ABSTRACT
The Two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch is a serious pest in many cropping systems worldwide including fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants in both closed and open area. T. urticae has developed resistance against different groups of acaricides and no biochemical studies have been conducted to assess the basis/mechanisms of acaricide resistance in T. urticae populations of North India. Therefore, mechanism of acaricide resistance in T. urticae through enzyme assays was investigated. Field population of T. urticae showing resistance to fenazaquin (24.65 fold) was selected with fenazaquin successively for 15 generations to develop fenazaquin resistant strain leading to 6.83 fold increase in the resistance level. There was significant increase in specific activity of the MFO enzymes in resistant strain (534.65 nmol of p-nitrophenol formed min-1 mg-1 of protein) as compared to susceptible strain (166.35 nmol of p-nitrophenol formed min-1 mg-1 of protein). There was 3.21 fold higher MFO activity in resistant strain. Similarly, there was significant increase in GST activity by 1.40 fold and esterase activity by 1.13 and 1.27 fold with α-naphthyl acetate and β-naphthyl acetate as substrate in resistant population. The biochemical experiments conducted in the present study suggested that enhanced metabolic detoxification might be the major mechanism responsible for imparting resistance to fenazaquin in T. Urticae.
ABSTRACT
Background: People living in slums are often deprived of health-care facilities and it make them vulnerable to infection like HIV/AIDS. Health education and behavioural changes is pivotal for prevention of HIV and HIV-related stigma. Methods: It was community based cross sectional study carried among 288 slum dwellers of Ajmer, Rajasthan, India.Results: Out of 288 study subjects (male and females in the group of 15-54 years) 144 (50%) males and 144 (50%) females. Out of 288 study subjects 278 (96.53%) were heard about HIV/AIDS. Out of 249 study subject who were aware about condom, 107 (42.97%) study subjects [74 (56.06%) male and 33 (28.21%) female] were presently using of condom. out of 278 study subject who had ever heard about HIV/AIDS majority 215 (77.34%) subjects got the information regarding HIV/AIDS through TV/cinemaConclusions: Present study shows that the study subjects of slums at Ajmer has inadequate awareness regarding the HIV/AIDS and poor practice of condoms.
ABSTRACT
The topically applied drugs as drops are washed off from the eye in very short period, resulting in low ocular bioavailability of drugs. Number of approaches have been attempted to increase the bioavailability and the duration of action of ocular drugs. This review provides an insight into various novel approaches; hydrophilic nanogels, solid lipid nanoparticles, and nanosponges applied very recently in the delivery of insoluble drugs, prolonging the ocular residence time, minimize pre‑corneal drug loss and, therefore, bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy of the drugs. Despite various scientific approaches, efficient ocular drug delivery remains a challenge for pharmaceutical scientists.
ABSTRACT
Influenza A (H1N1) virus, a genetic reassortment of endemic strain of human, avian flu and swine flu, with an inherent ability to mutate continuously has developed a subtype which is causing present flu in humans. As on 10th May, 2009, twenty nine countries are affected with officially reported 4379 cases with Mexico – 1626 affected (45 deaths), US 2254 affected (02 deaths); Canada 280 (01 deaths) and Costa Ricia -8 cases (01 death) respectively. Rest of 15 countries have reported less than 100 officially confirmed cases of H1N1 infection. WHO has already declared Pandemic Alert V on 29th April, 2009. If the present flu achieves equivalent virulence to that of 1918-19 pandemic flu, expected deaths will be 62 million people. Travel advisory, stockpiling of antiviral drugs – Tamiflu & Relenza; vaccine development, activation of business continuity planning for maintenance of essential serives etc., are some of the important mitigation approaches, being followed all over the world. WHO has a regional reserve of 10,000 million doses of anti-viral drugs. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, an apex body for disaster management, in active coordination with Ministry of Health & other stakeholders/service providers is maintaining a constant state of vigil on the present Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak. In collaboration with UNDMT, NDMA has outlined a strategy for Pandemic Preparedness beyond Health in April, 2008. Various non-pharmaceutical interventions like detection, isolation and quarantine are required to contain the situation. Accordingly, stockpiling of 10 million doses of anti viral drugs, surveillance at airports, isolation with strict enforcement of quarantine procedures, sustained supply of respiratory masks & other personal protective equipment; deployment of rapid response teams are some of the activities being undertaken by Indian Government proactively. As situation goes to Phase VI, there will be a shift in strategy from active surveillance, detection and quarantine to containment, treatment, prevention of spread of disease and maintenance of business continuity beyond health sectors. The major concern is to utilise this latency period, between phase V and VI, to fill the gaps in state of preparedness. It is also essential to focus on development/procurement of appropriate vaccine to manage the situation arising from any further mutation of the existing causative virus to be resistant against existing anti viral therapies. It is a continued effort which can save many lives around the world and everyone has to play its assigned role effectively.
ABSTRACT
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common viral pathogen in renal transplant recipients resulting in graft rejection. The prevalence of CMV disease and renal graft rejection is not well studied in India. Sequential specimens from 32 renal allograft recipients were examined by using CMV IgM specific mu capture ELISA and DNA by PCR. Twelve of the 32 patients were CMV IgM positive and out of 12 patients, 9 had rejection and 4 experienced CMV disease. CMV IgM specific mu capture ELISA helped in diagnosis of CMV disease, though it is less sensitive in detection of rejection. PCR itself was proved not sensitive enough in detecting either CMV disease or rejection. At present, optimal laboratory detection of CMV infection in these patients can be achieved only by multiple and more sensitive parameters.
Subject(s)
Adult , Cytomegalovirus/genetics , Cytomegalovirus Infections/diagnosis , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Epidemiologic Studies , Female , Humans , India/epidemiology , Kidney Transplantation , Male , Middle Aged , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Prevalence , Risk Assessment , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
In an attempt to overcome resistance of hypoxic cells to radiotherapy, the combination of a hematoporphyrin derivative (Hpd) and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), a promising radiomodifier, was evaluated by assessing the alterations in phosphorylated metabolites and bioenergetics induced in perfused Ehrlich ascites tumor (EAT) cells, using Phosphorus-31 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (31P-MRS). By reducing flow rate of perfusion, a relatively hypoxic condition of tumor was simulated. Changes in bioenergetics levels induced by the combined treatment of Photosan, a Hpd, and 2-DG, under reduced perfusion conditions were more pronounced. Significantly higher uptake of 2-DG and irreversibility of the reduction in cellular bioenergetics induced by the combined treatment, observed under simulated hypoxic conditions, might have considerable implications in optimizing tumor radiotherapy using 2-DG as an adjuvant. These result also suggest the usefulness of this technique to easily simulate hypoxic conditions of tumors in vitro that could be used for rapid in vitro pharmacological evaluation of promising therapeutic strategies.