A cross-sectional comparative study of some cardiovascular risk factors in premenopausal and postmenopausal apparently healthy women of Ranchi

Background: Loss of estrogenic support may put postmenopausal women at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to examine premenopausal and postmenopausal woman to provide pertinent data on some of the cardiovascular risk factors and to know approximately the period which is under protection of estrogen and the period from which a woman is affected by changes in cardiovascular risk factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in RIMS Ranchi from February 2018 to August 2019. A total of 262 apparently healthy women in the age group of 35–60 years were assessed for cardiovascular risk factors. Parameters assessed in premenopausal and postmenopausal women were heart rate, blood pressure (Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, blood sugar level, and lipid profile of the subjects. Results: Out of 262 participants, 132 were in the premenopausal group with mean age of 39.76 years and 130 were in the postmenopausal group with mean age of 50.8. Except BMI, all other cardiovascular risk parameters showed significant difference between premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Conclusion: We concluded that adverse changes in lipid profile and blood sugar along with significant increase in other cardiac risk factors in postmenopausal women as compared to premenopausal group of the study predisposed this group of women at increased risk of having cardiovascular disease in near future. Hence, preventive measures against cardiovascular disease risk should be started in premenopausal period only.

Arcane Language of Human Emotions: Envy and Jealousy in Academia

Jealousy and Envy are essential part of human emotions and behavior. In today’s fast-moving world where everyone is in rush to cut-throat competition, it is more important to discuss these emotions than ever before. Jealousy and envy somewhere connected. Jealousy is a practice to defend something that is owned and threatened whereas envy is a tendency to obtain something that does not own by one. Jeal-ousy and envy develop naturally and also test their character by the response they give due to emotional burnout. Sometimes these situations broke and turn healthy competition into a rivalry at cost of long-standing personal relationships. Jealousy and envy include compound emotional experiences during the exercises to acquire or not lose something desirable. The impact of envy and jealousy is not assessed in academia and research area moreover it is important to understand that envy is often hidden in the classroom context, but it must still be discussed.

Short Communication Infodemic: The epidemic of information during COVID-19

India is one of the world抯 worst affected countries due to COVID-19 pandemic. The world is struglling to fight agaisnt centuries pandmemic. Globally goverments have been imposed lockdown and restrictions to control situation and minimise spread of infection. Social media was found the most practical and efficiant mediam to share information and opnions about pandmemic. At time of social distancing, social media helped people to share their feelings and find support. Same time overuse of social media palteform created panic and misinformation across countries. People sharing unconfirmed information about covid pandmemic and goverments were found it difficult to handle

Review Locked- Down of Intimacy, Sexuality and Relationship during Covid Pandemic: Short Review

The Covid pandemic brought a hard time for sexual and reproductive health. Lockdown and covid restrictions made it difficult to maintain healthy sexual life and relationship. Although Covid is not a sexually transmitted disease and but can get a transfer into others by close contact with suspected or confirmed positive partners. Sexual health is essential for couples to maintain trust, intimacy, and love in their relationships. Reportedly sexual practices of couples changed accordingly to avoid any possible risk of transfer of deadly Covid infection. This paper is a review of studies published during past two years of pandemic. Even when people showing high levels of resilience, the negative aspects of pandemic and lockdown could affect their quality of sexual life. We are witnessing a century抯 crisis where the whole world is under threat of rapidly spreading the new infection COVID -19 and the overall global impact of this new pandemic is yet uncertain.

