Aneurysmal bone cyst of the coronoid process can attain enormous dimensions until the temporal region is also involved. A superior approach to the infratemporal fossa is a reasonable approach for such cases, providing wide exposure and access to all parts of the lesion and ensuring better control and complete excision

Awareness and Perception Regarding Eye Donation in Students of a Nursing College in Bangalore

<b>Context:</b> Corneal diseases constitute a significant cause of visual impairment and blindness in the developing world. The number of corneal transplants done is far less than the actual requirement in India. This is largely due to the inadequate number of corneas collected. Well-informed nursing students could be expected to influence eye donation rates. <b> Aims:</b> To assess the awareness and perception of 188 first- and second-year nursing students towards eye donation in Bangalore. <b> Settings and Design:</b> Cross-sectional study design.<b> Materials and Methods:</b> A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire. <b> Statistical Analysis Used:</b> Data were analyzed using the Epi-Info software package, Version 6.04. <b> Results:</b> The majority (96.8&#x0025;) of students knew that eyes can be donated after death but only 38.2&#x0025; knew that the ideal time of donation was within 6 hours of death. Most participants (85.1&#x0025;) were either willing or had already donated their eyes. Nobility in the act of eye donation was the main motivational force for eye donation according to 85.6&#x0025; of students. Perceived reasons for not pledging eyes by the students were: the unacceptable idea of separating the eyes from the body (67.9&#x0025;), lack of awareness (42.8&#x0025;), objection by family members (28.5&#x0025;), and unsuitability to donate because of health problem (10.7&#x0025;). <b> Conclusion:</b> This study revealed that nursing students were well aware of eye donations and most of them were inclined to sign-up for eye donation. The perceived reasons for not donating eyes need to be considered while creating awareness about eye donation in the community. The nursing students could be actively involved as volunteers in eye donation campaigns and they can act as counsellors for eye donors. They can also contribute by participating in creating awareness and motivating people to become eye donors

Formation development and evaluation of microsphere of sulfasalazine for the treatment inflammatory bowel diseases

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic relapsing and remitting inflammatory disorder of the small intestine and colon. IBD includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), and it is a main reason for the expansion of colon cancer, referred to as colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Oral colon-targeted microsphere based drug delivery system containing sulfasalazine was prepared, optimized and characterized. The microspheres were effectively prepared by simple emulsification phase-separation technique followed by cross-linking. The formulations were optimized on the basis of drug: polymer ratio, stirring speed, concentration of glutaraldehyde. The prepared microspheres were characterized on the basis of morphology, entrapment efficiency, particle size and in-vitro release. Keywords: Microspheres, Sulfasalazine, Inflammatory bowel disease, Colon-targeted, Chitosa

Agricultural Sustainability in the North Eastern Region of India: A Sustainable Livelihood Security Index (SLSI) Approach

This paper offers an economic analysis of agricultural sustainability in the North Eastern Region (NER) of India by calculating the sustainable livelihood security index (SLSI) of each state. The SLSI serves as an important indicator for educating farmers and other stakeholders about sustainable agriculture production. This paper focuses on the NER as this region has received meagre attention in policy perspectives and is deprived in terms of various socio-economic and ecological indicators as compared to the rest of India. The findings show that various components of the SLSI, such as the ecological security index, economic efficiency index, and social equity index, have wide interstate variations. The agricultural sector in the NER has largely been neglected, with the state failing to adopt inclusive policies to uplift small and marginal farmers. The region suffers from severe poverty and malnutrition, improper management, over-exploitation of natural resources, and population explosion. These issues are a threat to agricultural sustainability. The study aims to identify the key factors that influence agricultural sustainability for inclusive and sustainable agricultural development. The findings show that the value of the SLSI ranged from 0.37 to 0.56 among the North Eastern states, which shows low agricultural sustainability. The indicators reveal that Tripura ranks first, with an SLSI score of 0.56, followed by Sikkim (0.50) and Assam (0.44). Manipur stood last in the SLSI ranking of North Eastern states, with a score of 0.37, which evidently shows the need for policy changes to enhance the sustainable development of agriculture

Chemical Aspects of the Synergistic Hypergolic Ignition in Hybrid Systems with N2O4 as Oxidizer

Synergistic hypergolic ignition with nitrogen tetroxide ( N2O4) as oxidizer has been observed in hybrid systems comprising of a mixture of magnesium and Schiff bases as fuels. The ignition delays (IDs) measured using a modified device, have been compared with those of magnesium-Schiff base-WFNA systems under identical conditions. The ID has been found to vary with the nature of the substitution in both the benzene rings. A linear relationship emerges when the ignition delays are plotted against the Hammett substitution constants (σ). The preignition products of the reaction of N2O4 with magnesium and benzylidineaniline have been analysed to be Mg(NO3)2, benzenediazonium salt and benzaldehyde. Based on the preignition products isolated, a probable reaction mechanism has been proposed. The previously proposed preignition mechanism for the Schiff base-magnesium-WFNA system has been further supported from the present ignition delay data