Clinical and laboratory profile of children admitted with measles in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Measles is a vaccine-preventable viral illness associated with substantial childhood morbidity and mortality. Recently, changing trends in the occurrence of measles are noted like incidence in younger infants and in those who have received measles vaccine. Objectives: The objective was to study the clinical profile of children with measles and to study the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in diagnosing measles and to study the measles-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) response in children with measles. Materials and Methods: This study was done in the Pediatrics Department of a Tertiary Care Center, and the study population was children up to 12 years of age admitted in the setting with a clinical diagnosis of measles during the study period and who were laboratory confirmed by PCR/IgM ELISA or both. Results: Of 173 clinically diagnosed cases, 149 laboratory confirmed cases were taken for analysis and studied. Of these, 47% of cases were below 9 months. Newborns constituted 2.01% of the total cases. The mean age was 13 months and the male:female ratio was 1.13:1. A total of 24.8% children were unimmunized, 16.77% had a single dose, and 8.72% had 2 doses of measles vaccine. Overall mortality was 0.67% and bronchopneumonia was the major complication (76.5%). Among immunized children with measles confirmed by PCR, measles-specific IgM response was reactive in 36.4% of cases. In the early phase of measles (within 3 days) confirmed by PCR, IgM response was inconclusive in 60% of cases. Conclusion: In our study, 47% of the cases of measles were below 9 months; therefore, the age of measles vaccination may be reconsidered. Among eligible cases (>9 months), 24.83% were not immunized for measles which indicates that measles immunization coverage should be increased. Among the measles cases, 25% had measles vaccination which highlights the need to check for the determinants of vaccine failure. In our study, the RT-PCR was found to be useful for early diagnosis of measles and for diagnosis in immunized children

ALLELOPATHIC POTENTIAL OF ECHINOCHLOA CRUS-GALLI (L.)P. BEAUV. EXTRACTS ON GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES OF ABELMOSCHUS ESCULENTU S (L.) AND SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM (L.)

The study was designed to evaluate the growth and developmental changes of bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus L. - cv. CO-1) and tomato (Solanum  lycopersicum L.- cv. PKM-1) seedlings by using  different concentrations of  (2g/l, 5g/l, 10g/l, 15g/l and 25g/l) aqueous Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) extracts under pot culture experiments. Barnyard grass extracts showed an inhibitory and stimulatory effects on germination, seedling length, biomass, pigments and biochemical constituents of bhendi and tomato.  The 2g/l concentration of extract stimulated the seed germination, seedling growth, biomass and biochemical constituents of bhendi and tomato. The  higher concentrations (15g/l and 25g/l) showed  an  inhibitory  effects in all the parameters studied in the two economically important vegetable crops. The degree of retardation was dependent on the concentration gradient  of the barnyard grass  extracts. Root length, Shoot length, Biomass and  Biochemical constituents of tomato seedlings were highly  reduced  at 25g/l concentrations of aqueous leaf  extracts of barnyard grass. Between bhendi and tomato seedlings, more allelopathic influence was observed in tomato than bhendi seedlings

Variability of exotic ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) accessions for quality parameters

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the important and widely used spices throughout the world in fresh and dried forms. The study on quality characterization and essential oil profiling of 13 ginger genotypes was conducted at ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala, during 2019-2020. The genotypes included eight promising exotic accessions (Acc. 393, Acc. 607, Acc. 736, Acc. 833, Acc. 869, Acc. 872, Acc. 873 and Acc. 874), four popular cultivars (Nadan, Himachal, Maran, Rio-de-Janeiro) and a released variety IISR Varada. Significant differences among the genotypes were recorded for various quality parameters such as oleoresin, essential oil and crude fibre content. Among the exotic genotypes, Acc. 869 recorded the highest essential oil content (2.44%), followed by Acc. 393 (2.42%), Acc. 833 and Acc. 873 (2.10%). The accessions, Acc. 869, Acc. 874, Acc. 873 and Acc. 393 recorded higher oleoresin content of 5.88 per cent, 5.63 per cent, 5.34 per cent and 5.28 per cent, respectively. Considering essential oil and oleoresin contents, the exotic accessions, Acc. 873, Acc. 393 and Acc. 869 were identified as promising genotypes. Among the other genotypes, Rio-de-Janeiro recorded the highest essential oil (2.76%) and oleoresin content (6.69%). The exotic genotypes, viz., Acc. 607, Acc. 736 and Acc. 393 recorded crude fibre content of less than 5 per cent whereas, Acc. 869 recorded the maximum of 7.85 per cent. Fifty compounds were identified through essential oil profiling, and the major classes were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons followed by monoterpene hydrocarbons. The major compound identified was α-zingiberene and was highest in Acc. 393 (30.49%), followed by Maran (30.32%)

Thermal and herbicide tolerances of chromerid algae and their ability to form a symbiosis with corals

