May Measurement Month 2018: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Oman.

As per WHO estimates, around 17% of the adult Omani population are hypertensive. However, people with hypertension are often unaware of the diagnosis, and so the May Measurement Month (MMM) programme was set up to raise awareness of the importance of blood pressure (BP) screening. A cross-sectional screening of BP of subjects aged 18 years or more was carried out in May 2018 at various sites in Muscat, Oman. Screening sites were set up at the reception areas of participating hospitals, and at a few public areas such as shopping malls and workplaces of the volunteers. Blood pressure was measured according to a standardized protocol, and hypertension was defined as per the 2018 European Society of Hypertension guidelines. The data were analysed centrally by the MMM project team. A total of 12 689 individuals (mean age 40.6 ± 12.5 years, 72% male) were screened. The crude mean BP of the second and third readings (where three readings were taken, n = 4 738) was 127.1/79.2 mmHg. After multiple imputations, the average age and sex standardized BP was 127.3/80.2 mmHg. Of all participants, 29.8% had hypertension. There were 1 983 patients with a previous diagnosis of hypertension, of whom 1 810 were on antihypertensive medication. A further 1 973 subjects were newly diagnosed with hypertension. Of those on antihypertensive medication, 34.9% had uncontrolled BP readings. Screening programmes such as MMM are useful to identify persons with undiagnosed hypertension. However, more educational activities are required to increase the public awareness regarding the dangers of hypertension.

Effect of Liverubin™ on hepatic biochemical profile in patients of alcoholic liver disease: a retrospective study.

Liverubin™ is an available drug in the Indian market that contains silymarin, the major active complex extracted from the medicinal plant milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.). The study retrospectively tracked and analyzed the data of 602 patients, out of which 230 were alcohol induced; 131 with alcohol-induced liver damage (ALD), 13 with liver cirrhosis, and 86 with fatty liver; to assess the effects of water soluble Silymarin (Liverubin™) on important hepatic biochemical parameters. The data was collected from 32 major cities treated by 72 physicians across India who were observed for the specified treatment duration of 11 months. Data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics. At the end of the treatment the hepatic biochemical profile was appreciably improved: the mean % of change in the levels of important hepatic biochemical parameters was observed as follows: total bilirubin 63.48% (direct bilirubin: 64.96%; indirect bilirubin: 61.63%). The serum SGOT and SGPT changed at a mean % of 65.43 and 69.31 respectively while serum alkaline phosphatase was changed at a mean % rate of 39.81. Liverubin™ proved to be safe & well-tolerated among the studied population and no significant treatment related adverse events were reported during the study. Liverubin™ treatment is found to bring about effective lowering of abnormally elevated hepatic biochemical parameters. Liverubin™, water soluble active Silymarin, in the popularly prescribed doses of 140-mg tid is observed to be a promising safe and effective drug in cases of alcoholic liver disease.

Toolkit for monitoring and evaluation of indoor residual spraying for visceral leishmaniasis control in the Indian subcontinent: application and results.

Background. We field tested and validated a newly developed monitoring and evaluation (M&E) toolkit for indoor residual spraying to be used by the supervisors at different levels of the national kala-azar elimination programs in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Methods. Methods included document analysis, in-depth interviews, direct observation of spraying squads, and entomological-chemical assessments (bioassay, susceptibility test, chemical analysis of insecticide residues on sprayed surfaces, vector density measurements at baseline, and three follow-up surveys). Results. We found that the documentation at district offices was fairly complete; important shortcomings included insufficient training of spraying squads and supervisors, deficient spray equipment, poor spraying performance, lack of protective clothing, limited coverage of houses resulting in low bioavailability of the insecticide on sprayed surfaces, and reduced vector susceptibility to DDT in India, which limited the impact on vector densities. Conclusion. The M&E toolkit is a useful instrument for detecting constraints in IRS operations and to trigger timely response.

Clinical study on Laksha Guggulu, Snehana, Swedana & Traction in Osteoarthritis (Knee joint).

