EVALUATION OF BACTERICIDAL ACTIVITY OF HERBAL HAND SANITIZER

Nosocomial infection (NI), also known as hospital-acquired infections, has had increased attention due to the significant morbidity and mortality caused by NI worldwide. Transmission of NI is believed to occur predominantly via the mode of pathogen exchange to and from contaminated hands. Thus, maintaining clean and microbe free hands gains a lot of scientific and clinical scope. Accordingly, hand hygiene techniques (using hand sanitizers particularly) to eliminate disease-causing microbial bugs have been considered one of the primary-most infection blocking methods. Several scientific studies have validated the clinical efficacy of hand sanitizers against the most commonly involved microbial strains in the pathogenesis of NI. The goal of this study was to evaluate the bactericidal activity of the study material Clean Hand Gel, a specialized herbal hand sanitizer with bio-actives enriched with the goodness of Camphor, Cumin seeds, Vetiver, Citrus and Neem. The study material was evaluated for its bactericidal activity against the specified microorganisms (Bacteria - Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus hirae species) by time kill assay. Data indicated that the tested product at 20% concentration when tested for 120 seconds of contact time against specified bacterial species resulted in considerable logarithmic reductions of 0.03, 0.125, 0.097 and 0.091 in the bacterial viable counts of Staphylcoccus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus hirae, respectively. It can be concluded that InnoVisions Clean Hand Gel with its tested in vitro effects against clinically important NI causing bacterial organisms S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, E. coli and E. hirae, can be used as an effective herbal hand sanitizer in controlling the transmission of disease causing microorganisms (specified bacteria) from hand to hand and can have potential implications in controlling measures against the spread of associated diseases.

Prevalence, distribution and correlates of tobacco smoking and chewing in Nepal: a secondary data analysis of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey-2006

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nearly four-fifths of estimated 1.1 million smokers live in low or middle-income countries. We aimed to provide national estimates for Nepal on tobacco use prevalence, its distribution across demographic, socio-economic and spatial variables and correlates of tobacco use.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A secondary data analysis of 2006 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) was done. A representative sample of 9,036 households was selected by two-stage stratified, probability proportional to size (PPS) technique. We constructed three outcome variables 'tobacco smoke', 'tobacco chewer' and 'any tobacco use' based on four questions about tobacco use that were asked in DHS questionnaires. Socio-economic, demographic and spatial predictor variables were used. We computed overall prevalence for 'tobacco smoking', 'tobacco chewing' and 'any tobacco use' i.e. point estimates of prevalence rates, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after adjustment for strata and clustering at primary sampling unit (PSU) level. For correlates of tobacco use, we used multivariate analysis to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and their 95% CIs. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Total number of households, eligible women and men interviewed was 8707, 10793 and 4397 respectively. The overall prevalence for 'any tobacco use', 'tobacco smoking' and 'tobacco chewing' were 30.3% (95% CI 28.9, 31.7), 20.7% (95% CI 19.5, 22.0) and 14.6% (95% CI 13.5, 15.7) respectively. Prevalence among men was significantly higher than women for 'any tobacco use' (56.5% versus 19.6%), 'tobacco smoking' (32.8% versus 15.8%) and 'tobacco chewing' (38.0% versus 5.0%). By multivariate analysis, older adults, men, lesser educated and those with lower wealth quintiles were more likely to be using all forms of tobacco. Divorced, separated, and widowed were more likely to smoke (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.14, 1.94) and chew tobacco (OR 1.36, 95% CI 0.97, 1.93) as compared to those who were currently married. Prevalence of 'tobacco chewing' was higher in eastern region (19.7%) and terai/plains (16.2%). 'Tobacco smoking' and 'any tobacco use' were higher in rural areas, mid-western and far western and mountainous areas.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Prevalence of tobacco use is considerably high among Nepalese people. Demographic and socioeconomic determinants and spatial distribution should be considered while planning tobacco control interventions.</p

The genomic basis of parasitism in the Strongyloides clade of nematodes.

Soil-transmitted nematodes, including the Strongyloides genus, cause one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases. Here we compare the genomes of four Strongyloides species, including the human pathogen Strongyloides stercoralis, and their close relatives that are facultatively parasitic (Parastrongyloides trichosuri) and free-living (Rhabditophanes sp. KR3021). A significant paralogous expansion of key gene families--families encoding astacin-like and SCP/TAPS proteins--is associated with the evolution of parasitism in this clade. Exploiting the unique Strongyloides life cycle, we compare the transcriptomes of the parasitic and free-living stages and find that these same gene families are upregulated in the parasitic stages, underscoring their role in nematode parasitism