Pain Management Policy Formulation at a Tertiary Care Teaching Institute in India: A Prospective Observational Study

Background: Access to pain management has been recognized as a fundamental human right. Inadequate pain relief hampers the quality of life and has a physiological and psychosocial impact on the patient and caregivers. Inadequate pain relief remains the leading cause of suffering in hospitalized patients worldwide. Objective: The objective of this article is to provide adequate pain relief to hospitalized patients through proper assessment, treatment, and monitoring of pain by the trained health-care workers through a sustainable and effective institutional pain management policy. Methods: The formulation of pain management policy at a tertiary care teaching institute was conducted in three phases – Phase 1: need assessment by an open?label, uncontrolled, prospective observational study over 1 month period, Phase 2: teaching, training, and awareness of health?care workers, and Phase 3: constitution of the committee at the institute level with the formation of pain resource teams. Results: An open?label, prospective observational study conducted over 1 month revealed that among 814 hospitalized patients, 108 out of 235 (46%) patients in medical and 385 out of 579 (66.5%) patients in the surgical cohort had NRS score of ?3, implying an inadequate pain relief even at 24 h following medical or surgical intervention, respectively. Conclusion: The provision of effective and adequate pain relief to hospitalized patients requires trained health-care workers and a uniform and structured pain management policy at the institutional level. Recognition and addressal of the barriers and challenges while framing an institutional pain policy is of utmost importance.

Observation on Uncommon Complications of Acute Pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis is a sudden inflammation of pancreas that lasts for a short time. It may range from mild discomfort to a severe, life threatening illness. Abdominal pain which is the major symptom of acute pancreatitis may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and abdominal distension.1 There may be low grade fever with features of shock which is not unusual.2 Most people with acute pancreatitis recover completely after getting the right treatment. About 80% of cases of acute attack are self-limited and recover spontaneously within a week after the treatment. But in severe cases, acute pancreatitis can result in bleeding into the gland, serious tissue damage, infection and cyst formation. Severe pancreatitis can also harm other vital organs such as heart, lungs and kidneys. Transient hypotension, transient myocardial ischemia reflected by ST-T changes in ECG and associated with diastolic dysfunction and ARDS are uncommon complications of acute pancreatitis. This study was conducted to evaluate their incidence and prognostic significance in acute pancreatitis.METHODSThis study was conducted in Patna Medical College Hospital, Patna, on admitted cases during the period august 2018 – august 2019. A total of 30 cases were included in this study who were diagnosed as acute pancreatitis and gave written consent for the same. Patients with association or history of stroke, head injury, CNS infection, features of demyelination, acute coronary syndrome, cardiogenic pulmonary oedema and established liver disease were excluded.RESULTSThe incidence of transient hypotension, transient myocardial ischemia and ARDS in this study was found to be 13.3%, 6.6% and 6.6% respectively and they were all associated with high mortality.CONCLUSIONSThe commonest risk factor of acute pancreatitis was seen to be Gall Stone followed by Alcoholism, hyperlipidaemia and smoking in this study also. The overall mortality (13.3%) in this study was slightly lower than other studies. and this may be due to small sample size and variation of mortality with time of admission. Transient hypotension, transient myocardial ischemia reflected by ST-T changes in ECG, associated with diastolic dysfunction and ARDS were observed as uncommon complications of acute pancreatitis. Their incidence in this study were 13.3%, 6.6% and 6.6% respectively and they were all associated with high mortality. The clinical significance of their early detection is that the early mortality can be reduced with intensive medical and surgical management.a

Performance evaluation and kinetic study of fluorene biodegradation in continuous bioreactor using polyurethane foam as packing media

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are precarious persistent pollutants derived from incomplete combustion of fossil fuel and petroleum products. Due to adverse effects of PAHs on the environment, the wastewater contaminated with PAHs needs to be treated prior to discharge in the water bodies. In the present study, we used immobilized polyurethane foam Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes NRSS3 for degradation of fluorene in packed bed bioreactor (PBBR) to stimulate biofilm and possibly enhance removal efficiency. The most affecting process parameters, such as pH, process time and temperature were optimized at batch mode and found to be 7.0, 8.0 days, and 30 °C, respectively. At the optimum condition, the bioreactor was operated in continuous mode up to 45 days and obtained results demonstrate that the maximum removal efficiency (RE) of 91.1% along with 27.3 mg/L day-1 of elimination capacity (EC) were observed. Biodegradation kinetics of fluorene were evaluated by Monod growth and Andrew-Haldane inhibition models and parameters were obtained to be µmax: 0.32 day-1; Ks: 10.8 mg/L by Monod while µmax: 0.47 day-1; Ks: 12.3 mg/L; 27.5 mg/L by Andrews-Haldane.

