LARVICIDAL AND ENZYME INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF ACALYPHA FRUTICOSA (F.) AND CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS L (G) DON. LEAF EXTRACTS AGAINST CULEX QUINQUEFASCIATUS (SAY.) (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE)

ABSTRACTObjective: The prime objective of this study is to evaluate the larvicidal and enzyme inhibitory effects of Acalypha fruticosa and Catharanthus roseusleaf extracts against Culex quinquefasciatus.Methods: Insecticidal susceptibility tests were carried out using the World Health Organization standard method, and the mortality was observedafter 24 hrs exposure.Results: The tested extracts showed a significant larvicidal activity depending on the dose of the plant extracts. However, maximum larval mortalitywas detected in ethyl acetate extract of A. fruticosa with a lethal concentration (LC50) value of 253.08 ppm and (LC90) value of 455.40 ppm followedby hexane extract of C. roseus with LC50 value of 645.33 ppm and LC90 value of 1452.88 ppm against the larvae of C. quinquefasciatus. In control, therewere five different fractions of α-carboxylesterases resolved in the gel with the mobilities ranging between 0.14 and 0.66. β-carboxylesterase isozymeprofile of larvae treated with hexane extract of A. fruticosa showed higher enzyme activities by way of intense staining of fractions both at 1/4 and1/10 LC50 value of 48 hrs treatments. A. fruticosa ethyl acetate extract, and C. roseus hexane extract exposed larvae indicated increased quantitiesof β-Est4/5 isozymes in the concentration of 1/4 and 1/10 of LC50 value of 24 hrs treatment when compared to control. The protein quantity in themajority of treatments decreased compared to control.Conclusion: The results revealed that the organic leaf extract of A. fruticosa and C. roseus had significant larvicidal and enzyme inhibitory effectsagainst C. quinquefasciatus.Keywords: Acalypha fruticosa, Catharanthus roseus leaves extract, β-carboxylesterase, Culex quinquefasciatus, Lethal concentration50

ASSESSMENT OF THE INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE OF DRY EYES IN DIABETIC INDIVIDUALS AND IT’S EFFECT ON VISUAL ACUITY

Objective: To find out the incidence and prevalence of Dry Eyes in Diabetic patients and find out its effect on visual acuity. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in Saveetha Medical College and Hospital. Schirmer’s test was done for 100 diabetic patients taking part in the research. Those with dry eyes were tested for their visual acuity and were asked to fill a questionnaire based on associated ocular symptoms. The collected data were analysed using Microsoft Excel. Results: There is about an incidence of 82% of dry eyes in diabetic patients. It’s more prevalent among elderly women. There seems to be a significant effect of dry eys on visual acuity as 31% of those tested with dry eyes have a moderate visual impairment. Conclusion: People with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing dry eye. So diabetic patients should undergo regular ocular examination and must be screened for dry eyes. Early diagnosis and treatment of dry eyes is the best choice to prevent ocular complications in the future

RETINAL CHANGES IN PREGNANCY INDUCED-HYPERTENSION

Objective: The aim is to determine the prevalence of retinal changes in Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) and its association with age, parity, proteinuria, blood pressureand severity of PIH. Methods: This is a tertiary hospital based Cross-Sectional study including all patients, clinically diagnosed with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. General demographic details along with age, gravida, gestation period, proteinuria, blood pressure and severity of PIH were noted. Ophthalmic examination was performed and detailed fundus examination was done. Results: A total of 52 patients were included in this study. Their mean age was 24.9 y; 32 out of 52 patients were primigravida (61%) and 20 patients were multi gravida (39%). Out of 52 patients 34 (65.38%) had Gestational Hypertension, 16 (30.76%) had preeclampsia, and 2 (3.8%) had eclampsia. 3 (5.76%) out of 29 patients with BP<160/100 mmHg and 10 (19.23%) out of 23 patients with BP>160/100 mmHg had developed Hypertensive Retinopathy. Hypertensive Retinopathy was seen in 13 (25%). Proteinuria was seen in 10 (19.23%) patients ranging between+to+++on the dipstick. Conclusion: Statistically significant correlation between retinal changes and proteinuria, blood pressure and severity of Disease.The most important requisite in a case of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension is Fundoscopic examination of retina. The retinal vessels during PIH form a gateway to visualize changes in the body and placental vessels, and may play a key role in early detection and treatment of PIH for protection of the mother as well as the fetus