The objective of the present research was to study the efficacy of Laksha Guggulu, Snehana, Swedana & Traction in the management of Osteoarthritis (Knee joint). For the present work, 30 clinically diagnosed patients were selected and randomly divided into three groups. Group A treated with Laksha Guggulu orally, Group B treated with snehana & swedana traction, Group C treated with Laksha Guggulu, Snehana, Swedana & Knee Joint Traction. The various criteria worked upon were joint pain, oedema, tenderness, restriction of joint movement, stiffness, local crepitation, walking distance. Significant results were obtained on pain in joint movement, restriction in joint movement, joint stiffness , local crepitation nearly in all the groups with best result in combined group or group C.

Kala-azar elimination programme in India.

Kala-azar has been endemic in India for a long time. Phlebotomus argentipes, the vector became resurgent during 70s in four districts of Bihar and slowly spread to other parts of south Bihar and several districts of West Bengal. Kala-azar is a present endemic in 31 districs of Bihar, 4 districts of Jharkhand, 11 districts of West Bengal besides occurring is sporadic form in far districts of eastern UP. With enhanced central support to states from December, 2003 the case registration has improved. Elimination strategy lies in the followings: Case detection and treatment; interruption of transmission through vector control; advocacy, communication for behavioral impact and inter-sectoral convergence; capacity building; monitoring, supervision and evaluation and operational research. Moreover, inter-country co-ordination and assistance by Government of India are very important in elimination of kala-azar.

Psychiatric morbidity in geriatric people.

BACKGROUND: The number of geropsychiatric patients is increasing but sufficient work has not been done in this area in many parts of India. AIM: This study explored the sociodemographic profile and clinical characteristics of patients aged 60 years and above, attending the psychiatric services of Institute of Medical Sciences and geropsychiatric patients of Mumukshu Bhavan (old age home) in Varanasi from September 1998 to September 1999. METHODS: For the screening of psychiatric patients at Mumukshu Bhavan the Indian Psychiatric Survey Schedule was used. DSM-IV criteria were used for the diagnosis of patients and Chi-square test with Yate correction and Z-test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Depressive disorders were the most common psychiatric illnesses. Many patients had associated physical illnesses and among them hypertension was the most common. Family jointness was adequate for most of the patients. Objective social support was moderate for the majority of patients but perceived social support was poor. Patients of Mumukshu Bhavan perceived their social support to be either moderate or good. CONCLUSION: Depressive disorder was the most common psychiatric illness and among the physical illnesses hypertension was the commonest. People living in the old age home felt better than those who lived with their children's family.

Impact of DDT spraying on malaria transmission in Bareilly District, Uttar Pradesh, India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Impact of indoor residual spraying of DDT on malaria transmission and vector density was evaluated in six villages of Shergarh PHC, Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh under the operational condition of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) from July 2001 to March 2002 (one transmission season only). METHODS: Two rounds of DDT (50% WDP) spraying @ 1 g/m2 were done both in the experimental and control villages by the state health authorities. The spraying in experimental villages was supervised by Malaria Research Centre (MRC) whereas the district health authorities supervised the operation in control villages. Mass blood surveys were made three times--before the first round, in between the first and second rounds and after the second round of spraying. The blood smears were examined by the trained microscopists of MRC, Haldwani. From the above examinations epidemiological indicators such as slide positivity rate (SPR), slide falciparum rate (SFR) and infant parasite rate (IPR) were calculated. All malaria positive cases were given radical treatment as per NVBDCP schedule. Entomological parameters such as per man hour mosquito density, parity rate, gonotrophic condition and adult susceptibility status of Anopheles culicifacies to diagnostic dosages of DDT (4%) were monitored as per the standard techniques. RESULTS: A total of 988.5 kg of DDT was consumed during two rounds of spray. The house coverage varied from 87 to 95.3%. Parasitological evaluation revealed significant reduction in malaria cases (p < 0.0005) and infant parasite rate declined from 2.9 to 0%. Entomological observations revealed considerable reduction in the density of malaria vector An. culicifacies despite of its 21.4% mortality against DDT test papers. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The overall results of the study revealed that DDT is still a viable insecticide in indoor residual spraying owing to its effectivity in well supervised spray operation and high excito-repellency factor.

Entomological indices of Aedes aegypti at some international airports and seaports of southern India--a report.

