Anesthetic potential of lidocaine/prilocaine cream versus placebo before venepuncture

Background: Pain associated with venepuncture has long been accepted as an unavoidable consequence. Many studies show reducing pain during venepuncture after application of prilocaine/lignocaine, but there are few studies that has depicted, the depth of anesthesia produced by prilocaine/lignocaine tends to be too superficial for the reducing the pain during venepuncture. These two scenarios were debatable. Therefore, authors planned a study to assess anesthetic potential of lidocaine /prilocaine cream versus placebo before venepuncture with help of VAS in an adult patient who were drawn blood sample for investigation purposes.Methods: Prospective interventional study. All adult patient for blood sampling from surgery OPD to central laboratory were included in study. Site of venepuncture selected in both control and study group was left cubital fossa. 30 patients selected in study group received lignocaine/prilocaine locally, 30min prior to venepuncture which was later covered with occlusive tape, whereas 30 control group patient received normal saline locally as placebo. The extent of pain was assessed by patient on 10cm visual analogue scale (VAS) with end points of 0 cm rated as no pain and the points of 10cm as intolerable pain.Results: A total of 60 patient were randomly selected who were referred from surgery OPD for blood sampling. Other 30 patient were applied normal saline as placebo and 30 patient with lignocaine and prilocaine cream. In the control group there were 30 patients (5 female and 25 male). In the study group there were 30 patients (8 females and 22 males). The level of pain among study group is as follows: mild 22, moderate 7, worst 1 and in control group: no pain 0, mild 5, moderate 14 and worst pain 1. Statistical analysis between outcome of two groups done by calculating chi-square test. Chi- square test was 20.0263. P value is 0.000168. Hence the result is significant at p <0.05.Conclusions: The present study shows that prilocaine-lidocaine cream reduces the pain of needle puncture in adults and facilitates the procedure of venous blood sampling

Drug utilization pattern of antimicrobials use in upper respiratory tract infection in paediatric patient of rural tertiary care hospital

Background: Antimicrobial agents (AMAs) are most commonly prescribed drugs for lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). This study was conducted to evaluate pattern of prescription and AMAs use in paediatric patient for LRTI in wards of rural tertiary care teaching hospital.Methods: This is prospective, observational study undertaken in paediatric patient in tertiary care hospital. Prescriptions of 60 patient of age group 1-12years diagnosed with LRTI admitted in paediatric ward of rural tertiary care teaching hospital were studied. Positive blood sample were studied for common microorganisms, their sensitivity and resistance to AMAs.Results: Out of 60 patients admitted in paediatric ward of LRTI, 12 patients were of mild to moderate pneumonia, three patients were of bronchiolitis, ten patients were of croups, three patients were of bronchitis and 37 patients were of severe pneumonia. The most frequently prescribed AMAs were combination of cephalosporin and aminoglycosides. The most common organism isolated was streptococcus pneumoniae sensitive to vancomycin in 92.3% and meropenem in 84.6%, resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin and cloxacillin in 92.3% of cases.Conclusions: The study shows utilisation pattern of AMAs in LRTI, prescribing on which future intervention studies may be based to promote rational drug use

Fishery potential along the Indian coastal waters between Porbandar and Ratnagiri

As part of the ongoing marine pollution monitoring programme the coastal stretch between Porbandar and Ratnagiri was considered to assess the fishery potential. Regular experimental trawling was done off Porbandar, Veraval, Diu, Hazira, Daman, Bassein, Bombay, Murud and Ratnagiri at a depth range of 5-25 m during 1988 to 1992. The catch rate varied from 1.2 to 225 kg/h (av.20.3 kg/h). Zonewise maximum catch (av.56.8 kg/h) was observed off Ratnagiri followed by off Porbandar (av.30.1 kg/h), off Bombay (av.23.9 kg/h) and off Murud (av.19.8 kg/h). The area between Hazira and Daman was poor in fish catch. In general, the catch rate showed a fluctuating trend during the period of observation. Among the hundred species identified from the collections the most common species were Coilia dussumieri, Johnius glaucus, Scoliodon laticaudus, Lepturacanthus savala, Harpadon nehereus, Sardinella longiceps, Pampus sp. and Congresox sp. The community structure and species assemblage at different zones are discussed in detail

A case study on the impact of industrial effluent disposal on the fishery of Amba River estuary, Maharashtra

The impact of waste discharge on fishery resources is a matter of great concern. The accepted norm in all environmental impact assessment studies is to avoid areas of high fishery potential while locating a marine outfall. Contemplating on this aspect a case study was conducted in the Amba River estuary before and after the establishment of a petrochemical complex at Nagothane. The treated wastewater from this complex is released through a subsurface outfall after adopting effective control measures for marine disposal of waste. Experimental trawling was done at five locations covering a distance of 30 km during 1990 to 1991. The catch rate within the estuary varied from 0.6 to 255 kg/h (av 24 kg/h). The trend indicated considerable decrease in fishery potential from the mouth of the estuary (av 64 kg/h) to the upstream location (av 11 kg/h). A total of 49 species of fishes, 16 species of prawns, 7 species of crabs and 1 species of lobster were identified from the collections. Number of species gradually increased from the interior segment at Dharamtar (8) to the outer area near Revas (18). A comparison of the quantitative and qualitative nature of the post outfall and pre outfall data revealed only marginal difference. The study indicates that if necessary precautions are taken to render the waste harmless the marine ecology will hardly be affected

SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF TELMISARTAN AND HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE BY DERIVATIVE SPECTROSCOPY

Objective: The objective of this investigation is to present the simple and sensitive method for the analysis of Telmisartan and Hydrochlorothiazide and apply the proposed method for the analysis of said drugs in pharmaceutical formulations.Methods: Telmisartan and Hydrochlorothiazide are used in combination for treatment of hypertension. The present work deals with simple derivative spectrophotometric method development for simultaneous estimation of Telmisartan and Hydrochlorothiazide in two component tablet formulation.Results: The method employed first order derivative spectroscopy for determination of ʎmax by taking 10 μg/ml each of Telmisartan and Hydrochlorothiazide were scanned in 200-400 nm range and ʎmax were observed 291 nm for Telmisartan and Hydrochlorothiazide showed zero crossing point and 251 nm for Hydrochlorothiazide and Telmisartan showed zero crossing point in first order derivative spectroscopy.Conclusion: For this method, linearity was observed in 2-40 μg/ml for Telmisartan and 2-20 μg/ml for Hydrochlorothiazide. The recovery study confirmed the accuracy of the proposed method and low values of standard deviation confirmed precision of the used method. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines

SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF IRBESARTAN AND HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE BY UV SPECTROSCOPY

Objective: The literature survey revealed that various methods are reported for determination of Irbesartan and Hydrochlorothiazide alone or in combination with other drugs So, the main objective of our study was to develop simple, accurate and reproducible methods for the simultaneous estimation of Irbesartan and Hydrochlorothiazide in a combined dosage form.Methods: The method for the simultaneous determination of Irbesartan and Hydrochlorothiazide by spectroscopy has been developed. The simple, accurate and precise method includes Area Under the Curve (AUC) method. On response to the effect of solvent on spectral behaviors of Irbesartan and Hydrochlorothiazide, methanol was selected as solvent. Irbesartan shows maximum absorbance at 224 nm and Hydrochlorothiazide shows maximum absorbance at 271 nm. For the AUC method, the wavelength ranges between 225-230 nm and 258-265 nm respectively were selected with reference to the absorbance curves plotted between the wavelengths of 200-400 nm. This method allows rapid analysis of two drug combinations.Results: The result of analysis was validated statistically by recovery study following ICH method validation guideline. Tablet containing both drugs was assayed using the method developed, showing a good accuracy and precision.Conclusion: It can therefore be concluded that use of this method can save more time and money and it can be used in small laboratories with accurac

Comparative study of analgesic effect of breastfeeding and oral sucrose in full-term newborns

Objective: To study the effects of breastfeeding (BF) and oral sucrose solution on pain due to intramuscular injection in newborns. Design: A prospective, interventional, randomized control study. Setting: Tertiary care hospital. Participants: Randomly selected 150 full-term vaginally delivered healthy newborns. Intervention: A total of 150 newborn infants were randomly divided into three groups. Out of 150 neonates, 50 were included in Group I as control group; 50 were included in Group II as intervention, in which 1 ml of 25% oral sucrose solution was given 2 min before the vaccination; 50 neonates were included in Group III as intervention group, in which BF started 2 min before vaccination and continued until the end of injection. Outcome Measure: The primary outcome of the study was to assess pain by premature infant pain profile (PIPP) score. Secondary outcome measured was changed in heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SpO2), and crying time. Results: Mean PIPP scores were lower in the BF group (8.36) than in the sucrose solution group (11.06), and difference was significant (p&lt;0.0001). The mean difference in the increase in HR, decrease in SpO2, and total duration of cry for the breastfeeding group were 13.47, 2.33, and 23.8, respectively, and for sucrose group, they were 16.58, 2.07, and 26.36, respectively (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion: BF and oral sucrose both are equally efficacious in reducing crying time and physiological parameters (HR, SpO2) after intramuscular injection in neonatal period but desaturation was more observed in oral sucrose solution. Further, PIPP score is less in BF group. Thus, BF provides superior analgesia to oral sucrose in term newborns

