Creatively tiding over the crisis

Background: A patient with a retained intraocular metallic foreign body post?trauma was taken up for vitrectomy and intraocular foreign body removal. Unfortunately, the intraocular magnet was not available at the moment on the table! How a little bit of creativity and innovative thought helped us tide over this crisis is the content of this video. Purpose: To demonstrate magnetization of a metallic surgical instrument for temporary use in the event of unavailability of the intraocular magnet for intraocular foreign body removal. Synopsis: A ferromagnetic substance can be magnetized temporarily using an existing magnet. We obtained a general?purpose magnet and wrapped it in sterile plastic, using which we magnetized normal intraocular forceps and a Micro Vitreo Retinal (MVR) blade by giving about 20–30 strokes over the magnet in a single direction. This aligned the magnetic domains in the metal in a parallel fashion. These Do It Yourself (DIY)? magnetic instruments were then effectively utilized to remove the metallic intraocular foreign body. Highlights: The video showcases effectively harnessing the available resources and tiding over the dearth of a necessary instrument, with the right use of an innovative idea and some creativity!.

Perspectives of Teachers at Medical Colleges Across India regarding the Competency based Medical Education Curriculum – A Qualitative, Manual, Theoretical Thematic Content Analysis

Background: Competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum has been implemented in India since 2019 with a goal to create an “Indian Medical Graduate” (IMG) possessing requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and responsiveness. Objectives: To explore teachers’ perceptions across India at medical colleges on the newly implemented competency-based medical education curriculum. Methods: This was a qualitative cross?sectional study conducted among teachers working at medical colleges across India, between February and April 2022 (n = 192). The data collection was done using Google forms online survey platform on teachers’ perception regarding CBME, its specific components, and perceived bottlenecks. We analyzed this qualitative data using manual, theoretical thematic content analysis following the steps endorsed in Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework. Results: The majority of the teachers (64.1%) have positively responded to the CBME curriculum’s implementation. However, it came with a caution that the curriculum should continuously evolve and adapt to regional demands. The foundation course, early clinical exposure, and the family adoption program were the specific components of CBME curriculum over which the teachers raised concerns. The need for additional teachers in each department (department-specific teacher or faculty per hundred students ratio to be worked out) and the need for enabling faculty preparedness through adequate training was highlighted. Concerns were also raised regarding implementing CBME with teachers without a medical background (especially in preclinical departments). Conclusion: It is the need of the hour for the curriculum to incorporate a systematic feedback mechanism built into the system, though which such critical appraisals can be meaning collated and acted upon, to ultimately evolve, thereby creating an “Indian Medical Graduate” for the needs of todays’ society.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medical education

Background: Medicine is one of the few academic disciplines that cannot be taught in the distance education mode. Hands-on practice for clinical skills and competency is critical in medical education. Although this pandemic has offered new learning modes such as teleconsultation, videoconferencing, virtual simulations, and digital podcasts, how much actual knowledge transfer and skill gain will be achieved, is unanswered. Aims and Objectives: The present study has been planned to understand the impact of COVID on medical education and to identify the factors which promoted or hindered learning during COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 261 willing MBBS students from various colleges of Tamil Nadu after obtaining Institutional Ethical committee clearance using a pre-validated structured online questionnaire through Google form link in online social platforms through “Voluntary opt in” method of sampling. Results: About 22.6% of the study participants were affected by COVID-19. About 46% of the participants family members suffered from COVID and all of them accepted that it significantly affected their academics. About 71.6% experienced anxiety/depression. About 93.5% were addicted to social media during class hours. About 88.1% welcomed “flipped/blended learning”. More than 90.8% reported that they missed skill-based learning/Primary health care training. About 80.8% positively felt that they got more duration for preparing exams. About 89.3% found that practical exams were challenging. Conclusion: Not only have we witnessed the importance of having a robust health-care system, but the pandemic has created a critical need to transform various aspects of medical education especially to a model of blended learning of online and offline methods to enable a better academic environment so as to reflect the changing medical landscape.

