Evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and optic nerve head changes in early to moderate glaucoma patients and compare them with age matched individuals using spectral domain optical coherence tomography

INTRODUCTION: Glaucoma has always been one of the leading cause of blindness in the developed countries. Changing trends have now been noted in developing countries like India. Where glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness. It was estimated that the prevalence of Glaucoma in India would be 11.9 million by the year 2010 and 20% of the world glaucoma population would be in India by the year 2020. Clinical diagnosis of glaucoma is possible only after about 40% of the retinal ganglion cells are lost irreversibly. Though there is retinal ganglion cell loss as age advances in normal individuals, this progressive loss is hastened in patients with glaucoma. Since glaucoma causes an irreversible changes in the Optic Nerve head and the Retinal nerve fiber layer, prompt diagnosis is warranted. If these RNFL and ONH changes were detected objectively earlier before the visual field loss has set in with a relatively new imaging technology like SD-OCT, this progressive disease can either be halted or slowed down by providing apt treatment and preventing the vision loss as the current modalities that are used are subjective and diagnose only later .According to the population based surveys, prompt diagnosis and treatment was given to less than 50% of patients with a documented visual field loss, which urges us for the use of a better diagnostic instrument. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: PURPOSE: To assess the peripapillary retinalnerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and optic nerve head (ONH) parameters measured with SD-OCT in glaucomatous eyes. AIM: 1. To evaluate the efficacy of spectral domain OCT in detecting the glaucomatous ONH and RNFL changes in patients with early to moderate glaucoma. 2. To compare the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and ONH changes in early to moderate glaucoma with their age matched individuals using SD OCT. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: An observational prospective case control study to evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and the optic nerve head changes in early to moderate glaucoma patients and compare them with age matched controls using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. The study was undertaken in the Department of Glaucoma Services, Aravind Eye Hospitals, Madurai. The study was conducted from Oct 2010 to Mar 2012. SUBJECTS: INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Diagnosed cases of Primary open angle glaucoma. 2. Age 18 to 70 years. 3. Early to moderate glaucoma on disc evaluation. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Secondary glaucoma, 2. Angle closure glaucoma, 3. Advanced glaucoma, 4. Media opacities like significant cataract, corneal opacity etc. 5. Congenital Developmental glaucoma. 6. Refractive error > - 6.0D < +3.0 D Sph. 7. Astigmatism > 3.0D. 8. congenital anomaly of the anterior chamber. 9. concurrent active eye disease in the study eye that may affect intraocular pressure. 10. Eyes with proliferative or severe nonproliferative retinopathy. 11. Eyes with field loss attributed to a nonglaucoma condition. 12. Eyes with dilated pupil diameter of less than 3 mm. Statistical Methods: The Statistical analysis was performed by STATA 11.1 (Stata corp college station TX USA). The continuous variables were described by mean, Standard deviation, median and interquartile range. And the categorical variables were described as frequency and percentage. Student’s Independent sample t-test or Mann Whitney test was used to analyze the age, ONH parameters and RNFL thickness parameters compared with POAG and controls groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to describe the ability to discriminate glaucomatous from healthy eyes for each RTVue values software-provided parameter. The ROC curve provides the trade-off between the sensitivity and 1 -specificity. An area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 1.0 represents perfect discrimination, whereas an area of 0.5 represents chance discrimination. Sensitivities at fixed specificities of 80% and 95% were determined for all the parameters. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, SD OCT is an effective tool in evaluating the ONH and RNFL thickness to detect early to moderate glaucomatous changes. In the ONH parameters, the best predictor to detect these changes were Vertical cup to disc ratio. The average RNFL thickness and the Superior and inferior RNFL quadrant thickness are the most sensitive parameters to detect glaucomatous changes. Both the ONH and RNFL parameters are equally reliable as a diagnostic tool but their role in detecting the progression needs to be studied further with the long term study. The study also shows that as age advances the RNFL thickness decreases and hence were comparable

