Comparative study of serum ferritin levels after oral supplementation with ferrous sulphate and carbonyl iron in mild iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy

Iron supplementation is almost universally recommended during pregnancy to correct or prevent iron deficiency. Iron status can be assessed prepartum by estimating blood hemoglobin concentration, serum iron, serum total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and serum ferritin. This study attempts to know the therapeutic efficacy of the drugs, ferrous sulphate and carbonyl iron, in improving the iron stores to meet the increased demand during pregnancy. A comparative study was done in two groups of 36 pregnant women each. One group was supplemented with ferrous sulphate and the other group with carbonyl iron. The biochemical parameters assessing iron status, serum ferritin, serum iron and serum TIBC along with hemoglobin concentration were estimated before and after supplementation in both groups. Though not statistically significant, an increase was seen in the mean levels of serum ferritin in pregnant women who were supplemented with carbonyl iron compared to those who were supplemented with ferrous sulphate. Therefore, carbonyl iron can be preferred over ferrous sulphate in treating iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy, with added advantages of lesser side effects and shorter duration of therapy, which has been established in earlier studies. © 2010 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Serum iron, serum TIBC, hemoglobin concentration

Tidal waves cause damages to coastal villages in Kerala

The article reports on the damages caused by giant tidal waves to coastal villages between Aarattupuzha (Alleppey District) in the south and Nattika (Trichur District) in the north for a distance of about 150 km along the Kerala coast. The giant tidal waves struck hard against the shore and rolled over into the low lying areas filling the sea water in the huts, wells, paddy fields etc. The damages were the minimum where ever the sea walls were present. But such calamities are unpredictable, hence the practical solution to such sudden natural calamities is to protect the coast line by constructing sea wall wherever the same is not present

A REVIEW ON POLYCORIA

The presence of multiple iris holes is most commonly called pseudopolycoria, because only the central pupil has a sphincter muscle and can constrict. Iris holes without muscle tissue arise as congenital defects or develop from ocular trauma, inflammation, or degeneration and are thus not considered to be true accessory pupils. Multiple pupils, also known as true polycoria, are distinguished by the presence of a sphincter muscle around each iris hole, permitting synchronous constriction and dilation of the 2 pupils. One presumed mechanism for polycoria is a snaring or pinching off from the margin of another pupil. This patient had a small, oval-shaped accessory pupil, which may have separated from the temporal margin of the central pupil, leaving a thin bridge of no sphincter connecting tissue. The outlook for polycoria is generally good. You may not require any treatment if your visual impairment is minimal and doesn’t interfere with your daily life. However, if treatment is needed, pupilloplasty has so far shown positive results. If you have polycoria, it’s important to have regular check-ups with an eye doctor to monitor your vision and any changes your eyes may have. Having your eye checked regularly is also beneficial for your eyesight as a whole

Packages of Practices for Sustainable, Ecofriendly Mariculture (Land-based Saline Aquaculture and Seafarming)

The problems of fast growing human population and protein deficit, particularly in the developing countries continue to exert pressure on the fisheries resources available for exploitation in the wild water bodies. The increasingly limited opportunities in the capture fisheries sector have generated considerable interest in aquaculture

Human protein reference database—2006 update

Human Protein Reference Database (HPRD) () was developed to serve as a comprehensive collection of protein features, post-translational modifications (PTMs) and protein–protein interactions. Since the original report, this database has increased to >20 000 proteins entries and has become the largest database for literature-derived protein–protein interactions (>30 000) and PTMs (>8000) for human proteins. We have also introduced several new features in HPRD including: (i) protein isoforms, (ii) enhanced search options, (iii) linking of pathway annotations and (iv) integration of a novel browser, GenProt Viewer (), developed by us that allows integration of genomic and proteomic information. With the continued support and active participation by the biomedical community, we expect HPRD to become a unique source of curated information for the human proteome and spur biomedical discoveries based on integration of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data

