Studies on some aspects of biology of Uranoscopus cognatus Cantor, 1849 (Pisces: Uranoscopidae) off Visakhapatnam, central eastern coast of India

85-92Present study aims at generating baseline data on biology of the most common species, Uranoscopus cognatus that includes length frequency distribution, Length-Weight Relationship (LWR), population parameters and various aspects of reproductive biology. These studies are based on 618 specimens of length range 51-189 mm TL collected during the period January 2015 to December 2016. The present study contributes to an improved understanding of biology of fish communities and the possible impact of fishing on the long-term sustainability of exploited ecosystems

First record of valid species of torpedo electric ray, Torpedo polleni (Bleeker, 1865) (Torpediniformes: Torpedinidae) from Indian waters

1338-1343A species of torpedo electric ray, Torpedo polleni (Bleeker, 1865) has been reported for the first time from Indian waters. Six specimens of T. polleni measuring 147-397 mm TL were collected from shrimp trawl by-catches at Visakhapatnam, central eastern coast of India. The present paper provides description and comparison of morphometric data of T. polleni with closely resembling species of genus Torpedo thus helping in clearing taxonomic ambiguities. The present study suggests that T. polleni (Bleeker, 1865) with 6‑8 knob-like papillae on the posterior margin of spiracle, the central papilla being larger, distance between eye and spiracle less than eye diameter, nasal curtain short and wide, its length more than half the length of inter narial width, first dorsal fin originating entirely above the pelvic fin base and base ending little beyond the pelvic fin, dorsal surface showing ornate appearance with close set of brownish-black spots, few spots very closely set or joined together forming vermiculations and dark brown lines is a valid species

A RANDOMISED CONTROL STUDY TO COMPARE THE EFFICACY OF CEFUROXIME, CLARITHROMYCIN, AND LEVOFLOXACIN IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PAEDIATRIC UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION

Background: The upper respiratory infections cause considerable morbidity mainly in children due to the fact that they mainly affect children. Accordingly, a study was conducted on antibiotics to compare the effectiveness of clarithromycin, cefuroxime, and levofloxacin for treating upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in children. Methods: A prospective observational study for a period of 6 months was conducted in the pediatrics department of RVM hospital. Outpatients under the age of 14 years given antibiotics for the treatment of URTI were included in the study. A total of 99 study subjects were included in the study, divided into three groups each containing 33 sample sizes (clarithromycin, cefuroxime, and levofloxacin). Patient data was collected using a form and verbal consent was obtained from patients/patient representatives, and drugs were given using the lottery method. Follow-up was done and noted for the 3rd, 5th, 7th day through telephonic calls, and the collected data were evaluated using statistical analysis. Results: Pool data from 99 patients shows that many patients belong to 0–5 years age groups (age distribution), and males were more than female (gender distribution). Clarithromycin (cure rate 3 days) and cefuroxime (cure rate 5 days) showed an equal rate of cure percentage (94%), while levofloxacin for 3–5 days with a 3% failure rate. A significant difference of p<0.05 (p=0.000) was observed and no adverse events were noted. Conclusion: The study findings showed, out of 3 drugs, clarithromycin and cefuroxime showed an equal efficacy rate of 94%, but clarithromycin showed shorter duration of outcome, i.e., 3 days. Hence, clarithromycin is effective than the other two drugs in the treatment of URTI

Finfish constituents of shrimp trawl low value by-catch off Visakhapatnam, India

With the increase in number of shrimp trawlers operating in Visakhapatnam  waters at depths ranging from 20 to 100 m and occasionally even upto 200 m, the problem of by-catch also gradually increasing in this region. Thus it is important to know the finfish species composition in the trawl by-catches in order to develop appropriate management and conservation programs for juvenile finfishes. A total of 280 species of low value finfishes belonging to 80 families and 28 Orders were reported in the trawl by-catches off Visakhapatnam during the study period 2014-17. Moreover, two cardinalfishes namely Apogonichthyoides uninotatus is reported as a new record to the Indian waters and A. pseudotaeniatus has been recorded for the first time from east coast of India. The present paper also compares the constituents of finfish reported during early 90s thus reflecting the changes in species composition. About 112 species of finfishes belonging to 14 families viz. Rhinobatidae, Elopidae, Ophichthidae, Muraenesocidae, Kurtidae, Pomacentridae, Blenniidae, Acropomatidae, Cepolidae, Ephippidae, Datnioidae, Lactariidae, Citharidae and Plueronectidae were represented in by-catch of 1990, and now the representatives of these families have become very rare and could not be collected during the present study period. This study is useful in examining the factors influencing the structure of fish communities and fish species that are important indicators of ecological health

CURRENT REGULATIONS FOR MARKETING AUTHORIZATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL PACKAGING MATERIALS IN INDIA, USA, AND EUROPE

<p><i>Pharmaceutical packaging is one market across the globe which is advancing at constant pace. It is expected that market will grow to worth $78.79 Billion by 2025. Packaging is a key for sale, safety and success. Like other packaged goods, pharmaceuticals packaging need to be in such a manner that it will provide speedy packaging, protection, identification, product quality, patient comfort, display and needs of security. Advancement in research of pharmaceuticals development had always being dependent on the packaging technology. Maintaining integrity of pharmaceuticals during storage, shipment, and delivery is assured by quality of packaging available. This article reviewing current pharmaceutical packaging trends and predicting the packaging outcomes in future and also explains the Current Regulations for Marketing Authorization of Pharmaceutical Packaging Materials in India, USA & Europe.</i></p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> <i>Pharmaceutical packaging Materials, Marketing Authorization, Current Regulations, India, USA & Europe.</i></p&gt

Development of Validated Spectrophotometric Methods for Estimation of Ethacridine Lactate in Pharmaceutical Formulations

Abstract: Ethacridine lactate (EAL) is an antiseptic in solutions of 0.1%. It is also used as an agent for second trimester abortion. Two simple and sensitive spectrophotometric methods (Method A and Method B) were developed for the estimation of EAL in pharmaceutical formulations. Method A is based on the condensation of the primary aromatic amino group of ethacridine lactate with an aromatic aldehyde (p-Dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde) to form a chromophore with absorption maximum of 600nm. Method B is based on redox reaction followed by complex formation of EAL with IO 3 -/Metol reagent to form a stable chromogen, which can be estimated at 520 nm. Method A obeys Beer's law in the concentration range of 2 to 12 µg/mL and method B in the range of 20 to 100 µg/mL. Interference studies were conducted to see the influence of excipients with the proposed methods. The common excipients usually present in dosage forms do not interfere in the proposed method A and method B. The optical characteristics, regression analysis data and precision of the methods were also calculated. The methods were validated for use in routine quality control of EAL in pharmaceutical formulations

Nuclei Segmentation using a Level Set Active Contour Method and Spatial Fuzzy C-Means Clustering

Digitized histology images are analyzed by expert pathologists in one of several approaches to assess precervical cancer conditions such as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Many image analysis studies focus on detection of nuclei features to classify the epithelium into the CIN grades. The current study focuses on nuclei segmentation based on level set active contour segmentation and fuzzy c-means clustering methods. Logical operations applied to morphological post-processing operations are used to smooth the image and to remove non-nuclei objects. On a 71-image dataset of digitized histology images (where the ground truth is the epithelial mask which helps in eliminating the non epithelial regions), the algorithm achieved an overall nuclei segmentation accuracy of 96.47%. We propose a simplified fuzzy spatial cost function that may be generally applicable for any n-class clustering problem of spatially distributed objects