Studies on genetic variability, correlation and path analysis in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under protected conditions

Twenty-eight genotypes of lettuce including check cultivars viz., Simpson Black Seeded and Great Lakes were grown in a RCBD with three replications during Rabi 2011-12 and 2012-13 at Vegetable Experimental Research Farm, Nauni, Solan H.P. to estimate the parameters of genetic variability, correlation and path analysis undernaturally ventilated polyhouse. Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences among genotypes for all the characters under study. Variability revealed that phenotypic co-efficient of variation (PCV) in general were higher than the corresponding genotypic co-efficient of variation (GCV) for all the characters. High co-efficient of variability were found for heading percentage (37.00% and 36.01%), incidence of sclerotinia rot (63.49% and 61.475%), gray mould (90.13% and 88.08%) and yield per plot (39.55% and 33.09%) indicated wider range of variation and offer better scope for improvement through selection. High heritability estimates coupled with moderate genetic gain were observed for yield and other horticultural traits. Correlation study indicated that yield per plot was positively correlated with gross and net head weight, seed germination, seed vigour index-I & II, 1000-seeds weight and also showed maximum direct effects towards yield per plot. The path co-efficient analysis revealed that net head weight has maximum positive direct effect on yield per plot followed by gross head weight, days to marketable maturity, seed germination, 1000-seeds weight, head shape index and incidence of sclerotinia rot. While, negative direct effect of number of non-wrapper leaves and incidence of gray mould was observed on yield. The new multicoloured cultivars indigenous and exotic mostly procured from CGN, Netherlands , identified for commercial cultivation under protected conditions in the mid hills of North Western Himalayas, may act as a substitute to the old cultivars with good quality and higher yielding potential

Knowledge and attitude regarding epidural analgesia among expectant mothers

Background: Pain relief is an important issue for women in labour. Epidural analgesia provides safe and effective pain relief. But It has not been fully accepted and is not routinely practiced in most of the centres in developing countries despite of many advantages of this technique. Therefore, this study has been conducted with an objective to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding epidural analgesia among expectant mothers.Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on 60 expectant mothers visiting antenatal OPD at DMC & Hospital, Ludhiana selected by convenience sampling technique. Knowledge assessed by using a structured questionnaire and attitude assessed by 3 point likert scale regarding epidural analgesia. Analysis was done using both descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The findings of the study revealed that 46.7% expectant mothers had below average level of knowledge, 35% had average level of knowledge and 18.3% had good level of knowledge. 96.7 % had positive attitude and only 3.3 % had negative attitude towards epidural analgesia. Correlation between knowledge with attitude was to be significant (r=0.609; p=0.000).Conclusions: Thus, the study concluded that most of women had below average level of knowledge and but they showed positive attitude regarding epidural analgesia.

DETERMINATION OF NITRITE, NITRATE AND TOTAL NITROGEN IN VEGETABLE SAMPLES

Yellow diazonium cation formed by reaction of nitrite with 6-amino-1-naphthol-3-sulphonic acid is coupled with β-naphthol in strong alkaline medium to yield a pink coloured azo dye. The azo-dyes shows absorption maximum at 510 nm with molar absorptivity of 2.5 ×104 M-1 cm-1. The dye product obeys Beer\'s law (correlation coefficient = 0.997), in terms of nitrite concentration, up to 2.7 μg NO2 mL-1. The above colour reaction system has been applied successfully for the determination of nitrite, nitrate and total nitrogen in vegetable samples. Unreduced samples give direct measure for nitrite whilst reduction of samples by copperized-cadmium column gives total nitrogen content and their difference shows nitrate content in the samples. Variety of vegetables have been tested for their N-content (NO2-/NO3-/total-N) with % RSD ranging between 1.5 to 2.5 % for nitrite determination. The effects of foreign ions in the determination of the nitrite, nitrate, and total nitrogen have been studied. Statistical comparison of the results with those of reported method shows good agreement and indicates no significant difference in precision. KEY WORDS: Yellow diazonium cation, 6-Amino-1-naphthol-3-sulphonic acid, Vegetables, Nitrite in vegetables, Nitrate in vegetables, Total nitrogen in vegetables Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2007, 21(3), 445-450

