A study to evaluate the demographic profile of voluntary and replacement blood donors at tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India: a 5-year retrospective comparative analysis

Background: Blood donor base is the foundation of any blood transfusion system. Donor screening plays an important role in ensuring the safety of the blood supply.1 This study was undertaken with the aim to screen the blood donor’s demographic profile as male, female voluntary and replacement blood donors and to estimate seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and VDRL transmissible by blood transfusion in voluntary and replacement male and female blood donors during the last 5 year period.Methods: The present study was conducted over a period of 5 years (2001-2005) and involved 1,53,020 blood donors including both (voluntary, replacement males and females) who were thoroughly screened and selected for blood donation in blood bank at Departments of Pathology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM hospital, Mumbai. We determine among blood donors by their donor type (voluntary and replacement type) and gender wise.Results: The total number of blood donors in five years period was 1,53,020 (100%). Maximum number of voluntary  blood donors 1,00,316 (65.55%), followed by replacement blood donors 52,704 (34.33%).The overwhelming majority of donors in entire 5 years period was of male, comprising 1,36,195 (89.0%), while the female donors comprised of 16825 (10.99%).Conclusions: The maximum number of donors are voluntary males (55.69%) followed by replacement males (33.30%). Our results indicate that the number of female blood donors were less in comparison to male blood donors, so proper health education is required for female blood donors

Efficacy and tolerability of eperisone versus tizanidine in patients suffering from low back pain with muscle spasm

Background: Low back pain (LBP), a high prevalent condition, is usually associated with 'muscle spasm' that is responsible for giving rise to pain. Eperisone hydrochloride is widely used for treatment associated muscle stiffness and pain. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of eperisone tablets 50 mg three times daily versus tizanidine 2 mg tablets thrice daily for the treatment of low back pain with muscle spasm.Methods: The study was carried in 50 patients from a private hospital at Mumbai. Only patients satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled into the study. Subjects suffering from low back pain with spasm were divided in two groups. The patients were then followed up on Day-14.Results: Patients receiving eperisone showed a mean value of 16.48±1.15 in the Roland Morris low back pain and disability questionnaire both groups on day 1 and was reduced to 7.92±1.15 (51.94%) on day 7 and 2.56±1.53 (84.46%) on day 14. Similarly, the patients in tizanidine group had mean value of 15.96±1.62 on day 1, which was reduced to 6.76±1.66 (57.64%) on day 7, and 2.88±1.92 (81.95%) on day 14, as similar to eperisone group. There was no statistical significant difference between the two groups, (p>0.05) for pain at rest, pain at night, restriction of movement, changes in stiffness, changes in numbness and changes in tenderness. There was statistical significant difference between the two groups, (p<0.05) for pain on movement and kinesalgia.Conclusions: Eperisone was found to be comparable to Tizanidine in improving the signs and symptoms of changes in pain Self-assessment by the patient on different applied parameters

Evaluation of Lightning Induced Effects in a Graphite Composite Fairing Structure

Defining the electromagnetic environment inside a graphite composite fairing due to lightning is of interest to spacecraft developers. This paper is the first in a two part series and studies the shielding effectiveness of a graphite composite model fairing using derived equivalent properties. A frequency domain Method of Moments (MoM) model is developed and comparisons are made with shielding test results obtained using a vehicle-like composite fairing. The comparison results show that the analytical models can adequately predict the test results. Both measured and model data indicate that graphite composite fairings provide significant attenuation to magnetic fields as frequency increases. Diffusion effects are also discussed. Part 2 examines the time domain based effects through the development of a loop based induced field testing and a Transmission-Line-Matrix (TLM) model is developed in the time domain to study how the composite fairing affects lightning induced magnetic fields. Comparisons are made with shielding test results obtained using a vehicle-like composite fairing in the time domain. The comparison results show that the analytical models can adequately predict the test and industry results

Factors affecting neuropsychological assessment in a group of South Asian older adults

