Effectiveness of aromatherapy on joint pain and depression among elderly

Joint pain is the most common reason for an elderly to seek medical care and the number one reason for elderly to take medication. Depression is most common among elderly those who staying in home care settings. It is very essential to treat and reducing joint pain and depression among elderly in earlier stage. There are so many complimentary therapies are there to reduce both joint pain and depression among elderly which does not require hospital visit. A Study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of aromatherapy on joint pain and depression among elderly in Little Drops home for aged destitute at Chennai. The objective of the study to determine the effectiveness of aromatherapy on joint pain and depression among elderly. The hypothesis formulated was there is significant association between the aromatherapy and joint pain, depression among elderly. The review of literature included the related studies which provide a strong foundation for the study including the basis for conceptual framework and formation of tool. The research design used for this study was pre experimental one group pre test post test design. It was carried out with 30 samples that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the samples. University pain assessment scale and short form of geriatric depression scale was used to assess the pre test and post test level of joint pain and depression. Aromatherapy was given for elderly for the duration of 15 to 20 minutes. The post test was conducted at the last day of the intervention by using the same tool. The analysis revealed that the pre test mean score of joint pain was 6.00 with standard deviation of 1.74 and in post test mean score was 2.43 with standard deviation of 1.85.The paired ‘t’ test value of 17.690 was very highly significant at p < 0.001 level. The pre test mean score of depression was 8.60 with the standard deviation of 2.11 and in post test mean score was 3.30 with the standard deviation 1.84. The paired ‘t’ test value of 19.495 was very highly significant at p < 0.001 level. Thus it indicates the effectiveness of aromatherapy on joint pain and depression among elderly

Safety and efficacy of ferric carboxy maltose in pregnant women- a pilot study

Background: Iron deficiency is a common nutritional deficiency amongst women of childbearing age. It is associated with significant maternal, fetal and infant morbidity. Current options for treatment include oral iron, parenteral iron and red blood cell transfusions. Ferric carboxy maltose is a newer i.v. iron formulation which can be used at high doses with rapid administration. This study was undertaken to assess the safety and efficacy in pregnant women.Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted in VIMS Ballari. 50 pregnant women between 28-36 weeks of gestation having moderate anemia with confirmed iron deficiency were administered with 1000 mg of ferric carboxy maltose (FCM). These women were followed after 2 weeks, 4 weeks and till delivery. Safety and efficacy were assessed.Results: There was significant improvement in both hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels (p<0.01). None of them had significant reactions.Conclusions: Ferric carboxy maltose is well tolerated. Ability to transfuse in single high dose makes it a preferred drug for faster and higher replenishment of iron stores and correction of hemoglobin levels during pregnancy especially in third trimester

Mycobacteriocin typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from patients in south India, Hong Kong & Britain

A total of 148 strains of M. tuberculosis (south India, 118; Hong Kong, 24; Britain, 6) were screened for mycobacteriocin production by cross-streak method using 9 rapid growers (group IV mycobacteria) as indicator strains adapting the scheme suggested by Takeya and Tokiwa. Eighty six per cent (127 of 148) of the cultures were found typable into two types–type 11 (84%); and type 9 (2%). The remaining 14 per cent (21) cultures were untypable and exhibited different inhibition patterns not reported earlier. Since 98 per cent (125 of 127) of the typable cultures belonged to type 11, the limitation of the present indicator system for typing M. tuberculosis from south India is discussed

Cerebrospinal fluid adenosine deaminase and lysozyme levels in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis

Adenosine Deaminase Activity (ADA) and Lysozyme Activity (LYSA) were measured in the CSF of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) cases : 26 bacteriologically positive TBM (Group 1), 61 bacteriologically negative TBM (Group 2), 10 non-tuberculous meningitis (Group 3) and 17 control subjects (Group 4). The mean ADA levels in different groups in that order were found to be 11.6, 4.5, 4.4 and 0.8 U/l respectively. The mean LYSA levels in the same groups were 6.3, 2.1, 2.2 and 0.5 mcg/ml respectively. In bacteriologically positive TBM, the mean ADA and LYSA levels were significantly higher than the other three groups (p < 0.0001). An ADA level of 4U/l and LYSA tests were 96%, 82% and 85%, 95% respectively. When both the criteria were considered, the sensitivity and specificity were 91% and 93% respectively. Combination of both test definitions could give additional support to the diagnosis in 49% of 61 clinically suspected but bacteriologically negative TBM cases. Correlation of ADA and LYSA levels in CSF was found to be statistically significant (r = 0.59; p < 0.01)

Improvement of Mechanical, Thermal and Optical Properties of Barium Mixed Cobalt Tartrate Hydrate Crystals Grown by Gel Method