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND SELF ESTEEM IN ADOLESCENTS

Back Ground: In India use of alcohol is higher in deprived communities contributing to thirty Percent of use to the male population and five percent of use to female population .And in recent years the alcohol use of young people is increased and as their age increases their quantity and frequency of intake has also been increased. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the level of self esteem and alcohol consumption in male adolescents. Materials and Methods: A descriptive design with quantitative method was adopted. The study was restricted to the sample size of about 60 male adolescents aged between 18-20 yrs selected by purposive sampling technique. The investigator used the standardized tool of AUDIT-Alcohol use disorder identification test and Rosenberg self esteem scale. Data analysis was done using SPSS v 16.0 software. Results: Results revealed that the majority of the adolescents had positive self esteem (80 %) and only (20%) presented low self esteem. With AUDIT score, 75 % did not consume alcohol hazardously and no samples were fall under the category of high risk level and alcohol dependence. Privacy and the confidentiality of the information provided are strictly maintained throughout the research process. Conclusion: It was concluded that the adolescents presented high self esteem and low alcohol consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the protective factors for maintaining the Positive self concept and self image and implement preventive programs related to substance use among the adolescents

PILOT STUDY REPORT- BRIEF INTERVENTIONS IN THE ALCOHOL USE AMONG THE ADOLESCENTS

Back Ground: Alcohol is one of the leading causes of death and disability globally. About two billion people worldwide consume alcoholic beverages and one-third (nearly 76.3 million) is likely to have one or more diagnosable alcohol use disorders.(1) Aim: This study was aimed to assess the level of alcohol use and to evaluate the brief interventions in the alcohol use among the adolescents. Methods: A quasi experimental design with evaluative approach method was adopted. The study was restricted to the sample size of about 48. Students aged between 18-19 yrs were selected by stratified sampling technique. The investigator used the structured questionnaire which includes the demographic variables and the AUDIT-Alcohol use disorder identification test. It is a standardized self report tool consisting of 10-alcohol screening questions developed by W.H.O. As a part of the general health awareness programme, the investigator gave a briefing on the alcoholic questionnaire and the respondents were told the procedure of filling up of the questionnaire. Results: Results revealed that 69 % of samples belong to the risky use, 29 % to low risk level, and 2 % to high risk level. No samples were fall under the category of dependence. Brief interventions are effective in reducing the risk of alcohol use among adolescents in long course of time. Privacy and the confidentiality of the information provided are strictly maintained throughout the research process. Conclusion: Adolescents have the risky level of alcoholic use and hence preventive measures should be planned and implemented for the vulnerable adolescents to prevent the alcohol abuse in future. Key words: alcohol, adolescent, alcoholic us

A comparative study of the efficacy between 0.5% bupivacaine and 0.5% bupivacaine-dexamethasone 8mg combination in supraclavicular brachial plexus block

Background: Initially the concept of pain was emotional rather than a sensory modality. The word pain is acquired from the Greek word poine which means “penalty”.1 The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) described pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage”.2 Peripheral nerve blocks have become a popular anaesthetic option in the perioperative management of patients because nerve blocks provide better postoperative analgesia than does general anaesthesia, while avoiding the cardiopulmonary and central nervous system effects of general anaesthesia. Peripheral nerve block is a technique which uses local anaesthetic to be deposited around a target nerve and block the conduction of action potential thus not allowing pain signals to be transmitted to the pain centre in the brain. Materials &amp; methods: A prospective randomised single blinded study was conducted at Vinayaka Missions Kirupananda Variyar Medical College &amp; Hospitals, Salem from December 2019 to May 2021

Proximate, fatty acid and mineral composition of orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides from Parangipettai coast

