Awareness regarding cervical cancer and pap test as a screening tool in females attending primary health centres of rural and tribal areas of south east Rajasthan: An observational study

Background: Cervical cancer being a major cause of mortality and morbidity in developing countries, its awareness is essential. Multiple social barriers in assessing basic screening and treatment are the reasons for posing Indian women at greater risk of developing cancer cervix. The Pap test is a simple and cost effective technique for early diagnosis of cervical cancer but is still underutilized. Aims and objective: To evaluate the knowledge and awareness of symptoms of cervical cancer and the use of pap test as screening tool among females attending PHCs (Primary Health Centers) in rural and tribal communities in the southern east section of Rajasthan, as well as to encourage females regarding routine pap smear tests. Material and method: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted from January 2021 to December 2021 among 500 women attending PHCs in rural and tribal areas of south east rajasthan to determine their knowledge about early symptoms related to cervical cancer and availability of screening test {VIA, VILI and pap smear}. The data was gathered using a structured questionnaire with multiple choice options. Microsoft excel was used to enter the data

A radiographic assessment of the correlation between the calcification stages of the mandibular second molar and the middle phalanx of the third finger of 9–16 years old children

Abstract Background Hand-wrist radiographs and orthopantomographs are routinely used for assessing skeletal and dental maturation and analyzing skeletal morphology and growth patterns. Though minimal radiation is associated with a hand-wrist radiograph, it would be superlative to assess the growth stage without an additional radiograph. Aim To assess the correlation between the calcification stages of mandibular second molar and the modified middle phalanx of the third finger (modified MP3) of 9 to 16 year old children. Design In this cross-sectional observational study we assessed the dental calcification of the mandibular second molar on orthopantomograms using Demirjian’s tooth developmental stages and skeletal maturity of the middle phalanx of the third finger on hand-wrist radiographs using modified MP3 method proposed by Rajagopal and Kansal (J Clin Orthod 36(7):398, 2002) of 100 children (48 boys and 52 girls), aged between 9 and 16 years. Results A strong association was found between calcification stages of mandibular right second molar and the developmental stages of the modified middle phalanx of the third finger of right hand in both the gender. Spearman rank order correlation coefficients between the developmental stages of the modified MP3 of hand and the developmental stages of the mandibular second molar and found to be statistically significant positive in males (0.62) and females (0.41) when Demirjian’s Index (DI) and modified middle phalanx of the third finger stages were compared. Conclusion There was a good concordance between the stages of modified middle phalanx of the third finger and the Demirjian’s tooth developmental stages. Demirjian’s second molar calcification stages can be a better choice for predicting skeletal maturity because of its simplicity and reliability

Effect of Turmeric Extract and Fenugreek Seed Extract on Complete Freund’s Adjuvant Induced Arthritis in Rats

Introduction:Arthritis is a joint disorder characterized by inflammation and pain in one or more joints. Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis in rats mimic rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Drugs used for treatmentof RA are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), glucocorticoids but due to their side effects and high cost, alternative and safer medication is being searched. Purpose:To evaluate anti-arthritic effect of Turmeric extract (T. Ex.), Fenugreek seed extract (FSE) on CFA induced arthritis in Wistar rats and compare its effects with standard drugs indomethacin, cyclophosphamide. Methodology:Study was conducted at the Department of Pharmacology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, after ethical approval. 60 Wistar rats were used in this study. On day ‘0’, 0.1 ml CFA was given intradermally in right hind paw, arthritis was induced on day 5. Test drugs used were T. ex. 100 mg/kg, FSE 400 mg/kg and compared with standard drug Indomethacin 3 mg/kg in primary lesion groups (day 5 to day 15), Cyclophosphamide 7 mg/kg in secondary lesion groups (day 12 to day 22). Parameters accessed were, body weight, paw volume, ankle diameter, serum TNF-α, Arthritic index.Results:Statistically significant difference was not observed between all treatment groups so turmeric extract and fenugreek seed extract have anti-arthritic effect comparable to indomethacin on primary lesions and cyclophosphamide on secondary lesions.Conclusion:Turmeric extract 100 mg/kg, Fenugreek seed extract 400 mg/kg might have a potential usefulness as an alternative to conventional therapy in the management of rheumatoid arthritis