THE THREE KEY PLAYERS IN OSTEOIMMUNOLOGY: RANK, RANKL AND OSTEOPROTEGERIN.

The RANK, RANKL and OPG interaction plays a major role in bone resorption and remodelling. The history dates back to mid 1990s when the RANK/ RANKL interaction was found to mediate osteoblastic stromal cells to stimulate osteoclastic bone resorption. This interaction was found to induce several cytokines including the TNF superfamily, thereby activating the pathways of bone remodelling. The Osteoprotegerin (OPG) prevents the binding of RANKL to RANK, thereby preventing the excessive bone resorption. When there is an imbalance in the levels of RANK/RANKL/OPG, the metabolic activity of the bone cells gets altered and thus there is loss of balance between bone formation and resorption. Thus, studying the inter – relationship between RANK, RANKL and OPG becomes critical for assessing the osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity

Prevalence And Determinants of Anemia Among Adolescents in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu – A School Based Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Context: The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of anemia among adolescents 10 to 19 years of age disaggregated by age group and gender. We also assessed the determinants of anemia among ad-olescents. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out between July and November 2019 in a senior secondary public school, located in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India using a predesigned, semi-structured, pretested proforma that included haemoglobin estimation using oxyhemoglobin method. Results: The overall prevalence of anemia was 88.6% (95% CI 87.2 to 89.8); it was ten percent points higher in females (93.8%, 95% CI 92.1 to 95.1) compared to males (83.9%, 95% CI 81.7 to 85.8). Multivariate regres-sion analysis showed that early adolescents (AOR 3.05, 95% CI 2.19 to 4.24), females (AOR 6.94, 95% CI 4.90 to 9.83), those with A or B or AB blood groups (AOR 2.58, 95% CI 1.92 to 3.49), physical inactivity (AOR 2.18, 95% CI 1.43 to 3.33) and attainment of menarche (AOR 2.69, 95% CI 1.73 to 4.21) were independent predic-tors of anemia in adolescents. Conclusion: It is the need of the hour to identify vulnerable groups; factors that predict occurrence, prioritize them to design and implement an effective public health action. Also, the effectiveness of existing strategies in the form of periodic deworming, Iron and Folic acid tablets (IFA) should be reassessed.

Influence of solvent choice and operating conditions on Chlorzoxazone crystal shape and size

Abstract Solubility of pharmaceutical drugs in organic solvents is one of the important parameters to understand the equilibrium concentration of solute-solvent, which helps optimize and design crystallization conditions to obtain the desired product crystals. In the present study, Chlorzoxazone (CHZ) is used as a model pharmaceutical compound to investigate the equilibrium solubility, the influence of solvent and the operating conditions on the shape, and the size distribution. The solubility of CHZ is determined in organic solvents like Isopropanol, Ethanol, and 2-Ethoxyethylacetate, Ethylacetate and Ethyllactate using shake flask method from -5ºC to 60ºC. The solubility of CHZ in these solvents shows an increasing trend as the temperature increases in the following order: ethyllactate + water (0.5+0.5) < ethylacetate < isopropanol < ethanol < 2-ethoxyethylacetate < ethyllactate + water (0.75+0.25). The solvents, isopropanol, ethanol, and ethyl lactate, produce needle-shaped crystals, while 2-ethoxyethylacetate and ethyl acetate tend to produce plate shaped crystals. CHZ crystals obtained from 2-ethoxyethylacetate tend to have plate shaped crystals with a lower aspect ratio and are selected for batch cooling crystallization experiments performed at different cooling rates, and agitation. It is found that the agitation at 300 rpm and the cooling rate 0.2ºC/min produce more uniform crystal size distribution

Curcumin Mediated Gold Nanoparticles and Analysis of its Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Antimicrobial Activity Against Oral Pathogens

