Synthesis, characterization, and cytotoxicity studies of nanocellulose extracted from okra (Abelmoschus Esculentus) fiber.

Nanocellulose, especially originating from a natural source, has already shown immense potential to be considered in various fields, namely packaging, papermaking, composites, biomedical engineering, flame retardant, and thermal insulating materials, etc. due to its environmental friendliness and novel functionalities. Thus, a thorough characterization of nanocellulose is a hot research topic of research communities in a view to judge its suitability to be used in a specific area. In this work, a kind of green and environment-friendly nanocellulose was successfully prepared from okra fiber through a series of multi-step chemical treatments, specifically, scouring, alkali treatment, sodium chlorite bleaching, and sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Several characterization techniques were adopted to understand the morphology, structure, thermal behavior, crystallinity, and toxicological effects of prepared nanocellulose. Obtained data revealed the formation of rod-shaped nanocellulose and compared to raw okra fiber, their size distributions were significantly smaller. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns displayed that compared to the crystalline region, the amorphous region in raw fiber is notably larger, and in obtained nanocellulose, the crystallinity index increased significantly. Moreover, variations in the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) peaks depicted the successful removal of amorphous regions, namely, lignin and hemicelluloses from the surface of fiber. Thermostability of synthesized nanocellulose was confirmed by both Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Cytotoxicity assessment showed that the okra fiber-derived nanocellulose exhibited lower to moderate cellular toxicity in a dose-dependent manner where the LD50 value was 60.60 µg/ml.

Micro crystalline cellulose aided surface modification and deposition of green polyelectrolytes for the improved hydrophilicity and flame retardancy of polyamide 66 fabric.

In this work, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) treated polyamide 66 (PA66) textiles were coated with green and naturally abundant polysaccharides specifically, chitosan (CS) and sodium alginate (SA) together with phytic acid (PA) via layer by layer (LbL) deposition. The prime focus of such treatment was to intensify both the hydrophilic and flame retardant properties of PA66 fabric substrates. Subsequently, the prepared coatings were further subjected to cross-linking modification by dipping them into the barium (Ba) salt solution. Obtained results indicated that the MCC-modified PA66 exhibited a water contact angle (WCA) value of 00 and revealed a drop in peak heat release rate (pHRR) up to 31 % with complete suppression of melt-dripping. Meanwhile, the Ba-ion-induced cross-linking treatment further escalated this reduction up to 36 % by adding enhanced thermal stability, improved char quality along better wash durability of as prepared coatings. In addition, the combined modification of PA66 textiles with MCC and Ba-ion handed a superb enhancement of physical properties like tensile strength by ca. 50 % compared to the pure PA66. Thus, this MCC-assisted surface modification paves the way for a new kind of greener treatment of PA66 textiles in attaining superior hydrophilic and flame retardant properties of the same.

Association of serum sodium and 24-hour urinary sodium level with the severity and complications of ascites in cirrhotic patients.

Hyponatremia is an independent predictor of mortality in cirrhotic patients but little is known regarding the relationship between the level of serum sodium and 24-hour urinary sodium with the development of severity and complications of cirrhotic ascites. To observe the association of serum sodium and 24-hour urinary sodium levels with different grades of ascites and its complications in cirrhotic patients. In the department of Gastroenterology in a tertiary care hospital, this cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2019 to September 2020. A total of 96 admitted cirrhotic patients with ascites were enrolled in this study by consecutive sampling. Out of 96 patients with cirrhotic ascites, 48 patients had mild, moderate, and severe ascites and 48 patients had complications of ascites like refractory ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, and hepatorenal syndrome. The mean serum sodium level was 131.69 ±â€…4.90 and 124.88 ±â€…5.67 mmol/L and the 24-hour urinary sodium level was 76.82 ±â€…45.64 and 35.26 ±â€…22.57 mmol/L in uncomplicated and complicated ascites groups respectively with P value < .001. In grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 ascites, there was a significant (P = .001), association between mean serum sodium (mmol/L) level (R -0.777) and 24-hour urine sodium (mmol/L) level (R -0.704) but no significant difference was seen when refractory ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, and hepatorenal syndrome were considered. In our finding, low serum sodium and low 24-hour urinary sodium levels were associated with the development of severe complications of cirrhotic ascites. Hence, Serum sodium and 24-hour urinary sodium levels can be good predictors of grading and complications of cirrhotic ascites.

