Studies on Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola infection of cruciferous crop plants

In studies on Alternaría infection of cruciferous plants, A. brassicae and A. brassicicola were recognized to be the two main pathogenic species involved. The results of surveys of oilseed rape crops in east Scotland showed Alternaría disease to be a major problem, and A . brassicae was found to be the predominant pathogen: factors which were associated with a higher incidence included higher rainfall, previous cropping with oilseed rape and luxuriant growth. A. brassicicola occurred only occasionally, mainly where vegetable Brassicas provided a source of inoculum. From a survey of seed samples of cruciferous plants, A. brassicae appeared widespread in oilseed rape and A. brassicicola in other crop plant groups. In artificial inoculation studies both fungal species were found to adversely affect seed yield and quality of oilseed rape: A. brassicae acted as a more aggressive leaf pathogen, whereas A. brassicicola exhibited a capacity for prolific spore production and an ability to rapidly colonise senescing or immature, unprotected tissue. In assessing variation in levels of infection among different oilseed rape cultivars, differences were quantitative rather than qualitative in nature, with no evidence of major gene effects. A leaf disc method of assessment was developed to study host-pathogen interactions covering a wide range of cruciferous plants and different isolates of each pathogen. The patterns of response of the host range to both pathogens tended to be similar and there was no evidence of marked host specificity among isolates. Low infection levels in some host groups was associated with a high degree of waxiness of the cuticle. In further leaf disc studies, increased lesion development was found with increasing atmospheric humidity, while surface tension characteristics of spore suspension droplets appeared to influence the initiation of infection. The optimum temperature for leaf lesion development was 25°C, but maximum colonisation of inert substrate from infected seed occurred over a wider temperature range. Both pathogens were observed to be seed-borne either superficially or within the embryo. More deep-seated infection was associated with germination failure, while the incidence of seedling mortality was increased in moist germinating conditions. With deep-seated infection, only those treatments which had a penetrative effect substantially controlled transmission

Assessment of Genetic Relationship and Hybrid Evaluation Studies in Tea (Camellia sp.) by RAPD.

The genetic relationships among 12 tea accessions representing three species in the genus Camellia were studied using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. The genetic distance matrix based on Euclidian Distances showed a minimum genetic distance of 2.24 between ‘UPASI-2’ and ‘UPASI-3’ clones and the maximum was 4.47 between ‘TRF-1’ and ‘TRI-2025’. The dendrogram based on Ward’s method of cluster analysis clearly characterized all 12 tea varieties into three clusters based on their types namely China, Assam and Cambod. Pair-wise genetic similarity index between parent and hybrid clones generated showed a highest mean of 0.59 between ‘TRI-2025’ and ‘BSS-1’ and a lowest of 0.34 between ‘UPASI-10’ and ‘BSS-1’. This study revealed that all the varieties analysed fall the present taxonomic framework of Camellia species and that the hybrid is of Cambod type. RAPD markers can thus be successfully applied in this taxon for the study of relationships and to confirm hybrid origin. The study offers a sound platform for future tea bre eding programmes in tea as well as evolution of hybrids in the commercially important tea varieties

SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF CEFEPIME, CEFAZOLIN SODIUM AND CEFALOTHIN SODIUM IN PURE AND PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS BY USING NINHYDRIN

Objectives: cefazolin sodium and cefalothin sodium are the broad spectrum of antibiotics, are mainly used to control gram positive and gram negative bacterial infections. Cefepime is used to treat moderate-severe nosocomical pneumonia, infections caused by multi resistant microorganisms.(eg. pseudomonos aeruginosa) and empirical treatment of febrile neutropenia. The objective of our method is to develop an effective, simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the assay of the above mentioned drugs in both tablet and in pharmaceutical dosage forms.Methods: The method is based on the reaction of cephalosporin's with ninhydrin reagent in the presence of sodium molybdate by maintaining the pH (5.5) using citrate buffer. The reaction is carried out at a temperature of 100 0C for 10 min for CEPM, 15 min for both CFZS and CFLS. The resulting Ruhemann's purple product having the absorption maximum at 570 nm is measured against the reagent blank.Results: Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range of (1-10 µg/ml) for cefepime, (2-20 µg/ml) for cefazolin sodium and (6-40 µg/ml) for cefalothin sodium respectively. The correlation coefficient's (r2), molar absorptivity (€), Sandell's sensitivity (s), Limit of detection (LOD) and quantification limits (LOQ) for the studied drugs were calculated. Recovery studies shows that this method is accurate and can be successfully employed for the determination of the studied cephalosporin's.Conclusion: Recovery studies, optical parameters and statistical comparisons justify that the present proposed method can be applied to routine drug formulation in pure and dosage forms and can be recommended for routine analysis and also for quality control of these drugs.Â

REDOX REACTION BASED SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC ASSAY OF SOME DRUGS IN PHARMACEUTICALS

Objectives: Pyridoxine hydrochloride (PRC) is used in the treatment of side roblastic anemia's and is also used in a variety of disorders including the treatment of depression. Dobutamine Hydrochloride (DOB) is used in the case of congestive heart failure to increase cardiac output and is also commonly used in the hospital setting as a pharmacologic stress testing agent to identify coronary artery disease. Linezolid (LZD) is a synthetic antibiotic used for the treatment of serious infections caused by gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to several other antibiotics. The main objective of our method is to develop a simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the assay of the above mentioned drugs in both tablet and pharmaceutical dosage forms.Methods: The method is based on the red ox reaction of drugs with Folin Ciocalteu (FC) reagent in sodium carbonate medium and the resulting blue colored chromogen is measured at 755 nm.Results: Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range of 2.5–30 µg/ml (PRC), 1–10 µg/ml (DOB) and 2.5–70 µg/ml (LZD) respectively, with the corresponding molar absorptivity values of 7.145 X 103, 3.2080 X 104 and 6.299 X 103 l mol-1 cm-1. The method is validated for accuracy, precision, LOD, LOQ, robustness and ruggedness as per the current ICH guidelines.Conclusion: The validated method is successfully applied to quantify PRC, DOB and LZD in their commercial formulations with satisfactory results; hence the method is suitable for the determination of drugs in bulk and pharmaceuticals.Â

