FATTY ACID PROFILE AND MONTHLY VARIATION OF TOTAL FATTY ACID AND LIPID OBTAINED FROM THE OIL OF STRIPED SNAKEHEAD CHANNA STRIATA

Objective: This project was taken up for a period of two years to assess the nutritional capacity of Channa striata, which is consumed as a cheap, nutritious food in most parts of India and East Asian countries by determining its fatty acid profile and monthly variation of lipid and fatty acid in its most edible part. Methods: Total lipid was extracted by conventional methods laid down by Folch and his associates and was then saponified to obtain the total fatty acid. The fatty acid mixture thus obtained was then converted to their methyl esters and was subjected to Gas Chromatograph using a flame ionization detector to detect the individual fatty acids. Results: Our investigation shows that the total lipid and fatty acid in the edible part dip to its minimum in the month of July, as one should expect during the breeding season because the stored lipid, as well as fatty acids, are mobilized to the gonads for their development during the reproductive season which is monsoon. C. striata contain more of MUFAs (64.34%) and PUFAs (16.21%), which are more beneficial to human health than SFAs (12.5%), which are most hazardous to health. Conclusion: C. striata can definitely be marked as a cheap, nutritious food source, with its share of negativity. Our work will surely enlighten future works on this species in the spheres of preservation, organized farming, and maintaining the biodiversity of the place where it thrives

Artemisinin-naphthoquine combination (ARCO™) therapy for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in adults of Papua New Guinea: A preliminary report on safety and efficacy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of anti-malarial drug combinations with artemisinin or with one of its derivatives is now widely recommended to overcome drug resistance in falciparum as well as vivax malaria. The fixed oral dose artemisinin-naphthoquine combination (ANQ, ARCO™) is a newer artemisinin-based combination (ACT) therapy undergoing clinical assessment. A study was undertaken to assess the safety, efficacy and tolerability of ANQ combination in areas of multi-drug resistance to generate preliminary baseline data in adult population of Papua New Guinea.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The clinical assessment was an open-labeled, two-arm, randomized study comparing ANQ combination as a single dose regimen and three days regimen (10 mg/kg/day) of chloroquine plus single dose sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (CQ+SP) for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with 28 days follow-up in an adult population. The primary outcome measures for efficacy were day 1, 2, 3 7, 14 and 28-day cure rates. Secondary outcomes included parasite clearance time, fever clearance time, and gametocyte carriage. The main outcome measures for safety were incidences of post-treatment clinical and laboratory adverse events.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Between June 2005 and July 2006, 130 patients with confirmed uncomplicated <it>P. falciparum </it>were randomly assigned to receive ANQ and CQ+SP, only 100 patients (51 in ANQ group and 49 in CQ+SP group) were evaluated for clinical and parasitological outcomes. All the patients treated with ANQ and CQ+SP showed adequate clinical and parasitological response with 28 days follow-up. The cure rate for ANQ on day 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, and 28 was 47%, 86%, 92%, 94%, 94% and 94%, respectively. Recrudescence account for 6%; all were cleared on day 21. For CQ+SP treated group the cure rates were 24%, 67%, 82%, 82%, 84% and 88%, respectively. Recrudescence accounted for 10%; all were cleared on day 28 except for one patient. Both regimens were well tolerated with no serious adverse events. The proportion of gametocyte carriers was higher in CQ+SP treated group than ANQ treatment (41% versus 12%; p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While these data are not themselves sufficient, it strongly suggests that the ANQ combination as a single dose administration is safe and effective for the treatment of uncomplicated <it>P. falciparum </it>malaria in the adult population of Papua New Guinea and deserves further clinical evaluation.</p

Design, Fabrication and Performance Simulation for MEMS Based Piezo-Resistive Pressure Transducers with Sensitivity and Temperature Dependency

The present paper describes the design, fabrication and performance of surface micromachined piezo resistive type pressure sensors. The sensors are square and circular shaped. In the first case the piezo resistive material in the form of a wire is placed on the top of a square shaped as well as circular shaped diaphragm and in the second case the wire is embedded within the two different structures. Fabrication process follows the technique of surface micromachining. After successful completion of fabrication the structures are finally prepared for different static analysis. The I/O characteristic of the pressure sensors changes with ambient temperature. If current density of the piezo resistive material is changed there is a change in temperature which is nothing but the conversion of electrical dissipation to heat due to electrical current flowing across an interface. The deflections of the diaphragms (for square as well as circular) have also been studied for different applied pressure. From this, the operating range as well as the sensitivity of the sensors can be easily calculated. A detailed analysis of the potential with different applied pressure is presented graphically. The simulation of the proposed sensor has been carried out using Intellisuite™ software