Quality of Life of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Bangladesh.

Introduction The importance of maintaining quality of life in managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has increased in recent years. However, there is a lack of studies examining the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of IBD patients in Bangladesh. Methodology This cross-sectional study was carried out in the IBD clinic, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) from 2020 to 2022. Data were collected from both ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) patients. HRQoL was recorded on the EuroQol 5 Dimension 5 Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done by Statistical Analysis Software (SAS, SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Results The mean age was 36.3 years. The majority of the patients were male and had low incomes. People with more monthly income, more frequent relapse, extraintestinal involvement, and moderate to severe disease had lower utility index (p = 0.01, 0.01, 0.0004, and <0.0001, respectively). Among the five individual components, only usual activity was lower in UC patients (p = 0.03); all the other components and consequently the overall utility index did not vary between UC and CD. The visual analog scale (VAS) score seemed to be comparable in UC and CD patients. Conclusion In more severe and frequently relapsing cases of IBD, the utility index representing HRQoL was found to be lower. Comparatively, the HRQoL was mostly similar between patients with UC and CD. Additionally, the mean utility score in IBD patients was higher than that observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh.

Fetal Health Classification from Cardiotocograph for Both Stages of Labor-A Soft-Computing-Based Approach.

To date, cardiotocography (CTG) is the only non-invasive and cost-effective tool available for continuous monitoring of the fetal health. In spite of a marked growth in the automation of the CTG analysis, it still remains a challenging signal processing task. Complex and dynamic patterns of fetal heart are poorly interpreted. Particularly, the precise interpretation of the suspected cases is fairly low by both visual and automated methods. Also, the first and second stage of labor produce very different fetal heart rate (FHR) dynamics. Thus, a robust classification model takes both stages into consideration separately. In this work, the authors propose a machine-learning-based model, which was applied separately to both the stages of labor, using standard classifiers such as SVM, random forest (RF), multi-layer perceptron (MLP), and bagging to classify the CTG. The outcome was validated using the model performance measure, combined performance measure, and the ROC-AUC. Though AUC-ROC was sufficiently high for all the classifiers, the other parameters established a better performance by SVM and RF. For suspicious cases the accuracies of SVM and RF were 97.4% and 98%, respectively, whereas sensitivity was 96.4% and specificity was 98% approximately. In the second stage of labor the accuracies were 90.6% and 89.3% for SVM and RF, respectively. Limits of agreement for 95% between the manual annotation and the outcome of SVM and RF were (-0.05 to 0.01) and (-0.03 to 0.02). Henceforth, the proposed classification model is efficient and can be integrated into the automated decision support system.

A machine learning pipeline to classify foetal heart rate deceleration with optimal feature set.

Deceleration is considered a commonly practised means to assess Foetal Heart Rate (FHR) through visual inspection and interpretation of patterns in Cardiotocography (CTG). The precision of deceleration classification relies on the accurate estimation of corresponding event points (EP) from the FHR and the Uterine Contraction Pressure (UCP). This work proposes a deceleration classification pipeline by comparing four machine learning (ML) models, namely, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF), Naïve Bayes (NB), and Simple Logistics Regression. Towards an automated classification of deceleration from EP using the pipeline, it systematically compares three approaches to create feature sets from the detected EP: (1) a novel fuzzy logic (FL)-based approach, (2) expert annotation by clinicians, and (3) calculated using National Institute of Child Health and Human Development guidelines. The classification results were validated using different popular statistical metrics, including receiver operating characteristic curve, intra-class correlation coefficient, Deming regression, and Bland-Altman Plot. The highest classification accuracy (97.94%) was obtained with MLP when the EP was annotated with the proposed FL approach compared to RF, which obtained 63.92% with the clinician-annotated EP. The results indicate that the FL annotated feature set is the optimal one for classifying deceleration from FHR.