COMPARISON OF POSTOPERATIVE CORNEAL ASTIGMATISM IN PHACOEMULSIFICATION AND MANUAL SMALL INCISION CATARACT SURGERY

Objective: Globally a significant proportion of treatable blindness is caused by cataract, especially in India and southeast Asia. Treatment of cataract is surgical correction with intraocular lens implantation. The main drawback of surgical correction is induction of postoperative astigmatism in patients. The aim of this study was to compare the degree of astigmatism in manual small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification 3 mo postoperatively Methods: The study was a retrospective case study on postoperative corneal astigmatism after cataract surgery. It was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Thandalam, Tamil Nadu. A total of 100 patients were selected and divided into two groups, group A (=50) underwent phacoemulsification and group B (=50) underwent manual small incision cataract surgery. Preoperative astigmatic status of the patients was noted from patient records. Both groups were evaluated 3 mo postoperatively using automated keratometry. The data collected was analyzed using Microsoft Excel Independent T test, p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Power of the study was 80% with an alpha error of 5%. Results: Mean postoperative astigmatism at 3 mo was 0.91±0.255D and 0.34±0.110D due to manual small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification, respectively. Conclusion: Postoperative astigmatism was greater in manual small incision cataract surgery than phacoemulsification. Improvement in preoperative astigmatism was seen in patients who underwent superotemporal incision phacoemulsificatio

Review Study on Larvicidal and Mosquito Repellent Activity of Volatile Oils Isolated from Medicinal Plants

Mosquito is a vector for serious human diseases like dengue fever, hemaorrhagic dengue fever and chikungunya, .yellow fever, malaria, filaria and encephalitis among these dengue, hemaorrhagic dengue and chikungunya are highly endemic diseases in Southeast Asian and African countries, causing millions of deaths each and every year. Mosquito repellents thus play a major role in preventing man-mosquito contact and there by minimize the chance of infections and its adverse effects. The development of resistance to chemical insecticides, results rebounding vectorial capacity. Synthetic repellents are chemicals which used worldwide for protection against mosquito-borne diseases and it adversely affects the environment by contaminating water, soil and air. There is an urgent need to find alternatives to the synthetic insecticides. Plants are rich source of alternative agents for control of mosquitoes and its vectors. Extracts and isolated compounds from different plant families have been evaluated for their promising larvicidal and mosquito repellent activities. Literature has documented that essential oils and extracts have been traditionally used as effective repellents. The essential oils whose repellent activities have been demonstrated, as well as the importance of the synergistic effects among their components are the main focus of this review study. Essential oils are volatile mixtures of hydrocarbons with a diversity of functional groups, and their repellent activity has been linked to the presence of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The present review study focused the larvicidal potential and mosquito repellent activity of different volatile oils of medicinal plants. From an economical point of view synthetic chemical is still more frequently used as repellents than essential oils; these essential oils have the potential to provide efficient and can be used as a cheap, eco-friendly, safer for humans and the environment and also efficient alternative to the chemical larvicides

Clinical profile of patients with hypertensive emergencies in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Hypertensive emergency is defined by systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥180 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥120 mmHg with acute target organ damage. Hypertensive emergencies can be life threatening and fatal unless timely treated. In the present study we aim to study the clinical profile and outcome of patients admitted with hypertensive emergency in the medical intensive care unit in our hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of all cases with hypertensive emergency admitted in Medical Intensive care unit (ICU) in Government General Hospital, Srikakulam during the study period was conducted. The clinical profile and outcome of the patients were assessed. Results: Out of the fifty patients in the present study, about 36 (72%) were males and 14 were females (28%) and about one third of the patients (36%) belonged to the age group of 60-69 years. Diabetes mellitus (30%) and dyslipidemia (40%) were the commonly encountered comorbidities in the study population. Most frequent presenting symptoms were neurological deficits (50%) followed by dyspnoea (32%) and chest pain (24%). Intracerebral haemorrhage was the commonest target organ damage found in 30% of the patients. Patients presenting with hypertensive emergencies with neurological target organ damage had statistically significant increased chance of mortality (p=0.007). Conclusions: As hypertension emergencies are consequence of uncontrolled hypertension, it is important to educate and bring awareness among public regarding the screening, early detection, and adherence to prescribed medication for hypertension to avoid adverse clinical outcomes

On some fixed point theorems in Banach spaces

In this paper, some fixed point theorems are proved for multi-mappings as well as a pair of mappings. These extend certain known results due to Kirk, Browder, Kanna, Ćirić and Rhoades

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CONJUNCTIVAL AUTOGRAFT AND BARE SCLERA TECHNIQUES IN THE TREATMENT OF PTERYGIUM

Objective: Pterygium is a fibrovascular growth encroaching from the conjunctiva into the cornea. This study deals with the comparison of conjunctival autograft and bare sclera technique as treatment options for pterygium. Methods: This study was done in the ophthalmology department of Saveetha Medical College, Thandalam, Chennai. A total of 100 patients were diagnosed of pterygium was taken for the study, out of which 60 patients were operated on with conjunctival autograft and 40 patients were operated with bare sclera technique. Patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus were excluded. Post-operative complications and recurrence were noted. All the patients were between the age group of 20-65 y. Results: The mean age of patients operated with conjunctival autograft was 43.6, whereas in bare sclera technique was 46.625. The maximum age was 63 and the minimum age was 23 in conjunctival autograft whereas in bare sclera technique, the maximum age was 64 and the minimum age was 22. The recurrence rate of pterygium in conjunctival autograft was 1 and the recurrence rate of pterygium in bare sclera technique was 4. Conclusion: The present study revealed that conjunctival autograft was a better treatment option compared to the bare sclera technique for excision of pterygiu