A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS OF PLANT SPECIES TAKEN AS RUDANTI

Ayurveda was introduced as a science of prevention and cure of various ailments. Aacharya attained this profound knowledge through hit and trial methods and experiments. They used various herbs for this purpose. Medicinal plants are the essence of Ayurveda and Ayurvedic treatments. Keeping in mind the characteristics of plant drugs nomenclature was done. Later researchers took classical references about morphology, pharmacology and synonyms as base for identification of plants. This article will bring in light the morphological characters of various plant species that comes in approximation to one of the most controversial plant i.e. Rudanti. This paper is an attempt to eliminate state of confusion on Rudanti and to establish new plant species that fulfill the classical morphological identification criteria as mentioned in Raj Nighantu. This article also encompasses the folklore knowledge of the plant species established through evaluation of modern texts. This information will further validate the target species. Hence this is concluded that Capparis moonii and Cressa cretica taken in the name of Rudanti are not classical Rudanti as they do not resemble morphological characters. Astragalus and Cicer species that resemble Rudanti classical description should be taken. This can further be revalidated by preclinical/clinical trials

An Explication of Pandemic Public Health Emergency, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Review

In December 2019 a series of acute atypical respiratory disease occurred in Wuhan, China. The first clusters of cases were identified in association with the South China Seafood Market. In subsequent investigations it was found to be a novel coronavirus. It is suggested to have zoonotic origin. On December 31st 2019, China notified the outbreak to the World Health Organization. During the New Year, the massive migration of Chinese fuelled the epidemic. Cases in other provinces of China and other countries (South Korea, Thailand and Japan in quick succession) were reported in people who were returning from Wuhan. On 11 February, on the basis of existing rules on taxonomy the virus was names as SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the family of coronaviruses. It is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus. It has a single linear RNA segment. On the same day WHO announced the new name for the disease i.e. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say it is primarily spread directly due to close contact between people through small droplets produced during coughing, sneezing or talking within a range of about 1-3 meters. It may even transmit through indirect contact via fomites. While there are concerns it may spread by feces, this risk is believed to be low. Soon, the number of cases started increasing exponentially and on March 12, 2020 WHO announced COVID-19 a pandemic. COVID-19 has been impacting a large number of people worldwide, being reported in approximately 200 countries and territories. It was identified that Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) act as a functional receptor for SARS-CoV-2. The pathophysiology of COVID-19 follows sex differences, age differences, race differences in as well as underlying disease conditions i.e. comorbidities aggravated the severity of this disease.  The most common symptoms being reported are fever, dry cough or chest tightness, and dyspnoea. It is now widely recognized that respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 are extremely heterogeneous, ranging from minimal symptoms to significant hypoxia with ARDS. Diagnosis is done with the help of history, clinical signs and serological testing. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) is considered the standard method of testing. Several have been tested in clinical trials but none of them have been proven to be a definite therapy yet. The evolution of the current outbreak has seen extraordinary measures put in place to control transmission, including the ‘shut-down’ and ‘quarantine’. Researchers are trying to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 but at present, no vaccine is available. One should strictly follow all the preventive measures as directed by WHO and CDC and along with this, one should boost up its natural immunity to lessen the chances of getting infection

A randomized controlled trial on comparison of phenobarbitone and levetiracetam for the treatment of neonatal seizures: pilot study

Background: Phenobarbitone is the most commonly used drug for treatment of neonatal seizures, irrespective of the cause of the seizures. However, there is concern about its adverse effects on brain, resulting in impairment of cognition and behaviour, and liver. So there is an urgent need for an alternative antiepileptic drug for treatment of neonatal seizures. Levetiracetam is a relatively new anticonvulsant. There are no randomized controlled trials about its use in neonates. This trial was designed with the objective to compare the efficacy of levetiracetam and phenobarbitone in the treatment of clinically apparent neonatal seizures in term and late preterm neonates.Methods: The study was designed as an open label randomized controlled trial. Study population included babies of >2 kg admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit within 48 hours of birth with neonatal seizures due to perinatal asphyxia. If seizures persisted even after correction of hypoglycemia and hypocalcaemia, babies were randomized for intervention to either levetiracetam or phenobarbitone.Results: Clinically apparent seizures were controlled in only 23.3% neonates assigned to receive levetiracetam  as compared to 86.7% neonates assigned to receive phenobarbitone  (p<0.001).Conclusions: Present study demonstrated that levetiracetam is not as good as phenobarbitone in controlling neonatal seizures due to perinatal asphyxia in term and near term neonates. Also, it takes longer time than phenobarbitone in controlling clinical seizures. Superiority of phenobarbitone was observed both when given as a first line drug and after cross over.

