Method Development and Characterization of Liposomal Formulation of Isotretinoin

This study aims to develop a liposomal drug delivery system of isotretinoin, an acne drug-using spray drying, as a cost-effective and time-effective technique. The liposomal formulation was prepared by using spray drying; three different strategies were adopted: suspension spray drying (SSD), thin-film hydration and spray drying (TFHSD), and emulsion spray drying (ESD). Isotretinoin was 99% bound with lipid, so lipids hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine (HSPC), distearoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DSPG), and cholesterol were selected for the formulation development. The HSPC, DSPG, cholesterol, and isotretinoin were taken in the ratio 4 : 1 : 0.16 : 3.1 mmol. In vitro drug release studies, microscopy, drug content, and related substance characterizations were done to formulate each strategy of spray drying prepared dry liposomes of isotretinoin. Results were compared with the USP monograph of isotretinoin. It was revealed that isotretinoin's liposomal formulation using ESD was having drug release according to the USP limits. Drug content was also according to the USP requirement; no free drug crystals were found in microscopy, multivesicular vesicles were found in shape, a particle size of up 60 µ was found. The ESD technique was a successful, time-effective, and cost-effective technique for preparing a liposomal drug delivery system for isotretinoin

A rare self-mutilating post-operative behavioral change in a 3-year-old child

General anesthesia or sedation is mandatory even for minor surgery in children especially if they are below 5 years of age for oblivion. It’s mandatory not only for intraoperative period but also to omit the psychological impact that may adversely affect the children postoperatively. We report a case of post-operative behavioral change where a 3-year-old child applied a straight incision over his forehead to mimic the surgery that he learnt intraoperatively while drainage of small abscess of his own great toe carried out on him without anesthesia or sedation

Evaluation of efficacy and safety of intraarticular injections of leucocyte poor platelet rich plasma in osteoarthritis knee patients

Background: The present study evaluates the safety and efficacy of intraarticular injections of leucocyte poor platelet rich plasma (LP-PRP) in osteoarthritis (OA) knee patients. Patients with early osteoarthritis (K-L grading 1 and 2)-clinically and radiologically and those who gave consent to participate in the study were injected with 2.4 ml per knee of LP-PRP over unilateral or bilateral knees at 0, 1, 2 and 6 months of LP-PRP injections. Methods: 100 patients with osteoarthritis knee pain were injected with LP-PRP at 0.1.2 months on OPD basis. LP-PRP was prepared in a centrifugation machine at 2000 RPM for 4 minutes and 2000 RPM for 10 minutes for two consecutive times and then injected into knee with a medial suprapatellar approach using 20/21 G needle. This was repeated at 1 and 2 months of follow-up. Assessment of efficacy in terms of pain relief was done on the basis of visual analog score (VAS) and clinical outcomes on the basis of knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome scores (KOOS) at 0, 1, 2, 6 months following injection of LP-PRP. Results: The mean VAS at pre-injection was 7.22±0.965 which reduced to 3.06±1.223 at post-injection follow-up at 6 months. The mean KOOS at pre injection was 33.4±7.51 which increased to 78.86±8.80 at post-injection follow-up at 6 months. Conclusions: LP-PRP has emerged as an intriguing therapy option for knee OA, and our study has shown that it is effective after 6 months

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health of Health Care Workers and Its Determining Factors: A Systematic Review

Abstract Background Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the global pandemic has taken a toll in mental wellbeing of people around the world, especially health care workers. Health care workers have heavy work burden and are compelled to isolate themselves. Their mental health has worsened with increased symptoms of anxiety and depression affecting their quality of life. This review aims to identify the magnitude of psychological distress in health care workers and their major contributing factors during the COVID-19 pandemic for strengthening their mental health in present and upcoming pandemics. Methods The search databases such as ScienceDirect, Embase, Cochrane library, PubMed, and Google scholar were used for finding favorable studies. The search was conducted until 16th May, 2020 and articles from February 2020 to April 2021 were included in the review. Result A total of 2879 articles were identified and 18 studies were selected for the review. The psychological impact in the studies-anxiety and depression were prevalent in range from 10-90 percentage of total participants. Insomnia and stress were also commonly reported with maximum prevalence of 98.5% of total participants. These impacts were often associated with nursing profession and females, further aggravated by inadequate personal protective equipment, stigmatization and self-isolation.   Conclusion Various mediators such as female gender, young adulthood, comorbidity, nursing profession, previous history of mental illness, stigmatization, and employment in high risk areas, heavy workload, and poor infection control practices are major contributing factors for poor mental outcome in health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic. This raises the necessity of consideration of psychological health of health care workers and its promotion through supportive work environment, psychological preparedness and material adequacy. Keywords COVID-19, mental health, psychological disorders, health care workers, depression, anxiety

