A study on serum bilirubin levels in coronary artery disease patients

Background: The protective effect of bilirubin relates to the antioxidant property of bilirubin, which prevents lipid oxidation, especially low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and inhibits free radical-induced dam-ages. Lower serum bilirubin level has been proven to be associated with endothelium and microvascular malfunction. The aim of the present study was to assess the association between serum bilirubin levels and coronary artery disease in comparison with controls without coronary artery disease.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of a one year in our medical college hospital. Patients with evidence of coronary artery disease for not more than 10 years of duration confirmed by ECG, ECHO and other previous case records were taken as cases. Controls were selected matched with age, gender and other co-morbid conditions. Total of 200 subjects were included in the study with 100 cases and 100 controls. General and systemic examination was conducted on all study subjects including laboratory investigations like complete blood count, renal function test, lipid profile, viral markers such as HBsAG, HCVIgM and liver function test which includes total bilirubin, direct and indirect, liver enzymes, albumin and globulin levels. A 12 lead ECG and a transthoracic echocardiogram was performed for all patients.Results: The various liver function test parameters were compared between the cases and controls it was found that the serum bilirubin levels which includes total bilirubin, direct bilirubin and indirect bilirubin was found to be lower among the case group compared to the control group and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p <0.05). A perfect linear correlation between the ejection fraction and serum bilirubin levels, as the ejection fraction decreases the serum bilirubin levels was also decreasing.Conclusions: This study showed a significant association between the reduced serum bilirubin levels and the occurrence of CAD; therefore, bilirubin level can serve as a predictive factor, together with other influential factors for identifying a person at risk of developing coronary artery disease.

An investigation of social judgments made by young adults toward appearance of dental fluorosis.

Background : Smile is a crucial factor in creating a good first impression. However conditions like dental fluorosis hamper the esthetics of teeth. This study was conducted to find out whether young adults attribute socially relevant characteristics to people with dental fluorosis. Materials and Methods : A total of 150 young adults were presented with images of individuals with different severity levels of dental fluorosis along with images of normal tooth appearance on a computer screen. They had to attribute various socially relevant characteristics to these images. Images were digitally manipulated to simulate dental fluorosis. Images were displayed on a computer screen and Visual Basic Software was used to record the participants' responses as well as the time taken to respond. The time taken to respond or response latency indicates the response strength. Statistical analysis : A chi-square test was used to test the association between the dental appearances and the socially relevant characteristics. A Mann--Whitney test was used to compare the time taken to respond. Results : As the severity of fluorosis increases, participants attribute less and less of positive characteristics. Attribution of negative characteristics also increases with the severity of dental fluorosis. For images with moderate and severe fluorosis, respondents took more time to accept positive characteristics and less time to reject positive characteristic. This means that the participants felt strongly when rejecting positive characteristics in these images. Conclusion : Social judgments are made by young adults when viewing digitally manipulated images of different levels of fluorosis.

Rock magnetic investigations of surface and sub-surface soil samples from five lake catchments in tropical southern India

Iron oxide minerals in soils provide valuable insights into pedogenic processes. A wealth of such information has been obtained by rock magnetic investigations on temperate soils but similar studies on tropical soils are rare. Here, we report rock magnetic data on pristine soil profiles and surficial soils from five catchments in the tropical southern India and throw light on the pedogenic processes. We ruled out contributions from greigite, bacterial magnetite and anthropogenic sources; hence, the magnetic signal is mainly from the catchment, principally pedogenic and, thus, has a climatic signature embedded in it. The Pookot profile from a high rainfall [4000 mm/year] region does not exhibit any magnetic enhancement at the surface. In fact, there is hardly any difference between surface and sub-surface samples, which reflects on its deeply weathered nature as a result of the high rainfall. The Shantisagara profile exhibits lessivage of magnetic minerals, resulting in a thick magnetically enhanced zone. It shows the highest chi[if] values among the five profiles studied. The Thimmannanayakanakere [TK] and Ayyanakere [AK] soil profiles do not exhibit any magnetic enhancement of top-soil. In fact, chi[if] values increase towards the profile-bottom, suggesting top-soil erosion, besides contribution of magnetic minerals from parent rocks. In the TK profile, there is a clear distinction between surface and sub-surface samples, the former being magnetically coarser grained. The Kurburukere profile exhibits moderate to strong chi[if] values and a mild magnetic enhancement at the surface.The data would be useful for establishing soil-sediment linkages for paleoclimatic studies of lake sediments

Systemic adverse drug reactions: a preliminary report from the regional pharmacovigilance center, western Nepal

Present study analyzed the pattern, causality, severity and preventability of the systemic adverse drug reactions reported to the regional pharmacovigilance center during the period 14th September 2004 till 13th September 2005. Altogether the centre received 22 systemic adverse drug reactions [males 12 [54.55%], females 10 [45.45%]]. Among the total adverse drug reaction 5 [22.73%] were reported by the Department of Orthopedics. Of the 22 drugs responsible for the suspected adverse drug reaction, majority belongs to the class of Opoid analgesics [n=7, [31.82%]], followed by non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [n=5, [22.73%]]. Tramadol was the individual drug responsible for 6 [27.27%] adverse drug reactions and vomiting was the most common adverse drug reactions [n=6, [27.27%]]. The causality assessment revealed 7 [31.82%] of the adverse drug reaction to have a probable relationship with the suspected drugs