Evaluation of Epley’s manoeuvre efficacy in posterior semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most prevalent cause of peripheral vertigo in the outpatient department. Methods: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 53 patients out of 96 who visited the outpatient department were included in this study. To rule out other disorders, pure tone audiometry, computed tomography etc were performed if needed. Epley's manoeuvre was performed, and the patient's response was noted. The manoeuvre was performed during weekly appointments, and the number of visits necessary by each patient was recorded. The patients were followed up for four months. Results: Mean age of the patients was 48 years. In this study, out of 53, there were 31 females (58.49%) and 22 males (41.50%). The female to male ratio was 1.4:1. All patients experienced positional vertigo, which was accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The right side was found to be more involved in our study than the left. Out of 53 patients, 23 patients (43.39 %) recovered in the first visit, 15 patients (28.30 %) recovered in second visit, 8 patients (15.09 %) recovered in the third visit and remaining 7 patients (13.20 %) recovered in fourth visit. All the patients recovered eventually. In 5 out of 53 cases, that is, in 9.43%, recurrence was seen with return of the BPPV symptoms. Conclusions: We concluded that majority of patients for whom Epley’s manoeuvre was done recovered after the first visit itself. Patients presenting with recurrence were less probably due to the shorter period of follow up

Relationship between grey scale sonographic grades of fatty liver and shear wave elastographic values: an observational study

Background: Due to the growing public health menace of metabolic syndrome, the Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) has been recording a burgeoning global rise. The prognosis of NAFLD is largely depends upon its histological stage. Simple steatosis has a fairer prognosis, while Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) has a poorer prognosis with tendency to progression into fibrosis and end stage liver disease. Until now, the diagnosis of varying grades of NAFLD has been dependent upon liver biopsy, which is indisputably the most reliable tool to distinguish between simple steatosis, steatohepatitis, and end stage liver disease. The sonographic grading of NAFLD is primarily based on subjective findings, the results of which may vary between different observers. Hence, there is a need to identify a reliable non-invasive objective substitute. To compare the sonographic grades of fatty liver on gray scale with liver stiffness (Kpa) values of shear wave elastography. Also, an attempt to establish objective criteria for grading of fatty liver with improved accuracy and increased specificity.Methods: Cross sectional, observational study comprising of 240 adults referred for routine abdominal sonography. All patient underwent gray scale sonography and shear wave elastography and results were analysed.Results: A significant positive correlation was found between various grades of NAFLD as assessed subjectively on grey scale sonography to the liver stiffness in kilopascal (Kpa) using shear wave elastography.Conclusions: Shear wave elastography being an objective imaging tool is a reliable modality compared to grey scale sonography in diagnosis of NAFLD and has the capacity to carry out quantitative evaluation of liver parenchyma in vivo

Ranitidine Induced Hepatotoxicity: A Review

Background: Ranitidine (RAN) is one of the common drugs associated with idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions (IADRs) in humans. It was found to be associated with severe adverse drug reactions due to the presence of contaminants such as N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) which is claimed to be carcinogenic. As a consequence, on April 1, 2020, United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) had decided to call off all the RAN products from the market. The exact cause of RAN associated idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity is not clear yet. Purpose: To summarize and analyze the reason behind the withdrawal of RAN products from the market and whether ranitidine will be available again in future or will FDA withdraw approvals of ranitidine National Drug Authority (NDA) and an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA)? Methods: We performed a systematic PubMed/MEDLINE search of studies investigating the reason behind the withdrawal of RAN products and explored the possible mechanism associated with RAN induced hepatotoxicity.Conclusion: RAN induced liver injury is difficult to diagnose and study because of its relative rarity and unpredictive occurrence. Recent studies suggest that most of the RAN associated idiosyncratic reactions may lead to hepatocyte damage, followed by a series of events, such as activation of specific T- and B-cells, release of proinflammatory mediators like TNFα, interleukins, various cytokines and chemokines. The exact cause of RAN associated idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity is not clear yet. More studies must be carried out on this to know about the exact reason behind RAN associated hepatotoxicity

