sessment of ground water contamination in Erode District, Tamilnadu

A systematic study has been carried out to assess the water contamination and the effect of the tanneries and dyeing industries effluents on Erode District, Tamil Nadu. Ten (10) sampling locations were selected in and around industries. The water samples were collected from the selected sampling points. The samples were analyzed for major chemical water quality parameters like pH, EC, Ca, Mg, Cl, SO4, Na, CO3 and HCO3. The present investigation shows a constant variation in different parameters in different locations. So it is highly important to take periodical monitoring of the ground water quality in this region for future sustainability.Key words: Erode district, Tamilnadu, contamination assessment, tanneries and dyeing industries

ANABOLIC EFFECT OF 17- METHYLTESTOSTERONE HORMONE ON CERTAIN BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF FISH, TILAPIA MOSSAMBICA

One of the major sources of animal protein for human consumption is a fisheries resource. The demand for fishhas increased in recent years due to population growth and the constant search for a healthy diet. The present study was conducted to assess an anabolic impact of an androgenic hormone, 17-Methyltestosterone (MT) on Protein contentand RNA levels in certain tissues i.e. skeletal muscle, liver and gonad of fish, Tilapia mossambica. The hormone was incorporated in the feed and fed to the fish up to four weeks, in the form of three pelleted diets containing 4, 8 and 16 mg MT/ kg diet along with a fourth control group without hormone. The highest increment in tissue Protein content, RNA and DNA levels was observed under 16 mg MT/ kg diet followed by 8 mg MT/ kg diet and 4 mg MT/ kg diet in skeletal muscle, liver and gonad of fish. The more increase in Protein content, RNA and DNA levels was observed after 28 days of the 17-MT oral route of administration. Hence, it is clear that the anabolic hormones such as 17-MT hormone play an important role in enhancing the tissue protein content for nutritional purposes.There was not much change in DNA levels

EFFECTS OF SUBLETHAL COPPER EXPOSURE ON NUCLEIC ACID LEVELS IN FISH, OREOCHROMIS MOSSAMBICUS (PETERS)

ndustries are the major sources of heavy metal pollution and it is released into water and soil. Heavy metals cause several ill effects to aquatic organisms and environment. In the present study, Fishes were exposed to sub lethal concentrations (1/16, 1/12, 1/8 and 1/4th of 96 h LC50 value) i.e. 3mg/L, 4mg/L, 6mg/L and 12mg/L of Copper Sulphate for four different exposure durations of 10, 20, 30 and 40 days. The Nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) in different tissues such as Muscle, Liver, Gills and Kidney of Copper Sulphate (CuSO4) exposed fish, Oreochromis mossambicus has been studied. Decreased tendency was observed in RNA and an insignificant change was observed in DNA levels in all the vital tissues of fish exposed to Copper Sulphate over control. RNA content was gradually decreased with increased exposure period and the decrease was observed to be directly proportional to increased sublethal concentrations. DNA levels decreased higher concentration (12mg/L) and higher duration (40 days)

Effectiveness of normal saline mouth wash versus sodium bicarbonate mouth wash on oral mucositis among patients undergoing radiation therapy in oncology ward at Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai

Title: Effectiveness of Normal saline mouth wash versus Sodium bicarbonate mouth wash on Oral mucositis among patients undergoing Radiation therapy in oncology ward at Government Rajaji Hospital Madurai. Objectives: Assess the level of Oral mucositis on patients undergoing Radiation therapy for Head and neck cancer.To evaluate the effectiveness of Normal saline mouth wash in Experimental group I and Sodium bicarbonate mouth wash in Experimental Group II .To compare the effectiveness between Normal saline mouth wash and Sodium bicarbonate mouth wash on Oral mucositis among patients undergoing Radiation therapy for Head and neck cancer.To associate the level of Oral mucositis among patients undergoing Radiation therapy with selected demographic and clinical variables. Hypotheses: There is a significant difference between the pre and post test level of Oral mucositis among patients undergoing Radiation therapy for Head and neck cancer in Experimental group I and II.There is a significant difference between the post test level of Oral mucositis between Experimental group I and II.There is a significant association between the level of Oral mucositis with selected demographic and clinical variables. Conceptual frame work: Modified J.W Kenny’s Open system model (1991). Methodology: Quantitative approach -True experimental-Comparative design was adopted.Sample size was 60( 30 samples in Group I and 30 samples in Group II),assigned by Simple random sampling technique-lottery method.National Cancer Institute- Common toxicity criteria-Oral mucositis grading scale was used to measure the pre test level of Oral mucositis.The intervention was administration of Normal saline mouth wash to Group I and Sodium bicarbonate mouth wash to Group II for 1 minute, 3 times a day for about 2 weeks.On 3rd week, post test was done by using the same tool. Findings: By using Mann Whitney “u” test, the median difference between the post test score is 2. The obtained “Z” value is 4.445 at p-value 0.000 level of significance. Conclusion: The findings proved that Normal saline mouth wash is very effective than Sodium bicarbonate mouth wash to reduce the level of Oral mucositis

HAEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF FRESHWATER FISH, CHANNA STRIATUS (BLOCH) UNDER THE STRESS OF ZINC SULPHATE

In the present investigation, Zinc Sulphate toxicity was evaluated on various haematological parameters in a fresh water air-breathing fish, Channa striatus. When exposed to sublethal concentrations (15, 20 and 30mg/L) of Zinc Sulphate in water for a period of 10, 20, 30 and 40days. At the end of 10, 20, 30 and 40days exposure periods, blood samples were collect from the control and experimental fish. The fish blood was assayed for selected haematological parameters, Haemoglobin (Hb), Red blood cells (RBC), Haematocrit (Hct) and White blood cells (WBC). The derived haematological indices of Mean cell volume (MCV), Mean cell Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean cell Haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were calculated. The fish, showed a haematological response after exposure (10, 20, 30 and 40days) to 15, 20 and 30mg/L of Zinc Sulphate. There was a decrease in Haemoglobin content (Hb), Red blood cells (RBC), Haematocrit value (Hct) and Mean cell haemoglobin (MCH). A significant increase was observed in WBC and Mean cell volume, Mean cell haemoglobin concentration. In conclusion, the alterations were observed indicate that haematological parameters can be used as an indicator of Zinc related stress in fish on exposure to elevated Zinc Sulphate levels

Comparison of efficacy and safety of injectable iron sucrose with oral ferrous ascorbate in the treatment of anaemia in pregnancy

Background: Anemia due to Iron deficiency is the commonest malnutrition disorder seen throughout the world and in India. It is also responsible for increased incidence of premature births, low birth weight babies and high perinatal mortality. Hence, the present study undertaken to assess efficacy and safety of injectable iron sucrose with oral ferrous ascorbate.Methods: 100 pregnant women, between gestational age 14 and 28 weeks were divided randomly into two groups i.e. group A consists of oral iron, a total of 200 mg of elemental iron per day, two 100mg iron tablets per day and group B consists of iron sucrose at the rate of 200mg on alternate OPD day. Informed consent was taken from each patient.Results: The percentage rise in hemoglobin at fourth and eighth weeks of treatment was statistically significant when compared to the baseline. Statistically significant rise in hemoglobin, PCV and ferritin levels were found at fourth and eighth weeks in IV group when compared to oral group.Conclusions: This study concluded that intravenous iron sucrose is safe and highly efficacious for the treatment of anemia in pregnancy. It restores iron stores more promptly. Iron sucrose therapy is more effective in achieving the optimum results, an increase in hemoglobin concentration, PCV levels and an increase in ferritin levels also. Therefore, it is a suitable alternative to oral iron with minimal side effects in those patients who cannot tolerate oral iron therapy.