Reef-building corals form an obligate symbiosis with photosynthetic microalgae in the family Symbiodiniaceae that meet most of their energy requirements. This symbiosis is under threat from the unprecedented rate of ocean warming as well as the simultaneous pressure of local stressors such as poor water quality. Only 1°C above mean summer sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) can trigger the loss of Symbiodiniaceae from the host, and very low concentrations of the most common herbicide, diuron, can disrupt the photosynthetic activity of microalgae. In an era of rapid environmental change, investigation into the assisted evolution of the coral holobiont is underway in an effort to enhance the resilience of corals. Apicomplexan-like microalgae were discovered in 2008 and the Phylum Chromerida (chromerids) was created. Chromerids have been isolated from corals and contain a functional photosynthetic plastid. Their discovery therefore opens a new avenue of research into the use of alternative/additional photosymbionts of corals. However, only two studies to-date have investigated the symbiotic nature of Chromera velia with corals and thus little is known about the coral-chromerid relationship. Furthermore, the response of chromerids to environmental stressors has not been examined. Here we tested the performance of four chromerid strains and the common dinofiagellate symbiont Cladocopium goreaui (formerly Symbiodinium goreaui, ITS2 type C1) in response to elevated temperature, diuron and their combined exposure. Three of the four chromerid strains exhibited high thermal tolerances and two strains showed exceptional herbicide tolerances, greater than observed for any photosynthetic microalgae, including C. goreaui. We also investigated the onset of symbiosis between the chromerids and larvae of two common GBR coral species under ambient and stress conditions. Levels of colonization of coral larvae with the chromerid strains were low compared to colonization with C. goreaui. We did not observe any overall negative or positive larval fitness effects of the inoculation with chromerid algae vs. C. goreaui. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that chromerid algae may have more important roles in later coral life stages and recommend this be the focus of future studies

A prospective study of single versus recurrent episodes of typical febrile seizure among children attending a tertiary care hospital

Background: Recurrence in the febrile seizures is a significant problem after the seizure episode, and there is up to 30% chance of recurrence after the first episode and 50% chance after 2 or more episodes. Objective: The objective of the study is to do a comparative study of sociodemographic and hematologic profile of children aged 6 months–60 months admitted with single and recurrent episodes of typical febrile seizures. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary care setting for a period of 2 and a ½ years. History, physical examination and hematologic investigations such as hemoglobin estimation, blood indices, and blood picture were done in all the study participants. Frequency of recurrence after the first episode cases was noted at 1 year after the seizure episode. Results: Of 121 total cases, 53.7% were of first, and 46.3% were of recurrent episodes of typical febrile seizure. Statistically, significant difference was noted in the age (p<0.001) and gender distribution (p<0.001). Statistically significant difference was noted between two groups regarding family history of seizure disorder (p=0.017), consanguinity (p=0.049), undernutrition (p=0.009), stunting (p=0.002), and anemia (p=0.027). Follow-up revealed recurrence of seizures in 13.8% after the first episode. Conclusion: Recurrence was noted in 13.8% of children with a first typical febrile seizure. We also found a significant association of recurrent episodes with age, gender, family history of seizure disorder, consanguinity, undernutrition, stunting, and anemia

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF STABILITY INDICATING RP-HPLC METHOD FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF ACLIDINIUM BROMIDE AND FORMOTEROL FUMARATE IN BULK AND INHALER FORMULATION

Objective: To develop a simple, accurate, precise, rapid and sensitive method for the simultaneous estimation of Formoterol fumarate and Aclidinium bromide in pharmaceutical dosage form. Methods: The chromatogram was run through Ascentis C18 150 x 4.6 mm, 5µ. Mobile phase containing Water: Acetonitrile taken in the ratio 60:40 was pumped through the column at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The temperature was maintained at 30 °C. The optimized wavelength selected was 220 nm. Results: The retention times of Formoterol fumarate and Aclidinium bromide were found to be 2.953 min and 2.364 min. %RSD of the Aclidinium bromide and Formoterol fumarate was found to be 0.6 and 0.9, respectively. %Recovery was obtained as 99.81 % and 100.20% for Aclidinium bromide and Formoterol fumarate, respectively. LOD, LOQ values obtained from the Signal-to-noise ratio of Aclidinium bromide and Formoterol fumarate were 0.84 µg/ml, 2.56 µg/ml and 0.01 µg/ml, 0.03µg/ml respectively. Regression equation of Formoterol fumarate is y =9023x+268.67, and y = 4661.2x+1941.9 of Aclidinium bromide. Retention times were decreased and that run time was decreased, so the method developed was simple, rapid, sensitive and economical that can be adopted in regular quality control tests in Industries. Conclusion: Developed and Validated Formoterol fumarate and Aclidinium bromide in pharmaceutical dosage form by using RP-HPLC method

AN EFFORT TO DETERMINE CREDIBILITY AND STATUS OF SENSOR NODES

Iterative filtering algorithms hold great promise for this type of purpose. Because of limited computational power and sources, aggregation of information from multiple sensor nodes done in the aggregating node is generally accomplished by simple methods for example averaging. Within this paper we show several existing iterative filtering algorithms, while considerably better quality against collusion attacks compared to simple averaging methods, are nonetheless susceptive to some novel sophisticated collusion attack we introduce. However such aggregation is proven to be highly susceptible to node compromising attacks. Because the performance of really low power processors dramatically improves, future aggregator nodes will manage to performing modern-day data aggregation algorithms, thus making WSN less vulnerable. Thus, ascertaining standing of data and status of sensor nodes is vital for WSN. Such algorithms concurrently aggregate data from multiple sources and supply trust assessment of those sources, usually in a kind of corresponding weight factors allotted to data supplied by each source. To deal with this security issue, we advise a noticeable difference for iterative filtering techniques by supplying a preliminary approximation for such algorithms causing them to be not just collusion robust, but additionally better and faster converging