Entomological surveys were undertaken at some of the international airports/seaports (Bangalore, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Thiruvanathapuram and Vishakapatnam) to find out the breeding prevalence of dengue vector mosquito in diverse breeding containers from 1998 to 2004. Three vector indices (House index, Container index and Breateu index) were used to assess the breeding potential at each airport/seaport. International Health Regulations urged national governments to keep all the international airports/seaports and peripheral areas up to 400 meters free from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. However, surveys revealed high vector indices at all the airports and seaports. Health authorities of airports/seaports need to take cognizance of these facts and develop action plan for appropriate control measures with emphasis on vector surveillance.

First time detection of Japanese encephalitis virus antigen in dry and unpreserved mosquito Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles, 1901, from Karnal district of Haryana state of India.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) antigen has been detected by antigen capture enzyme linked immunosorbentassay (ELISA) in dry specimens of the mosquito Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles, 1901, collected from Karnal district of Haryana state in northern India. These mosquitoes were stored in dry condition for 20 months, at room temperature, before processing. The procedure of detecting JEV infection in long time stored, dry vector mosquitoes, has important application in the surveillance of Japanese encephalitis.

Study on susceptibility status in aquatic and adult stages of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus against insecticides at international airports of south India.

A study on susceptibility status in aquatic and adult stages of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus was undertaken at International Airports of Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin located in southern India. WHO standard test kits were used to conduct insecticide susceptibility tests against various organophosphates, organochlorines, carbamates and synthetic pyrethroids. The results indicate that adult Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus were resistant to DDT and dieldrin, but susceptible to propoxur, fenitrothion, malathion, deltamethrin, permethrin and lambdacyhalothrin. The susceptibility test conducted on immature stages of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus revealed that they are susceptible to the larvicides commonly used under the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme viz. Temephos (0.02 ppm), Fenthion (0.05 ppm) Malathion (1.0 ppm) and Fenitrothion (0.06 ppm).

Surveillance of dengue vector at thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) International Airport.

A survey of Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes was undertaken in and around the International airport at Thiruvananthapuram during premonsoon season. An attempt has been made in this paper to elaborate on the presence of risk potential for Dengue /yellow fever at the airport with the detection of Aedes breeding. The entomological indices have also been discussed with regard to presence of potential wet containers and rate of infestation by Aedes mosquitoes. The airport area was searched for Aedes (Stegomyia) breeding where 20% of the premises were found positive for Aedes aegypti breeding and one premise (6.6%) was found positive with Aedes albopictus breeding. In the 400 meters (perimeter) of airport, four municipal wards namely Chakka, Sankumugam, Valiyathura and Vettucadu were surveyed. The house index ranged from 5.8% to 11.7% for Aedes aegypti while, it was between 9.8% to 19.2% with regard to Aedes albopictus. The container index ranged between 4.4% to 9.9% for Aedes aegypti and 7.1% to 15.3% for Aedes albopictus. Breteau index was found to be between 23.5% to 51.9% for both the species. The susceptibility test conducted against different insecticides showed that the immature stages of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were found to be susceptible to the commonly used larvicides in public health viz. Temephos (0.02 ppm), Fenthion (0.05 ppm), Malathion (1.0 ppm) and Fenitrothion (0.06 ppm).

Heterosis studies for yield and its components in bread wheat over environments.

A set of diallel crosses involving 10 parents was made to have information on the extent of heterosis over mid-parent and better parent and inbreeding depression for yield and yield contributing characters under three different environments. Marked heterobeltiosis for grain yield and its important components were observed. For grain yield, 83 crosses showed significant positive heterobeltiosis in all the three sowing dates, however, twenty crosses showed significant consistent heterobeltiosis for grain yield per plant over all the three environments. The maximum heterobeltiosis for grain yield per plant observed was 50.94% (Raj 3765 x HD 2285), 121.08% (PBW 373 x HD 2329) and 93.96% (PBW 373 x HD 2329) under early, normal and late sowing conditions, respectively. Cross PBW 373 x HD 2329 in both early and normal plantings and cross Raj 3765 x HD 2285 under late planting were observed most heterotic for grain yield. The crosses showing heterosis for grain yield were not heterotic for all the characters. Heterosis for grain yield per spike followed by tillers per plant and 1000-grain weight was independently associated with heterosis for grain yield in early and normal plantings. However, heterosis for grain yield per spike, dwarf plant height and tillers per plant contributed maximum towards yield heterosis. Significant inbreeding depression was recorded frequently for yield and yield contributing traits, however, in a few traits it was observed significant negative indicated that F(2) was superior to F(1) considered desirable combination for trait(s). The study reveals good scope for commercial exploitation of heterosis as well as isolation of pure lines among the progenies of heterotic F(1) for improvement of yield levels in bread wheat.