The accuracy of neuropsychological assessment is critical in the diagnosis of cognitive impairments in older adults. However, existing neuropsychological tests may not be suitable for minority populations. This thesis aimed to address this issue by recruiting cognitively-healthy South Asian older adults and assessing cognitive function in this group. Results showed that typically used assessments, despite being translated, were not suitable for this cohort. Furthermore, skills required for test completion such as mathematics and writing/hand dexterity (which are related to education levels) influenced test scores. Therefore, new assessments of general cognitive function and associative memory were developed to improve the accuracy of neuropsychological test scores. The new tests were not affected by education and they achieved high internal and test re-test reliability. Time of day (TOD) that testing takes place is also known to affect cognition. Interestingly, no TOD effects were observed in this cohort. It was hypothesised that engagement in the daily five Islamic prayers may have contributed to this lack of a TOD effect. However, the results did not confirm this. The thesis then looked at overall prayer engagement and cognition. Results showed that engagement in the daily five prayers and Quran recitation significantly increased scores on assessments of processing speed. This thesis demonstrates that accurately assessing cognition in South Asian older adults is challenging and that the cognitive tests used must be suitable for this cohort. Interesting findings emerged for prayer engagement which may have wider implications for the field of cognitive reserve

Chemical Fingerprinting Profile and Targeted Quantitative Analysis of Phenolic Compounds from Rooibos Tea (Aspalathus linearis) and Dietary Supplements Using UHPLC‐PDA‐MS

Aspalathus linearis (Burm.f.) R. Dahlgren, commonly known as rooibos tea, was consumed traditionally by the indigenous South African inhabitants as an herbal remedy. Beside antioxidant properties, it displays antiallergic, antispasmodic, and hypoglycemic activities. An ultra‐high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with photodiode array and mass spectrometry detectors were developed for the determination of 14 phenolic constituents from leaves and stems of A. linearis. The efficient separation was performed within 30 min at a temperature of 30 °C by using C‐18 column as the stationary phase and water/acetonitrile with 0.05% formic acid as the mobile phase. Method validation for linearity, repeatability, limits of detection, and limits of quantification was achieved. The limits of detection from 0.2–1 μg/mL were reported for the standard compounds. Their total content varied substantially (1.50–9.85 mg/100 mg sample) in 21 dietary supplements. The presence of regioisomers and diastereomers which co‐elute on a variety of stationary phases make separation for quantification purposes challenging. This method was found to be efficient in providing low retention times and excellent resolution for this type of phytochemicals. The established method is suitable for chemical fingerprint analysis of A. linearis and cost‐effective for quality control of rooibos tea products

Tannery effluent effect on the haematological parameters of freshwater fish, Channa punctatus

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the tannery effluent toxicity stress symptoms in fish blood during a long term of exposure period. The effect of tannery effluent on various haematological parameters were evaluated exposing fresh water fish, C. punctatus to different concentration i.e., [Control, 5% Tannery effluent (TE), 10% TE and 20% TE] of tannery effluent. Exposed of fish to tannery effluent showed a significant decrease in the haemoglobin (Hb) content (9.16± 0.08), red blood cells (3.32 ± 0.12), packed cell volume (34.66 ± 0.33) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) values, whereas significant increase in the white blood cells (WBC), erythro-cyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and clotting time was recorded with increase in exposure periods as compared to control respectively. Hb, RBC and MCHC values showed fluctuating results. The haematological parameters were decreases from 15th days of exposure periods to 45th days of exposure period. The decrease in haematological parameters clearly indicates that the exposed fishes have become anemic due to tannery effluent exposure

HPLC Method for Determination of Rifaximin in Human Plasma Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry Detection