ABSTRACT Objective: To green synthesise gold nanoparticles using curcumin and to analyse its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity among oral pathogens. Material and Methods: Biosynthesised Curcumin Gold nanoparticles (CuAuNP) were evaluated by UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and evaluation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity against oral pathogens. Results: Synthesized CuAuNP were characterized using UV-visible spectrophotometry and showed peak absorption at 530nm. CuAuNp showed a 90.3% maximum scavenging ability of DPPH at a concentration of 50 μg/mL. CuAuNP exhibited 79.6 % of the highest anti-inflammatory activity at 50μg/mL than the standard drug diclofenac. TEM image clearly showed uniformly dispersed spherical-shaped gold nanoparticles with a size of about 20 nm. The biosynthesized nanoparticle was tested for its antimicrobial effect, and it showed a potent effect against S. aureus, E. faecalis, and C. albicans at 100µg/ mL. Enterococcus faecalis has a maximum zone of inhibition of 14 mm at 100µg/ mL of CuAuNp. Among gram-positive bacteria, a maximum zone of inhibition of 12 mm at 100µg/ mL was seen in S. aureus compared to S mutans. Candida albicans showed a maximum zone of inhibition of 18 mm at 25 μg/mL of CuAuNp. Conclusion: Curcumin-mediated gold nanoparticles with 20 nm size were effective and had strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity at 50µg/ mL, antimicrobial action inhibiting microbes at 100µg/mL concentration that can be used in treating various Oral mucosal lesions.

Long-term real-world outcomes in retinal vein occlusions: How close are we to the trials?

Purpose: To assess and analyze the visual outcomes of patients with retinal vein occlusions in a real?world setting with a long?term follow?up of more than 5 years. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 56 patients having retinal vein occlusions from a tertiary eye center, with a mean follow?up of 7 years was performed. Primary outcome measures were mean change in best?corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and final visit (?5 years), proportion of patients having BCVA better than 20/40 and worse than 20/200, and mean number of injections. Secondary outcome measures were change in central macular thickness (CMT), development of subsequent retinal vein occlusion (RVO) in same eye or the other eye, and development of neovascular complications. Results: The mean change in letter score was + 11.84 in branch RVO (BRVO), +7.14 in non?ischemic central RVO (CRVO), and ?9.5 in ischemic CRVO at 1 year, which changed to + 8.57, ?5 and ? 24, respectively, at the end of follow?up. CMT had improved from 506 ± 98.8 ?m, 576.44 ± 149 ?m, and 618 ± 178.27 ?m, respectively, at baseline to 267 ± 94 ?m, 345.20 ± 122.61 ?m, and 265.50 ± 107.75 ?m, respectively, in BRVO, non?ischemic, and ischemic hemi RVO (HRVO)/CRVO groups. The total mean number of injections given in BRVO, non?ischemic CRVO, and ischemic CRVO groups were 4.6, 6.6, and 4.1, respectively. None of the patients with BRVO developed neovascular glaucoma (NVG). Non?ischemic to ischemic HRVO/CRVO conversion was noted in 4/11 eyes at a mean duration of 12.6 months. NVG was noted in 7/9 eyes (77.8%) in initial ischemic CRVO/HRVO group and 3/4 (75%) converted eyes. Conclusion: Patients with BRVO have good visual outcomes with anti?VEGF, while in CRVO results may vary considerably owing to patient compliance and treatment burden on long?term follow?up in a real?world setting

Progress and future challenges in gene vectors, gene therapy systems and gene expressions

Genetic engineering has made sizeable contributions to technical innovation, agriculture, and the development of pharmaceuticals. Various approaches were evolved to control the genetic cloth of cells using both viral and nonviral vector architectures. Gene therapy aims to reverse pathological traits with the aid of the use of viral and nonviral gene shipping mechanisms. Gene transfer motors have made massive strides in becoming more environmentally pleasant, much less risky, and nonimmunogenic, as well as making an allowance for lengthy-time period transgene expression. One of the most tough components of correctly enforcing gene healing treatments in the clinical putting is adjusting gene expression extremely tightly and constantly as and while it's required. This research work will cognizance on using viral vectors for gene concentrated on biological applications with various gene expressions. Due to improvements in viral vector engineering and superior gene regulatory systems to permit and adjust tightly therapeutic gene expression, the technology for using genes to offer a preferred treatment has confirmed to be an effective approach

