Knowledge, attitudes and practices of resident doctors and interns on safe blood transfusion practices: a survey-based study

ABSTRACT Introduction: The knowledge of clinicians regarding blood transfusion services may impact patient care and transfusion outcome. The wide variation in transfusion practices among clinicians leads to inappropriate blood product usage and jeopardizes patient safety. Hence, this survey study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practice among the residents and interns of safe blood transfusion. Methods: The online survey was based on self-administered questionnaires of three sections: 1. Demography; 2. Knowledge, and; 3. Attitude and Practice. One point was assigned for the correct response of each question in every section. The knowledge score was further categorized into three categories, depending on the points obtained. The participants were also divided into four groups, depending on their experience. The Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to determine the difference of knowledge and practice scores in three designated groups of residents and interns. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. Result: A total of 247 residents and interns participated in this study. Thirteen participants had an incomplete response. Out of 234 participants, Senior Residents (SR), Junior Residents (JR), and interns were 70, 96 and 68 participants, respectively. The knowledge scores of interns were significantly low, as compared to SRs and JRs. Practice scores of interns were also significantly low, compared to the JRs. However, most of the residents and interns (85%) were aware of the pre-transfusion testing. Conclusion: Therefore, the mandatory incorporation of the transfusion medicine subject in the undergraduate curriculum can help the young budding doctors to better implement the patient blood management.

Phytonanotechnology: Recent applications and the role of Biocorona

Phytonanotechnology is lately gaining increased interest owing to its potential to modernize agriculture for better yield and nutritional quality. Consequently, Nano-Agri products like nano-biosensors, nano-carriers, and growth augmenters are being developed and applied. However, the limited knowledge of molecular interactions taking place at nano-bio interface remains a major concern. The nanotechnological interventions for healthier crops could rather turn out tobe risky and inefficient in the absence ofclear understanding of molecular mechanisms of nano-bio interactions. Upon entry into tissues or cells, nanoparticles (NPs) adsorb biomolecules forming a biocorona which determines NP uptake, translocation, and reactivity. The composition of biocorona is dependent on the physicochemical characteristics of the NPs, their surroundings, and the interaction time. Recent nascent studies in plants showed the potential of biocorona to influence major cellular pathways or plant responses like energy synthesis, pathogenesis, stress tolerance, and leaf senescence. This mini-review aims at summarizing the recent application of phytonanotechnology, the current status of biocorona studies with an overview of research bottlenecks and future prospects.

Psychiatric Disorders in HIV Infected Patients.

Introduction: Psychological and psychiatric issues associated with HIV infection have received considerable attention in the last decade owing to the emotional impact of the disease and its effect on an individual’s personal, sexual, occupational social and emotional life. Aims: To study the phenomenology of psychiatric disorders in relation to HIV infection. Material and Method: 50 new seropositive patients without any severe medical illness,CD4 count above 350 and not on Antiretroviral Therapy were selected for study from ART Centre, PBM Hospital, Bikaner during 1 January 2010 to 31st December 2010. Equal number of attendants of patients were also assessed on same parameter as control group after recording socio–demographic data on a self designed Performa, Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating scale (MADRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were administered. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Results: 8 out of 18 (45%) male HIV patients with substance abuse reported moderate–severe tension, 1/3 of patients exhibited moderate–severe depression and 15 (84%) were moderate to severely anxious. Among known drug abuse patients, 7 (64%) had moderate to severe anxiety and depression, 8 (72%) felt moderate to severe tensions. All males were moderate to severely hostile. Psychopathology was more frequent in females. Where tension, moderate to severe anxiety and depression were present in 90% of patients. Conclusion: Results indicate that the 65–85 % of non drug abuse male suffer from moderate to severe psychopathology,and the psychopathology in drug abusers is approximately 45% .The females were the worst sufferers.

Novel multi-layer APPPA microcapsules for oral delivery: preparation condition, stability and permeability.

Oral therapy utilizing cell microencapsulation has shown promise in the treatment of many diseases. Current obtainable microcapsule membranes, however, show inadequate stability in the gastrointestinal (GI) environment, thus restricting the general application of live cells for oral therapy. To overcome this limitation, we have previously developed a novel multi-layer alginate/poly-L-lysine/pectin/poly-L-lysine/alginate microcapsule (APPPA) with demonstrated improvement on membrane stability over the frequently reported alginate/poly-L-lysine/alginate (APA) microcapsules. In this study, we further examined the effects of preparation conditions on microcapsule formation, and assessed the membrane strength and GI stability. Results showed that increased membrane strength of the APPPA microcapsules was attained by using pectin with low degree of esterification as the mid-layer material, saline as the solvent for the preparation solutions and washing medium, and 0.1 M CaCl2 as the gelling solution for alginate cores. Resistance of this membrane to the simulated GI fluids was also investigated. Permeability of and release profiles from the APPPA microcapsules were found comparable to the APA microcapsules. These findings suggested that the multi-layer APPPA microcapsule formulation may have potential in oral delivery of proteins, live bacterial cells and other biomedical applications.

A study on sludge minimization during the treatment of pickling effluent.

In pickling industries, a lot of sludge is generated during the treatment of pickling effluent and there is severe problem of its disposal. Disposal of this sludge as per the Hazardous Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1989 is not easy. Its transportation and construction of lined disposal sites pose very severe problems. In the normal practice, the sludge is being disposed of at the sides of roads and railway tracks to fill low lying areas. This may cause serious health hazards. Considering these problems, a study has been undertaken to minimize the sludge generation during the treatment of pickling effluent by neutralizing it with lime, sodium hydroxide and combination of both. An attempt has been made to do an economic evaluation of the above process.

Plant availability of cadmium in presence of organic acids: an interactive aspect.

The present communication reports the effect of various carboxylic and amino acids on the uptake and translocation of root-absorbed Cd by maize (Zea mays). Statistically significant increases in Cd accumulation in various plant tissues with increasing supplementation of organic acids suggested the existence of Cd-organic acid interaction in soil-rhizosphere environment of the plant. The potentiality of phytochelators (organic acids) to form plant available organically bound Cd is discussed.