KNOWLEDGE AND ADOPTION BEHAVIOUR OF FARMERS TOWARDS IMPROVED TOMATO PRODUCTION PRACTICES IN SONBHADRA DISTRICT OF UTTAR PRADESH

 India being a sub-tropical country, ideal for fruit and vegetable production and stands as second largest producer of vegetable. Tomato is the most cultivating vegetable crop in Uttar Pradesh but to ensure food security and to impart the new technology to farmers, the knowledge, attitude and adoption level of farmers should be studied. Thus, the present study was formulated in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. Four villages were selected from Ghorwal taluk, 30 respondents from 4 villages constitutes the respondents. Primary data collected from the respondents were analysed with appropriate statistical tools. It can be inferred that majority of the respondents were middle aged, illiterate, had agriculture as their main occupation, possess below 1 hectare of land holding, had 3-10 years of experience in tomato cultivation and farming with medium level of mass media exposure, risk taking ability and progressiveness; earns medium level of annual income. Meanwhile,  most of them had medium level of knowledge, attitude and adoption. Whereas, socio-economic characteristics like age, education, mass media exposure, annual income, farming experience and progressiveness had positive and significant association with the knowledge and attitude level of respondents.&nbsp

BUILDING TRUST IN INVESTMENT BANKS: WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?

Paper Presented at a conference on Investment Banking organized by the College of Management Sciences PAF-KIET and Business Solutions in July 2005 at Karachi

A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON MEDICATION USE PATTERN IN PATIENTS WITH RISK FACTORS OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

Objectives: The current study was undertaken to review and assess the medication usage pattern in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: A 12-month prospective observational study was carried out at Shadan Teaching and General Hospital, Peerancheru (Hyderabad), involving 384 CKD patients considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Medication evaluation for optimization was done using the World Health Organization (WHO) core prescribing indicators. Data collected were entered using Microsoft Excel. Descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, and standard deviation (SD) were used to present sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants. Results: Out of the total of 384 patients, 249 (65%) were male and 135 (35%) were female with a mean age of 58.28 (SD: 13.12). A total of 384 prescriptions were scrutinized with a total of 3634 drugs, out of which drugs acting on the cardiovascular system were the most prescribed drugs (36.37%). The average number of drugs per prescription was found to be 9.08 considering the total number of prescriptions. The percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name was 15.57%. The percentage of encounters with antibiotics was 25%, whereas the percentage of encounters with injections was 86%. The percentage of drugs prescribed from the Essential Drug List or Formulary was found to be 26.36%. Conclusion: Assessment of medication usage patterns using the WHO core indicators in CKD patients helps to reinforce the current hospital guidelines for the optimal usage of medications. The introduction of a clinical pharmacist along with a multidisciplinary team provides intensive care to the patients and helps to improve the clinical outcome

THE IMPACT OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUG THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL COHORT STUDY

Objective: Hypertension (HTN) is both a cause and an effect of chronic kidney disease (CKD). To adequately control blood pressure (BP) in CKD, choosing antihypertensive strategies with the highest nephro-protective effect is crucial for preventing or reversing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) progression and reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate the impact of clinical use of antihypertensive drug therapy in patients with CKD and ESRD. Methods: It is a prospective observational cohort study. The patients were divided into two cohorts i.e.; non-dialysis dependent (NDD) and dialysis-dependent (DD) CKD. This study was conducted for six months in the Nephrology department, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad, India. The data collected and entered into Microsoft Excel (2007) and mean, SD and range were calculated using SPSS version 25. Results: Antihypertensive drugs were prescribed alone or in combination based on the co-morbidities associated with CKD and HTN. Loop diuretics (Furosemide and Torsemide) and calcium channel blocker (Amlodipine, Nifedipine and Cilnidipine) were most commonly prescribed antihypertensive drugs. Triple therapy (44.11%) was prescribed mostly in both the cohorts (NDD = 16.66%+DD = 27.45%) of which calcium channel blockers+loop diuretic+sympatholytic accounts for 19.16% (NDD = 5.88%+DD = 13.73%).  Conclusion: The practice of prescribing antihypertensive drugs for the management of HTN and to achieve BP targets in CKD and ESRD remains uncertain. The development of new and revised guidelines is needed to reduce inappropriate variations in practice and promote better delivery of evidence-based treatment

WOUND HEALING POTENTIAL OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF TRIBULUS TERRESTRIS L. FRUITS

The main objective of the present investigation is to evaluate the wound healing potential of methanolic extract of Tribulus terrestris L. (TT) fruits on Wistar rats. Wound healing (i.e. analgesic and anti-inflammatory) potential of the methanolic extract of the TT fruits at doses of 50, 100 & 200 mg/kg was evaluated against the standard drug indomethacin at a dose of 20 mg/kg, p.o. Adult Wistar rats of either sex of six numbers in each group was undertaken for study and evaluated by acetic acid-induced writhing, hot plate reaction time, carrageenan-induced hind paw edema and safety test on gastric mucosa method. Methanolic extract of TT showed anti-nociceptive effect in acetic acid-induced writhing characterized by a significant decrease in the number of writhings in rats (p < 0.01). In hot plate test, TT showed nociceptive reaction towards thermal stimuli in rats and a significant increase in the reaction time was observed (p < 0.01). The test drug significantly inhibited the carrageenan-induced hind paw edema in rats that is indicative of the anti-inflammatory effect of TT (p < 0.01). However, no gastric lesions were observed in TT treated rats indicating the safety of test drug. The methanolic extract of TT showed significant wound healing potential in different animal models. Keywords: analgesic, anti-inflammatory, indomethacin, gastric mucosa

