An Integrated Approach to Iron Deficiency Anemia

Iron deficiency is a common nutritional disorder in developing countries and contributes significantly to reduced work productivity and economic output as well as to increased morbidity and mortality. There are well-established biochemical tests for assessing iron status in developed countries. However, cost and interference from infectious conditions make it difficult to assess iron status in many developing country settings. Examination of the hemoglobin distribution in the population and assessment of the hemoglobin response to supplementation are alternative approaches to define iron status and the nature of anemia. Prevention and control of iron deficiency requires the combined approach of dietary improvement, fortification of a common staple food when feasible, and appropriate iron supplementation for infants and pregnant women. In all these intervention activities, operational research is needed to improve effectiveness. In addition, controlling iron deficiency requires coordination with other nutrition and primary health care programs as part of an integrated approach to improved health and nutrition of the population. A randomized, controlled double-blind clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of herbal medicinal treatment syrup Sharbat-a-Folad versus syrup Ferplex for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA)

Chitosan/Poly (vinyl alcohol) Based Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications: A Review

The present review aims to give a closer look of hydrogels based on chitosan and poly (vinyl alcohol) and to discuss their potential biomedical applications in drug delivery system. Various investigations based on chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) carried out recently by researchers have been reported in this review. Moreover different chemical and physical crosslinking methods used for hydrogels formulations have been summarized and discussed in this overview. Different characterization tools including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rheological analysis used by researchers have also been reported in this review. Keywords: Hydrogels, Chitosan, Poly (vinyl alcohol), Physical crosslinking, Chemical crosslinkin

Chemically cross-linked poly(acrylic-co-vinylsulfonic) acid hydrogel for the delivery of isosorbide mononitrate.

We report synthesis, characterization, and drug release attributes of a series of novel pH-sensitive poly(acrylic-co-vinylsulfonic) acid hydrogels. These hydrogels were prepared by employing free radical polymerization using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and benzyl peroxide (BPO) as cross-linker and initiator, respectively. Effect of acrylic acid (AA), polyvinylsulfonic acid (PVSA), and EGDMA on prepared hydrogels was investigated. All formulations showed higher swelling at high pHs and vice versa. Formulations containing higher content of AA and EGDMA show reduced swelling, but one with higher content of PVSA showed increased swelling. Hydrogel network was characterized by determining structural parameters and loaded with isosorbide mononitrate. FTIR confirmed absence of drug polymer interaction while DSC and TGA demonstrated molecular dispersion of drug in a thermally stable polymeric network. All the hydrogel formulations exhibited a pH dependent release of isosorbide mononitrate which was found to be directly proportional to pH of the medium and PVSA content and inversely proportional to the AA contents. Drug release data were fitted to various kinetics models. Results indicated that release of isosorbide mononitrate from poly(AA-co-VSA) hydrogels was non-Fickian and that the mechanism was diffusion-controlled

FREQUENCY OF ANEMIA AMONG WOMEN PRESENTING WITH SHORT INTER-PREGNANCY INTERVAL AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL.