In this present work, CTH and BCTH crystals have been prepared by gel technique by using single diffusion method at room temperature. The as grown crystals were characterized by using XRD, FT-IR, UV, TG / DTA and Micro hardness studies. X-ray powder diffraction results analyzed by using suitable software suggest that a CTH and BCTH crystals belong to cubic crystal system. The unit cell volume is observed to increase with increase in the concentration of barium in cobalt tartrate due to the lattice distortion. The band gap and optical properties have analyzed by UV-Visible spectrum. The functional groups and compound formation of the crystals have been studied by FT-IR spectrum. The mechanical properties of the grown crystals were tested by using Vicker’s microhardness studies. The work hardening coefficient (n) was determined to be 3.7 for CTH, 5.3 for BCTH (1 : 1) and 6.4 for BCTH (2 : 1) and the stiffness constants for different loads were calculated and reported. Thermal analysis suggests that pure cobalt tartrate starts decomposing at 73.2 C whereas the barium mixed cobalt tartrate brings about better thermal stability which increases with an increase in barium concentration

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

Improvement of Mechanical, Thermal and Optical Properties of Barium Mixed Cobalt Tartrate Hydrate Crystals Grown by Gel Method

In this present work, CTH and BCTH crystals have been prepared by gel technique by using single diffusion method at room temperature. The as grown crystals were characterized by using XRD, FT-IR, UV, TG / DTA and Micro hardness studies. X-ray powder diffraction results analyzed by using suitable software suggest that a CTH and BCTH crystals belong to cubic crystal system. The unit cell volume is observed to increase with increase in the concentration of barium in cobalt tartrate due to the lattice distortion. The band gap and optical properties have analyzed by UV-Visible spectrum. The functional groups and compound formation of the crystals have been studied by FT-IR spectrum. The mechanical properties of the grown crystals were tested by using Vicker’s microhardness studies. The work hardening coefficient (n) was determined to be 3.7 for CTH, 5.3 for BCTH (1 : 1) and 6.4 for BCTH (2 : 1) and the stiffness constants for different loads were calculated and reported. Thermal analysis suggests that pure cobalt tartrate starts decomposing at 73.2 C whereas the barium mixed cobalt tartrate brings about better thermal stability which increases with an increase in barium concentration

Susceptibility of south Indian strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to tuberactinomycin

A total of 114 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from sputum samples of 114 patients of pulmonary tuberculosis in south India, were coded and tested for their in vitro susceptibility to tuberactinomycin (Tum) incorporated in Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium. Of these strains, 95 (83.3%) and 15 (13.2%) were susceptible to Tum at 25 and 50 mg/l respectively. Only 4 (3.5%) strains were inhibited at 100 mg/l or more. Of the 37 drug sensitive strains, 2 (5.4%) were not susceptible to Tum at 25 mg/l compared to 17 (22.1%) of 77 strains-resistant to one or more of antituberculosis drugs (P <0.02). The drug susceptibility pattern of the strains revealed that there was no significant association of resistance between Tum and streptomycin or rifampicin or ethambutol or ethionamide or isoniazid. However, 15 (53.6%) of 28 kanamycin (K) resistant strains were not susceptible to Tum at 25 mg/l. This cross resistance between Tum and K was further studied in 24 and 15 K sensitive and resistant strains respectively, by correlating their proportion resistance at 16 mg/l and it was found to have a significant positive correlation (r = 0.55; X0.01)

Consistency of standard laboratory strain Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv with ethionamide susceptibility testing

Drug susceptibility pattern of standard Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv showed discrepancy in minimum inhibitory concentration method for ethionamide and consistent results were obtained for the other second line drugs namely, kanamycin and ofloxacin. It is, therefore, necessary to revisit the susceptibility testing method for ethionamide for effective clinical management of patients with drug resistant tuberculosis

Preliminary screening for antibacterial and antimycobacterial activity of actinomycetes from less explored ecosystems

Actinomycetes from less explored ecosystems were screened for antibacterial and antimycobacterial activity. Crude bioactive compounds were produced by growing these strains by shake flask fermentation using soybean meal medium. Culture supernatant and mycelia were extracted with ethyl acetate and methanol, respectively. Antibacterial activity of crude extracts was tested by disc diffusion method against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Actinomycete strains D10, D5, NEK5, ANS2, M104 and R2 showed prominent activity. Culture filtrates and crude extracts were tested against standard strain Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and drug sensitive and drug resistant clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis by luciferase reporter phage (LRP) assay. Considerable variation was observed in antimycobacterial activity between actinomycete culture filtrates and solvent extracts. Actinomycete strains viz., D10, D5 (desert), CSA14 (forest), CA33 (alkaline soil), NEK5 (Neem plant), MSU,ANS2, R2 and M104 (marine) screened in the present study were found to be highly potent showing good antibacterial and antimycobacterial activity. Five of them such as A3, CSA1, EE9, ANS5 and R9 were exclusively active against M. tuberculosis. Secretary products of actinomycetes of rare ecosystems are meant to antagonize organisms in their respective environments. These are likely to be novel antimycobacterial compounds as they unknown to human pathogens