Evaluation of serum ferritin in in type II diabetes mellitus: a hospital based observational study from Dibrugarh, Assam, India

Background: Increased serum ferritin, reflecting body iron overload, is often associated with insulin resistance. The role of iron in the pathogenesis of diabetes is suggested by an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in diverse causes of iron overload, and reversal or improvement in glycemic control) with a reduction in iron load achieved using either phlebotomy or iron chelation therapy.Methods: This study was carried out to assess Serum Ferritin levels in Type 2 diabetes mellitus and to examine whether a correlation between Serum ferritin and HbA1c% and fasting blood glucose levels exists. 92 type 2 diabetes subjects (M:F - 52:40) were studied and compared with age and gender matched controls.Results: The study showed that serum ferritin levels was significantly increased in diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus in comparison with the age and gender matched healthy individuals (p value<0.01). A strong positive correlation was found between HbA1c% and serum ferritin levels and the correlation was found to be statistically significant (p<0.01). A strong positive correlation was also found between serum ferritin and fasting blood glucose levelsConclusions: Therefore, the findings in the present study indicates that serum ferritin was increased in diabetes as long as glycemic control was not achieved and that this increase may contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease as well as in the development of complications. Thus, routine screening for serum ferritin concentration in pre-diabetes and diabetic patients can be done to assess the body iron stores

Prospecting for scarabid specific Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxin cry8 gene in sugarcane ecosystem of Tamil Nadu, India

In the present study, we report the occurrence of cry8 positive isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in selected white grub, Holotrichia serrata F. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), endemic soils of sugarcane ecosystem and other places in Tamil Nadu. Out of the 66 soil samples collected and screened for white grub specific Bt, 74 isolates of the bacterium, all containing only spherical crystal toxin, were identified. PCR screening of these isolates with cry8 gene universal primer revealed six isolates to be positive. Further, the amplicon of a 370 bp band, amplified with another set of degenerate primer designed based on the conserved sequence of cry8 genes, was sequenced from four isolates. Multiple sequence alignment revealed the gene sequences to be the same for all the isolates. The present report of the availability of cry8 positive Bt isolates opens the avenue for controlling white grubs through transgenic research

Development and Validation of Stability Indicating Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for estimation of Donepezil HCl from bulk drug

Stability of Donepezil Hydrochloride(DONE) was investigated using stability indicating Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) utilizing C-18 column and mobile phase containing Acetonitrile:Water (pH 3.5)  in ratio of 40:60 at flow rate of 1 ml min-1. Peaks of donepezil and degradation products were well resolved at retention times &lt; 7 min. Stability was performed in 0.1N hydrochloric acid, 0.1N sodium hydroxide, 3 % hydrogen peroxide, neutral, photolytic and dry heat conditions. Fast hydrolysis was seen in alkaline condition as compared to oxidative and neutral conditions. Methods was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity and robustness LOQ and LOD. It was also found to be stability indicating, and therefore suitable for the routine analysis of Donepezil hydrochloride in the pharmaceutical formulation

Human Teeth Is Useful Even after Its SHED! So, Why Discard It?

A few decades ago, if one underwent a knee injury that makes walking painful or had an atrophied kidney, then, he/she was condemned to a life hooked on to machines, or on constant medications. However, in today’s era, teeth can be grown in a Petri dish; heart and liver replacements are possible with no risk of rejection because the organs are made of the patient’s own cells. This is the promise of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The entire idea of regenerative medicine is based on the presence of stem cells in the body or the ability to introduce stem cells into the body without causing harm. These can be obtained from a variety of body and dental tissues. Deciduous teeth often discarded as biological waste is proven to possess Stem cells (SHED) that have promising applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Hence, their contribution toward the field of regenerative medicine and dentistry is immense. This chapter summarizes SHED’s regenerative potentials and therapeutic applications; and also focuses on its potential future scope in regenerative dentistry. Furthermore, procedures involved in SHED-induced therapy, from SHED collection to SHED banking, have also been explained