Suture versus vessel sealer in vaginal hysterectomy: an observational study

Background: Vaginal route is considered to be the method of choice for removal of uterus and, in the absence of gross pelvic disease, can be carried out in most patients. Recent studies have shown that less than one-third of hysterectomies are performed vaginally. This could be due to technical difficulties occurring while operating in the narrow surgical field. This study was taken up to find out the easier alternatives in securing pedicles by using Electrosurgical Bipolar Vessel Sealer in Vaginal Hysterectomy.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur over a period of one year i.e. July 15 to June 16. A total of 62 patients posted for vaginal hysterectomy for benign conditions were enrolled after informed consent. Results were recorded under headings of procedure time (min), blood loss (ml), major intra-operative complications and post operative complications, post-operative pain (on VAS) and duration of hospital stay.Results: Mean procedure time in suture method was found to be 55.66min, whereas, in sealer group it was 27.75 min. Mean blood loss in the sealer group was 83.78ml, while, in suture group it was 156.62ml. Mean pain score on Visual Analogue Scale on POD 1 was 8.44±1.1522 for suture group and 6±1.325 for sealer group. Mean pain score on POD2 in sealer group was 3.48±1.325 and in the suture group it was 5.31±1.754 (P200ml was observed in 29.03% of suture cases, none in the sealer group (P-value .0006). Labial burn occurred in 2 out of 32patients in sealer group.Conclusions: From above study, we conclude that bipolar vessel sealer has shown a significant reduction in intra-operative blood loss, procedure time, immediate post-operative pain (POD1,2&3), mean length of stay in hospital, major intra-operative blood loss>200ml which was found in significant number of cases in suture group

Adjuvant Properties of Thermal Component of Hyperthermia Enhanced Transdermal Immunization: Effect on Dendritic Cells

Hyperthermia enhanced transdermal (HET) immunization is a novel needle free immunization strategy employing application of antigen along with mild local hyperthermia (42°C) to intact skin resulting in detectable antigen specific Ig in serum. In the present study, we investigated the adjuvant effect of thermal component of HET immunization in terms of maturation of dendritic cells and its implication on the quality of the immune outcome in terms of antibody production upon HET immunization with tetanus toxoid (TT). We have shown that in vitro hyperthermia exposure at 42°C for 30 minutes up regulates the surface expression of maturation markers on bone marrow derived DCs. This observation correlated in vivo with an increased and accelerated expression of maturation markers on DCs in the draining lymph node upon HET immunization in mice. This effect was found to be independent of the antigen delivered and depends only on the thermal component of HET immunization. In vitro hyperthermia also led to enhanced capacity to stimulate CD4+ T cells in allo MLR and promotes the secretion of IL-10 by BMDCs, suggesting a potential for Th2 skewing of T cell response. HET immunization also induced a systemic T cell response to TT, as suggested by proliferation of splenocytes from immunized animal upon in vitro stimulation by TT. Exposure to heat during primary immunization led to generation of mainly IgG class of antibodies upon boosting, similar to the use of conventional alum adjuvant, thus highlighting the adjuvant potential of heat during HET immunization. Lastly, we have shown that mice immunized by tetanus toxoid using HET route exhibited protection against challenge with a lethal dose of tetanus toxin. Thus, in addition to being a painless, needle free delivery system it also has an immune modulatory potential

TXS 0506+056 with Updated IceCube Data

Past results from the IceCube Collaboration have suggested that the blazar TXS 0506+056 is a potential source of astrophysical neutrinos. However, in the years since there have been numerous updates to event processing and reconstruction, as well as improvements to the statistical methods used to search for astrophysical neutrino sources. These improvements in combination with additional years of data have resulted in the identification of NGC 1068 as a second neutrino source candidate. This talk will re-examine time-dependent neutrino emission from TXS 0506+056 using the most recent northern-sky data sample that was used in the analysis of NGC 1068. The results of using this updated data sample to obtain a significance and flux fit for the 2014 TXS 0506+056 "untriggered" neutrino flare are reported

Galactic Core-Collapse Supernovae at IceCube: “Fire Drill” Data Challenges and follow-up

The next Galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make astrophysical measurements using neutrinos, gravitational waves, and electromagnetic radiation. CCSNe local to the Milky Way are extremely rare, so it is paramount that detectors are prepared to observe the signal when it arrives. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a gigaton water Cherenkov detector below the South Pole, is sensitive to the burst of neutrinos released by a Galactic CCSN at a level >10σ. This burst of neutrinos precedes optical emission by hours to days, enabling neutrinos to serve as an early warning for follow-up observation. IceCube\u27s detection capabilities make it a cornerstone of the global network of neutrino detectors monitoring for Galactic CCSNe, the SuperNova Early Warning System (SNEWS 2.0). In this contribution, we describe IceCube\u27s sensitivity to Galactic CCSNe and strategies for operational readiness, including "fire drill" data challenges. We also discuss coordination with SNEWS 2.0

All-Energy Search for Solar Atmospheric Neutrinos with IceCube

The interaction of cosmic rays with the solar atmosphere generates a secondary flux of mesons that decay into photons and neutrinos – the so-called solar atmospheric flux. Although the gamma-ray component of this flux has been observed in Fermi-LAT and HAWC Observatory data, the neutrino component remains undetected. The energy distribution of those neutrinos follows a soft spectrum that extends from the GeV to the multi-TeV range, making large Cherenkov neutrino telescopes a suitable for probing this flux. In this contribution, we will discuss current progress of a search for the solar neutrino flux by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory using all available data since 2011. Compared to the previous analysis which considered only high-energy muon neutrino tracks, we will additionally consider events produced by all flavors of neutrinos down to GeV-scale energies. These new events should improve our analysis sensitivity since the flux falls quickly with energy. Determining the magnitude of the neutrino flux is essential, since it is an irreducible background to indirect solar dark matter searches