Phyto-Chemical Screening Of Root Extracts Of Glycyrrhiza Glabra By Spectroscopic Methods (UV-VIS Spectrophotometer, Ftir & Hplc)

Glycyrrhiza glabra, commonly known as licorice, has traditionally been used in various medicinal preparations as expectorant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anticancer, anti allergic agent. It has also prominent role in skin whitening and has anti-inflammatory and esterogenic properties. This study aims to the characterization of the bioactive constituent glabridin in plant extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra in ethanol, methanol and ethyl acetate using UV-VIS and FTIR and HPLC. A wavelength scan (200-600 nm) by UV-Vis spectrophotometer was performed and the characteristic peaks were recorded. The scan confirmed presence of glabridin with λmax at 281 nm with a small number of additional phytochemicals indicated by the extra peaks. FTIR spectrum of 62% pure glabridin was compared to the spectra shown by the three extracts. Presence of glabridin in all the three extracts was corroborated by HPLC analysis with the retention time of 4.05 minute. Glabridin was also evaluated for its antibacterial activity against Propionibacterium acne, causative agent of Acne vulgaris and found to have the detrimental effect at concentration 500, 1000 and 1500 ppm.

Varietal variation in physiological and biochemical attributes of sugarcane varieties under different soil moisture regimes

Physiological and biochemical changes in response to deficit irrigation (drought stress) were studied at three moisture regimes based on available soil moisture (ASM) and four commercial sugarcane varieties differing in their maturity i.e. CoS 767 (Mid late), CoH128 (Mid late), CoJ 64 (Early) and Co 0238 (Early) Plant water status was affected significantly with duration and severity of stress with maximum reduction at 30% ASM level at 90 DAP. The water potential (from -0.62 to -1.16 MPa), osmotic potential (from -0.88 to -1.77 MPa) and relative water content (from 87.59 to 65.51%) decreased significantly at 30% ASM level than at 50% ASM in all the varieties. After stress revival, a remarkable recovery was recorded in all the varieties at all the ASM levels with maximum recovery in varieties Co 0238 and CoS 767. Higher membrane injury was recorded in CoJ 64 followed by CoH 128, Co 0238 and CoS 767at 30% ASM at 60 and 90 DAP. Remarkable decrease were observed in gaseous exchange parameters in leaves viz. photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance at 30 and 40% ASM levels in all the varieties. Significant reduction was also recorded in chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm). Severe stress conditions of 30% ASM led to approx. two fold increase in total soluble carbohydrates, four folds in proline and two fold increase in lipid peroxidation. ASM levels of 40% and 30% also significantly reduced total chlorophyll content. From the results, it can be concluded that varieties Co 0238 and CoS 767 are relatively more tolerant at moderate stress to severe stress than CoH 128 and CoJ 64.

Correlation Of Serum Mg2+ Levels With Duration Of T2dm

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is the most common serious metabolic disease. The hallmark of Diabetes is elevated blood glucose concentration, just one of many biochemical & physiological alterations that occur in the disease. In Diabetics there is a association between serum magnesium levels & cellular glucose disposal independent of insulin secretion. DIRECT etion. This change in glucose disposal is found to be associated with INCREASED SENSITIVITY of the tissues to insulin in the presence of sufficient magnesium levels. Magnesium deficiency has been found to be related with DIABETIC MICROVASCULAR DISEASE. Hypomagnesaemia has been reported to occur in 25-38% patients with T2DM without metabolic control. Hence the present study is conducted to find any 1 correlation with DURATION of T2DM & Serum Magnesium.

In-silico designing of NKK: A better ligand than Aciclovir against Herpes Simplex Virus.

Aciclovir is the best dr thymidine kinase made by the HSV. In the current study we have successfully designed a drug candidate “NKK”, which is far more efficient than aciclovir in terms of binding energy and physiochemical properties again used softwares viz. Autodock 4.0, FireDock and Hex dock in order to demonstrate that “NKK” is a better ligand than aciclovir with respect to aforesaid properties.

Mullerian Agenesis: An Unusual Presentation as Hematometra and Bilateral Hematosalpinx.

A case of hematometra with bicornuate uterus and bilateral hematosalpinx in a 15-year-old girl complicated by vaginal agenesis and absent cervix is presented. She was managed by abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy. Bilateral ovaries were conserved.

