Synthesis of some novel heteropolyquinanes

Synthesis of structurally novel aza-and oxa-polyquinanes from the abundantly available cis,syn,cis-triquinane dione 1 via transannular nucleo-phillc additions is reported

In vitro susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to trifluoperazine

The reference strain, Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, 19 drug-sensitive and 15 drug resistant clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis were tested for their in vitro susceptibility to trifluoperazine (TFP), an antipsychotic drug, by broth dilution method. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of TFP against M. tuberculosis H37Rv were 8 and 32 mg/l, respectively. The distribution of the sensitive and resistant isolates, with respect to the MIC of TFP, was similar. The distribution of the sensitive and resistant isolates, with respect to the MBC of TFP, was different and the difference was statistically significant. The findings suggest that TFP is more bactericidal to drug-resistant isolates than to the sensitive isolates

Effect of administration of rifampicin on the adrenocortical function in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Adrenocortical function was studied on admission and during treatment in 57 newlydiagnosed patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 16 of whom were treated with a daily regimen containing Rifampicin (R-7), 22 with a twiceweekly regimen containing the same drug (R-Z) and 19 with a daily regimen that did not contain Rifampicin (NR-7). In patients on daily treatment (R-7 and NR-7), there was a slight increase in plasma cortisol at 1 week followed by a decline; while the mean level at 4 weeks was similar to that on admission in the R-7 patients, that in the NR-7 patients was significantly lower (P < 0.01). No change was observed in the R-2 patients. A positive response to tetracosactrin was observed in the 7 R-7, 14 R-Z and 7 NR-7 patients on admission and in 6, 14 and 14, respectively at 4 weeks. The increase in the proportion of positive responders in the NH-7 patients was significant (P = 0.05). On admission, the diurnal rhythm of the release of cortisol, as assessed by changes in salivary cortisol, was disturbed in the patients with an evening rise in the cortisol levels; it had, however, reverted to a near-normal pattern after 2 months of treatment in all 3 groups of patients

Restriction fragment length polymorphism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from various regions of India, using direct repeat probe

Intraspecies differentiation was studied on 68 M. tuberculosis strains obtained from 6 states of India by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) using a direct repeat probe (DR probe) hybridised with Alu I digest of DNA. Most strains showed polymorphism based patterns that comprised between 2 to 7 bands and were grouped into 26 RFLP types. Of the 11 strains tested from Amritsar, 8 were RFLP type 5; the remaining 3 were of type 11 and were exclusively confined to this region. The strains from other regions were more heterogeneous. We confirm that DR-associated RFLP can be an excellent tool for the differentiation of M. tuberculosis strains. Depending on their geographical origin, these strains can be differentiated to a large extent by DR fingerprinting

Early bactericidal action of pulsed exposure to rifampicin, ethambutol, isoniazid & pyrazinamide in pulmonary tuberculosis patients

The bactericidal action of two therapeutic regimens on Mycobacterium tuberculosis was assessed by viable counts in serial sputum samples in 49 pulmonary tuberculosis patients being treated with rifampicin (R), etbambutol (Emb), isoniazid (I) and pyrazinamide (Z) together in a single dose thrice weekly (REmbIZ3) or with REmb and IZ on alternate days (REmb3IZ3alt). In both groups of patients, there was a significant reduction (P < 0.02) in the colony forming units (cfu) of M. tuberculosis per ml of sputum during the first two days of treatment itself. This early bactericidal action (EBA) as well as the reduction in counts during the subsequent days of treatment were similar (P > 0.2) for both REmbIZ3 and REmb3IZ3alt regimens indicating that splitting up REmbIZ into REmb on one day and IZ on the next day in short course chemotherapy (SCC) regimens may not affect the bactericidal action of the regimens

Cell mediated immune response in South India pulmonary tuberculosis patients

Ninety-two untreated pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients and sixty two non-tuberculous (non-TB) controls drawn from the same socio-economic strata were studied for their delayed hypersensitivity (DH), cell mediated immunity (CMI) and bacillary-load. There was no correlation between bacillary load and response in parameters of CMI, namely, lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) and leucocyte migration inhibition test (LMI). Migration Index (MI) in LMI did not correlate with DH in TB patients. There was no significant difference in the mean values of MI between TB and non-TB control patients. Response of lymphocytes to mitogens and percentage of T-rosetting cells also did not differ between TB and non-TB control patients. On the contrary, differences were found in the two groups of patients with regard to lymphocyte response to PPD antigen and mean B-cell percentage. While, among non-TB patients. high Mantoux reactors had significantly higher LTT response to PPD compared to low Mantoux reactors: no such difference was observed among TB patients. The mean B-Cell percentage was significantly higher in TB patients than in non-TB controls. The relevance of these differences in relation to tuberculosis in discussed

Major and minor fisheries harbours of India. 8. Fisherries harbours along the coasts of North Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal

The present account gives information about the three major and five minor fisheries harbours along the coasts of north Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Benga