A study on clinical profile of patients presenting with adverse drug reaction: a hospital based prospective observational study

Background: The aim of the study was to study the clinical profile of patients presenting with adverse drug reaction.Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, IGMC Shimla from 01 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. A total of 129 patients were included in this study. A detailed history was taken followed by examination of patients. The routine investigations were done and special investigations as per need. For analysis patients detail, suspected drugs and the adverse drug reactions caused by them were used.Results: Bleeding from various sites was the most common event (39.5%), followed by symptomatic hypoglycemia 22.5% of events and symptomatic hyponatremia in 16.3% events. Amongst various drug classes anticoagulants were the most commonly involved drug class followed by oral hypoglycaemic agents, diuretics and antiplatelets. Type A was predominant ADR constituting (97.7%) of total ADRs and only (2.3%) of ADRs were of type B. After causality assessment, majority 86 (66.6%) were probable related and large number 127 (98.3%) of ADRs were serious which recovered after hospitalization.Conclusions: Our study revealed that ADRs are frequent and are easily recognized in clinical practice and are mostly preventable. Most ADRs are due to the use of drugs with high toxicity for example, warfarin often results in bleeding. It also shows that careful drug monitoring in hospitals may lead to reduction of many such ADRs, suggesting that some type A, ADRs may be due to inadequate monitoring of therapies and doses. This study will aid the development of interventions to reduce the impact of ADRs in hospital in-patients.

New Rabbit Erythrocyte Specific Mycelial Lectins from Fusarium sp. with Complex Saccharide Specificity

Eight Fusarium sp. namely, F. acutatum, F. globosum, F. graminearum, F. lactis, F. nivale, F. proliferatum, F.pseudoanthophilum and F. robustum were screened for the presence of lectins by hemagglutination activityusing human ABO, porcine, ovine, goat and rabbit erythrocytes. Mycelial extracts of all the fungal culturesexcept F. graminearum displayed unique lectin activity with only rabbit erythrocytes. Enzymatic treatment ofrabbit erythrocytes with neuraminidase has significantly enhanced the titre of all the lectin-positive extractsof fungal cultures. In contrast, most of the lectins showed a decline in lectin activity with protease treatedrabbit erythrocytes. Saccharide specificity studies have shown that majority of the lectins are inhibitory towardsO-acetyl sialic acids. None of the lectins from Fusarium sp. were inhibited by dextran, meso-inositol, andN-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Most of the fungal cultures displayed highest hemagglutination activity during the10th day of growth in broth cultures. The unique saccharide specificity of Fusarium sp. lectins can be used forelucidating their clinical role in glycobiology research.

New cell surface bound lectins with complex carbohydrate specificity from members of green algae

Lectins, algal in particular, have immense potential for biomedical applications such as anti-HIV, antitumoral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities. In this context, there is a growing interest among researchers on agglutinins from green algae. Here, we have made an attempt to catalogue lectins from various unexplored green algae species. Chlorophyceae members (Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorococcum infusiformis, Desmodesmus dimorphus, D. subspicatus and Scenedesmus quadricauda) were screened for lectin activity using human, pig, sheep, goat and rabbit erythrocytes. All of them showed surface bound lectin activity with highest agglutination titre towards human blood type B erythrocytes and rabbit erythrocytes. Neuraminidase and protease treatment to human blood type B erythrocytes considerably enhanced the agglutination titre of lectins from S. quadricauda, C. vulgaris and D. subspicatus. However, protease treatment of erythrocytes showed no effect on C. infusiformis lectin activity, and decreased the lectin activity of D. dimorphus. Lectins of members of chlorophyceae have shown unique glycoprotein binding specificities as their lectin activity was specifically inhibited by glycoproteins exhibiting complex O-glycans, such as bovine submaxillary mucin, porcine stomach mucin and fetuin. All the algal cultures expressed maximum lectin activity during stationary phase of growth except S. quadricauda which expressed maximum lectin activity during mid-log to stationary phase of cultivation. Possibly, it is a new report on cell surface bound lectins from unexplored members of chlorophyceae for lectin activity.