Background; The time interval between pregnancies is considered to be an important and modifiable risk factor in terms of adverse perinatal outcomes. This study was done to  determine the frequency of anemia in pregnant women having short interpregnancy interval. Materials and methods; All the pregnant women with short interpregnancy interval were registered from Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Nishtar Hospital Multan, Pakistan. Examination was done including general physical examination. Those with interpregnancy interval less than 6 months were included in study. Detailed history was taken regarding parity, duration of pregnancy. Duration of gestation was estimated according to patients last menstrual period. Three ml venous blood sample was drawn and sent to the pathology laboratory of Nishtar Hospital Multan for Hb levels analysis. Data was entered and analyzed by SPSS version 20. Results; Mean age of our study cases was noted to be 27.83 ± 4.95 years (with minimum age of our study cases was 21 years while maximum age was noted to be 38 years). Of these 90 study cases, 51 (56.7%) were from rural areas, 73 (81.1%) were normal weight 11(12.2%) were overweight and 6 (6.7%) were obese. Seventy eight (86.7%) were illiterate. Of these 90 study cases, 73 (81.1%) were having poor socioeconomic status, 11 (12.2%) were diabetic and 17 (18.9%) were hypertensive. Mean body mass index (BMI) of our study cases was noted to be 22.31 ± 2.07 Kg/m2. Mean gestational age of our study cases was noted to be 24.02 ± 8.31 weeks. Mean Hb level was noted to 10.67 ± 0.893 g/dl (with minimum Hb level was 9.6 g/dl while maximum Hb level was 12.5 g/dl). Mean interpregnancy interval was 4.23 ± 0.98 months (with minimum interpregnancy interval was 2.5 months while maximum interpregnancy interval was 6 months). Anemia was noted in 74 (82.2%) our study cases and only 23 (25.6%) of our study cases were taking iron supplements. Conclusion; Short interpregnancy interval less than 6 months is related with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Very high frequency of anemia was noted in our study cases having interpregnancy interval less than 6 months. Anemia was significantly associated with residential status, hypertension and iron supplementation. Birth spacing is an issue which women should have some control over. Educational interventions, including birth control, should be applied during prenatal visits and following delivery.Keywords; Short interpregnancy Interval, anemia, hemoglobin.DOI: 10.7176/JMPB/67-05Publication date:August 31st 202

Coefficient Estimates for a Subclass of Meromorphic Multivalent q-Close-to-Convex Functions

By making use of the concept of basic (or q-) calculus, many subclasses of analytic and symmetric q-starlike functions have been defined and studied from different viewpoints and perspectives. In this article, we introduce a new class of meromorphic multivalent close-to-convex functions with the help of a q-differential operator. Furthermore, we investigate some useful properties such as sufficiency criteria, coefficient estimates, distortion theorem, growth theorem, radius of starlikeness, and radius of convexity for this new subclass.</p

Discriminative Dictionary Learning With Spatial Constraints

In this thesis, we investigate the use of dictionary learning for discriminative tasks on natural images. Our contributions can be summarized as follows: • We introduce discriminative deviation based learning to achieve principled handling of the reconstruction-discrimination tradeoff that is inherent to discriminative dictionary learning. • Since natural images obey a strong smoothness prior, we show how spatial smoothness constraints can be incorporated into the learning formulation by embedding dictionary learning into Conditional Random Field (CRF) learning. We demonstrate that such smoothness constraints can lead to state-of-the-art performance for pixel-classification tasks. • Finally, we lay down the foundations of super-latent learning. By treating sparse codes on a CRF as latent variables, dictionary learning can also be performed via the Latent (Structural) SVM formulation for jointly learning a classifier over the sparse codes. The dictionary is treated as a super-latent variable that generates the latent variables

2-{2-[(2,6-Dichloro­phen­yl)amino]­phen­yl}ethanol

In the title compound, C14H13Cl2NO, the 2,6-dichloro­anilino unit is roughly planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0298 Å) and makes a dihedral angle of 67.71 (4)° with the benzene ring containing the ethanol group. The C–C–O fragment is oriented at a dihedral angle of 64.94 (9)° with respect to its parent benzene ring. The molecular conformation is stabilised by a bifurcated N—H⋯(O,Cl) hydrogen bond. C—H⋯π, O—H⋯π and π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.5706 (11) Å] stabilize the crystal structure

Higher-order q-derivatives and their applications to subclasses of multivalent Janowski type q-starlike functions

In the present investigation, with the help of certain higher- order q-derivatives, some new subclasses of multivalent q-starlike functions which are associated with the Janowski functions are defined. Then, certain interesting results, for example, radius problems and the results related to distortion, are derived. We also derive a sufficient condition and certain coefficient inequalities for our defined function classes. Some known consequences related to this subject are also highlighted. Finally, the well-demonstrated fact about the (p, q)-variations is also given in the concluding section