Self-Healing Hydrogels: Development, Biomedical Applications, and Challenges.

Polymeric hydrogels have drawn considerable attention as a biomedical material for their unique mechanical and chemical properties, which are very similar to natural tissues. Among the conventional hydrogel materials, self-healing hydrogels (SHH) are showing their promise in biomedical applications in tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery. Additionally, their responses can be controlled via external stimuli (e.g., pH, temperature, pressure, or radiation). Identifying a suitable combination of viscous and elastic materials, lipophilicity and biocompatibility are crucial challenges in the development of SHH. Furthermore, the trade-off relation between the healing performance and the mechanical toughness also limits their real-time applications. Additionally, short-term and long-term effects of many SHH in the in vivo model are yet to be reported. This review will discuss the mechanism of various SHH, their recent advancements, and their challenges in tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery.

Flame Retardant Coatings from Bio-Derived Chitosan, Sodium Alginate, and Metal Salts for Polyamide 66 Textiles.

Bio-derived polysaccharides, namely, chitosan (CS) and sodium alginate (SA) were considered in a layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition to construct flame retardant coatings onto the polyamide 66 (PA66) fabric surfaces. The as-prepared coatings were further modified in the impregnation process with a number of inorganic salts containing boron, nickel, and iron elements. Obtained results revealed that the simultaneously LbL-assembled and metal salt-treated fabric samples exhibited superior flame retardant performance compared to the only LbL-deposited fabric samples. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) value reached up to 25.5% of the CS-SA-iron salt treated fabric sample and the dripping tendency was completely diminished only for the LbL-metal salt modified fabric samples. Among the treated fabric samples, the CS-SA-iron-salt-modified fabric sample exhibited a maximum reduction in the peak heat release rate by 34% and handed improved and higher quality char residues, indicating a possible condensed phase flame retardant mechanism of this applied finishing. Moreover, metal salt-induced cross-linking could enhance the coating stability and durable finishes against regular home laundering where an iron-salt-treated fabric sample could retain anti-dripping properties even up to 10 laundering cycles. Thus, this pairing of bio-macromolecules (i.e., charring agent) with the metal salts in a hybrid system showed efficacy in improving the fire performance of polyamide textiles via the synergistic involvement between them.

Wrinkled Flower-Like rGO intercalated with Ni(OH)2 and MnO2 as High-Performing Supercapacitor Electrode.

This study reports a simple one-step hydrothermal method for the preparation of a Ni(OH)2 and MnO2 intercalated rGO nanostructure as a potential supercapacitor electrode material. Having highly amorphous rGO layers with turbostratic and integrated wrinkled flower-like morphology, the as-prepared electrode material showed a high specific capacitance of 420 F g-1 and an energy density of 14.58 Wh kg-1 with 0.5 M Na2SO4 as the electrolyte in a symmetric two-electrode. With the successful intercalation of the γ-MnO2 and α-Ni(OH)2 in between the surface of the as-prepared rGO layers, the interlayer distance of the rGO nanosheets expanded to 0.87 nm. The synergistic effect of γ-MnO2, α-Ni(OH)2, and rGO exhibited the satisfying high cyclic stability with a capacitance retention of 82% even after 10 000 cycles. Thus, the as-prepared Ni(OH)2 and MnO2 intercalated rGO ternary hybrid is expected to contribute to the fabrication of a real-time high-performing supercapacitor device.

Natural and Synthetic Micelles for the Delivery of Small Molecule Drugs, Imaging Agents and Nucleic Acids.