Combination of UV-Fenton oxidation process with biological technique for treatment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes NRSS3 isolated from petroleum contaminated site

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), often from petroleum oil spill, by-product of petroleum refining, incomplete combustion of fossil fuel, leakage in pipeline and underground storage, apart from the effluents of pesticide, dye, pigment, and drug industries, are considered carcinogenic and mutagenic. As the abundance of PAHs in the environment cause adverse effects on humans and ecosystem, the PAHs contamination needs to be monitored and such polluted sites require remediation. Conventional methods available for remediation of PAHs are adsorption, advance oxidation process, electrochemical remediation, solvent extraction, use of synthetic surfactants and photocatalytic remediation. These methods including the alternative Fenton oxidation technology are not only expensive but also produce secondary pollutants. In this study, we evaluated the performance of UV-Fenton-PBBR (Packed bed bioreactor) hybrid system for the treatment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene and fluorene). Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes NRSS3 isolated from petroleum contaminated site and immobilized on Sterculia alata was used as packing media in the PBBR. The naphthalene and fluorene were taken as model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) with initial concentration of 400 mg/L. The optimum conditions for UV-Fenton oxidation were (pH: 3, Fe2+: 2.5 g/L, H2O2: 1000 mg/L) for naphthalene and (pH: 3, Fe2+: 3.0 g/L, H2O2: 1200 mg/L) for fluorene. The overall maximum removal efficiency of the combined system was found to be 96 and 94.7% for naphthalene and fluorene, respectively. GC-MS analysis confirmed the formation of catechol, 1-napthol, salicylic acid and phthalic anhydride as metabolites during degradation process. Biodegradation kinetics of naphthalene and fluorene were studied using Monod model and kinetics constants were found to be µmax: 0.3057 per day; Ks: 112.87 mg/L for naphthalene and µmax: 0.2921 per day; Ks: 114.75 mg/L for fluorene

Vitamin D Status Among the Elderly Persons of South Rajasthan – A Prospective Observational Study

Background: Vitamin D a fat soluble unique micronutrient. Deficiency of vitamin D is widely prevalent in Indian Subcontinent despite wide exposure to sunlight round the year. Vitamin D is considered to be most under evaluated and under treated micronutrient round the world. Elderly persons are more prone to develop Vitamin D deficiency because of risk factors. Methods: This study was done to study the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in healthy adults for southern Rajasthan and its correlation with gender, dietary habits and habitat (urban or rural residence).We evaluated apparently healthy adults of age more than 50 years presenting to hospital for routine evaluation or as accompanying person with patient between January to July 2015.The serum -25 OH CHOLECALCIFEROL (D2+D3) levels were estimated in all the subjects by COBAS e411 (Hitachi, Roche). Results: The study (Males 121, Females 83), aged 50 – 82 years shows normal level (20-32 nag/ml) in only 26% (53), while 74% (151) had <20ng/ml.  Women were more deficient (64%) than males (36%); vegetarians more [93% (140)] than non-vegetarians [7% (11)]; urban more 90% (51/56) than rural 69% (100/148). All those who received supplementation improved clinically and bio chemically. Conclusions: Despite abundant sunshine Vitamin D deficiency prevalence is very high among females, vegetarians and urban subjects, for which presumably conventional female over clothing, strict vegetarianism and urban crowdedness are responsible. Supplementation normalizes Vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, proper food fortification in healthy looking and diseased elderly persons is advised.

Comparative evaluation of tooth substance loss and its correlation with the abrasivity and chemical composition of different dentifrices.