The present study was aimed at developing a simple, sensitive, and specific liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of rifaximin in human plasma using rifaximin D6 as internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on Zorbax SB C18, 4.6 x 75 mm, 3.5 μm column with an isocratic mobile phase composed of 10 mM ammonium formate (pH 4.0) and acetonitrile in the ratio of (20:80 v/v), at a flow-rate of 0.3 mL/min. Rifaximin and rifaximin D6 were detected with proton adducts at m/z 786.4 → 754.4 and 792.5 → 760.5 in multiple reaction monitoring positive mode respectively. The acidified samples were subjected to liquid–liquid extraction using a mixture of methyl t-butyl ether - dichloromethane (75: 25) followed by centrifugation, nitrogen-aided evaporation and reconstitution. The method was validated over a linear concentration range of 20 - 20000 pg/mL with correlation coefficient of more than 0.9995. This method demonstrated intra and inter-day precision within 0.6 - 2.6% and 2.2 - 5.6%, and accuracy within 95.7 - 104.2% and 95.8 - 105.0% for rifaximin, respectively. Rifaximin was found to be stable throughout freeze–thawing cycles, bench top and postoperative stability studies. This method was applied successfully for the analysis of blood samples following oral administration of rifaximin (200 mg) in 17 healthy Indian male human volunteers under fasting conditions.Keywords: Bioequivalence, mass spectrometry, rifaximinEast and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 13 (2010) 78-8

Comparison of 2 high-throughput spectral techniques to predict differences in diet composition of grazing sheep and cattle

Diet composition can be estimated in free-ranging animals by the use of n-alkane and long-chain fatty alcohol concentrations in feces. However, this technique involves relatively laborious and costly analytical techniques. Two spectroscopy techniques were investigated as a way of determining whether dietary differences are likely, thus indicating whether the more expensive and labor-intensive techniques for more detailed analysis are justified. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and front-face fluorescence emission spectroscopy (lambda(excitation) = 380 nm, lambda(emission) = 600 to 760 nm) were used to analyze fecal samples collected from 2 different breeds of cattle and sheep (4 groups in total, n = 6 per group) grazing moorland plants in 2 grazing sessions. These fecal samples were also analyzed for alkane and alcohol concentrations. Fourier-transform infrared spectra, particularly in the alkane regions, demonstrated clear separation between animal species. Fluorescence emission spectra showed similar separation; fluorophores were most likely chlorophylls and their derivatives. Multivariate analysis of all 3 data sets showed similar variation within and between groups of cattle and sheep, indicating differences in diet selection particularly between species, but also between breed and grazing session. Both spectroscopy methods showed utility in suggesting differences in diet composition that would be worth investigating using more detailed chemical analyses. Of the 2 techniques, the FTIR spectroscopy gave the better comparative results, being able to detect differences in sampling months that were detected with alkanes and alcohols that the fluorescence emission spectroscopy did not detect

Initial evaluation of a university dementia awareness initiative

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a study which explored the knowledge and attitudes of university students towards people living with dementia, and developed and tested a dementia awareness workshop, dementia detectives: university edition, designed to improve knowledge and foster positive attitudes to dementia in students. Design/methodology/approach: Dementia detectives: university edition was launched during dementia awareness week and five workshops were delivered to university students. In total, 42 participants attended and completed a knowledge and attitude measure before and after the workshop, as well as rating the workshop with regards to satisfaction, relevance, understanding and whether they would recommend the workshop to friends. Findings: Students perceived living with dementia to be a negative and stigmatised experience. The workshop scored highly in terms of satisfaction, relevance and understanding and all students stated that they would recommend the workshop to others. Paired t-tests found significant improvements in self-assessed dementia knowledge. Research limitations/implications: This was a pilot evaluation and further testing with larger samples is required. Practical implications: The workshop meets the requirements for tier 1 dementia education and training as outlined in the Dementia Core Skills and Knowledge Framework published by the Department of Health. Social implications: The workshop has the potential to increase knowledge, change attitudes, improve empathy and contribute to the development of a dementia aware workforce through undergraduate education. Originality/value: Dementia detectives: university edition is a novel interactive method of dementia education and training