DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF NEW RP-HPLC METHOD FOR THE ESTIMATION OF LINEZOLID IN LINEZOLID GEL

Objective: Development and validation of new RP-HPLC method for the estimation of linezolid in linezolid gel.Methods: Linezolid was chromatographed on a reverse phase symmetry C18 column (150 x 4.6 mm x 3.5 µm) in a mobile phase consisting of potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (pH 4.6 adjusted with 10% orthophosphoric acid) and methanol in the ratio of 55:45. The mobile phase was pumped at a flow rate of 1.2 ml/min with detection at 250 nm.Results: The retention time for Linezolid was found about 2.94 min. The detector response was linear in the concentration of 20 µg/ml to 160µg/ml with correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The percentage recovery of Linezolid at target concentration was found to be 97.8%. The limit of detection and limit of quantification was found to be 10 μg/ml and 5 μg/ml respectively. All other validation parameter were within acceptance criteria.Conclusion: The proposed method was found to be simple, fast, accurate, precise and reproducible and could be used for routine quality control analysis of Linezolid in Linezolid gel.Â

Cognitive Load, Need For Closure, and Socially Desirable Responding: Cognitively Constrained Versus Motivated Response Biases in Cross-Cultural Consumer Research

Recent research reveals cultural differences in consumers' tendency to engage in socially desirable responding. Specifically, individualist consumers are shown to be prone to self-deceptive enhancement (SDE), the tendency to hold exaggerated views of one's skills and abilities, whereas collectivist consumers are shown to be prone to impression management (IM), the tendency to distort responses to appear normatively appropriate. We examine the divergent moderating effects of cognitive and motivational factors on these relationships. Across six studies, we find that depleting collectivists' cognitive resources impairs their ability to engage in IM but does not influence individualists' tendency to engage in SDE. In contrast, collectivists' tendency to engage in IM and individualists' tendency to engage in SDE are both seen to increase with high (vs. low) need for cognitive closure (NFC). Implications of these findings on theoretical and methodological research on SDR are highlighted

Satisfaction With Businesses?

We examine how power distance belief (PDB) -the prevalence of inequality in society -affects consumers' satisfaction with loyalty programs. Five studies support the counterintuitive hypothesis that high (vs. low) PDB contexts decrease, rather than increase, nonloyalty-status consumers' satisfaction with such businesses, and illuminate the underlying mechanisms

Antimicrobial prescribing pattern in a tertiary care teaching hospital: a pilot study

Background: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide challenge threatening to negate the gains made by discovery of antimicrobial agents (AMAs).  Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) is an important strategy for ensuring appropriate use of AMAs and controlling emergence of antibiotic resistance. Implementation of ASP must start with assessment of the current state of antimicrobial use. This study was therefore conducted to assess the prevalent prescribing patterns in a tertiary care hospital and identify gaps which warrant corrective intervention.Methods: This prospective pilot study presents analysis of the first 30 Patients from the medicine ward prescribed at least one antimicrobial agent during the two months of study period. Relevant data was collected in AMA record form. Appropriateness of AMAs was analyzed regarding selection as well as administration protocol as per the hospital antibiotic policy.Results: Out of the 60 AMAs prescribed to these patients, most commonly prescribed were cephalosporins (63.3%), anti-amoebics (26.6%) and macrolides (23.3%). Common diseases involved were urinary tract infection, acute gastroenteritis, sepsis and lower respiratory tract infections.  Use of AMAs was found to be appropriate for the indication in 42 %, dose in 97%, duration 60 %, route 93% and frequency 90 %.Conclusions: This gap between the appropriate and the actual practice use of AMAs indicates an urgent need of rigorous implementation of ASP in order to avoid emergence of resistance and to conserve the sensitivity to the available AMAs

A simulation tool for better management of retinal services

Background: Advances in the management of retinal diseases have been fast-paced as new treatments become available, resulting in increasing numbers of patients receiving treatment in hospital retinal services. These patients require frequent and long-term follow-up and repeated treatments, resulting in increased pressure on clinical workloads. Due to limited clinic capacity, many National Health Service (NHS) clinics are failing to maintain recommended follow-up intervals for patients receiving care. As such, clear and robust, long term retinal service models are required to assess and respond to the needs of local populations, both currently and in the future. Methods: A discrete event simulation (DES) tool was developed to facilitate the improvement of retinal services by identifying efficiencies and cost savings within the pathway of care. For a mid-size hospital in England serving a population of over 500,000, we used 36 months of patient level data in conjunction with statistical forecasting and simulation to predict the impact of making changes within the service. Results: A simulation of increased demand and a potential solution of the 'Treat and Extend' (T&E) regimen which is reported to result in better outcomes, in combination with virtual clinics which improve quality, effectiveness and productivity and thus increase capacity is presented. Without the virtual clinic, where T&E is implemented along with the current service, we notice a sharp increase in the number of follow-ups, number of Anti-VEGF injections, and utilisation of resources. In the case of combining T&E with virtual clinics, there is a negligible (almost 0%) impact on utilisation of resources. Conclusions: Expansion of services to accommodate increasing number of patients seen and treated in retinal services is feasible with service re-organisation. It is inevitable that some form of initial investment is required to implement service expansion through T&E and virtual clinics. However, modelling with DES indicates that such investment is outweighed by cost reductions in the long term as more patients receive optimal treatment and retain vision with better outcomes. The model also shows that the service will experience an average of 10% increase in surplus capacity.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Human cellular microRNA hsa-miR-29a interferes with viral nef protein expression and HIV-1 replication

protein expression and HIV-1 replicatio

Tissue-specific calibration of extracellular matrix material properties by transforming growth factor-beta and Runx2 in bone is required for hearing

Publisher version: http://www.nature.com/embor/journal/v11/n10/full/embor2010135.htmlDA - 20100917 IS - 1469-3178 (Electronic) IS - 1469-221X (Linking) LA - ENG PT - JOURNAL ARTICLEDA - 20100917 IS - 1469-3178 (Electronic) IS - 1469-221X (Linking) LA - ENG PT - JOURNAL ARTICLEDA - 20100917 IS - 1469-3178 (Electronic) IS - 1469-221X (Linking) LA - ENG PT - JOURNAL ARTICLEPhysical cues, such as extracellular matrix stiffness, direct cell differentiation and support tissue-specific function. Perturbation of these cues underlies diverse pathologies, including osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms that establish tissue-specific material properties and link them to healthy tissue function are unknown. We show that Runx2, a key lineage-specific transcription factor, regulates the material properties of bone matrix through the same transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta)-responsive pathway that controls osteoblast differentiation. Deregulated TGFbeta or Runx2 function compromises the distinctly hard cochlear bone matrix and causes hearing loss, as seen in human cleidocranial dysplasia. In Runx2(+/-) mice, inhibition of TGFbeta signalling rescues both the material properties of the defective matrix, and hearing. This study elucidates the unknown cause of hearing loss in cleidocranial dysplasia, and demonstrates that a molecular pathway controlling cell differentiation also defines material properties of extracellular matrix. Furthermore, our results suggest that the careful regulation of these properties is essential for healthy tissue functio