Prevention of endotoxin-induced uveitis in rabbits by Triphala, an Ayurvedic formulation

Purpose: Triphala (TA) is an Ayurvedic formulation used to treat various disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of TA aqueous extract on experimental uveitis in the rabbit. Methods: Anterior uveitis was induced in rabbits by intravitreal injection of lipopolysaccharide from Eschericha coli after pretreatment with TA aqueous extract. Subsequently the anti-inflammatory activity of TA was evaluated by grading the clinical signs and estimating the inflammatory cell count, protein, and TNF-α level in the aqueous humour. Results: The anterior segment inflammation in the control group was significantly higher than in TA and prednisolone treated groups, as observed by clinical grading. The inflammatory cell count in the control group was 31.23 ± 0.80 × 105cells/ml, whereas it was 3.29 ± 0.47 × 105cells/ml (P < 0.0001 vs. control) and 1.31 ± 0.31 × 105 (P < 0.0001 vs. control) cells/ml in the TA and prednisolone treated groups, respectively. The protein content of the aqueous humour was 15.43 ± 0.54, 3.13 ± 0.35 (P < 0.0001 vs. control), and 1.96 ± 0.39 (P < 0.0001 vs. control) mg/ml in the control, TA and prednisolone treated groups respectively. The aqueous TNF- α level in the control group was 942.20 ± 6.46 pg/ml and was 261.30 ± 13.60 (P < 0.001 vs. control) and 104.00 ± 4.50 (P < 0.0001 vs. control) pg/ml in the TA and prednisolone treated groups, respectively. \ud Conclusions: Topical administration of aqueous extract of TA prevented uveitis in endotoxin-induced experimental rabbits.\u

COMPARATIVE TREND ANALYSIS IN COST OF PADDY CULTIVATION AND PROFITABILITY ACROSS THREE STATES OF INDIA

Agriculture has seen tremendous changes in the past century, with agricultural research investments paving the way for productivity gains leading to reduction in production costs and capacity to carter larger population. The contribution of agriculture to the GDP is on the decline and so does profitability. Farmer suicides were not a common phenomenon in India before 1990, but more than two lakh farmers committed suicides between 1990 and 2010. The underlying causes for failure in agriculture could be many including climate change, reduction in profitability and fragmentation of land. This article explores the trends in the cost of cultivation of paddy and its profitability in three Indian states of Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu during the period 1999-2011. It is observed that the factors like hired machine and human labor, fertilizer, are all growing in varying proportions leading to an increase in the cost of cultivation. In the years showing profits, Profitability seemed to be averaging around ten percent and while in most of the years loss was reported. Over the years, the increase in cost of cultivation seems to be stable in contrast with the increase in value of paddy produced by farmers. The APM project has appropriately addressed issues of increasing cost of manures through introduction of vermicomposting. Other appropriate techniques and technologies have also been demonstrated for increased profitability. Efforts need to be taken to create an enabling environment to ensure a commensurate income to farmers for a dignified life

ASSESSMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRIENT INTAKE OF COMMUNITIES ACROSS THREE AGRO-BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN INDIA

Balanced and adequate nutrition is important in improving the health of the community in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Assessment of the nutritional status of a community is important for development of implementation strategies and suitable policies. Dietary assessment indicates whether intake of macro and micro nutrient are adequate. Anthropometric measurements and comparisons of nutrient intakes with reference values are easy and non-invasive, economical and sufficiently reliable methods for the determination of nutritional status. The present study uses micro-level data drawn from 24 hours recall diet survey to calculate the mean food and nutrient intake by communities in three agro-biodiversity hotspots. The 24 hours recall diet survey was carried out among households in three study locations during June to November 2013 among the project intervention and non-intervention groups. Information on age, sex, physiological status, physical activity of the household members who took meals during the previous 24 hours was collected for computing consumption unit. The result shows that cereals are the chief source of energy in the study locations contributing 70-80% of the daily energy intake. Mean intake of green leafy vegetable are negligible in the study locations. The intake of sugar and jaggery among the intervention group of Meenangadi is 48% higher than recommended dietary intake, while in the non-intervention group it is 28% higher; and 20% higher among the nonintervention group in the Kolli Hills. The intake of vitamin A is the lowest among other nutrients across the internvention and non-intervention groups in the study locations

Ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy: should we mandate ophthalmic examination in TB treatment?

India’s National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP)1 and the WHO have recommended ethambutol (EMB) for use in the continuation phase of TB treatment due to the higher prevalence of isoniazid resistance in the patient community. This leaves only a single drug in the continuation phase that might adversely affect treatment outcomes.2 While reporting adverse drug reactions (ADRs), we found that EMB often induced optic neuropathy during anti-TB therapy (ATT) for drugsusceptible TB (DS-TB). In the study presented here, we define these ADRs and recommend adopting safety precautions when treating DS-TB patients

Assessment of Food and Nutrient Intake of Communities across Three Agro-biodiversity Hotspots in India

Balanced and adequate nutrition is important in improving the health of the community in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Assessment of the nutritional status of a community is important for development of implementation strategies and suitable policies. Dietary assessment indicates whether intake of macro and micro nutrient are adequate. Anthropometric measurements and comparisons of nutrient intakes with reference values are easy and non-invasive, economical and sufficiently reliable methods for the determination of nutritional status. The present study uses micro-level data drawn from 24 hours recall diet survey to calculate the mean food and nutrient intake by communities in three agro-biodiversity hotspots. The 24 hours recall diet survey was carried out among households in three study locations during June to November 2013 among the project intervention and non-intervention groups. Information on age, sex, physiological status,physical activity of the household members who took meals during the previous 24 hours was collected for computing consumption unit. The result shows that cereals are the chief source of energy in the study locations contributing 70-80% of the daily energy intake. Mean intake of green leafy vegetable are negligible in the study locations. The intake of sugar and jaggery among the intervention group of Meenangadi is 48% higher than recommended dietary intake, while in the non-intervention group it is 28% higher; and 20% higher among the non-intervention group in the Kolli Hills. The intake of vitamin A is the lowest among other nutrients across the internvention and non-intervention groups in the study locations

Assessment of Food and Nutrient Intake of Communities across Three Agro-biodiversity Hotspots in India

Balanced and adequate nutrition is important in improving the health of the community in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Assessment of the nutritional status of a community is important for development of implementation strategies and suitable policies. Dietary assessment indicates whether intake of macro and micro nutrient are adequate. Anthropometric measurements and comparisons of nutrient intakes with reference values are easy and non-invasive, economical and sufficiently reliable methods for the determination of nutritional status. The present study uses micro-level data drawn from 24 hours recall diet survey to calculate the mean food and nutrient intake by communities in three agro-biodiversity hotspots. The 24 hours recall diet survey was carried out among households in three study locations during June to November 2013 among the project intervention and non-intervention groups. Information on age, sex, physiological status,physical activity of the household members who took meals during the previous 24 hours was collected for computing consumption unit. The result shows that cereals are the chief source of energy in the study locations contributing 70-80% of the daily energy intake. Mean intake of green leafy vegetable are negligible in the study locations. The intake of sugar and jaggery among the intervention group of Meenangadi is 48% higher than recommended dietary intake, while in the non-intervention group it is 28% higher; and 20% higher among the non-intervention group in the Kolli Hills. The intake of vitamin A is the lowest among other nutrients across the internvention and non-intervention groups in the study locations

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p&lt;0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p&lt;0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

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