Point Prevalence of Indwelling Catheterized Patients Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital and Related Nursing Care Practices

Urinary catheterization facilitates the drainage of urinary bladder. The current study was carried out to assess the point prevalence of indwelling catheterized patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital and to assess the related practices of nurses. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed. Sampling technique was purposive. Survey of all the admitted patients was carried out in a single day to assess the point prevalence of catheterized patients. Tools for data collection comprised of sociodemographic profile and clinical profile of the catheterized patients. A checklist was used to assess the self-expressed practices of nurses regarding insertion, care and removal of catheter. The total number of admitted patients on the day of survey was 1718. 317 (18.5%) patients were found to be catheterized. Majority of the patients were in Intensive Care Unit followed by Emergency areas and were suffering from neurological disorders. Most of the self-expressed practices of nurses regarding catheterization were adequate other than documentation of the procedure; providing perineal care at the time of catheterization, catheter care and removing the catheter; and clamping the catheter before its removal.

Plant regeneration from axillary bud, callus and somatic embryo in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) and assessment of genetic fidelity using RAPD-PCR analysis

Plant regeneration was achieved from axillary bud, callus and somatic embryos of Dianthus caryophyllus cv.Yellow Dot Com from node and leaf explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with plant growth regulators. The explant nodal cutting responded well for direct regeneration while leaf explant was selected for callus induction. The highest number of direct adventitious shoots were achieved with 9.08 μM TDZ and 5.37 μM NAA. The maximum callus induction was achieved with 2.06 μM 2, 4-D and 2.68 μM NAA. The calli derived from MS medium supplemented with 5.37 μM NAA and 2.27 μM TDZ were found to have maximum shoot regeneration potential. The highest number of calli producing shoots and average number of shoots per callus was recorded on MS medium supplemented with 9.12 μM zeatin and 5.07 μM IAA. The calli derived from leaf explants cultured on medium containing 2.06 μM 2, 4-D and 2.68 μM NAA were highly friable, had poor regeneration potential and were selected for cell suspension studies. The cultures were allowed to grow into micro-colonies in liquid medium and subsequently into embryogenic calli on semi-solid and solid MS medium which later differentiated into somatic embryos without growth regulators. Plantlets were obtained from in vitro derived shoots/somatic embryos with 60-80% survival after 30 day of transfer to pots. The plants regenerated from axillary buds, callus and somatic embryos were compared with mother plant to assess genetic fidelity using RAPD and 2.94%, 26.47% and 20.58% variation was observed, respectively

Burden of injury along the development spectrum : associations between the Socio-demographic Index and disability-adjusted life year estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the association between disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from injury for 195 countries and territories at different levels along the development spectrum between 1990 and 2017 based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 estimates. Methods Injury mortality was estimated using the GBD mortality database, corrections for garbage coding and CODEm-the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on surveys and inpatient and outpatient data sets for 30 cause-of-injury with 47 nature-of-injury categories each. The Socio-demographic Index (SDI) is a composite indicator that includes lagged income per capita, average educational attainment over age 15 years and total fertility rate. Results For many causes of injury, age-standardised DALY rates declined with increasing SDI, although road injury, interpersonal violence and self-harm did not follow this pattern. Particularly for self-harm opposing patterns were observed in regions with similar SDI levels. For road injuries, this effect was less pronounced. Conclusions The overall global pattern is that of declining injury burden with increasing SDI. However, not all injuries follow this pattern, which suggests multiple underlying mechanisms influencing injury DALYs. There is a need for a detailed understanding of these patterns to help to inform national and global efforts to address injury-related health outcomes across the development spectrum.Peer reviewe

Measuring progress and projecting attainment on the basis of past trends of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are grounded in the global ambition of “leaving no one behind”. Understanding today’s gains and gaps for the health-related SDGs is essential for decision makers as they aim to improve the health of populations. As part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016), we measured 37 of the 50 health-related SDG indicators over the period 1990–2016 for 188 countries, and then on the basis of these past trends, we projected indicators to 2030