Burden of chikungunya in India: estimates of disability adjusted life years (DALY) lost in 2006 epidemic.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: During 2006, chikungunya emerged as a major ever known epidemic in India. Disability adjusted life years (DALY) is an appropriate summary measure of population health to express epidemiological burden of diseases. We estimated the burden due to suspected chikungunya using DALYs for the first time and compared between the states and also with the burden due to other vector-borne diseases in India. The economic burden was also assessed in terms of productivity loss. METHODS: Data on the reported cases of fever/suspected cases of chikungunya from different states during 2006 in India were used. Years lived with disability (YLD) were calculated for non-fatal cases to estimate DALY. Since the disability weight for chikungunya is not available, the weights available for rheumatic arthritis, comparable to the disease outcome of chikungunya were used for the estimation. The burden was estimated for both acute and chronic cases. It is considered that about 11.5% of cases were reported to have extended morbidity with persisting arthralgia. For acute disease, the average duration of illness was considered to be nine days and for chronic cases it was six months on an average. The productivity loss due to income foregone by the working class was calculated using minimum official wage. RESULTS: National burden of chikungunya was estimated to be 25,588 DALYs lost during 2006 epidemic, with an overall burden of 45.26 DALYs per million. It varied from 0.01 to 265.62 per million in different states. Karnataka alone contributed as high as 55% of the national burden. Persistent arthralgia was found to impose heavy burden, accounting for 69% of the total DALYs. The productivity loss in terms of income foregone was estimated to be a minimum of Rs. 391 million. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The chikungunya epidemic in the year 2006 imposed heavy epidemiological burden and productivity loss to the community. The burden of chikungunya in terms of DALY was estimated for the first time. In view of re-emergence and spread of this infection in recent times it is warranted for derivation of disability weight for different health states of chikungunya to facilitate realistic estimates of DALYs. Quality epidemiological data from surveillance system to monitor vector-borne and zoonotic diseases would pave way for more realistic estimates of burden. The productivity loss in-terms of income foregone could be minimal as the estimation was made by using the minimum wage fixed by the government although the actual loss is expected to be higher.

Heat stress induced apoptosis in BC-8 cells derived from AK-5 tumor involves downregulation of Bcl-2 and generation of reactive oxygen species.

BC-8, a rat histiocytoma undergoes apoptosis after heat shock, which is due to lack of an effective heat shock response. Heat shock induced generation of free radicals, which in turn are involved in the induction of apoptotic death in BC-8 cells. Treatment of BC-8 cells with N-acetylcysteine partially inhibited the heat induced apoptosis. Introduction of Bcl-2 gene in these cells did not protect them from apoptotic death, whereas transfection with hsp-70 gene did render these cells resistant to heat induced apoptosis transiently. Heat shock also downregulated the expression of Bcl-2 and p53 in these cells. These observations suggested that the heat shock induced apoptosis was mediated through reactive oxygen species and controlled upstream of Bcl-2 check point.

Efficacy of fluorochrome stain in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis co-infected with HIV.

The resurgence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in association with HIV infection has focussed much attention in the rapid diagnosis of high risk cases. Infection with HIV is known to alter the presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis. The present study was under taken to compare the efficacy of fluorochrome stain (Fl) with conventional Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) stain in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Two hundred cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were included in the study. Sputum smears were screened for acid fast bacilli (AFB) by ZN and Fl methods and blood samples were screened for HIV. Sputum positive cases detected by Fl stain were higher in number (69%) when compared to ZN stain (50%). Of the total cases studied 15.5% were HIV seropositive. CONCLUSIONS: Fluorochrome staining was found to be more efficient (45%) when compared to ZN staining (29%) in detecting cases associated with HIV seropositivity, especially paucibacillary cases.

Differential cytotoxic effects of Annona squamosa seed extracts on human tumour cell lines: role of reactive oxygen species and glutathione.