High tibial osteotomy in medial compartment osteoarthritis and varus deformity using the Taylor spatial frame: early results

We report the early results of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) in medial compartment osteoarthritis (OA) and varus deformity using the Taylor spatial frame (TSF). Between October 2005 and April 2007, 9 patients with medial compartment OA and varus deformity underwent TSF application and medial opening wedge HTO. Pre- and post-operative Oxford knee scores, SF-12 and visual analogue pain scores were recorded along with radiographic outcomes. Median follow-up was 19 months (range 15–35). Mean age at operation was 49 years (range 37–59). The median time spent in the frame was 18 weeks (range 12–37). The mean preoperative Oxford knee score was 28.7. This improved to a mean of 35.4 post-operatively (P = 0.0142). 6 (67%) patients had a documented pin-site infection. With TKR as an end point, the survival rate of HTOs was 88.9% at a median of 19 months follow-up. This study demonstrates that in selected patients the TSF provides a viable treatment option for performing HTO in medial compartment OA with varus deformity

Psychiatric Social Work Consultations for Persons with Neurological disorders in a Tertiary Care Hospital during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Retrospective Observational Study

Background: Worldwide, COVID-19 pandemic lockdown lead to disruptions of general health services and neurological services in particular.  Hence, it is essential to report to the scientific community regarding the nature and range of psychiatric social work services provided for neurology patients during the pandemic lockdown. Aim: To study the profile of patients availed psychiatric social work (PSW) consultation during pandemic lockdown at neurology in-patient setting. Materials and Methods: The study was retrospective in nature. Data were analysed from an in-patient referral registry. For the study purpose, neurological patients referred from April 2020 to June 2020 were considered. All patients referred for psychiatric social work consultations were included in the study. The study was carried out in tertiary care teaching hospital. Frequency and percentages were used to analyse the data. Results: The diagnostic profile revealed Stroke (40%), Guillain-Barré syndrome (10%), meningitis (10%), autoimmune encephalitis (4%), and demyelination (4%), other chronic neurological disorders (30%). Common psychiatric social work services provided were casework with caregivers and patients regarding education about the illness, breaking the bad news, grief interventions, supportive therapy, addressing child care issues, ensuring medication compliance and follow-up services,  pre-discharge counselling,  assessing socio-economic condition to facilitate financial assistance towards concession in hospital charges, facilitating social welfare benefits, and tracing the family members. Conclusion: Stroke, Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuro-infections were the most common neurological disorders required psychiatric social work consultations. Educating the patient and their family about the illness, facilitating welfare benefits and financial assistance were the most common psychiatric social work services provided during the covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Keywords: Medical social work, service utilization, neurological care, covid-1

Overweight and obese men are more prone to infertility-Myth or Fact?

To investigate the association of sub-fertility/ infertility with increased BMI in overweight and obese men and in control group in Karnataka, South India. In this pilot study 20 overweight and obese men, aged 25-45, and 10 normal-weighed men with proven fertility were included. Both groups were married. All cases and controls were evaluated for different semen parameters according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software, version 16.0. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Different infertile conditions are evident among overweight and obese individuals recruited for this study. Variations in the semen parameter are significant in obese men compared to controls but sperm function test does not show statistical significant values in overweight and obese men when compared with control group. In case of oligoasthenospermic subjects pH shows a significant increase (p=0.002) compared to controls. Also the levels of Fructose show a significant decline in both azoospermic (

Perceptions and preferences of medical students regarding teaching methods in a Medical College, Mangalore India

Introduction: In the complex setting of a medical school it becomes essential to utilize an approach to teaching and learning that is best suited to the needs of the students. In developing countries like India, where there is an exponential increase of institutions catering to medical students, it becomes a challenge to teach to large number of students per class. Hence, research is needed to identify the needs of students in relation to their day to day learning activities.Objectives: To understand the preferences and perception of medical students about the current methods of teaching, aids used for teaching and also identify barriers in learning as perceived by the students.Method: A Cross-sectional study was carried out at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore during May 2012. Study participants included 2nd and 3rd year medical students. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the information in relation to preferences and perceptions regarding teaching methods utilized for theory and clinical teaching. SPSS version 11.5 was used for analysis of data. The association between variables of interest was tested using Chi-square test.Results: A total of 286 students (56.6 % females and 43.4% males) participated with a dropout rate of 10.6%. The study revealed that 71.3% of the students had an attendance above 75%. The most preferred teaching method was Problem Based Learning (PBL) (71.4%) as students felt that it enhanced lateral thinking while Didactic Lectures was the least preferred (32.8%). The most preferred modality of teaching aid was found to be Black board preferred by 46.9% students. In learning rare signs and cases, students preferred video lectures (41%) and mannequins (75.9%) in learning clinical skills. The main barrier in theory learning identified was inappropriate teaching methods (15%) and being new to clinical posting (38.5%) in case of learning clinical skills.Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that a combination of traditional methods with other methods such as PBL, video lectures and mannequins could be an effective way of teaching theory and clinical skills.Keywords: Perceptions and preferences, teaching methods, medical students, Indi

Tissuepatch is biocompatible and seals iatrogenic membrane defects in a rabbit model

To evaluate novel sealing techniques for their biocompatibility and sealing capacity of iatrogenic fetal membrane defects in a pregnant rabbit model.status: publishe