Knowledge attitude and practices on prevention of anaemia among antenatal women

Background: Iron Deficiency Anaemia in pregnancy is associated with intra uterine growth retardation, pre term labour, low birth weight baby and it also increases maternal and perinatal mortality. Methods: This KAP study was conducted for six months. All the pregnant women attending the outpatient department of Sri Manakula Vinayagar medical college and hospital, were provided with a predesigned questionnaire by the principal investigator. Data was collected after obtaining consent from 167 patients regarding their knowledge, attitude and practices towards anaemia. Results: In our study we found that women with age more than 25 years, advanced gestational age, educated participants and women belonging to higher socio-economic status showed adequate knowledge about anemia and its complications. Conclusions: Health Education plays an important role, in creating awareness among antenatal women and by implementing this into practice will help in prevention of anaemia

E-learning as a tool to impart knowledge of surgical procedures in the undergraduate medical teaching

Background: E-learning is in a budding stage in developing countries. As present-day students are gadget-friendly, introducing a surgical e-learning module may create interest and help in understanding the surgeries easily. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of E-learning in improving the knowledge component of surgical procedures for undergraduate students and to analyze students’ feedback regarding its usefulness. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted among 67 final-year MBBS students, who had completed 1 week of operation theatre (OT) posting in obstetrics and gynecology. Recording of videos for must-know surgeries in gynecology was done. Video editing and audio description of surgical steps were done. A YouTube channel was created and surgical videos were uploaded. Links to 2 surgical videos and additional teaching materials were uploaded to the college learning management system daily for 2 consecutive weeks. A telegram group was formed for posting questions daily. Pre-test and post-test were conducted and the results were analyzed. Results: The mean marks obtained in the pre-test were 6.567±1.9 and the post-test was 15.22±2.5 (Paired t test p=0.0001). Students mentioned that combining OT posting with an e-learning module helped them to build their knowledge of surgical procedures. Telegram quizzes helped them to increase their understanding of surgeries. 34 students wanted e-learning module to be conducted on other topics also. Conclusions: E-learning is highly effective in improving knowledge component of surgical procedures for undergraduate students. E-learning can be made more effective by adding formative assessment. Combining surgical e-learning module with operation theatre posting can enhance knowledge and understanding

Viper venom hyaluronidase and its potential inhibitor analysis: a multipronged computational investigation

Viper venom hyaluronidase (VV-HYA) inhibitors have long been used as therapeutic agents for arresting the local and systemic effects caused during its envenomation. Henceforth, to understand its structural features and also to identify the best potential inhibitor against it the present computational study was undertaken. Structure-based homology modeling of VV-HYA followed by its docking and free energy-based ranking analysis of ligand, the MD simulations of the lead complex was also performed. The sequence analysis and homology modeling of VV-HYA revealed a distorted (β/α)8 folding as in the case of hydrolases family of proteins. Molecular docking of the resultant 3D structure of VV-HYA with known inhibitors (compounds 1–25) revealed the importance of molecular recognition of hotspot residues (Tyr 75, Arg 288, and Trp 321) other than that of the active site residues. It also revealed that Trp 321 of VV-HYA is highly important for mediating π–π interactions with ligands. In addition, the molecular docking and comparative free energy binding analysis was investigated for the VV-HYA inhibitors (compounds 1–25). Both molecular docking and relative free energy binding analysis clearly confirmed the identification of sodium chromoglycate (compound 1) as the best potential inhibitor against VV-HYA. Molecular dynamics simulations additionally confirmed the stability of their binding interactions. Further, the information obtained from this work is believed to serve as an impetus for future rational designing of new novel VV-HYA inhibitors with improved activity and selectivity

Homology modeling, molecular dynamics and atomic level interaction study of snake venom 5′ nucleotidase

Abstract 5′ Nucleotidase (5′ NUC) is a ubiquitously distributed enzyme known to be present in snake venoms (SV) that is responsible primarily for causing dysregulation of physiological homeostasis in humans by inducing anticoagulant effects and by inhibiting platelet aggregation. It is also known to act synergistically with other toxins to exert a more pronounced anti-coagulant effect during envenomation. Its structural and functional role is not yet ascertained clearly. The 3D structure of snake venom 5′ nucleotidase (SV-5′ NUC) is not yet known and was predicted by us for the first time using a comparative homology modeling approach using Demansia vestigiata protein sequence. The accuracy and stability of the predicted SV-5′ NUC structure were validated using several computational approaches. Key interactions of SV-5′ NUC were studied using experimental studies/molecular docking analysis of the inhibitors vanillin, vanillic acid and maltol. All these inhibitors were found to dock favorably following pharmacologically relevant absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) profiles. Further, atomic level docking interaction studies using inhibitors of the SV-5′ NUC active site revealed amino acid residues Y65 and T72 as important for inhibitor–(SV-5′ NUC) interactions. Our in silico analysis is in good agreement with experimental inhibition results of SV-5′ NUC with vanillin, vanillic acid and maltol. The present study should therefore play a guiding role in the experimental design of new SV-5′ NUC inhibitors for snake bite management. We also identified a few pharmacophoric features essential for SV-5′ NUC inhibitory activity that can be utilized further for the discovery of putative anti-venom agents of therapeutic value for snake bite management