Biochemical Characterization of High Mercury Tolerance in a Pseudomonas Spp. Isolated from Industrial Effluent

A mercury resistant Pseudomonas spp. was isolated from industrial effluent that was able to tolerate 200 µM HgCl2. The Hg2+-resistant Pseudomonas spp. exhibited elevated stress-regulatory mechanisms as indicated by its high and inducible mercury reductase activity, high intrinsic catalase activity and enhanced resistance to Hg2+-induced release of protein-bound iron. An enhanced resistance of the bacterium to Hg2+-induced lipid peroxidation was observed as indicated by 40% lower conjugated diene and 60% lower lipid hydroperoxide content compared to a non-mercury resistant strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). Phospholipid (PL) analysis of both the species reveled intrinsic differences in their PL composition. We observed 80% PE, 15% PG and 5% of an unidentified PL (U) in MRP compared to 65% PE, 20% PG and 17% CL in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). Mercury toxicity led to significant reorganization of PL in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) compared to MRP. While HgCl2 led to 25% increase in PE, 35% depletion in CL and 27% depletion in PG content of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), MRP exhibited only 5% enhancement in PE content that was accompanied by 20% depletion in PG content, indicating that MRP resists mercury induced PL organization. Interaction of the MRP with polystyrene surface showed two fold higher Hg2+-induced exopolysaccharide secretion and elevated biofilm forming ability compared to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). Our investigation reveals a novel Pseudomonas spp. with high Hg2+-tolerance mechanisms that can be utilized for efficient bioremediation of mercury

A comparative evaluation of properties of denture base materials processed with different processing methods: a preliminary study.

Background: The use of the traditional polymerization process of dentures necessitates a lot of time and energy. To depreciate these factors, a different processing method could be studied. Aim: This study was aimed to evaluate and compare the properties of denture base resin material processed with conventional curing and pressure-pot method. Materials and methods: A total of 30 specimens with distinct dimensions were fabricated with the denture base materials. The specimens were divided into two groups with 15 each, and they were processed using conventional heat-curing and pressure-pot processing, respectively. Each group is subdivided into three groups with five specimens in each for evaluating flexural strength, water sorption, and residual monomer, respectively. Flexural strength was measured using a 3-point bending test with a Universal testing machine. Water sorption was assessed by measuring the weight of the specimens after immersing them in distilled water. Residual monomer content was evaluated using a UV spectrophotometer.  The obtained data were statistically analysed using an independent t-test. Results: A slight increase in flexural strength was observed in the pressure processed specimens. However, no significant differences (p=0.131) were observed in the flexural strength between the groups. Less water sorption percentage was observed with the pressure processed acrylic resin specimens, and a significant difference (p=0.047) was observed between the groups. A slightly more amount of residual monomer content was seen in the acrylic specimens processed conventionally. Conclusion: Pressure-pot curing may be used for processing denture base acrylics as it provides properties similar to that of the conventional curing method

Exploiting genomic resources for efficient conservation and utilization of chickpea, groundnut, and pigeonpea collections for crop improvement

Both chickpea and pigeonpea are important dietary source of protein, while groundnut is one of the major oil crops. Globally, ~1.1 million grain legume accessions are conserved in genebanks, of which, ICRISAT genebank holds ~50,000 accessions of cultivated species and wild relatives of chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut from 133 countries. These genetic resources are reservoirs of many useful genes for the present and future crop improvement programs. Representative subsets in the form of core and mini core collections have been used to identify trait-specific genetically diverse germplasm for use in breeding and genomic studies in these crops. Chickpea, groundnut and pigeonpea have moved from ‘orphan’ to ‘genomic resources rich crops’. The chickpea and pigeonpea genomes have been decoded, and the sequences of groundnut genome will soon be available. With the availability of these genomic resources, the germplasm curators, breeders and molecular biologists will have abundant opportunities to enhance the efficiency of genebank operations, mine allelic variations in germplasm collection, identify genetically diverse germplasm with beneficial traits, broaden the cultigen’s genepool, and accelerate the cultivar development to address new challenges to production, particularly with respect to climate change and variability. Marker-assisted breeding approaches have already been initiated for some traits in chickpea and groundnut, which should lead to enhanced efficiency and efficacy of crop improvement. Resistance to some pests and diseases has been successfully transferred from wild relatives to cultivated species