Efficacy of zincoderm G cream against wound infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Sprague-Dawley rats

Background: Zincoderm G cream is a fixed dose combination of clobetasol, gentamicin and zinc. Studies have been carried out for efficacy of each component such as clobetasol and gentamicin in bacterial infections, but as fixed dose combination including zinc has not been reported yet. Hence, a study was planned to assess the efficacy of Zincoderm G cream in experimental wound infection by Pseudomonas aerugionosa.Methods: In the experiment a total of 18 Sprague-Dawley rats (male, pathogen free, 6-8 weeks old) were used. The rats were divided into three groups of six rats each. 25-30 mg of test drugs (Zincoderm G cream with or without zinc) was applied on Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected burn wound affected area of back of rats for 2 weeks. Bacterial infection was assessed by quantification of bacteria.Results: There was 80% mortality observed in P. aeruginosa infected toxic control (cream base) group. Whereas, only 40% mortality was seen in both Zincoderm G cream with/without zinc groups, which were inoculated with P. aeruginosa. Bacterial concentration (Number of colony forming unit/ml wound fluid) was significantly decreased (p<0.001) in P. aeruginosa infected rats treated with Zincoderm G cream with zinc when compared with P. aeruginosa infected control (untreated) rats.Conclusions: We found that Zincoderm G cream with zinc exhibited distinct killing profiles against P. aeruginosa

Aspects of tautomerism. Part 16. Influence of the &#947;-keto function on the reactions of sulphonic acids

Reaction of sodium 2-formylbenzenesulphonate (1) with thionyl chloride or phosphorous pentachloride gives a mixture of pseudo (2) and normal (3) sulphonyl chlorides. Whereas ammonium 2-carboxybenzenesulphonate (6) gives only the normal sulphonyl chloride (7) on reaction with thionyl chloride, a mixture of normal (7) and pseudo (8) isomers are formed on reaction with phosphorous pentachloride. Sodium 2-benzoylbenzenesulphonate (15), on the other hand, gives the corresponding normal sulphonyl chloride (16) on reaction with both of the reagents mentioned above. Based on these observations it is concluded that γ-keto sulphonic acids are amenable to the influence of γ-carbonyl group as in the case of γ-keto carboxylic acids but to a lesser extent

Thermal and morphological studies of chitosan and agar-agar blends

Many researchers are attracted to Chitosan based blends due to its properties and potential applications in various fields. The advanced development of Chitosan blends integrates the science and technology of blended materials. The present experimentation is reporting the preparation of Chitosan and Agar-Agar blends (CCA) by chemical mixing of these materials at different compositions. The thermal studies of the prepared blends were studied by differential scanning colorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) tools. Thermal studies reveal that the lowest degradation temperatures of blends might be attributed to the partial miscibility of CAA blends at particular composition and miscibility due to single glass transition temperature (Tg) between Chitosan and Agar-agar. Bonding nature of sample blends were carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) instrumentation. This study reveals the interaction between Chitosan and Agar-agar is partial miscibility. Morphological study reveals that a few aggregated particles, which suggest the partial miscibility of CAA blends. Homogeneity of blend compositions and specific intermolecular interactions of hydrogen bonding type is also observed

Assessment of knowledge, practice and perception of menstruation among adult women in the reproductive age group, in Mangalore, India

Background: Women often lack knowledge regarding reproductive health including menstruation which can be due to socio-cultural barriers in which they grow up. The present study is aimed at assessing the level of knowledge regarding menstruation and hygienic practices and perceptions during menstruation.Methods: It was a cross sectional study, conducted among 110 adult women to assess their knowledge regarding menstruation, practices followed during menstruation and their perceptionof menstruation. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 17. 0. Chi square test was applied. P<0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: Only 52% of the study population has satisfactory knowledge regarding menstruation. Women between 15 to 20 years of age and those from the middle and higher socio-economic groups seem to possess maximum knowledge regarding menstruation. Women of the higher socio-economic group practice better sanitary measures during menstruation with 100% of them using pads, as compared to women of lower socio economic group who showed a trend of using cloth (87.5%). Women of the upper socio-economic class (42.78%) had better perception towards menstruation (p<0.05).Conclusions: It is very important that lower socio-economic group should be educated about the importance of maintaining hygiene during menstruation by proper health education and equip them with skills regarding safe and hygienic practices to prevent the risk for reproductive tract infections

