Precise measurement of hyperfine structure in the 5P3/25P_{3/2} state of 85^{85}Rb

We demonstrate a technique to measure hyperfine structure using a frequency-stabilized diode laser and an acousto-optic modulator locked to the frequency difference between two hyperfine peaks. We use this technique to measure hyperfine intervals in the $5P_{3/2}$ state of $^{85}$Rb and obtain a precision of 20 kHz. We extract values for the magnetic-dipole coupling constant $A=25.038(5)$ MHz and the electric-quadrupole coupling constant $B=26.011(22)$ MHz. These values are a significant improvement over previous results.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

High-resolution hyperfine spectroscopy of excited states using electromagnetically-induced transparency

We use the phenomenon of electromagnetically-induced transparency in a three-level atomic system for hyperfine spectroscopy of upper states that are not directly coupled to the ground state. The three levels form a ladder system: the probe laser couples the ground state to the lower excited state, while the control laser couples the two upper states. As the frequency of the control laser is scanned, the probe absorption shows transparency peaks whenever the control laser is resonant with a hyperfine level of the upper state. As an illustration of the technique, we measure hyperfine structure in the $7S_{1/2}$ states of $^{85}$Rb and $^{87}$Rb, and obtain an improvement of more than an order of magnitude over previous values.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

An audit of iron therapy in patients with iron deficiency anemia in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a major nutritional problem globally, which is especially true in the developing countries like India. Even though the treatment is simple and effective, there is a high prevalence of IDA. The reason for this is partly due to non-compliance of the patients and partly due to ineffective or incomplete treatment by the physicians. Hence, the present study was done with the objective to study the treatment pattern in patients with IDA.Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted in the Medical Records Department, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Puducherry for a period of 1-year with a sample size of 100 patients. Patients of all ages and either sex diagnosed to have mild to severe IDA were included in the study. The following data like: demographic details, hemoglobin, drugs used to treat the anemia, duration of treatment were obtained. The data will be presented as descriptive statistics.Results: Out of the 100 patients scrutinized 57% had severe IDA, 39% moderate IDA, and 4% had mild IDA. Of the 100 patients, 71% were females and 29% were males. For 14% of the patients, no treatment was given and for 19% of the patients treatment was given but the duration of treatment was not mentioned.Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that majority of the patients with IDA did not receive the recommended WHO treatment. The present study shows that even though the treatment of a common nutritional disorder-IDA is simple and effective, the prevalence of the same is high, and the majority of the patients are being undertreated. Patients should also be educated about the implications of the disorder and the importance of its treatment

Iron therapy in pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia: a meta-analysis

Background: Pregnancy significantly increases the need for iron. The prevalence of anemia in pregnant women is high, affecting 41.8% of all pregnant women worldwide. In patients with low tolerance to oral iron, it is recommended to start them on parenteral iron therapy but with variable degree of efficacy. Hence this meta-analysis was done with the following aim. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of various iron preparations in pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia (IDA).Methods: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (available as full free text) which included iron therapy in pregnant women with iron deficiency anemia were retrieved from electronic databases viz. PubMed, Google scholar and IndMed, with specific search terms. Qualities of RCTs were assessed using JADAD score and four RCTs with high score were included for analysis using RevMan 5.3 software. Outcome measures were change in hemoglobin levels and serum ferritin concentration after one month of therapy.Results: In the four RCTs included, a total of 267 patients were treated with oral iron and 267 patients were treated with parenteral iron therapy. Change in the hemoglobin levels between the 2 groups had a standard mean difference of 0.73, 95% CI (-0.05-1.52), with the p-value of 0.07. To assess the change in the serum ferritin concentration a total of 188 patients in oral iron and 197 patients in parenteral iron therapy were included. There was a standard mean difference of 0.88, 95% CI (0.60-1.66), with a p value of<0.00001.Conclusions: In the present meta-analysis we found that oral and parenteral iron therapy showed similar efficacy in improving the hemoglobin level in pregnant women

Laser cooling and trapping of Yb from a thermal source

We have successfully loaded a magneto-optic trap for Yb atoms from a thermal source without the use of a Zeeman slower. The source is placed close to the trapping region so that it provides a large flux of atoms that can be cooled and captured. The atoms are cooled on the ${^1S_0} \leftrightarrow {^1P_1}$ transition at 398.8 nm. We have loaded all seven stable isotopes of Yb into the trap. For the most abundant isotope ($^{174}$Yb), we load more than $10^7$ atoms into the trap within 1 s. For the rarest isotope ($^{168}$Yb) with a natural abundance of only 0.13%, we still load about $4 \times 10^5$ atoms into the trap. We find that the trap population is maximized near a detuning of $-1.5\Gamma$ and field gradient of 75 G/cm.Comment: 4 figures, 6 page

