Test anxiety levels of board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India.

The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau has positioned Tamil Nadu as the Indian state with highest suicide rate. At least in part, this is happening due to exam pressure among adolescents, emphasizing the imperative need to understand the pattern of anxiety and various factors contributing to it among students. The present study was conducted to analyze the level of state anxiety among board exam attending school students in Tamil Nadu, India. A group of 100 students containing 50 boys and 50 girls from 10th and 12th grades participated in the study and their state anxiety before board exams was measured by Westside Test Anxiety Scale. We found that all board exam going students had increased level of anxiety, which was particularly higher among boys and 12th standard board exam going students. Analysis of various demographic variables showed that students from nuclear families presented higher anxiety levels compared to their desired competitive group. Overall, our results showing the prevalence of state anxiety among board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India, support the recent attempt taken by Tamil Nadu government to improve student's academic performance in a healthier manner by appointing psychologists in all government schools.

Barringtonia acutangula improves the biochemical parameters in diabetic rats.

AIM: This study was aimed at evaluating the anti-diabetic activity of the ethanol and aqueous extracts of the leaf material of Barringtonia acutangula in a diabetic animal model. METHODS: The ethanolic and aqueous extracts (250 and 500 mg·kg(-1) body weight) of the leaves of B. acutangula were assessed for antidiabetic activity in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes animal model following 21 days of treatment. Glibenclamide (0.6 mg·kg(-1) p.o.) was used as a positive control. The hematological parameters, such as blood glucose level, urea, creatinin, cholesterol, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels were examined. RESULTS: An acute toxicity study (5 000 mg·kg(-1), p.o.) did not produce any symptoms of toxicity. Significant reductions in blood glucose level, and serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were noted in animals treated with the extract. The high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLC) level was found to increase as compared with the diabetic control group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the leaf aqueous and ethanolic extracts of B. acutangula have anti-diabetic effects. The aqueous extract of B. acutangula produced a similar effect when compared with the ethanol extract. It is proposed that consumption of B. acutangula in some form like tea may help the management of diabetes.

Anti-ulcer activity of Ficus religiosa leaf ethanolic extract.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the anti-ulcer activity and acute toxicity of Ficus religiosa (F. religiosa) leaf ethanolic extract in animal models. METHODS: Anti-ulcer activity of F. religiosa ethanolic extract (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight) was studied on stress induced ulcer animal models. Ranitidine was used as standard. The anti-ulcer activity of F. religiosa was evaluated with the help of ulcer area and histopatholgical examination. Preliminary phyto-chemical screening and acute toxicity studies of F. religiosa also carried out. RESULTS: Results showed that the extract treatments prevented ulcer area and gastric secretion in a dose-dependent manner. Administration of 2 000 mg/kg extract did not show any acute toxicity in albino mice. Preliminary phytochemical analysis identified the presence of flavonoids in the ethanolic extract of F. religiosa. CONCLUSIONS: The extract is non-toxic even at relatively high concentrations. The anti-ulcer activity is probably due to the presence of flavanoids.