A probabilistic approach for modelling the joint action of drugs

An understanding of the joint action of drugs is becoming increasingly important in a variety of scientific disciplines, ranging from pharmacology and toxicology on the one hand to industrial hygiene and environmental protection on the other. The action of even a single drug upon a biological organism involves a complex sequence of processes and if more than one drug is present, the situation is further complicated The role of mathematical models in this context is now widely recognized (Plackett & Hewlett 1952, Hewlett and Plackett, 1959, 1979, Ashford and Cobby 1974, Ashford 7981

Variation in growth of peanut plants under drought stress condition and in combination with paclobutrazol and ABA

            Economically important oilseed crop peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. TVM-2) belonging to the family Fabaceae was selected for the present investigation. Field experiments were conducted to identify the variation under drought stress, paclobutrazol, and abscisic acid, and their combination on the growth of peanut plants. Drought stress decreased the morphological parameters like root length, stem length, total leaf area, fresh and dry weight on 40, 60 and 80 days after sowing (DAS) when compared to control. The paclobutrazol (PBZ) and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment to the drought stressed plants increased all the parameters when compared to drought stressed plants. PBZ treatment increased the root length when compared to control, while decreased the stem length and leaf area. ABA treated plants decreased root length, while increasing the stem length and leaf area when compared to control. Fresh and dry weight decreased in drought stressed plants when compared to control. PBZ and ABA to the drought stressed plants increased the fresh and dry weight. PBZ and ABA treatments decreased the fresh and dry weight when compared in the unstressed plants.

Five-year findings of a comparison of ambulatory short course chemotherapy with radical surgery plus chemotherapy for tuberculosis of the spine in Madras

A controlled clinical trial was undertaken to compare the efficacy of short course chemotherapy given alone or combined with radical surgery in the treatment of spinal tuberculosis without paraplegia. Patients with active spinal tuberculosis involving the vertebral bodies and without paraplegia were randomly allocated to one of the following three regimens. (a) Rad 6 : Radical anterior resection with bone grafting plus six months of daily isoniazid and rifampicin. (b) Amb 6 : Ambulatory chemotherapy with six months of daily isoniazid and rifampicin, without surgery. (c) Amb 9 : Same as (b) but the duration being nine months. The patients were intensively followed up for five years from the start. At five years, 98% of 86 Amb 9, 91% of 82 Amb 6 and 88% of 82 Rad 6 patients had a favourable status. It is concluded that ambulatory chemotherapy for 6 or 9 months is highly effective in the treatment of spinal tuberculosis. Radical surgery did not enhance the efficacy of the short course regimen

Use of multiple media for the cultivation of mycobacteria from specimens other than sputum

An investigation was carried out on the efficacy of using multiple media in the isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from specimens other than sputum, during the period 1980-1984. Of a total of 3807 specimens examined, 818 were urine, 1428 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 567 lymph glands, 94 pus samples, 224 operation specimens, 91 gastric aspirates, 108 ascitic fluid and 477 were other types of specimens. Each specimen was inoculated onto one set of media consisting of two slopes each of ‘Lowenstein-Jensen’ medium (LJ), LJ medium containing 0.5 per cent sodium pyruvate (LJP) and 7H11 oleic acid albumin medim (7H11) and two bottles of selective Kirchner’s liquid medium (KL). In all, 550 (14%) were positive by culture in any one of the four media used. Considering the different media individually, KL had the highest efficiency yielding 339 (62%) of the total 550 positive cultures. Also, KL detected 162 positives which were not positive by any of the other media. This was followed by LJ with 328 (60%) positives. LJ and KL when considered together detected 93 per cent of the positives and LJ, LJP and KL increased the positivity to 99 per cent. Thus LJ and KL seems to be the best combination for the isolation of mycobacteria from specimens other than sputum

Short-course chemotherapy for tuberculosis of the spine : A comparison between ambulant treatment and radical surgery - a ten year report.

We perfomed a randomised, controlled clinical trial to compare ambulant short-course chemotherapy with anterior spinal fusion plus short-course chemotherapy for spinal tuberculosis without paraplegia. Patients with active disease of vertebral bodies were randomly allocated to one of three regimens: a) radical anterior resection with bone grafting plus six months of daily isoniazid plus rifampicin (Rad6); b) ambulant chemotherapy for six months with daily isoniazid plus rifampicin (Amb6); or c) similar to b) but with chemotherapy for nine months (Amb9). Ten years from the onset of treatment, 90% of 78 Rad6, 94% of 78 Amb6 and 99% of 79 Amb9 patients had a favourable status. Ambulant chemotherapy for a period of six months with daily isoniazid plus rifampicin (Amb6) was an effective treatment for spinal tuberculosis except in patients aged less than 15 years with an initial angle of kyphosis of more than 30° whose kyphosis increased substantially

Drought-induced biochemical modifications and proline metabolism in Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.

The research was performed to define the effect of water deficit on early growth, biomass allocation and biochemical constituents, proline metabolism and yield of five varieties of bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.) plants. We found that there were significant differences in early growth, dry matter accumulation, biochemical constituents and proline metabolism among the five varieties. The root length, shoot length, total leaf area, fresh weight and dry weight were significantly reduced under drought-induced stress treatment. The proline content and g-glutamyl kinase were significantly enhanced and proline oxidase activities were reduced. Drought stress caused an increase in the free amino acid and glycinebetaine content

Assay of ethambutol in pharmaceutical preparations

Ethambutol tablets of 200 and 400 mg denominations were assayed by the standard non-aqueous titration method and a simpler calorimetric method. With the titrimetric method, assay values, appreciably higher than the stated content (117% or more), were obtained with the products of 4 companies, while all the values were within 6% of the stated content by the calorimetric method. Rifampicin and pyrazinamide interfered with the estimation of ethambutol by both methods: isoniazid, however, caused an overestimation with the titrimetric method only

Prevalence, incidence and resolution of abscesses and sinuses in patients with tuberculosis of spine: A 5-year results of patients treated with short course chemotherapy with or without surgery in Madras

A controlled clinical study comparing 6 or 9 months of ambulatory chemotherapy alone with radical surgery plus 6 months of chemotherapy was undertaken in patients with spinal tuberculosis in Madras. The prevalence of sinuses and/or clinically evident abscesses was 49(19%) of 253 patients, with significantly higher proportion in patients with lumbar or lumbo-sacral lesions. The incidence of lesions appearing after the start of chemotherapy was 32 (16%) of 204 patients. By five years, all had resolved. The resolution of the lesions was significantly faster and the incidences significantly lower in the radical surgery group than in the two ambulatory series. Mediastinal abscesses were observed on radiographs in 66 (66%) of 100 patients with thoracic or thoraco-lumbar lesions. By five years, the lesions had disappeared in all except two patients and the disappearance was significantly faster in the radical surgery group than in the two ambulatory series. There was no recurrence of these lesions during a period of five years