Comparison of the effectiveness and safety of Clarithromycin and Co-Amoxyclav in acute exacerbation of chronic otitis media : a randomized, open-labeled, phase iv clinical trial

Objective:To compare the effectiveness and safety of Clarithromycin and co-amoxyclav for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of acute exacerbation of chronic otitis media (AECOM).Materials and methods:Adult patients diagnosed with AECOM were screened and patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were randomized to receive either Clarithromycin (500 mg) twice daily or co-amoxyclav (625 mg) thrice daily orally for 7 days. The primary outcome of this randomized, open-labeled, phase IV clinical trial was clinical success rate at day 14 visit and the secondary outcome was incidence of adverse events (AES). Fifty patients were enrolled : 25 in the Clarithromycin group and 25 in the co-amoxyclav group.Results :&nbsp; The clinical success rates were 92.7 % in the Clarithromycin group versus 90.2% in the co-amoxyclav group. These rates are comparable, but no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups.Conclusion:The results of this randomized, open-labeled phase IV clinical trial showed that a 7-day course of Clarithromycin is therapeutically comparable to co-amoxyclav in terms of both clinical effectiveness and safety for the treatment of patients with AECOM

Ophthalmoplegia associated with head and neck malignancies: a case series

Ophthalmoplegia is the paralysis or weakness of the eye muscles. It can affect one or more of the six muscles that hold the eye in place and control its movement. Total ophthalmoplegia refers to the paralysis of all the muscles in the eye. People affected by ophthalmoplegia with orbital apex involvement may have double or blurred vision. They may also experience an inability to position the eyes in sync. Some may also have a hard time moving both eyes in every direction, and many will have drooping of their eyelids. Causes of ophthalmoplegia along with orbital apex involvement can be multiple sclerosis, trauma infarction, brain injury, stroke, thyroid disease, infection, associated with sinonasal malignancy, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, invasive fungal infections needing surgical removal and brain tumours

Study of Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome in Patients With Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in A Tertiary Care Hospital of West Bengal

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in diagnosed patients of POAG. We also investigated whether there is an association between severity of OSA and the incidence of glaucoma. Method: Forty-two consecutive primary open-angle glaucoma patients (24 females and 18 males) who attended the out-patient clinic of the Department of Ophthalmology between July 2016 and February 2018 were included in this study. All patients underwent polysomnographic examination. Results:The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome was 33.3% in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma; the severity of the condition was mild in 14.3% and moderate in 19.0% of the subjects. The age (P=0.047) and neck circumference (P=0.024) in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome were significantly greater than those without the syndrome. Triceps skinfold thickness in glaucomatous obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome patients reached near significance versus those without the syndrome (P=0.078). Snoring was observed in all glaucoma cases with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. The intra-ocular pressure of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome was significantly lower than those without obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (P=0.006 and P=0.035 for the right and left eyes, respectively). Significant difference in the cup/disc ratio and visual acuity was observed, except visual field defect, between primary open-angle glaucoma patients with and without obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.Conclusion: Our study showed that there is a significant prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. Keywords: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA); Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG); Polysomnography (sleep study); Neck Circumference; Triceps Skinfold Thickness; Snoring; Intra-Ocular Pressure; Cup/Disc Ratio; Visual Acuity

Lipid-based nanocarrier efficiently delivers highly water soluble drug across the blood–brain barrier into brain

Delivering highly water soluble drugs across blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a crucial challenge for the formulation scientists. A successful therapeutic intervention by developing a suitable drug delivery system may revolutionize treatment across BBB. Efforts were given here to unravel the capability of a newly developed fatty acid combination (stearic acid:oleic acid:palmitic acid = 8.08:4.13:1) (ML) as fundamental component of nanocarrier to deliver highly water soluble zidovudine (AZT) as a model drug into brain across BBB. A comparison was made with an experimentally developed standard phospholipid-based nanocarrier containing AZT. Both the formulations had nanosize spherical unilamellar vesicular structure with highly negative zeta potential along with sustained drug release profiles. Gamma scintigraphic images showed both the radiolabeled formulations successfully crossed BBB, but longer retention in brain was observed for ML-based formulation (MGF) as compared to soya lecithin (SL)-based drug carrier (SYF). Plasma and brain pharmacokinetic data showed less clearance, prolonged residence time, more bioavailability and sustained release of AZT from MGF in rats compared to those data of the rats treated with SYF/AZT suspension. Thus, ML may be utilized to successfully develop drug nanocarrier to deliver drug into brain across BBB, in a sustained manner for a prolong period of time and may provide an effective therapeutic strategy for many diseases of brain. Further, many anti-HIV drugs cannot cross BBB sufficiently. Hence, the developed formulation may be a suitable option to carry those drugs into brain for better therapeutic management of HIV