The poor solubility, lack of targetability, quick renal clearance, and degradability of many therapeutic and imaging agents strongly limit their applications inside the human body. Amphiphilic copolymers having self-assembling properties can form core-shell structures called micelles, a promising nanocarrier for hydrophobic drugs, plasmid DNA, oligonucleotides, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and imaging agents. Fabrication of micelles loaded with different pharmaceutical agents provides numerous advantages, including therapeutic efficacy, diagnostic sensitivity, and controlled release to the desired tissues. Moreover, their smaller particle size (10-100 nm) and modified surfaces with different functional groups (such as ligands) help them to accumulate easily in the target location, enhancing cellular uptake and reducing unwanted side effects. Furthermore, the release of the encapsulated agents may also be triggered from stimuli-sensitive micelles under different physiological conditions or by an external stimulus. In this review article, we discuss the recent advancements in formulating and targeting of different natural and synthetic micelles, including block copolymer micelles, cationic micelles, and dendrimers-, polysaccharide- and protein-based micelles for the delivery of different therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Finally, their applications, outcomes, and future perspectives have been summarized.

Graphene oxide based crosslinker for simultaneous enhancement of mechanical toughness and self-healing capability of conventional hydrogels.

Extraordinary self-healing efficiency is rarely observed in mechanically strong hydrogels, which often limits the applications of hydrogels in biomedical engineering. We have presented an approach to utilize a special type of graphene oxide-based crosslinker (GOBC) for the simultaneous improvement of toughness and self-healing properties of conventional hydrogels. The GOBC has been prepared from graphene oxide (GO) by surface oxidation and further introduction of vinyl groups. It has been designed in such a way that the crosslinker is able to form both covalent bonds and noncovalent interactions with the polymer chains of hydrogels. To demonstrate the efficacy of GOBC, it was incorporated in a conventional polyacrylamide (PAM) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) hydrogel matrix, and the mechanical and self-healing properties of the prepared hydrogels were investigated. In PAM-GOBC hydrogels, it has been observed that the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, Young's modulus, and toughness are significantly improved by the incorporation of GOBC without compromising the self-healing efficiency. The PAM-GOBC hydrogel with a modulus of about 0.446 MPa exhibited about 70% stress healing efficiency after 40 h. Whereas, under the same conditions a PAM hydrogel with commonly used crosslinker N,N'-methylene-bis(acrylamide) of approximately the same modulus demonstrated no self-healing at all. Similar improvement of self-healing properties and toughness in PAA-GOBC hydrogel has also been observed which demonstrated the universality of the crosslinker. This crosslinker-based approach to improve the self-healing properties is expected to offer the possibility of the application of commonly used hydrogels in many different sectors, particularly in developing artificial tissues.

Boosting capacitive performance of manganese oxide nanorods by decorating with three-dimensional crushed graphene.

This work reports the rational design of MnOx nanorods on 3D crushed reduced graphene oxide (MnOx/C-rGO) by chemical reduction of Ni-incorporated graphene oxide (GO) followed by chemical etching to remove Ni. The resulting MnOx/C-rGO composite synergistically integrates the electronic properties and geometry structure of MnOx and 3D C-rGO. As a result, MnOx/C-rGO shows a significantly higher specific capacitance (Csp) of 863 F g-1 than MnOx/2D graphene sheets (MnOx/S-rGO) (373 F g-1) and MnOx (200 F g-1) at a current density of 0.2 A g-1. Furthermore, when assembled into symmetric supercapacitors, the MnOx/C-rGO-based device delivers a higher Csp (288 F g-1) than MnOx/S-rGO-based device (75 F g-1) at a current density of 0.3 A g-1. The superior capacitive performance of the MnOx/C-rGO-based symmetric device is attributed to the enlarged accessible surface, reduced lamellar stacking of graphene, and improved ionic transport provided by the 3D architecture of MnOx/C-rGO. In addition, the MnOx/C-rGO-based device exhibits an energy density of 23 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 113 Wkg-1, and long-term cycling stability, demonstrating its promising potential for practical application.

