Antiviral profile of Nyctanthes arbortristis L. against encephalitis causing viruses.

The ethanolic extracts, various fractions and two pure compounds isolated from the plant N. arbortris were tested against Encephalomyocarditis Virus (EMCV) and Semliki Forest Virus (SFV). Pronounced in vitro virus inhibitory activity was observed with the ethanolic and n-butanol fractions as well as with the pure compounds arbortristoside A and arbortristoside C. In addition, ethanolic extracts and n-butanol fraction protected EMCV infected mice to the extent of 40 and 60% respectively against SFV at a daily dose of 125 mg/kg body weight.

Profile of accidents in children.

Out of 5031 children admitted to S.N. Hospital, Agra during one year, there were 716 cases (14.2%) of accidents. Most cases were in the age group of 4-9 years; boys were affected more commonly than girls. The maximum cases occurred due to fall (44.4%), followed by road traffic accidents (26.4%) and burns (11.5%). The consequences in terms of morbidity and mortality was also high. Kerosene oil ingestion was the most common encountered form of poisoning. Incriminating environmental factors could be identified in 51.8% cases and included poorly protected roofs (23.7%), poor state of roads (10.0%), defective vehicles (7.5%), and houses opening directly on the streets (7.3%). More than half of the accidents took place at home (58.7%), followed by those on streets (30.3%) or at farmhouses (57%). Injuries caused by sharp and blunt objects were more common in villages. Only 21.4% children had received first aid, often by the family, before reaching the hospital. The overall mortality rate was 53.1/1000, but in cases of burns the mortality was (146.3/1000). This study suggests that falls and traffic accidents have the highest incidence and mortality in childhood accidents and modification of the home environment can be an effective measure to prevent such incidents.

Induction of sister chromatid exchanges in phenytoin treated & untreated patients with epilepsy.

The mutagenic potential of phenytoin (PHT) was studied using the sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay. Twenty nine PHT treated epileptics, 32 untreated and 32 normal healthy controls were analysed. Similar SCE frequencies were observed in untreated patients and patients on PHT monotherapy. Both groups had significantly increased SCE frequency as compared to controls. No positive correlation of SCE frequency with sex and duration of therapy was observed. The results of the present study suggest the role of the disease condition in inducing genetic damage as assessed by increased SCE frequencies.

Managerial gaps in the delivery of ante-natal care services in a rural area of Varanasi.

The study was conducted to identify some of the managerial gaps that affect utilization of Antenatal services. Fifty two women aged 15-39 yrs., drawn from 22 households were studied in depth. This article identifies some of the demographic and socio-cultural factors affecting utilization pattern. The degree of utilization was significantly related to education of the woman and her husband's occupation, caste, parity and cultural factors. All women lived within 1 Km from the Health Centre, did not use the services at all, thereby indicating the presence of other factors influencing their attitude towards use of services.