Smart Acknowledgement Distributed Channel Access Scheme for TCP in MANETs

TCP upon wireless networks is most challenging issue because of random losses and ACK interference. Also, TCP suffers from performance declination in terms of creating delay and overhead in network because of poor characteristics of wireless channel. In order to overcome these issues, we proposed a Smart Acknowledgement Distributed Channel Access (SADCA) scheme for TCP in MANETs. In the proposed scheme, first a separate Access Category (AC) for data less TCP acknowledgement packets is used and then it is assigned with highest priority. In this way, delay during transmission of packet can be reduced and also packet can be acknowledged immediately. Also, to increase the performance, delay window size can be adjusted by considering the parameters such as transmission rate, number of hops, and channel occupied ratio (COR). Hence the proposed scheme helps to avoid any kind of delay and overhead for sending TCP acknowledgemen

PHARMACEUTICAL STANDARDIZATION OF VATARI GUGGULU

Rasa Shastra is the pharmaceutical branch of Ayurveda. As like any other medical system, success of Ayurvedic treatment also depends upon quality of medicine prescribed to the patient. The integral part of Rasa Shastra lies in the successful pharmaceutical process. Rasaoushadis are the potent Ayurvedic preparations mainly containing metals and minerals. These Oushadis possess wide range of therapeutic efficacy and are considered superior because of their qualities like small dose, quick action, palatability and longer shelf life. Vatari Guggulu is an important Rasa oushadi described in Bhaishajya Ratnavali - Amavata Adhikarana indicated in Gridhrasi. Vatari Guggulu contains Suddha Gandhaka (Sulphur), Suddha Guggulu (Commiphora mukul), Haritaki (Terminalia chebula Retz), Vibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica Roxb), Amlaki (Emblica officinalis Gaertn), Eranda taila (Ricinus communis Linn). The pharmaceutical procedures adopted in this study are Shodhana, Churna Nirmana and preparation of Vati of Vatari Guggulu. The specific pharmaceutical blend of these contents can result in a more effective formulation. Till now, no research work has been carried out to standardize this formulation. Therefore the present study has been planned to standardize the method of preparation of Vatari Guggulu according to the method explained in the classical literature

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC METHODS FOR THE QUANTIFICATION OF EFAVIRENZ IN TABLETS

Two simple and precise spectrophotometric methods ( A and B ) were developed for the estimation of efavirenz ( EFZ ) in bulk drug as well as in pharmaceutical dosage form( tablets). Methods A is based on the formation of pink coloured chromogen  by the diazotization and coupling reaction of EFZ with β-Naphthol. The λmax of the pink coloured chromogen was found to be 494nm. Method B is First derivative spectroscopy method. The first derivative spectrum is a plot of the rate of change of absorbance with wavelength against wavelength (dA /dλ versus λ). It is characterized by a maximum, minimum and a cross- over point at the λmax of the absorption band. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of 10-60µg/ml and 4-24 µg/ml for methods A and B respectively. The proposed methods were statistically validated and found to be useful for the routine determination of EFZ in tablets. Key words: Efavirenz,  β- Naphthol, First derivative spectroscopy, Tablets, Validatio

Evaluation of anti-depressant activity of zinc and vitamin B6 as adjuvants to fluoxetine in an animal model of depression

Background: Depression is a significant public health problem. It is estimated by the World Health Organization that more than 300 million people suffer from depression globally. Micronutrient deficiencies have been constantly linked to depression. The currently used drugs in treatment of depression modulate the excitatory and/or the inhibitory neurotransmission pathways through different mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to compare the antidepressant effect of the micronutrients, zinc and vitamin B6, as adjuvants to Fluoxetine in Albino Wistar rats.Methods: Eighteen albino wistar rats of 180-280grams of either sex were used in the study to evaluate the anti-depressant activity after approval from the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee. They were divided into three groups of six rats each (3 groups). Group 1 was control group which received only distilled water, group 2 was standard group which received fluoxetine and group 3 was test group which received zinc, vitamin B6 and fluoxetine. The anti-depressant activity was measured using the forced swimming test (FST) which works on the principles of behavioral despair. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS software, version 25.0 and p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The rats of the standard and test groups had latency periods’ means of 268.83±30.16, 126.17±22.33 and 125.33±11.86 on 254.83±13.00, 118.67±8.16 and 127.17±6.68 seconds on days 1, 7 and 14 respectively (p <0.001) and the rats of the standard and test groups had despair periods’ means of 177.00±7.46, 95.17±10.65, 93.17±7.47and 167.17±14.82, 97.33±7.63 and 87.50±4.1 seconds on days 1, 7 and 14 respectively (p <0.001).Conclusions: Supplementation of zinc and vitamin B6 to the standard treatment fluoxetine yielded better anti-depressant activity than fluoxetine alone in rats subjected to stress