Preparation of Manganese Oxide Nanoparticles with Enhanced Capacitive Properties Utilizing Gel Formation Method.

Development of efficient and environmentally benign materials is important to satisfy the increasing demand for energy storage materials. Nanostructured transition-metal oxides are attractive because of their variety in morphology, high conductivity, and high theoretical capacitance. In this work, the nanostructured MnO2 was successfully fabricated using a gel formation process followed by calcination at 400 °C (MNO4) and 700 °C (MNO7) in the presence of air. The suitability of the prepared materials for electrochemical capacitor application was investigated using graphite as an electrode substrate. The chemical, elemental, structural, morphological, and thermal characterizations of the materials were performed with relevant techniques. The structural and morphological analyses revealed to be a body-centered tetragonal crystal lattice with a nano-tablet-like porous surface. The capacitive performances of the MNO4- and MNO7-modified graphite electrodes were examined with cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry in a 0.5 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution. The synthesized MNO7 demonstrated a higher specific capacitance (627.9 F g-1), energy density (31.4 Wh kg-1), and power density (803.5 W kg-1) value as compared to that of MNO4. After 400 cycles, the material MNO7 preserves 100% of capacitance as its initial capacitance. The highly conductive network of nanotablet structure and porous morphologies of MNO7 are most likely responsible for its high capacitive behavior. Such material characteristics deserve a good candidate for electrode material in energy storage applications.

A study on smartphone addiction and its effects on sleep quality among nursing students in a municipality town of West Bengal.

BACKGROUND: Smartphones are now an important gadget for us, but the many are getting addicted to it. Researchers showed that smartphone addiction and late-night usage affects sleep quality. Indian nurses are already facing a heavy burden of depression and present position of nurses is quite insecure. Very few studies were performed over nursing students and that leads to the selection of this topic for my research. METHODOLOGY: It was a cross-sectional, observational, and questionnaire-based study, performed over B.Sc. Nursing students of University College of Nursing, WBUHS. The questionnaire has three parts. The first part was for sociodemographic variables, the second part measures the addictive phenomena associated with smartphone overuse using a Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS), the last part was intended to measure the sleep quality by using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Collected data was compiled and analyzed with the help of MS-Excel from Microsoft Office Package-2016. RESULTS: Out of 91 students, 46 students were found to be not addicted, while 45 were addicted to smartphone, as measured by SAS. On PSQI, 17.58% students were found to be good sleepers, while 82.42% came out to be poor sleepers. Significant association was found between age and smartphone addiction (p=0.000031) and between daily calls and sleep quality (p=0.025333). CONCLUSION: It can be finally concluded that increase in smartphone usage is now a serious matter of concern and lower age groups are more susceptible towards it. Broad-spectrum studies involving multiple institutions is needed to reveal the bigger picture.

Novel Aceclofenac-l-Cystine and Aceclofenac-Urea Cocrystals with Enhanced Oral Bioavailability.