Agent-based homeostatic control for green energy in the smart grid

With dwindling non-renewable energy reserves and the adverse effects of climate change, the development of the smart electricity grid is seen as key to solving global energy security issues and to reducing carbon emissions. In this respect, there is a growing need to integrate renewable (or green) energy sources in the grid. However, the intermittency of these energy sources requires that demand must also be made more responsive to changes in supply, and a number of smart grid technologies are being developed, such as high-capacity batteries and smart meters for the home, to enable consumers to be more responsive to conditions on the grid in real-time. Traditional solutions based on these technologies, however, tend to ignore the fact that individual consumers will behave in such a way that best satisfies their own preferences to use or store energy (as opposed to that of the supplier or the grid operator). Hence, in practice, it is unclear how these solutions will cope with large numbers of consumers using their devices in this way. Against this background, in this paper, we develop novel control mechanisms based on the use of autonomous agents to better incorporate consumer preferences in managing demand. These agents, residing on consumers' smart meters, can both communicate with the grid and optimise their owner's energy consumption to satisfy their preferences. More specifically, we provide a novel control mechanism that models and controls a system comprising of a green energy supplier operating within the grid and a number of individual homes (each possibly owning a storage device). This control mechanism is based on the concept of homeostasis whereby control signals are sent to individual components of a system, based on their continuous feedback, in order to change their state so that the system may reach a stable equilibrium. Thus, we define a new carbon-based pricing mechanism for this green energy supplier that takes advantage of carbon-intensity signals available on the internet in order to provide real-time pricing. The pricing scheme is designed in such a way that it can be readily implemented using existing communication technologies and is easily understandable by consumers. Building upon this, we develop new control signals that the supplier can use to incentivise agents to shift demand (using their storage device) to times when green energy is available. Moreover, we show how these signals can be adapted according to changes in supply and to various degrees of penetration of storage in the system. We empirically evaluate our system and show that, when all homes are equipped with storage devices, the supplier can significantly reduce its reliance on other carbon-emitting power sources to cater for its own shortfalls. By so doing, the supplier reduces the carbon emission of the system by up to 25% while the consumer reduces its costs by up to 14.5%. Finally, we demonstrate that our homeostatic control mechanism is not sensitive to small prediction errors and the supplier is incentivised to accurately predict its green production to minimise costs

Developing linkages for agricultural technology transfer: A case study of research institution and voluntary organization partnership

A paradigm shift to the private and voluntary organizations led extension is being witnessed as the public agricultural extension system has been adversely affected by various constraints. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) a premier agricultural research institution took lead to develop linkages with voluntary organizations (VOs) of repute for speedy transfer of agricultural technologies to the ultimate users. The present study was conducted on randomly selected 120 farmers of Patiala district to analyze the effectiveness of IARI linkage with VO namely Young Farmers' Association (YFA) of Punjab state. The advisory services through IARI-YFA linkage, higher yield of IARI released varieties, social participation of farmers and their education were the major determinants for the adoption of IARI varieties. In case of both rice and wheat, IARI varieties were sown in more than 60% area of the total land holdings of the farmers. Although, the linkage was perceived highly effective in terms of the delivery of farm technologies, advisory services, farm literature supplied, farmers' fair, front line demonstrations, impact on yield and income of farmers and satisfaction of farmers but non-availability of seeds in desired quantity, higher seed cost and less land for seed multiplication were major inhibiting factors. The functional efficacy of linkage may be enhanced through close collaboration of state level government and private agencies for broad based, inclusive and sustainable agricultural development

Present status and future prospects of Gir cow

Gir cattle in Saurashtra provide milk, manure and draught power. Animal genetic resources of native breeds are largely underutilized in India and indiscriminate crossbreeding has degraded large numbers of local breeds. This is also true with Gir cattle in its native breeding tract. (i) About two-third population is either graded Gir or Gir like and hence not pure Gir, (ii) only one-third population i.e. 7.6 lakh could be 95% towards pure Gir. Hence, it is difficult to obtain large number of pure Gir animals. Since 2003–04 to 2012– 13, contribution of Saurashtra to state total indigenous cattle milk yield is 60%. A 25 years data analysis on Gir cows at CBF revealed average lactation yield as 2029 litre in 321 days lactation length and 1843.8 litre milk yield in 300 days. Production performance of Gir cows in three districts:(1) Junagadh (2) Rajkot and (3) Bhavnagar showed that average test day milk yield in Gir cows over a lactation were 7.99±0.05 litre/d for Junagadh, 6.43±0.03 litre/d for Rajkot and 6.71±0.04 litre /d for Bhavnagar district, projected values for 300-days milk yield being was 2397, 1929, and 2013 litre for the three districts respectively. Average AFC in Gir cattle of the station herd was 1527.7±14.1 days (51 mth) whereas survey study in Junagadh, Rajkot and Bhavnagar districts indicated AFC in field Gir cows as 45, 49, and 46 month, respectively. Parity had a significant effect on total lactation milk yield in Gir cows at CBF. Highest total lactation yield was observed in 2nd lactation (2132±123.4 litre) while lowest was observed in 10th lactation (1456.8±219.1 litre). Milk production traits LY and 300-d LY exhibited 10 to 13 % genetic variability in the herd. This suggests that to increase variability in the herd, genetic material from outside herd needs to be introduced