STUDY OF PERFORMANCE OF GEOGRID AND SOIL INTERFACE USING VERTICAL PULLOUT TEST

The use of geosynthetics is to improve the performance of foundations when constructing on soft compressible foundation soils. The material properties of geosynthetics are important to their use in various applications. Geosynthetics have become well established construction materials for geotechnical and environmental applications in most parts of the world. This report presents a vertical pullout test (VPT) developed to measure the peak interface friction angle and cohesion between soil and planar geosynthetic products. Two types of geo-synthetic material of different sizes (150mm by 150mm and 300mm by 300mm) were evaluated using the pullout test. Series of pull-out tests were performed to study the interface characteristics between geogrids and soils. Two geogrids were used to investigate the interaction properties with clay. The function of geogrid reinforcement and the geogrid-soil interaction mechanism were mainly studied by experimental methods

Is there an association of intracardiac mass with high urate level? AIM-HUL study

Context: Hyperuricemia is associated with idiopathic left atrium/left ventricular clot, and its association with other intracardiac tumors is not clear. Aim: The study aimed to establish if there is an association of intracardiac mass with high urate level. Settings and Design: This prospective study included 440 individuals, of which 330 were consecutive all comers with intracardiac mass detected on echocardiography from June 2016 to December 2017, who were compared with 110 randomly selected healthy controls undergoing echocardiography during the same without intracardiac mass in a ratio of 3:1. Materials and Methods: Imaging modalities such as transesophageal echocardiography, cardiac computerized tomography, and/or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging were done to analyze the intracardiac mass. Both the groups were analyzed for serum uric acid (SUA) levels at the time of detection of intracardiac mass. Statistical Analysis Used: Univariate analysis was done for continuous variables using Student's t-test, whereas the Chi-square test was used for the categorical data. Logistic regression analysis was performed with the presence of a mass with SUA as the dependent variable. Results: Among a total of 440 patients, 330 were cases and 110 were controls with the mean age of 47.52 ± 16.02 years (18–77 years) versus 45.23 ± 14.10 (18–73 years) years with male:female ratio of nearly 3:2 in both the groups. Mean SUA in cases was significantly higher than controls (7.60 ± 0.93 vs. 4.52 ± 1.20 mg%) (P < 0.001 with 7.6 [95% confidence interval (CI): 7.5–7.7] and 4.52 [95% CI: 4.3–4.74]) with linear logistic regression coefficient of 0.64. There was no significant difference in SUA levels among different types of intracardiac mass (P = 0.31). Conclusion: Hyperuricemia is associated with all comers of intracardiac mass with a regression coefficient of 0.64 irrespective of the nature of mass

A randomized, open-label clinical trial to evaluate immunogenicity and safety of an indigenously developed DTwP-Hib tetravalent combination vaccine (Easyfour®-TT) with Quadrovax® in Indian infants

An open-label, randomized, multi-center trial was conducted to compare the immunogenicity and safety of an indigenously developed tetravalent DTwP-Hib vaccine, Easyfour®-TT with a commercially available vaccine, Quadrovax®. A total of 244 infants in good health, aged 6–10 weeks, were randomized in a 1:1 allocation to receive three doses of the test or comparator vaccine. Immunogenicity of the vaccines was determined by measuring the baseline and post-vaccination antibody response against the vaccine antigens; safety was evaluated in terms of local and systemic reactions (solicited and unsolicited) reported during the trial. Similar levels of seroprotection/seroresponse were achieved, 4 weeks after receiving 3 doses of Easyfour®-TT and Quadrovax®, and the antibody response of Easyfour®-TT was found non-inferior to Quadrovax®, against all four vaccine antigens. Both vaccines were well tolerated and had similar reactogenicity profiles, with a significantly lower occurrence of local (redness at injection site) and systemic reactions (irritability post-vaccination) with Easyfour®-TT vaccine as compared to Quadrovax® (p < 0.05). All adverse events resolved completely with no sequelae. All through the study, only one serious adverse event was observed that completely resolved upon treatment and was deemed unrelated to the vaccine administered. This study demonstrated that Easyfour®-TT vaccine was safe and immunogenic. Clinical trial registration number: CTRI/2014/12/005326 (registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI))