Gasotransmitters: a review

The gaseous molecules produced endogenously with several physiological functions are called gasotransmitters. Even though initially, they were predominantly thought to be of neuronal origin, recent research has clarified that they have roles far beyond that. Their primary function is maintaining the integrity of the cardiovascular system and many other parts. From the available knowledge, we have just started to learn about their roles in physiological systems that could be translated to pharmacological drug development and therapeutics. Most of the process that remains in the form of preclinical research has to go a long way toward utilizing them in therapeutics. This review addresses the various levels at which they could be potentially exploited as therapeutics and their recent entry into clinical trials

PRESCRIPTION ERRORS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL, OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

ABSTRACTObjective:  Prescription writing is an art. Writing a correct prescription in compliance with the WHO guidelines requires regular practice. Mistakesin prescription writing are inevitable. Hence, this study was done to analyze the prescriptions from the Outpatient Department of Obstetrics andGynaecology for errors. To analyze the prevalence and types of common prescribing errors in the Outpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.Methods:  This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacy, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry. 500prescriptions from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Outpatient Department were collected and analyzed. The study duration was 6 months (JulyDecember2014). The prescriptionswereanalyzedforerrors.Results: Our study revealed that 30.8% of the prescriptions had, at least, one error in them. The majority of the prescriptions had the doctors' signand patient details written in them. The dose of the drug was missing in about 38% of the prescriptions. None of the prescriptions had Type A errorin our study.Conclusion: It was found that prescription errors are still prevalent. The prescribers' have to be updated about the prescribing guidelines and regularauditing should be done to avoid these errors.Keywords: Prescription errors, Obstetrics and gynaecology, Classification of errors

Recent advances in pain management

Pain is one of the most common complaints for which patients approach physicians. In spite of this there is a huge unmet need for developing medications for pain that are safe and efficacious. Owing to the heterogeneity of clinical pain and complex pathophysiology, target identification for drug development is difficult. Preclinical models have also proven unreliable for the development of novel analgesics. Recent advances in understanding the physiology of nociception has enabled the development of novel analgesics including abuse deterrent opioids, drugs targeting several receptors, ion channels and enzymes. This review will attempt to cover the physiology of nociception focusing on the novel targets, the challenges in development of novel analgesics and give an overview of the recently developed drugs and those in the pipeline for the management of pain

Bisphosphonates-what’s new?

Bisphosphonates are chemical-related to pyrophosphate. The oxygen atom in pyrophosphate is substituted by a carbon atom in these compounds, resulting in a P-C-P bond. They are potent antiresorptive medicines because they have a strong inhibitory effect on osteoclasts. It lowers fracture risk by reducing bone turnover, increasing bone mineral density, and decreasing fracture risk in the lumbar spine and hip. Bisphosphonates are strongly attracted to bone surfaces, where they accumulate, primarily at remodeling sites. They are rarely associated with systemic side effects due to their selectivity in action. Irritation of the upper gastrointestinal tract is the most common side effect. A strong third-generation bisphosphonate, zoledronate, is currently approved to treat postmenopausal-induced osteoporosis. This review mainly focuses on the mechanism of action, therapeutic uses, and its adverse effects

A succinct medical safety: periodic safety update reports

In the rapidly developing era of advanced of medical sciences, pharmacovigilance plays an important role to put necessary brakes and help the medical fraternity to prescribe in a safe manner. Unanimously PSUR contributes in an essential way to regulate the drug marketing agencies to make sure that biological products which are marketed do not harm the general population by its adverse drug reactions. As we all know that the regulatory agencies like EMA, US FDA, CDSCO etc. are very stringent in approving the drugs, they have framed several rules and imposed strict timelines for reporting the necessary documents pertaining to drugs. Inevitably several new drugs like immunomodulators, anticancer drugs are on the raise which further adds a huge responsibility on the regulatory agencies regarding the risk and benefits of such biological products. Thus, the regulatory agencies have added several new implementation and amendments in the existing rules for the marketing of new drugs as well as already prevailing drugs. Hence, it is of paramount importance for the drug companies to follow the guidelines and abide by the rules of regulatory agencies for the benefit of mankind. However, several factors can impede the process of PSUR like improper data retrieval, inadequate training of resource personnel concerned with the development of PSUR. To overcome such difficulties, the field of advanced technology extended its arms for the regulatory authorities to implement electronic documentation and databases for the development of PSURs. In spite of all these efforts several challenges are to be met in the future in the field of pharmacovigilance. In this review several aspects of PSUR in different countries, necessary processes and format in which it needs to be submitted, pitfalls and ways to overcome such situations have been discussed in brief. Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of both Regulatory agencies and the drug companies to ensure a good quality PSUR is produced with its benefits outweighing the risk of the drug for the suffering human population.