The marine fish are extraordinarily nourishing food and are affluently accessible fish meat source. Fresh examined sample of grouper fish was collected from Mudasal odai fish landing center. The protein, carbohydrate, lipid, ash and moisture contents of Epinephelus coioides were found to be 19.07 mg, 4.03, 2.61, 77.38 mg and 1.21 mg/g respectively. The potassium and phosphorus are the predominant elements other nine components are present in considerable quantities in the total of 11 minerals. Palmitic acid, Oleic acid and Stearic acid were observed to be the major elements of total presented 15 fatty acids. In this current study we have concluded the grouper fish having rich source of protein and good fatty acids and it will facilitate to enhance the nutrition level on poor folks

Effect of Automated Drip Irrigation System on Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of different automated drip irrigation on tomato crop under sandy clay loam soil in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University during kharif 2019 and kharif 2020. Five treatments comprising 4 different automated drip irrigation systems are time based drip irrigation, volume based drip irrigation, soil moisture sensor based irrigation, switching tensiometer based irrigation and one is conventional method of irrigation were tested. The results revealed that tensiometer based drip irrigation recorded higher fruit yield of 95.11 and 96.21 t ha-1 and water use efficiency of 21.10 and 25.42 t ha-mm-1 resulting in increment over conventional method of irrigation. However, the above treatment was followed by soil moisture sensor based drip irrigation in tomato. Tensiometer based drip irrigation helps to save the water up to 54.91 and 60.55 % compared to conventional method of irrigation during kharif 2019 and 2020

Proximate composition and Fatty acid analysis of Puffer fish, Lagocephalus inermis (Temminck and Schlegel, 1850) and Lagocephalus lunaris (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) from Parangipettai, Southeast coast of India

ABSTRACT The nutritional effects of marine food have increased far and wide due to the beneficial effects of consuming marine food, fats and oils. In general, the proximate composition is well known as a proportion composition of basic elements such as protein, lipids, carbohydrate, minerals and water. The puffer fish Lagocephalus lunaris and Lagocephalus inermis were collected at Mudasal odai fish landing centre and the skin and visceral organs like gonads and intestines were removed the edible portion only took for the analysis. Species of the fish sample was oven-dried in an electric oven at between 70 -80 °C until the samples had constant weight. The protein, carbohydrate, fat, ash and moisture content of green -rough-back puffer fish and smooth-backed blow fish were investigated. L. lunaris and L. inermis were has 9.22 %, 8.92 %, 1.96 %, 1.87 %, 11.25 %, 11.98 %, 80.32 %, 86.05 %, 0.96 %, 1.27 % respectively. Totally seven saturated fatty acids; ten Mono unsaturated fatty acids and two poly unsaturated fatty acids were found as the major components on the investigated puffer fish. Polyunsaturated fatty acid like n-3 has 31.17 %, 31.19 and n-6 7.26 %, 7.29 % of PUSFA found as the dominant composition on puffer fish. This study revealed that these species are having high saturated fatty acid and protein content and able to compete with more commercially utilize species in terms of nutritional value, and they can definitely also compete when it comes to taste. It can act as a good source of nutritional and economic value when it is carefully handled and properly cooked

Hydroxyl radical generation by cactus-like copper oxide nanoporous carbon catalysts for microcystin-LR environmental remediation

Copper oxide supported on nanoporous activated carbon (CuO-NPAC) is reported for the aqueous phase catalytic degradation of cyanotoxin microcystin-LR (MC-LR). The loading and spatial distribution of CuO throughout the NPAC matrix strongly influence the catalytic efficiency. CuO-NPAC synthesis was optimized with respect to the copper loading and thermal processing, and the physicochemical properties of the resulting materials were characterized by XRD, BET, TEM, SEM, EPR, TGA, XPS and FT-IR spectroscopy. EPR spin trapping and fluorescence spectroscopy showed in situ. OH formation via H2O2 over CuO-NPAC as the catalytically relevant oxidant. The impact of reaction conditions, notably CuO-NPAC loading, H2O2 concentration and solution pH, is discussed in relation to the reaction kinetics for MC-LR remediation