Combining ability in the F1 and F2 generations of diallel cross in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell).

The F(1) and F(2) progenies of a ten-parent diallel cross (excluding reciprocals) of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell) were analyzed for combining ability for quantitative and quality traits. The results indicated significant differences among the parents for general combining ability (gca) and crosses for specific combining ability (sca) for all the characters studied. The gca and sca components of variance were significant for all the traits. However, the gca component of variance was predominant indicating the predominance of additive gene effects for the traits studied. Among the parents Durgapura 65, HD 2285, Lok-1, Raj 1972 and HD 2329 were the best general combiners for grain yield and average to high combiners for tillers per plant, grain yield per spike, grains per spike and 1000-grain weight. The best specific crosses for grain yield were Sonalika x WH 157, HD 2428 x Durgapura 65, Durgapura 65 x Sonalika, HD 2428 x Lok-1 and CPAN 3004 x Raj 1972. The parent Raj 1972, Lok-1 and HD 2285 were the best general combiners for grain yield and protein content, however, Raj 3077 was the best general combiner for protein content. The most suitable specific crosses for protein content were HD 2329 x HD 2285, HD 2428 x Raj 1972 and CPAN 3004 x WH 157. Most of the specific crosses for grain yield as well as protein content involved high x average, average x average and average x poor general combiners. To ensure further increase in grain yield along with high protein, combinations of desirable yield components is advocated. Inclusion of F(1) hybrids showing high sca and having parents with good gca, into multiple crosses and/or bi-parental mating, or diallel selective mating could prove a worthwhile approach for further improvement of grain yield in bread wheat.

Susceptibility status of Japanese encephalitis vectors in Kurnool and Mehboobnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh, India.

An entomological survey in Kurnool and Mahboobnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh state, India was undertaken in January, 2002 to find out vector population of Japanese Encephalitis and their susceptibility status to different insecticides. Five Culicine species viz. of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. vishnui, Cx. pseudovishnui, Cx. bitaeniorhynchus, Cx. gelidus were captured during the survey. Another suspected vectors Anopheles subpictus and An. hyrcanus were also prevalent in the study villages. The larval population showed a high degree of resistance to Fenthion and Temephos. The test mortality to DDT ranged between 75% and 90%. The mortality of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx vishnui and An. subpictus ranged from 85% to 95%. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus is susceptible to Deltamethrin and Cyfluthrin. Cx. vishnui showed 80 % and 85% mortality to DDT and Malathion respectively.

Efficacy of a new formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis (Bti) in laboratory and field conditions of Kumaun foothills of Uttaranchal, India.

Efficacy of a new Bti formulation was tested in the laboratory and small scale field trials against mosquito larvae were carried out from March to June, 2001 in different breeding habitats of Kumaun foothill region of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts, Uttaranchal state, India. Laboratory tests revealed increased efficacy against Culex quinquefasciatus (LC50 = 0.035 mg/L) followed by Aedes aegypti (LC50 = 0.0628 mg/L), An. culicifacies sp A (LC50 = 0.184mg/L) and An. stephensi (LC50 - 0.2216mg/L). Results of field trials revealed 100% mortality of mosquito larvae after treatment with Bti @ 0.5 gm/m2 surface area. The impact was similar on different mosquito species breeding in different habitats. However, repeated treatments were required due to reappearance of larvae in the breeding habitats within a week. No side effects of Bti was observed during field trial on non- target organisms (NTOs). Environmental disturbances and man made problems affected the spray impact of Bti.