Comparison of gingival inflammatory parameters and pain perception on periodontal probing - a cross sectional study, part II / Comparación de parámetros inflamatorios gingivales y percepción del dolor en el sondaje periodontal - un estudio transversal, parte II

Background: Probing of the periodontal pocket is an essential part of the diagnosis of periodontal disease and 15-77% of untreated periodontal patients experience pain during probing. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the pain perceived by patients with dental plaque-induced gingivitis and chronic periodontitis during periodontal probing and the main objective includes the evaluation of the relationship between pain perceived during periodontal probing and gingival inflammatory parameters. Material and Methods: A total of 475 participants were recruited into the study. The patients were divided into two groups: Group-A (Gingivitis Group - 275 patients) and Group-B (Chronic Periodontitis Group - 200 patients). Clinical parameters included analysis of bleeding on probing, simplified gingival index, pocket depth on probing, and clinical attachment level. Pain score was recorded using the HP VAS scale and all patients participated in the study after a detailed explanation of the study protocol. Results: A significant difference in pain perception was noted between groups, highlighting the role of the degree of inflammation in the examination of periodontal parameters. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, we can conclude that pain perception is directly correlated with the degree of inflammation in periodontitis rather than plaque-induced gingivitis during periodontal probing. Therefore, some form of adjuvant topical anesthesia may be considered in order to reduce pain levels in severely inflamed patients, to encourage continued acceptance of supportive periodontal therapy.

Antecedentes: El sondaje de la bolsa periodontal es una parte esencial en el diagnóstico de la enfermedad periodontal. 15-77% de los pacientes periodontales no tratados experimentan dolor durante el sondaje. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este estudio es evaluar el dolor percibido por pacientes con gingivitis inducida por placa dental y periodontitis crónica durante el sondaje periodontal y el objetivo principal incluye la evaluación de la relación entre el dolor percibido durante el sondaje periodontal con parámetros inflamatorios gingivales. Material y Métodos: Un total de 475 sujetos fueron reclutados en el estudio. Los sujetos se dividieron en 2 grupos: Grupo - A (Grupo de gingivitis - 275 pacientes) y Grupo - B (Grupo de periodontitis crónica - 200 pacientes). Los parámetros clínicos incluyeron el análisis del sangrado al sondaje, el índice gingival simplificado, la profundidad de la bolsa al sondaje y el nivel de inserción clínica. La puntuación del dolor se registró utilizando la escala HP VAS y todos los pacientes participaron en el estudio después de una explicación detallada del protocolo del estudio. Resultados: Se notó una diferencia significativa en la percepción del dolor en el grupo B que en el grupo A, lo que significa el papel del grado de inflamación en el examen de los parámetros periodontales. Conclusión: Dentro de las limitaciones del presente estudio, podemos concluir que la percepción del dolor se correlaciona directamente con el grado de inflamación que se observa en la periodontitis más que con la gingivitis inducida por la placa dental durante el sondaje periodontal. Por lo tanto, se puede considerar alguna forma de anestesia tópica adyuvante para reducir los niveles de dolor en pacientes gravemente inflamados para fomentar la aceptación continua de la terapia periodontal de apoyo.