Annonaceous acetogenins are a new class of compounds that have been reported to have potent pesticidal, parasiticidal, anti-microbial, cell growth inhibitory activities. In this study, organic and aqueous extracts from the defatted seeds of Annona squamosa (custard apple) were tested on different human tumour cell lines for antitumoural activity. While organic and aqueous extracts induced apoptosis in MCF-7 and K-562 cells, they failed to do so in COLO-205 cells. Treatment of MCF-7 and K-562 cells with organic and aqueous extracts resulted in nuclear condensation, DNA fragmentation, induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and reduced intracellular glutathione levels. In addition downregulation of Bcl-2 and PS externalization by Annexin-V staining suggested induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 and K-562 cells by both the extracts through oxidative stress. On the contrary, COLO-205 cells showed only PS externalization but no change in ROS and glutathione levels. These observations suggest that the induction of apoptosis by A. squamosa extracts can be selective for certain types of cancerous cells.

Effect of sublethal concentration of Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki on food and developmental needs of the american bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner).

Effect of sublethal concentration of B. thuringiensis on the first, third, fourth and fifth instar larvae of the American bollworm, H. armigera was investigated to study their response to food consumption, digestion, utilization, and their development till adult formation. The young larvae surviving B. thuringiensis treatment in their first instar and third instar delayed larval period by two to three days, but did not consume more food as compared to control. However, they showed higher digestibility of food as compared to control, which was compensated by their reduced ability to utilize the digested food for body substance. Contrary to the effect on first and third instar larvae, the fifth instar larvae surviving B. thuringiensis treatment in its fourth instar consumed less food, showed less absorption efficiency in digesting food, but compensated by increase in the utilization of ingested and digested food into body substance. Insects surviving B. thuringiensis HD-1 sublethal toxicity adapted to normal larval growth when fed on untreated food, depending upon insect growth prior to treatment. The moths emerging from B.thuringiensis treated larvae had sex ratio favouring females, and adult pairs laid less fertile eggs than those from the untreated ones. The response of B. thuringiensis treated larvae to their food and developmental needs is discussed.

Inhibitory effect of 1-benzyl-5[(C)-2,6-dimethyl-1,5-heptadienyl] imidazole (KK-42) on desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria forsk.

Imidazole compound KK-42 was tested for its inhibitory effect on Schistocerca gregaria. The compound caused 80% mortality after 19 days of treatment with 100 microg of KK-42/insect. It also caused the production of deformed adults at even lower doses. Ecdysteroid content, when estimated by RIA, declined due to KK-42 treatment in both haemolymph and ovaries of the insect. Reduction in ecdysteroid titer was maximum at 100 microg of KK-42/insect. The value estimated by RIA was 0.34 ng/pL haemolymph as compared to 0.97 ng/microL in case of controls. Similarly,ecdysteroid content of ovaries detected was 0.48 ng/mg in treated ones as compared to 0.61 ng/mg in controls. Histological studies, however, revealed no alteration in the ovarian tissues due to KK-42 treatment.

Disposable polyethylene wiremesh capsules for histopathological tissue processing.

An attempt was made to find a suitable alternative material for tissue carriers other than gauze and stainless steel capsules. Since polyethylene (high density) wire mesh is resistant to all acids, alkalis and inorganic chemicals and has no known solvent at room temperature, it is a suitable alternative disposable material for histopathological tissue processing purposes.

Purification and characterisation of tumour necrosis factor-alpha with cytotoxic activity against AK-5 cells.

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) has been purified from the sera of animals in which the rat histiocytoma AK-5, was rejected spontaneously. Purified TNF-alpha is cytotoxic to AK-5 cells in vitro and the cytotoxic activity of TNF is completely neutralized by anti TNF antiserum. The circulating TNF levels are high by day 10 after the tumour transplantation. Animals which do not regress the tumour have very low levels of TNF in serum. Production of TNF by tumour regressing animals is part of the host immune response to the AK-5 tumour. Also, spleenomegaly in the animals which reject the AK-5 tumour is observed.