Creatinine-Iron Complex and Its Use in Electrochemical Measurement of Urine Creatinine

A non-enzymatic electrochemical technique for creatinine sensing is presented, exploiting iron binding property of creatinine. Disposable carbon printed electrodes layered with FeCl3 coated cotton fiber membranes are used to sense creatinine from 10 to 245 mg/dl, on clinical urine samples. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis confirms the presence of Fe(III) dry chemistry on cotton membrane. Creatinine binding with Fe(III) is verified with UV analysis, with a corresponding decrease in Fe(III) reduction current in cyclic voltammetry. The disposable test strips are interfaced with multi-potentiostat point of care (POC) hand-held device, working in amperometry mode. The results obtained on POC biosensors demonstrate good correlation (R-2 = 0.91) with Jaffe method laboratory gold standard. The intra-assay variability is less than 7.1%. The statistical bias as revealed from the Bland-Altman analysis indicates that the POC results are within 95% confidence interval. This POC device does not require any sample preparation step and provides sample to result in less than a minute. FeCl3 sensing chemistry is robust against urine albumin interference, which is especially significant for accurate estimation of albumin to creatinine ratio. The non-enzymatic nature of disposable test strips results in highly stable and robust operation of the POC device over a large range of temperature variations

Application of a Nanotechnology-Based, Point-of-Care Diagnostic Device in Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Introduction Early detection of diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is important for preventing end-stage renal failure and reducing cardiovascular complications. Availability of a validated point-of-care (PoC) device that can measure various DKD markers would be useful in this respect, especially in resource-poor parts of the world. Methods We validated a novel nanotechnology-based multianalyte PoC device (minimally invasive and does not require trained medical personnel) against laboratory gold standard tests for the detection of 5 biomarkers related to management of DM and DKD. The prospective study was funded by an International Society of Nephrology American Nephrologists of Indian Origin grant in 2 phases: (i) proof of concept: random samples were tested for the analytes with the PoC device and correlated with the laboratory gold standard; and (ii) clinical validation in a well-characterized cohort of patients. A nonenzymatic- and nonantibody-based electrochemical PoC device for quantitative measurement of markers-glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA), hemoglobin, serum albumin, microalbuminuria, urine creatinine, and albumin-to-creatinine ratio-was developed and used in this study. The disposable strips were interfaced with a multipotentiostat hand-held PoC device (3.7-V rechargeable lithium battery, 5-inch touch screen, Bluetooth enabled) working in amperometry mode, which provided the results in <1 minute. Data were analyzed using linearity plots and Bland-Altman difference plot analysis. Results A total of 4717 individuals were screened during the study (phase 1: 2576 and phase 2: 2141.) In phase 2, samples were tested in 529 subjects (346 females)-120 subjects with type 1 DM, 255 subjects with type 2 DM, 54 subjects without DM, 400 subjects with stage 2 chronic kidney disease, and 30 subjects with stage 3 chronic kidney disease. Conclusion A nanotechnology-based PoC device for quantitative measurement of HbA, hemoglobin, serum albumin, microalbuminuria, and the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio was developed for detection of early DKD and showed excellent correlation between the device and laboratory results. This device has the potential for early detection of DM and/or DKD, especially in remote communities in underserved areas of the world where prevalence of diabetes is rapidly increasing

Abstracts of AICTE Sponsored International Conference on Post-COVID Symptoms and Complications in Health

This book presents the selected abstracts of the International Conference on Post-COVID Symptoms and Complications in Health, hosted from the 28th to 29th of April 2022 in virtual mode by the LR Institute of Pharmacy, Solan (H.P.)-173223 in Collaboration with AICTE, New Delhi. This conference focuses on the implications of long-term symptoms on public health, ways to mitigate these complications, improve understanding of the disease process in COVID-19 patients, use of computational methods and artificial intelligence in predicting complications, and the role of various drug delivery systems in combating the complications. Conference Title:  International Conference on Post-COVID Symptoms and Complications in HealthConference Sponsor: AICTE, New Delhi.Conference Date: 28-29 April 2022Conference Location: OnlineConference Organizer: LR Institute of Pharmacy, Solan (H.P.)-173223