Demographic and clinicopathologic profile of malignant epithelial ovarian tumors: an experience from a tertiary cancer care centre in Bangalore, South India

Background: Ovarian cancer is fast emerging as the leading cancer of the female genital tract. It is the second most common gynecological malignancy in India, but has poor outcomes making it the leading cause of gynecologic cancer related deaths. There is a paucity of data regarding demographic details, patterns of care and outcomes of ovarian epithelial malignancies in India. This is a study to evaluate the demographic details, clinical profile and pathology details of epithelial ovarian cancer registering in atertiary cancer center in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.Methods: This is a retrospective study of the case records of patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer from January 2012 to December 2014.Results: Malignantovarian tumors constituted 5.6% of all malignancies in women. 84 cases were of epithelial origin constituting 64.4% of all malignant ovarian tumors. 58% of patients were from Karnataka and 25% were from West Bengal. 27% underwent suboptimal surgery outside at presentation. The median age at presentation was 51 years. Most of the patients were parous (25% were para 2 and 3). 5% patients were nulliparous. Pain abdomen (39%) and abdominal distension/ bloating (16%) were the most common symptoms. 75% of these cases presented in III-IV stage. Method of diagnosis was: primary surgery and Biopsy of mass (50%), fine needle aspiration cytology of mass or ascites/ pleural effusion (40%), and diagnostic laparoscopy in (9.5%) of the patients. The most common histological variants were serous cystadenocarcinoma (32%) and mucinous adenocarcinoma (15%).Conclusions: Majority of the patients presented with vague nonspecific abdominal complaints which leads to delay in diagnosis. Most of the patients presented in advanced stage of the disease. Delay in diagnosis and improper management prior to registering in tertiary cancer centre was common. There is a need to improve awareness regarding ovarian cancer in general population and also primary care physician

Appearance of isolated thrombocytopenia in a patient of acute subdural hematoma

Thrombocytopenia in critically ill patients probably reflects the severity of the underlying illness and these patients have a higher mortality due to the severity of overall clinical status. In present article we report a case of acute subdural hematoma who developed progressive thrombocytopenia resulting in fatal outcome. A 75 year gentleman presented with history of sudden onset headache and lapsed into altered sensorium. There was history of trivial fall before he developed headache. The patient was deeply comatose with pupils bilateral 2 mm and reacting to light. Computerized tomography (CT) scan brain showed large right fronto-temporo-parietal acute subdural hematoma with mass effect and midline shift. Post-operatively he was kept on elective ventilation. On following days the patient continues to develop thrombocytopenia (Day-3 Platelet count 75,000, day-4 60,000, day-5 25,000). Thrombocytopenia is a common but a potentially life-threatening condition problem and has been considered to play a role in worsening the prognosis of critically ill patients in intensive care unit. Few studies statistically examine the strength of the association between risk factors and outcomes related to thrombocytopenia, additional research is recommended to identify putative molecular determinants

Observation of the Smectic C -- Smectic I Critical Point

We report the first observation of the smectic C--smectic I (C--I) critical point by Xray diffraction studies on a binary system. This is in confirmity with the theoretical idea of Nelson and Halperin that coupling to the molecular tilt should induce hexatic order even in the C phase and as such both C and I (a tilted hexatic phase) should have the same symmetry. The results provide evidence in support of the recent theory of Defontaines and Prost proposing a new universality class for critical points in layered systems.Comment: 9 pages Latex and 5 postscript figures available from [email protected] on request, Phys.Rev.Lett. (in press

Theory of Cylindrical Tubules and Helical Ribbons of Chiral Lipid Membranes

We present a general theory for the equilibrium structure of cylindrical tubules and helical ribbons of chiral lipid membranes. This theory is based on a continuum elastic free energy that permits variations in the direction of molecular tilt and in the curvature of the membrane. The theory shows that the formation of tubules and helical ribbons is driven by the chirality of the membrane. Tubules have a first-order transition from a uniform state to a helically modulated state, with periodic stripes in the tilt direction and ripples in the curvature. Helical ribbons can be stable structures, or they can be unstable intermediate states in the formation of tubules.Comment: 43 pages, including 12 postscript figures, uses REVTeX 3.0 and epsf.st