Knowledge, awareness and attitude of eye donation among non-clinical staff of a tertiary eye hospital in South India

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, awareness and attitude of eye donation among non?clinical staff of tertiary eye hospitals and to convey a positive attitude toward eye donation by enhancing their awareness and knowledge. Methods: An online cross?sectional study was conducted among the non?clinical staff from all centers of a tertiary eye care hospital across Tamil Nadu. Quiz link was emailed to non?clinical staff of all the centers. On completion of the quiz, the participants viewed their respective scores and the correct answers to all questions. This activity was presumed to subsequently improve their knowledge and clear up the myths on eye donation. Results: Two hundred twenty?eight non?clinical staff from 11 hospitals participated in the quiz. Mean age was 35.3 ± 9.8 years and 130 were female staff (57.05%). One hundred eighty?one participants (79.39%) scored over 50% of the total 17 queries. One hundred eighty?six (81.58%) and 142 (62.28%) participants scored over 50% in the awareness section and knowledge section, respectively. Eye bank volunteers (73, 32.02%) were the main source of information. Twenty?four (10.53%) had already taken pledge for eye donation and 175 (76.75%) were willing to pledge, 29 (12.72%) were not willing to pledge. Twenty?two out of these 29 (75.86%) had no specific reason for not pledging. Family, religious reasons, lack of clarity and fear were least cited reasons (13.79%). Conclusion: Non?clinical staff of an eye hospital are easily approachable and are expected to be more knowledgeable by the general public around them. They might act as primary motivators in raising awareness within their family, friends, relatives and neighbors

It is time for more colors!

Retinal drawing with a color-coding system brings uniformity in representation of fundus findings so that clinician can decipher various lesions on a two-dimensional drawing. Existing color coding addresses most of the common retinal pathologies including preretinal, intraretinal, and subretinal lesions. However, with the advent of various imaging modalities there is deeper understanding of microanatomy of retina and associated pathologies. With this, there appears further need of newer set of color coding to include the minute details of fundus findings clinically. Through this article, we discuss few common pathologies at different levels of retina layers with color-coding dilemma which calls for a better preciseness in its clinical representations

Neuro-ophthalmological manifestations of diabetes mellitus during COVID-19-related lockdown in India

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID?19) pandemic has resulted in a huge impact on the health care system. Diversion of health care workforce toward management of a high number of COVID?19 cases and lockdown restrictions have affected the follow?up of patients. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of this situation on the control of diabetes, eventually resulting in related neuro?ophthalmological complications. Methods: This retrospective case series included diabetic patients visiting the neuro?ophthalmology clinic at a tertiary care eye center in India from 25 March 2020 to 25 September 2020 during the lockdown. The incidence of diabetes?related neuro?ophthalmological complications, including third, fourth, sixth nerve palsies and non?arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) was evaluated and compared with that of the same period during 2019. Results: Overall disease incidence rate was significantly higher in the year 2020 (60.2%) compared to the previous year of 2019 (29.8%). The proportion of third nerve palsy (4.8% vs 16.3%, P < 0.001) and NAION (0.3% vs 14.3%, P < 0.001) had increased. Even though the percentage of sixth nerve palsy was 25% in 2020, this was not significantly different from 2019. There was a reduction in the percentage of fourth nerve palsy cases from the year 2019 to 2020. Conclusion: There was a significant increase in diabetes?related neuro?ophthalmic complications during the COVID?19 lockdown. This can possibly be attributed to worsening of glycemic control in diabetic patients.

Effect of School-Based Interventions on Body Mass Index Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: High body mass index is a common well-known issue among adolescents, its related mor-bidity track to adulthood life and decrease life expectancy. The review aims to derive a consensus on school-based intervention on body mass index. Objective: This review evaluates the effect of school-based interventions in reducing or preventing high body mass index for adolescents.Method: A literature search was performed in six electronic databases: Pubmed, Science Direct index, Sci-Hub, HINARI, and Google Scholar to identify published studies between January 2010 and December 2020. Only randomized controlled studies evaluated the effect of physical activity and/or physical edu-cation and nutritional education and/or dietary behavior, sedentary behavior outcome reporting on body mass index among adolescents were included. The Standard Cochrane tool was used to assess the risk of bias for individual studies. An evaluation of the effects of included interventions on body mass in-dex was done using a random effects model. Results: There were 6 trials included. 2503 adolescent partakers met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed there is a significant difference between length of intervention between 3 to 12 months were MD -0.44 kg [95% CI: 1.06, 0.18], p-value = 0.04, with evidence of substantial study between heter-ogeneity (I2 = 61%). Discussion: Intervention less than three to twelve months more effective with multiple school-based in-terventions among adolescents. Numerous studies are needed for evaluation to determine long-term in-tervention effectiveness targeted on adolescents.