Components of a Measure to Describe Organizational Culture in Academic Pharmacy

Objective. To develop a measure of organizational culture in academic pharmacy and identify characteristics of an academic pharmacy program that would be impactful for internal (eg, students, employees) and external (eg, preceptors, practitioners) clients of the program. Methods. A three-round Delphi procedure of 24 panelists from pharmacy schools in the U.S. and Canada generated items based on the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP), which were then evaluated and refined for inclusion in subsequent rounds. Items were assessed for appropriateness and impact. Results. The panel produced 35 items across six domains that measured organizational culture in academic pharmacy: competitiveness, performance orientation, social responsibility, innovation, emphasis on collegial support, and stability. Conclusion. The items generated require testing for validation and reliability in a large sample to finalize this measure of organizational culture

Thermal and Herbicide Tolerances of Chromerid Algae and Their Ability to Form a Symbiosis With Corals

Reef-building corals form an obligate symbiosis with photosynthetic microalgae in the family Symbiodiniaceae that meet most of their energy requirements. This symbiosis is under threat from the unprecedented rate of ocean warming as well as the simultaneous pressure of local stressors such as poor water quality. Only 1°C above mean summer sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) can trigger the loss of Symbiodiniaceae from the host, and very low concentrations of the most common herbicide, diuron, can disrupt the photosynthetic activity of microalgae. In an era of rapid environmental change, investigation into the assisted evolution of the coral holobiont is underway in an effort to enhance the resilience of corals. Apicomplexan-like microalgae were discovered in 2008 and the Phylum Chromerida (chromerids) was created. Chromerids have been isolated from corals and contain a functional photosynthetic plastid. Their discovery therefore opens a new avenue of research into the use of alternative/additional photosymbionts of corals. However, only two studies to-date have investigated the symbiotic nature of Chromera velia with corals and thus little is known about the coral-chromerid relationship. Furthermore, the response of chromerids to environmental stressors has not been examined. Here we tested the performance of four chromerid strains and the common dinoflagellate symbiont Cladocopium goreaui (formerly Symbiodinium goreaui, ITS2 type C1) in response to elevated temperature, diuron and their combined exposure. Three of the four chromerid strains exhibited high thermal tolerances and two strains showed exceptional herbicide tolerances, greater than observed for any photosynthetic microalgae, including C. goreaui. We also investigated the onset of symbiosis between the chromerids and larvae of two common GBR coral species under ambient and stress conditions. Levels of colonization of coral larvae with the chromerid strains were low compared to colonization with C. goreaui. We did not observe any overall negative or positive larval fitness effects of the inoculation with chromerid algae vs. C. goreaui. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that chromerid algae may have more important roles in later coral life stages and recommend this be the focus of future studies

Thermal and Herbicide Tolerances of Chromerid Algae and Their Ability to Form a Symbiosis With Corals

Reef-building corals form an obligate symbiosis with photosynthetic microalgae in the family Symbiodiniaceae that meet most of their energy requirements. This symbiosis is under threat from the unprecedented rate of ocean warming as well as the simultaneous pressure of local stressors such as poor water quality. Only 1°C above mean summer sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) can trigger the loss of Symbiodiniaceae from the host, and very low concentrations of the most common herbicide, diuron, can disrupt the photosynthetic activity of microalgae. In an era of rapid environmental change, investigation into the assisted evolution of the coral holobiont is underway in an effort to enhance the resilience of corals. Apicomplexan-like microalgae were discovered in 2008 and the Phylum Chromerida (chromerids) was created. Chromerids have been isolated from corals and contain a functional photosynthetic plastid. Their discovery therefore opens a new avenue of research into the use of alternative/additional photosymbionts of corals. However, only two studies to-date have investigated the symbiotic nature of Chromera velia with corals and thus little is known about the coral-chromerid relationship. Furthermore, the response of chromerids to environmental stressors has not been examined. Here we tested the performance of four chromerid strains and the common dinoflagellate symbiont Cladocopium goreaui (formerly Symbiodinium goreaui, ITS2 type C1) in response to elevated temperature, diuron and their combined exposure. Three of the four chromerid strains exhibited high thermal tolerances and two strains showed exceptional herbicide tolerances, greater than observed for any photosynthetic microalgae, including C. goreaui. We also investigated the onset of symbiosis between the chromerids and larvae of two common GBR coral species under ambient and stress conditions. Levels of colonization of coral larvae with the chromerid strains were low compared to colonization with C. goreaui. We did not observe any overall negative or positive larval fitness effects of the inoculation with chromerid algae vs. C. goreaui. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that chromerid algae may have more important roles in later coral life stages and recommend this be the focus of future studies