BHPR research: qualitative1. Complex reasoning determines patients' perception of outcome following foot surgery in rheumatoid arhtritis

Background: Foot surgery is common in patients with RA but research into surgical outcomes is limited and conceptually flawed as current outcome measures lack face validity: to date no one has asked patients what is important to them. This study aimed to determine which factors are important to patients when evaluating the success of foot surgery in RA Methods: Semi structured interviews of RA patients who had undergone foot surgery were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted to explore issues that were important to patients. Results: 11 RA patients (9 ♂, mean age 59, dis dur = 22yrs, mean of 3 yrs post op) with mixed experiences of foot surgery were interviewed. Patients interpreted outcome in respect to a multitude of factors, frequently positive change in one aspect contrasted with negative opinions about another. Overall, four major themes emerged. Function: Functional ability & participation in valued activities were very important to patients. Walking ability was a key concern but patients interpreted levels of activity in light of other aspects of their disease, reflecting on change in functional ability more than overall level. Positive feelings of improved mobility were often moderated by negative self perception ("I mean, I still walk like a waddling duck”). Appearance: Appearance was important to almost all patients but perhaps the most complex theme of all. Physical appearance, foot shape, and footwear were closely interlinked, yet patients saw these as distinct separate concepts. Patients need to legitimize these feelings was clear and they frequently entered into a defensive repertoire ("it's not cosmetic surgery; it's something that's more important than that, you know?”). Clinician opinion: Surgeons' post operative evaluation of the procedure was very influential. The impact of this appraisal continued to affect patients' lasting impression irrespective of how the outcome compared to their initial goals ("when he'd done it ... he said that hasn't worked as good as he'd wanted to ... but the pain has gone”). Pain: Whilst pain was important to almost all patients, it appeared to be less important than the other themes. Pain was predominately raised when it influenced other themes, such as function; many still felt the need to legitimize their foot pain in order for health professionals to take it seriously ("in the end I went to my GP because it had happened a few times and I went to an orthopaedic surgeon who was quite dismissive of it, it was like what are you complaining about”). Conclusions: Patients interpret the outcome of foot surgery using a multitude of interrelated factors, particularly functional ability, appearance and surgeons' appraisal of the procedure. While pain was often noted, this appeared less important than other factors in the overall outcome of the surgery. Future research into foot surgery should incorporate the complexity of how patients determine their outcome Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Evacetrapib and Cardiovascular Outcomes in High-Risk Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: The cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor evacetrapib substantially raises the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, reduces the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level, and enhances cellular cholesterol efflux capacity. We sought to determine the effect of evacetrapib on major adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with high-risk vascular disease. METHODS: In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial, we enrolled 12,092 patients who had at least one of the following conditions: an acute coronary syndrome within the previous 30 to 365 days, cerebrovascular atherosclerotic disease, peripheral vascular arterial disease, or diabetes mellitus with coronary artery disease. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either evacetrapib at a dose of 130 mg or matching placebo, administered daily, in addition to standard medical therapy. The primary efficacy end point was the first occurrence of any component of the composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary revascularization, or hospitalization for unstable angina. RESULTS: At 3 months, a 31.1% decrease in the mean LDL cholesterol level was observed with evacetrapib versus a 6.0% increase with placebo, and a 133.2% increase in the mean HDL cholesterol level was seen with evacetrapib versus a 1.6% increase with placebo. After 1363 of the planned 1670 primary end-point events had occurred, the data and safety monitoring board recommended that the trial be terminated early because of a lack of efficacy. After a median of 26 months of evacetrapib or placebo, a primary end-point event occurred in 12.9% of the patients in the evacetrapib group and in 12.8% of those in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.11; P=0.91). CONCLUSIONS: Although the cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor evacetrapib had favorable effects on established lipid biomarkers, treatment with evacetrapib did not result in a lower rate of cardiovascular events than placebo among patients with high-risk vascular disease. (Funded by Eli Lilly; ACCELERATE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01687998 .)