Evaluation of pain perception on periodontal probing in patients with dental plaque induced gingivitis and chronic periodontitis - a cross sectional study, part I / Evaluación de la percepción del dolor al sondaje periodontal en pacientes con gingivitis inducida por placa dental y periodontitis crónica: un estudio transversal, parte I

Background: Probing of periodontal pockets is an essential part in the diagnosis of periodontal disease. Fifteen to seventy seven percent of untreated periodontal patients experience pain during probing. Hence the aim of this study is to evaluate the pain perceived by patients with gingivitis and periodontitis during periodontal probing. The goals of this study were to compare the patients' pain perception when using a conventional UNC15 probe and a manual pressure sensitive periodontal probe, and to relate the clinical features of gingivitis and periodontitis to the discomfort associated with periodontal probing. Material and Methods: A total of 475 subjects were recruited into the study. The subjects were initially divided into two groups ­ Group ­ A (Gingivitis group - 275 patients) and Group ­ B (Chronic Periodontitis group -200 patients) according to the AAP 1999 Classification. These two groups were further subdivided into two groups each (Gingivitis ­ Conventional Probe ­ GCP, Gingivitis ­ Manual Pressure Sensitive Probe ­ GMPS, Periodontitis - Conventional Probe ­ PCP, Periodontitis ­ Manual Pressure Sensitive Probe ­ PMPS) using a computer generated program of random numbers. Results: A significant difference was noted in pain perception when pressure sensitive probe was used compared to conventional UNC-15 probe. Reduced Bleeding on Probing and Pain scores were noted in Chronic periodontitis subjects with use of pressure sensitive probe, which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Dentistry has changed its focus towards painless dentistry. In this context, the present study presents data towards use of manual pressure sensitive probes, which offers an advantage of low cost when compared to more advanced computerized systems with reduced pain during periodontal examination. It could result in a positive attitude of the patients towards continuous supportive periodontal therapy thereby monitoring periodontal health.

Antecedentes: El sondaje de los sacos periodontales es una parte esencial en el diagnóstico de la enfermedad periodontal. Del quince al setenta y siete por ciento de los pacientes periodontales no tratados experimentan dolor durante el sondaje. De ahí que el objetivo de este estudio fué evaluar el dolor percibido por pacientes con gingivitis y periodontitis durante el sondaje periodontal. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron comparar la percepción del dolor de los pacientes al usar una sonda UNC15 convencional y una sonda periodontal sensible a la presión manual, y relacionar las características clínicas de la gingivitis y la periodontitis con la incomodidad asociada con el sondaje periodontal. Material y Métodos: Un total de 475 sujetos fueron reclutados en el estudio. Los sujetos se dividieron inicialmente en dos grupos - Grupo - A (grupo de Gingivitis - 275 pacientes) y Grupo - B (grupo de Periodontitis Crónica - 200 pacientes) de acuerdo con la Clasificación AAP 1999. Estos dos grupos se subdividieron en dos grupos cada uno (Gingivitis - Sonda convencional - GCP, Gingivitis - Sonda manual sensible a la presión - GMPS, Periodontitis - Sonda convencional - PCP, Periodontitis - Sonda manual sensible a la presión - PMPS) usando un programa generado por computadora de datos aleatorios. números. Resultados: Se notó una diferencia significativa en la percepción del dolor cuando se usó una sonda sensible a la presión en comparación con la sonda UNC-15 convencional (p<0,001). Conclusion: La odontología ha cambiado su enfoque hacia una odontología sin dolor. En este contexto, el presente estudio presenta datos hacia el uso de sondas manuales sensibles a la presión, que ofrece una ventaja de bajo costo en comparación con sistemas computarizados más avanzados con reducción del dolor durante el examen periodontal. Podría resultar en una actitud positiva de los pacientes hacia la terapia periodontal de apoyo continuo, monitoreando así la salud periodontal.