Context: In India, teeth cleaning with tooth powder is common in rural and semi‑urban areas. These dentifrices may contain low‑quality abrasives, which may have a deleterious effect on dental hard tissues. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the tooth substance loss caused by different dentifrices and to correlate it with chemical composition, size, and shape of abrasives used. Settings and Design: An indigenously made automated machine was used for brushing the specimens. Materials and Methods: Sixty‑four freshly extracted premolars were allocated to eight groups (n = 8). Colgate toothpaste was used as the control group. Each specimen was brushed in a vertical motion for 2½ h at 200 strokes/min with a constant applied load of 200 g corresponding to 6‑month brushing. The difference in weight (pre‑ and post‑brushing) was determined by an analytical weighing machine. Chemical analysis was done to determine the presence of iron oxide by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry method. Shape and size of the abrasive particles was evaluated under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Statistical Analysis Used: One‑way analysis of variance and Paired t‑test were used to analyze the data. Results: Tooth substance loss was maximum in the group brushed with red tooth powder, which was shown to contain the highest amount of iron oxide and also exhibited large, irregularly shaped abrasive particles under SEM. Conclusions: Tooth substance loss was documented to be correlated with chemical composition (iron oxide) and the size and shape of abrasive particles used in dentifrices.

Lectin activity in mycelial extracts of Fusarium species

ABSTRACT Lectins are non-immunogenic carbohydrate-recognizing proteins that bind to glycoproteins, glycolipids, or polysaccharides with high affinity and exhibit remarkable ability to agglutinate erythrocytes and other cells. In the present study, ten Fusarium species previously not explored for lectins were screened for the presence of lectin activity. Mycelial extracts of F. fujikuroi, F. beomiformii, F. begoniae, F. nisikadoi, F. anthophilum, F. incarnatum, and F. tabacinum manifested agglutination of rabbit erythrocytes. Neuraminidase treatment of rabbit erythrocytes increased lectin titers of F. nisikadoi and F. tabacinum extracts, whereas the protease treatment resulted in a significant decline in agglutination by most of the lectins. Results of hapten inhibition studies demonstrated unique carbohydrate specificity of Fusarium lectins toward O-acetyl sialic acids. Activity of the majority of Fusarium lectins exhibited binding affinity to D-ribose, L-fucose, D-glucose, L-arabinose, D-mannitol, D-galactosamine hydrochloride, D-galacturonic acid, N-acetyl-d-galactosamine, N-acetyl-neuraminic acid, 2-deoxy-D-ribose, fetuin, asialofetuin, and bovine submaxillary mucin. Melibiose and N-glycolyl neuraminic acid did not inhibit the activity of any of the Fusarium lectins. Mycelial extracts of F. begoniae, F. nisikadoi, F. anthophilum, and F. incarnatum interacted with most of the carbohydrates tested. F. fujikuroi and F. anthophilum extracts displayed strong interaction with starch. The expression of lectin activity as a function of culture age was investigated. Most species displayed lectin activity on the 7th day of cultivation, and it varied with progressing of culture age.

Reliable screening technique for evaluation of wild crucifers against mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.).

Wild crucifers namely Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica fruticulosa, B. rugosa, B. spinescens, B. tournefortii, Camelina sativa, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Crambe abysinnica, Cronopus didymus, Diplotaxis assurgens, D. gomez-campoi, D. muralis, D. siettiana, D. tenuisiliqua, Enatharocarpus lyratus, Lepidium sativum and Sinapis alba along with five cultivated Brassica species including B. rapa (BSH-1), B. juncea (Rohini), B. napus (GSC-6), B. carinata (DLSC-2) and Eruca sativa (T-27) were screened against mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) with a standardized technique under definite level of aphid pressure developed using specially designed cages. Observations have revealed that B. fruticulosa, B. spinescens, Camelina sativa, Crambe abysinnica and Lepidium sativum were resistant to mustard aphid L. erysimi with aphid infestation index (AII) ≤1. Capsella bursa-pastoris was highly susceptible to bean aphid, Aphis fabae during its vegetative stage (with 100% mortality). Other genotypes were found in the range of ‘susceptible’ to ‘highly susceptible’ with AII ranging 3-5.

Effects of dimethoate (30% EC), an organophosphate pesticide on liver of common carp, Cyprinus carpio.