Newer antibiotics

To combat the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance, newer antibiotics have been developed or are under development. This review focuses on the newer antibiotics, quinupristin-dalfopristin, linezolid, the newer glycopeptides, daptomycin, the cationic peptides and the newer fluoroquinolones

Dermatological adverse drug reactions due to systemic medications a review of literature

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions [ADRs] affect 2-3% of hospitalized patients. These reactions can arise as a result of immunologic or non-immunologic mechanisms. Extremes of age, female sex, previous history of ADRs and environmental factors are the major risk factors. The severity of the cutaneous ADRs may vary from a mild itching to a life threatening Stevens-Johnson syndrome [SJS]. In general, most are usually mild and respond to topical treatment. Different skin diseases and cutaneous manifestation of systemic diseases should be ruled out before diagnosing a cutaneous ADR. In order to establish the causal relationship between the offending drug and the reaction, causality assessment should be carried out. The Naranjo algorithm is widely used to determine the causality of an ADR. The cessation of the offending agent, along with the use of systemic and topical steroids, antipruritic agents and oral antihistamines may be helpful in the management. Patients with extensive skin involvement should be cared for as burns patients. High risk patients should be counseled regarding the possibility of developing a cutaneous ADR during the course of treatment and the strategies to be followed upon occurrence of a cutaneous ADR. This is a review article

Geochemistry of two sediment cores from the west coast of India

Copper, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Mn, AI, Ca, magnetic susceptibility and loss on ignition of sediments from two cores near Mangalore along the western continental shelf of India have been studied. The sediments have high Al and organic matter contents due to the high sedimentation rate and their proximity to river mouths. Down-core variations of elements indicate a decrease of lithogenous component during probably the past few centuries. While abundance of calcareous shells in some zones has lead to the dilution of most of the metals, it appears that Pb and Mn are associated with this phase. Copper, Zn and Fe are associated with organic matter and detrital particles, whereas Ni and Co are predominantly associated with the insoluble fraction. Oxides/hydroxides of Fe and Mn are absent because of the reducing conditions and the high terrigenous influx. Geochemically, Mn and Fe are present in different phases of sediments [in the insoluble fraction and organic matter respectively]. The Fe content of one of the cores is positively correlated with magnetic susceptibility

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions to modern medicines and initial experiences from a spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting program in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Western Nepal

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions [ADRs] affect 2-3% of hospitalized patients; most are usually mild and respond to topical drugs. These reactions can arise as a result of immunologic or non-immunologic mechanisms. Extremes of age, female sex, previous history of ADRs and environmental factors are the major risk factors. The Naranjo algorithm is widely used to determine the causality of an ADR. To share the authors' experience of spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting program Nepal. During a period from September, 2004 to March, 2005, any patient who experienced a dermatological ADR were asked to report the Pharmacovigilance Cell of the Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal. Morphology of the eruption was recorded. A total of 45 cutaneous ADRs were reported during the study period. Maculopapular rash [15 reports] was the most common, followed by contact dermatitis [7 reports], fixed drug eruptions [6 reports] and erythema [4 reports]. Considering its effectiveness, the pharmacovigilance program in Manipal Teaching Hospital should be strengthened and transformed to a full-fledged active reporting program. The nationwide extension of this program would be beneficial

Factors influencing seasonal and monthly changes in the group size of chital or axis deer in southern India.

Chital or axis deer (Axis axis) form fluid groups that change in size temporally and in relation to habitat. Predictions of hypotheses relating animal density, rainfall, habitat structure, and breeding seasonality, to changes in chital group size were assessed simultaneously using multiple regression models of monthly data collected over a 2 yr period in Guindy National Park, in southern India. Over 2,700 detections of chital groups were made during four seasons in three habitats (forest, scrubland and grassland). In scrubland and grassland, chital group size was positively related to animal density, which increased with rainfall. This suggests that in these habitats, chital density increases in relation to food availability, and group sizes increase due to higher encounter rate and fusion of groups. The density of chital in forest was inversely related to rainfall, but positively to the number of fruiting tree species and availability of fallen litter, their forage in this habitat. There was little change in mean group size in the forest, although chital density more than doubled during the dry season and summer. Dispersion of food items or the closed nature of the forest may preclude formation of larger groups. At low densities, group sizes in all three habitats were similar. Group sizes increased with chital density in scrubland and grassland, but more rapidly in the latter–leading to a positive relationship between openness and mean group size at higher densities. It is not clear, however, that this relationship is solely because of the influence of habitat structure. The rutting index (monthly percentage of adult males in hard antler) was positively related to mean group size in forest and scrubland, probably reflecting the increase in group size due to solitary males joining with females during the rut. The fission-fusion system of group formation in chital is thus interactively influenced by several factors. Aspects that need further study, such as interannual variability, are highlighted.