AIM: Present research work focuses on the improvement of biopharmaceutical properties of aceclofenac (ACF) by the cocrystal approach. BACKGROUND: ACF is one of the frequently used Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID). ACF is a BCS Class - II drug (low solubility and high permeability) with poor solubility and low oral bioavailability. Hence, the improvement in solubility and bioavailability of ACF is very crucial for successful product development. Nowadays, pharmaceutical cocrystals are considered a novel solid form of drugs. These cocrystals may have different physicochemical as well as biopharmaceutical properties as compared to the parent drug. In a previous study, the cocrystal of ACF (ACF-l-CYS NG and ACF-UREA NG) was successfully prepared and characterized. These cocrystals have shown superior solubility and dissolution rate than pure ACF in HCl buffer (pH 1.2). The synthesized cocrystals were also found non-hygroscopic and stable for 6 months under standard test settings. However, pharmacokinetic evaluation of these cocrystals has not been explored yet. OBJECTIVE: The specific objective of this research work was the measurement of bioavailability and other pharmacokinetic parameters of ACF cocrystals prepared by the mechanochemical grinding method. METHODS: Cocrystals of ACF with l-cystine and urea were prepared by neat grinding (NG) method and in-vivo oral bioavailability of prepared cocrystals was measured in Wistar rats. The plasma drug concentration was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the pharmacokinetic data was analyzed by "PK solver" software. RESULTS: Percent relative bioavailability of ACF-l-CYS NG and ACF-UREA NG cocrystals in Wistar rats was found to be 242.05 ± 65.27and 178.93 ± 45.21 respectively, which were significantly higher (ANOVA, P < 0.05) than that of pure ACF. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that the enhanced aqueous solubility of the prepared cocrystals leads to enhanced oral bioavailability of ACF. Thus, the cocrystals may be an alternative crystalline form of the drug that can enhance the solubility, dissolution rate, and oral bioavailability of many poorly soluble drugs.

Role of Ionic Moieties in Hydrogel Networks to Remove Heavy Metal Ions from Water.

A variety of methods for removing heavy metal ions from wastewater have been developed but because of their low efficiency, further production of toxic sludge or other waste materials, high expense, and lengthy procedures, limited progress has been achieved to date. Polymeric hydrogel has been attracting particular attention for the effective removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater. Here, ionogenic polymeric hydrogels were prepared by free-radical copolymerization of a neutral acrylamide (AAm) monomer with an ionic comonomer in the presence of a suitable initiator and a cross-linker. Different types of ionic comonomers such as strongly acidic: 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid, weakly acidic: acrylic acid (AAc), and zwitterionic: 2-methacryloyloxy ethyl dimethyl-3-sulfopropyl ammonium hydroxide with varying amounts were incorporated into the poly(AAm) networks to fabricate the hydrogels. The heavy metal ions (Fe3+, Cr3+, and Hg2+) removal capacity of the fabricated hydrogels from an aqueous solution via electrostatic interactions, coordination bond formation, and a diffusion process was compared and contrasted. The poly(AAm) hydrogel containing weakly acidic AAc groups shows excellent removal capacity of heavy metal ions. The release and recovery of heavy metal ions from the hydrogel samples are also impressive. The compressive strength of hydrogels was found to be significantly high after incorporating heavy metal ions that will increase their potential applications in different sectors.

Preparation of Hierarchical Porous Activated Carbon from Banana Leaves for High-performance Supercapacitor: Effect of Type of Electrolytes on Performance.

We demonstrate a facile efficient way to fabricate activated carbon nanosheets (ACNSs) consisting of hierarchical porous carbon materials. Simply heating banana leaves with K2 CO3 produce ACNSs having a unique combination of macro-, meso- and micropores with a high specific surface area of ∼1459 m2 g-1 . The effects of different electrolytes on the electrochemical supercapacitor performance and stability of the ACNSs are tested using a two-electrode system. The specific capacitance (Csp ) values are 55, 114, and 190 F g-1 in aqueous 0.5 M sodium sulfate, organic 1 M tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile, and pure ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6 ]) electrolytes, respectively. The ACNSs also shows the largest potential window of 3.0 V, the highest specific energy (59 Wh kg-1 ) and specific power (750 W kg-1 ) in [BMIM][PF6 ]. A mini-prototype device is prepared to demonstrate the practicality of the ACNSs.

Impact of Climatic Variations on Drug-induced Skin Reactions in Two Different Regions of India.