Organ histopathology and changes in biochemical parameters in fish are good biomarkers of aquatic pollution. This study is an attempt to assess the effects of dimethoate, an organophosphate insecticide on the liver of common carp (C. carpio). Healthy individual fish were exposed to 0.40 mg l-1 (25% of 96 hr LC50) concentration of dimethoate, for short term (96 hr). Liver of the exposed fish exhibited alterations like disruption of regular arrangement of hepatocytes, congestion and rupture of vessels; hemorrhage, cytoplasmic vacuolization, pyknotic nuclei and necrosis. Biochemical parameters viz. total liver protein (p<0.001) and liver glycogen (p<0.001) registered a significant decrease and blood glucose (p<0.001) exhibited significant increase throughout exposure.

Enhanced exoinulinase production from Kluyveromyces marxianus YS-1 using response surface methodology

Optimization of critical medium components for exoinulinase production by Kluyveromyces marxianus YS-1 at shake-flask was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite rotatable design (CCRD). A five-level with five factors CCRD was used to evaluate the influence of related factors including concentration of inulin, meat extract, calcium chloride, sodium dodecyl sulphate and medium pH. Optimum values obtained by RSM were 2 percent inulin, 2.17 percent meat extract, 0.65 mM calcium chloride, 0.10 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate and pH 5.5. Optimized medium projected a theoretical exoinulinase production of 63.61 IU/mL and biomass yield of 0.965 (OD600/10). Multiple correlation coefficient R was 0.9976 and 0.9605 for exoinulinase production and biomass yield, respectively, which being close to one, justified an excellent correlation between the predicted and experimental values. Maximum productivity of exoinulinase (64.05 IU/mL) obtained experimentally by RSM was more than double in comparison to earlier findings using classical one-variable-at-a-time technique.

Foi investigada a optimização de componentes criticos do meio de cultivo para a produção de exoinulinase por Kluyveromyces marxianus YS-1 em frascos agitados utilizando a metodologia de superficie de resposta (RSM), com base em um delineamento composto central rotativo. As variáveis independentes, com cinco niveis, foram as concentrações de inulina, de extrato de carne, de cloreto de cálcio e de dodecil sulfato de sódio, bem como o pH do meio de cultivo. Os valores ótimos, obtidos pela RSM, foram com 2 por cento de inulina, 2.17 por cento de extrato de carne, 0.65 mM de cloreto de cálcio, 0.10 mM de dodecil sulfato de sódio e pH 5.5. As estimativas de produção de exoinulinase e de rendimento em biomassa no meio otimizado foram de 63.61 UI/ml e de 9.65 (em termos de OD600/10), respectivamente. Os coeficientes de correlação múltipla R foram de 0.9976 e 0.9605 para produção de exoinulinase e biomassa, respectivamente, e, sendo próximos de um, indicam uma excelente correlação entre os valores estimados e experimentais. A máxima productividade de exoinulinase (64.05 UI/ml) obtida experimentalmente por RSM foi mais que o dobro em comparação com nossos resultados anteriores utilizando uma técnica de otimização clássica de uma variável por vez.

Acute and sub-acute toxicity of an insect pheromone, N-heneicosane and combination with insect growth regulator, diflubenzuron, for establishing no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL).

Aedes aegypti mosquito is one of the most notorious vectors of dangerous diseases like dengue hemorrhagic fever and chikangunya. One method of control of the vectors is by the use of semiochemicals or pheromones. The pheromone n-heneicosane (C21) has been proved to be effective in attracting the female Aedes aegypti to lay eggs in the treated water and the growth of the larva is controlled by insect growth regulator diflubenzuron (DB). This study was planned to assess the safety of C21 alone and the combination with DB. Acute toxicity tests were carried out using two doses, viz., 1600 and 3200 mg/kg and two routes of exposure oral and intra-peritoneal. Dermal toxicity test was carried out in both male and female rats at the dose of 3200 mg/kg. Primary skin irritation test was carried out in rabbits. Sub-acute (90 days) dermal toxicity studies in male and female rats at the dose of 1 and 2 mg/kg via the per-cutaneous route were also studied. Sub-acute (90 days) toxicity test through the oral route was carried out, at doses 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg in male and female rats. The calculated LD50 by ip route and dermal route was more than 5 g/kg in mouse and rats of both the sexes. In the primary skin irritation test no significant changes were noted. In the sub-acute toxicity studies even 500 mg/kg dose was not able to produce toxic response in rats when they were dosed daily for 90 days. The established no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) was more than 500 mg/kg.

Effect of photoperiod and temperature on testicular regression in Channa punctatus.