Access and use of interventions to prevent and treat malaria among pregnant women in Kenya and Mali: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Coverage of malaria in pregnancy interventions in sub-Saharan Africa is suboptimal. We undertook a systematic examination of the operational, socio-economic and cultural constraints to pregnant women's access to intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp), long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) and case management in Kenya and Mali to provide empirical evidence for strategies to improve coverage. METHODS: Focus group discussions (FGDs) were held as part of a programme of research to explore the delivery, access and use of interventions to control malaria in pregnancy. FGDs were held with four sub-groups: non-pregnant women of child bearing age (aged 15-49 years), pregnant women or mothers of children aged <1 year, adolescent women, and men. Content analysis was used to develop themes and sub-themes from the data. RESULTS: Women and men's perceptions of the benefits of antenatal care were generally positive; motivation among women consisted of maintaining a healthy pregnancy, disease prevention in mother and foetus, checking the position of the baby in preparation for delivery, and ensuring admission to a facility in case of complications. Barriers to accessing care related to the quality of the health provider-client interaction, perceived health provider skills and malpractice, drug availability, and cost of services. Pregnant women perceived themselves and their babies at particular risk from malaria, and valued diagnosis and treatment from a health professional, but cost of treatment at health facilities drove women to use herbal remedies or drugs bought from shops. Women lacked information on the safety, efficacy and side effects of antimalarial use in pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Women in these settings appreciated the benefits of antenatal care and yet health services in both countries are losing women to follow-up due to factors that can be improved with greater political will. Antenatal services need to be patient-centred, free-of-charge or highly affordable and accountable to the women they serve

Measurement of electrical properties of electrode materials for the bakelite Resistive Plate Chambers

Single gap (gas gap 2 mm) bakelite Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) modules of various sizes from 10 cm \times 10 cm to 1 m \times 1 m have been fabricated, characterized and optimized for efficiency and time resolution. Thin layers of different grades of silicone compound are applied to the inner electrode surfaces to make them smooth and also to reduce the surface resistivity. In the silicone coated RPCs an efficiency > 90% and time resolution \sim 2 ns (FWHM) have been obtained for both the streamer and the avalanche mode of operation. Before fabrication of detectors the electrical properties such as bulk resistivity and surface resistivity of the electrode materials are measured carefully. Effectiveness of different silicone coating in modifying the surface resistivity was evaluated by an instrument developed for monitoring the I-V curve of a high resistive surface. The results indicate definite correlation of the detector efficiency for the atmospheric muons and the RPC noise rates with the surface resistivity and its variation with the applied bias voltage. It was also found that the surface resistivity varies for different grades of silicone material applied as coating, and the results are found to be consistent with the detector efficiency and noise rate measurements done with these RPCs.Comment: 9 Pages, 6 figure

Measurement of electrical properties of electrode materials for the bakelite Resistive Plate Chambers

Single gap (gas gap 2 mm) bakelite Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) modules of various sizes from 10 cm \times 10 cm to 1 m \times 1 m have been fabricated, characterized and optimized for efficiency and time resolution. Thin layers of different grades of silicone compound are applied to the inner electrode surfaces to make them smooth and also to reduce the surface resistivity. In the silicone coated RPCs an efficiency > 90% and time resolution \sim 2 ns (FWHM) have been obtained for both the streamer and the avalanche mode of operation. Before fabrication of detectors the electrical properties such as bulk resistivity and surface resistivity of the electrode materials are measured carefully. Effectiveness of different silicone coating in modifying the surface resistivity was evaluated by an instrument developed for monitoring the I-V curve of a high resistive surface. The results indicate definite correlation of the detector efficiency for the atmospheric muons and the RPC noise rates with the surface resistivity and its variation with the applied bias voltage. It was also found that the surface resistivity varies for different grades of silicone material applied as coating, and the results are found to be consistent with the detector efficiency and noise rate measurements done with these RPCs.Comment: 9 Pages, 6 figure

Antioxidant Property of a Novel Lemongrass Oil Mouth Wash: An Experimental Study

Oxidative stress is believed to be in part responsible for the inflammatory conditions affecting the periodontium manifesting as gingivitis and periodontitis. Antioxidants are those substances which when present in minimum quantities prevents the oxidation of a substrate. Recently, there has been a considerable interest in finding natural antioxidants from plants. Natural antioxidants are presumed to be safe since they occur in plant foods. These natural antioxidants occur in all higher plants, and in all parts of plants.The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy of lemongrass oil mouthwash for anti oxidant property by estimation of thiol levels before and after administration of lemongrass oil mouthwash. A total of 40 subjects were included in this study. Subjects were divided into 4 groups i.e. 3 test groups and one control group. Initially, saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) were collected and sent for analyzing the thiol levels. After scaling, lemongrass oil mouthwash that was prepared indigenously was administered at three different concentrations. Subjects were recalled on the 15th day; saliva and GCF sample were collected and sent for estimation of thiol levels. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 16.0 software and results were analyzed.There was no statistical difference in the thiol levels within the case groups whereas the subjects in the case group showed increased thiol levels when compared to the control group. The lemongrass oil mouthwash was found to have anti oxidant activity at all the three concentrations levels