Alcohol-based hand sanitizer-induced burns: A harsh reality in current times

ue to the recent coronavirus pandemic, there is a steep rise in the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHSs) over the past few months. For them to be effective against microorganisms, the minimum recommended concentration of alcohol is 60%. This high alcohol content makes the sanitizers easily flammable. Although, they are extremely convenient to use, they can also prove to be a hazard if used in an improper manner. Guidelines have been published for safe manufacturing and distribution of these sanitizers. There are recommendations for storage and use, which should be adhered to in a strict manner. Their use by children should always be supervised. We report four cases of burn injuries caused by injudicious use of alcohol-based sanitizers. The flammable nature of ABHSs can also be exploited as witnessed in one of our cases. With this report, we wish to emphasize that judicious and correct use of these seemingly benign products is essential.

Effect of health education and screening location on compliance with diabetic retinopathy screening in a rural population in Maharashtra

Purpose: To compare the acceptance of diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening by the proximity of care and health education in rural Maharashtra. Methods: Study was done in the public health facilities in four blocks (in two blocks at community health center (CHC) level and in other two blocks at primary health center (PHC) level with the provision of transport from villages to PHCs) over 3 months. Health education was not imparted in one block in each segment. Health education consisted of imparting knowledge on diabetes mellitus (DM) and DR by trained village-level workers. The screening was done using non-mydriatic fundus camera and teleophthalmology supported remote grading of DR. Results: In the study period, 1,472 people with known diabetes were screened in four blocks and 86.6% (n = 1275) gradable images were obtained from them. 9.9% (n = 126) were detected having DR and 1.9% (n = 24) having sight-threatening DR (STDR). More people accepted screening closer to their residence at the PHC than CHC (24.4% vs 11.4%; P < 0.001). Health education improved the screening uptake significantly (14.4% vs 18.7%; P < 0.01) irrespective of the place of screening—at CHC, 9.5% without health education vs 13.1% with health education; at PHC, 20.1% without health education versus 31.6% with health education. Conclusion: Conducting DR screening closer to the place of living at PHCs with the provision of transport and health education was more effective for an increase in the uptake of DR screening by people with known diabetes in rural Maharashtra.

Multi-spectroscopic investigation of the binding interaction of fosfomycin with bovine serum albumin☆ / 药物分析学报

The interaction between fosfomycin (FOS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been investigated effectively by multi-spectroscopic techniques under physiological pH 7.4. FOS quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA via static quenching. The number of binding sites n and observed binding constant KA were measured by the fluorescence quenching method. The thermodynamic parameters △G0, △H0 and △S0 were calculated at different temperatures according to the van't Hoff equation. The site of binding of FOS in the protein was proposed to be Sudlow's site I based on displacement experiments using site markers viz. warfarin, ibuprofen and digitoxin. The distance r between the donor (BSA) and acceptor (FOS) molecules was obtained according to the F?rster theory. The effect of FOS on the conformation of BSA was analyzed using synchronous fluorescence spectra (SFS), circular dichroism (CD) and 3D fluorescence spectra. A molecular modeling study further confirmed the binding mode obtained by the experimental studies.