Plug it, fill it and forget it!

Background: Management of posterior scleral perforation is commonly done with cryotherapy/laser or scleral patch graft depending on the size of perforation. However, for large perforations, the availability of donor sclera is always an issue. To overcome this problem, we tried using absorbable gelatin sponge to plug the perforation as an alternative. Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of gelatin foam as an alternative to scleral patch graft in cases with perforation of posterior sclera. Synopsis: Here we report the case of a 27?year?old male, who sustained penetrating injury to right eye with two metallic intraocular foreign bodies with visual acuity of hand movement close to face. Primary wound repair was done, followed by retrieval of the first piece of metallic foreign body that measured 11X3mm in size. The second foreign body visualized at posterior pole adjascent to the disc was removed using Machemar forceps and it measured 10X3 mmin size. Leakage of PFCL at the site confirmed a posterior scleral perforation. Cryotherapy was avoided due to its proximity to optic nerve head, and donor sclera was not readily available at that moment. We managed the case by plugging the defect with absorbable gelatin foam, followed by silicone oil injection into the vitreous cavity. Post operative outcome was good with restoration of anatomical integrity of the globe along with improvement in visual acuity upto 6/18. Highlights: Gelatin foam being absorbable and inciting less reaction aids in sealing the perforation and maintenance of globe contour with the advantage being readily available, cost?effective and it can be left in situ without the need for additional surgery for its removal. This would be of use in situations where the donor sclera is not readily available, and thus can be a potential alternative. However, further studies with larger sample size need to be done to evaluate and compare its effectiveness over donor scleral grafts

Phytochemical evaluation and anti-psoriatic activity of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of Momordica charantia

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory, multi factorial disease. Topical chemical agents are used to treat psoriasis, despite their lower effectiveness or ineffective effects. Herbal medicine can be one of the alternative treatment methods. Momordica charantia is traditionally used to treat skin diseases, especially psoriasis. The main phytochemicals responsible for antipsoriatic activity is stigmasterol, taraxerol, lofenol, phenylpropanoids and squalene. The alcoholic soxhlation method was used to obtain the percentage phytochemical yield of 13.36% w/w, which was used for antipsoriatic activity using a mouse tail model of psoriasis. The extract produced significant differentiation of the epidermis as evidenced by the degree of orthokeratosis 70.18 ± 2.64% compared to the negative control 17.30 ± 4.09%. This was equivalent to the effect of the standard positive control, tazarotene gel (0.1%), which showed a degree of orthokeratosis of 90.03 ± 2.00%. The extract showed an overall antipsoriatic activity of 63.94%.

Synthesis, spectral characterization, anti-bacterial, cytotoxic evaluation and docking studies of new urea and thiourea derivatives

Isoniazid is one of the main API’s used in the combination treatment of tuberculosis recommended by the WHO. Urea and its derivatives are an important class of heterocyclic compounds that possess a wide range of therapeutic and pharmacological properties, while thiourea is an organosulphur compound in that it resembles urea except that the atom oxygen has been replaced by a Sulphur atom, but the properties of urea and thiourea are significantly different. The current work concerns the synthesis of a new class of urea and thiourea derivatives of isoniazid with various isocyanates and isothiocyanates in the presence of trimethylamine. The IR and NMR spectral data were performed for the urea and thiourea derivatives of the compounds [(3c & 3f) & (3d & 3e)], respectively. Molecular docking studies of the compounds (3a-h) revealed the binding mode involved in the active site of DNA gyrase. The synthesized urea and thiourea derivatives of isoniazid with various isocyanates and isothiocyanates were tested for their antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria using the “disc diffusion method”. Of all compounds tested, the urea derivatives (3a &3d), the thiourea derivatives (3e & 3g) showed more potent activity than the other compounds. The MTT assay revealed concentration dependent cytotoxic effects over a concentration range 25-200 µg/mL.