In Channa punctatus testicular regression commonly observed during spawning and postspawing phases of reproductive cycle. In the present study, testicular regression was frequently noticed in fish maintained under both long photoperiod-warm temperature (LD 16 : 8-300C) and short photoperiod-warm temperature (LD 8 : 16-30oC) regimes. Testicular regression was characterized by distortion of cellular boundary of lobules and formation of collagenous capsules containing degenerating germ cells, blood cells and colloidal mass within the lobules. The magnitude of testicular regression was more in fish exposed to short photoperiod regime (R-73.33%, SP-41.67%) than long photoperiod regime (R-50.83%, SP-19.16%) and control group (R-20.83%, SP-16.67%) in both resting (R) and spawning (SP) phases. Further, the frequency of testicular regression during resting phase was 73.33% (short photoperiod), 50.83% (long photoperiod) and 20.83% (control) whereas during spawning phase was 41.67% (short photoperiod) 19.16% (long photoperiod) and 16.67% (control). In the present study, occurrence of more testicular regression during resting phase than spawning phase may be due to change in the endogenous condition of the fish.

Exploring issues in the development of Ayurvedic research methodology.

Research is the prime need of contemporary Ayurveda, but modern research on Ayurveda has not been very rewarding for Ayurveda itself. Much of it uses Ayurveda to extend modern bioscience. In contrast, Ayurveda needs research designed to test and validate its fundamental concepts as well as its treatments. In this context, if Ayurveda is to be truly explored and validated in all its aspects, scientific inputs should conform to Ayurveda's principles and philosophy. While its evidence base, established since antiquity, may need further verification, research should now focus on the Science of Ayurveda, rather than merely looking for new drugs based on Ayurveda herbals; in-depth research is needed on Ayurveda. Such research will require teamwork between scientists and vaidyas based on truth and trust. Ayurveda research methodology requires the 'whole system testing approach', global participation with protocols evolved through intense interface with modern science, regulatory reforms to eliminate barriers, and to be investigated 'as it is', using approaches adapted from its own basic principles.

SSR and AFLP based genetic diversity of soybean germplasm differing in photoperiod sensitivity

Forty-four soybean genotypes with different photoperiod response were selected after screening of 1000 soybean accessions under artificial condition and were profiled using 40 SSR and 5 AFLP primer pairs. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) for SSR and AFLP marker systems was 0.507 and 0.120, respectively. Clustering of genotypes was done using UPGMA method for SSR and AFLP and correlation was 0.337 and 0.504, respectively. Mantel's correlation coefficients between Jaccard's similarity coefficient and the cophenetic values were fairly high in both the marker systems (SSR = 0.924; AFLP = 0.958) indicating very good fit for the clustering pattern. UPGMA based cluster analysis classified soybean genotypes into four major groups with fairly moderate bootstrap support. These major clusters corresponded with the photoperiod response and place of origin. The results indicate that the photoperiod insensitive genotypes, 11/2/1939 (EC 325097) and MACS 330 would be better choice for broadening the genetic base of soybean for this trait.

Acute toxicity bioassay of dimethoate on freshwater airbreathing catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch).

Pesticides are chemicals used for pest control in the agricultural fields. They finally reach the surrounding water bodies through surface runoff affecting the aquatic fauna. Dimethoate is frequently used organophosphate pesticide due to its high effectiveness and rapid breakdown into environmentally safe products. A 96 hr static acute toxicity test was carried out to determine the LC50 value of dimethoate, on the freshwater airbreathing catfish Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch). The fish were exposed to 7 different concentrations of dimethoate (2.50, 2.75, 3.00, 3.25, 3.50, 3.75 and 4.00 mg l-1) for toxicity bioassay. Control (0.00 mg l-1) was also carried out. The data were subjected to Finney’s Probit analysis and processed with Trimmed Spearman-Karber statistical software. The LC50 values for dimethoate for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hr were 3.38, 3.23, 3.08 and 2.98 mg l-1, respectively. At higher concentration of dimethoate (3.25 mg l-1 and above) the fish showed uncoordinated behaviour such as erratic and jerky swimming, attempt to jump out of water, frequent surfacing and gulping of air, decrease in opercular movement and copious secretion of mucus all over the body.