BACKGROUND: Around 2-3% of hospitalizations have been reported due to dermatological adverse drug reactions. Recent studies suggest that climatic variations affect the skin barrier function and extreme conditions aggravate skin disorders. OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to compare the impact of climatic variations on drug-induced skin reactions in the Northern and Eastern regions of India. METHODS: We performed a one-year retrospective study to evaluate the impact of climatic variations (temperature and humidity) on drug-induced skin reactions in the Eastern (Kalyani, West Bengal) and Northern (Karnal, Haryana) regions. Drug-induced skin reactions were reported month-- wise in both the Eastern and Northern regions. Temperature and humidity levels were also noted month-wise in both regions. The direct correlation between climatic variations and the number of drug reactions were assessed using Pearson's correlation and quadratic regression analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Overall, 99 and 81 dermatological adverse drug reactions were reported in tertiary care hospitals in the Northern and Eastern regions, respectively. During the summer season, the humidity level was found to be low in the Northern region as compared to the Eastern region. During this period, drug-induced skin reactions were reported significantly (p<0.05) more in the Northern region as compared to the Eastern region. Furthermore, quadratic regression analysis revealed that climatic variations contributed to drug reaction variability in the Northern region (68.5%) and Eastern region (23.5%). CONCLUSION: Therefore, the difference in the prevalence of drug-induced skin reactions may be related to the different climatic conditions among these two regions. Further studies in controlled climatic conditions should be performed for definitive correlations and to look into possible solutions.

Breastfeeding practices and infant feeding pattern of a tribal population region of eastern India.

BACKGROUND: Regular vigilance over infant feeding practices in the community is necessary for assessment of optimal growth and development and the intervention if needed. OBJECTIVE: To illustrate infant feeding practices, and socio-demographically correlated time like when weaning starts, the challenges met by mothers, and the types of complementary feeding adopted. METHODS: A structured pretested and predesigned questionnaire was used to collect information regarding sociodemographic, detail information regarding initiation and duration of breastfeeding, age of complementary feeding and type of food given during complementary feeding, minimum dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency, and also advice given during child feeding session. RESULTS: The study revealed that it was a predominantly Hindu tribal community where majority of infant were female and belong to joint families. Most of the mother had completed high secondary school and were housewives and belong to upper lower social class. Majority of women had more than two children, and rate of delivery at government institution was more than private institution and home delivery. Exclusive breastfeeding was practiced among 78% of infants, 46% had started breastfeeding within 1 h of birth. In total, 48% of infants were given prelacteal feed, and colostrum feeding was practiced among 62% of infants. Complementary feeding was given by 82% of infants and minimum dietary diversity, and minimum meal frequency was found among 77 and 85%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This community-based study carried out among tribal population of Kalyani showed that exclusive breastfeeding and other domains like complementary feeding and minimum dietary diversity are almost satisfactory.

The Battle against COVID 19 Pandemic: What we Need to Know Before we "Test Fire" Ivermectin.

The world is faced with the dire challenge of finding an effective treatment against the rampaging COVID 19 pandemic. Amidst the crisis, reports of in vitro inhibitory activity of ivermectin, an approved anthelmintic, against the causative SARSCoV2 virus, have generated lot of optimism. In this article, we have fished and compiled the needed information on the drug, that will help readers and prospective investigators in having a quick overview. Though the primordial biological action of the drug is allosteric modulation of helminthic ion channel receptor, its in vitro activity against both RNA and DNA viruses is known for almost a decade. In the past two years, efficacy study in animal models of pseudorabies and zika virus was found to be favourable and unfavourable respectively. Only one clinical study evaluated the drug in dengue virus infection without any clinical efficacy. However, the proposed mechanism of drug action, by inhibiting the importin family of nucleus-cytoplasmic transporters along with favourable pharmacokinetics, warrants exploration of its role in COVID 19 through safely conducted clinical trials. Being an available and affordable drug, enlisted in WHO List of Essential Medicine, and a long track record of clinical safety, the drug is already in clinical trials the world over. As the pandemic continues to ravage human civilisation with unabated intensity, the world eagerly waits for a ray of hope emanating from the outcome of the ongoing trials with ivermectin as well as other drugs.