A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON EFFECTS OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE AGENTS IN ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Drug utilization evaluation of hepatoprotective drugs is important in view of the spectrum of effect and associated risks with their therapy. The study was designed to evaluate the effects and adverse effects of hepatoprotective agents. A prospective, observational study was carried out for a period of 6 months at Osmania General Hospital (a tertiary care hospital). 120 patients were evaluated receiving corticosteroids, pentoxifylline, ursodeoxycholic acid for observing a trend in hepatic parameters and its outcomes. Ursodeoxycholic acid (81.66%) was the most commonly prescribed drug in almost all cases of alcoholic liver diseases followed by pentoxifylline (10%) in hepatorenal syndrome and then prednisolone (8.33%) in fatty liver. 67 cases were reported to have the significant drop in liver transaminases and bilirubin levels. Ursodeoxycholic acid resulted in a drop of 25% serum bilirubin and 35% drop in serum ALT (alanine transaminase) and 33% drop in serum AST (aspartate transaminase) in patients in a time gap of 1 week. Among 120 cases 94 were males (78.05%) and 26 females (21.04%) and maximum patients with alcoholic liver disease belonged to age group of 30-40 years (27.6%). Ursodeoxycholic acid (300 mg once daily) is used as an off-label drug for all types of alcoholic liver disease and also for viral hepatitis. Though Ursodeoxycholic acid showed a significant drop in liver transaminases and serum bilirubin levels in cirrhotic patients a better alternative lie in liver transplantation as long as they remain abstinent from alcohol. Keywords: Alcoholic liver diseases, Hepatoprotective agents, Liver transaminases, Bilirubin, Paired t-test

A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS OF ANTIBIOTICS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

The aim of the present study was to detect and analyze adverse drug reactions of antibiotics in a tertiary care hospital. This was a prospective observational study carried out in the Department of General Medicine (Osmania General Hospital) over a period of six months. The present study was conducted to assess the prescription pattern of antibiotic usage. Standard pro-forma was used to collect the information regarding antibiotics, its dose, duration, first line of antibiotics and second line of antibiotics and adverse drug reactions. A Total of 100 ADRs was reported from 100 patients during the study period with female predominance (72%) over males. The average age of the patients in the study was found to be 55-70 years. The majority of the ADRs occurred in the age group of 40-80 years. More number of ADRs was from General Medicine Departments in which the most affected organ systems were the GIT (22%) and the skin (19%). The antibiotic classes mostly accounted were cephalosporin (16%) followed by other. The severity assessment revealed that most of them were moderate followed by mild and severe reactions. Of the reported reactions, 30 % were definitely preventable and causality assessment was done which showed that the reactions were probable, possible. Results show that cephalosporin was extensively used in the department of General medicine. The system should promote the spontaneous reporting of Adverse drug reactions to antibiotics. Proper documentation and periodic reporting to regional Pharmacovigilance centre’s to ensure drug

Assessment of climatic influences on net primary productivity along elevation gradients in temperate ecoregions

Elevation gradients significantly influence net primary productivity (NPP), but the relationship between elevation, climate variables, and vegetation productivity remains underexplored, particularly in diverse ecological zones. This study quantifies the impact of elevation and climatic variables on NPP in northern Pakistan, hypothesizing that elevation modulates NPP through its influence on temperature and precipitation patterns. Using remote sensing data (MODIS ERA5) and advanced ecological models like the Eddy Covariance-Light Use Efficiency (EC-LUE) model and the Thornthwaite Memorial Model (TMM), we analyzed Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) dynamics across various vegetation types and elevations from 2001 to 2023. Our findings show a mean annual NPP of 323.46 g C m-2 a-1, with an annual increase of 5.73 g C m-2 a-1. Significant elevation-dependent variations were observed, especially in mid-elevation zones (401 to 1600 meters), where NPP increased at a rate of 0.174 g C m-2 a-1 per meter (R² = 0.808, p < 0.01). In contrast, higher elevations (2800-5200 meters) exhibited a decline in NPP, decreasing by -0.171 g C m-2 a-1 per meter (R² = 0.905, p < 0.001). Temperature and precipitation were key drivers, with precipitation positively correlating with NPP across all vegetation types, particularly in Evergreen Needleleaf and Broadleaf Trees. The EC-LUE model's GPP estimates closely matched MODIS data (R² = 0.82), demonstrating the model's reliability. These findings highlight the critical role of elevation and climatic factors in vegetation productivity and underscore the need for targeted ecological management and conservation strategies. The insights from this research are vital for global climate adaptation policies and sustainable development goals, contributing to ecological resilience and carbon sequestration efforts worldwide. © 2024 The Author(s