April 2014

Mitoxantrone, a synthetic anthraquinone, is highly effective in the treatment of different cancers. But, the recorded correlation between its use and the development of secondary leukemia necessitated the study on its post-treated cytogenetic consequences. In the present study, all the three tested doses of mitoxantrone-induced chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei were significantly increased in mouse bone marrow cells, but the drug was not mitotoxic. It also enhanced the induction of lipid peroxide radicals. Its action on DNA leading to these cytogenotoxic consequences in noncancerous cells during chemotherapy is responsible for the induction of secondary leukemia in cancer survivors. Therefore, mitoxantrone is essentially be made target-specific.

The study was carryout to evaluate the incidence and multidrug resistant of Staphylococcus aureus in different milk samples. Staphylococcus aureus is a major problem of public health which causes a number of human and animal diseases. The main source of infection is contaminated milk. Totally 50 raw and pasteurized milk samples were collected from three different sources such as Goat milk (15), Buffollow milk (25), and pasteurized milk (10). In order to isolate and identify the Staphylococcus aureus from these samples. The collected milk samples were cultured on nutrient agar; the presumptive Staphylococcus colonies were sub-cultured on Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA) and confirmed by using standard Bacteriological methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus was done by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method using eight antimicrobials. The prevalence of S.aureus was found to be 25 (50%) out of the total samples examined. In addition, the prevalence of S.aureus was 5 (33.3%) from Goat milk, 16 (64%) from Buffalo milk and 4 (40%) from pasteurized milk. S.aureus was more likely to occur in buffalo milk that were poorly managed and treated frequently with antimicrobials. Thus, out of a total of 25 isolates, high resistance rate was observed primarily to Methicillin 25 (100%) followed by Erythromycin15 (60%), Amoxycillin12 (48%), Vancomycin12 (48%), Gentamycin 12 (48%), Tetracycline 11 (44%), Ciprofloxacin 11 (44%), and low level of resistance to Kanamycin 8 (32%). S.aureus became almost resistant to β-lactams and Erythromycin. The virulence characters of Staphylococcus aureus were characterized phenotypically. The rate of positiveness for Protease, Lipase, β-hemolysis, β-lactamase and Slime formation were 48%, 60%, 60%, 44%, 48%.In this study we concluded that the hygiene of milk is poor and resistant strains have contaminated the milk probably during the process of milking and transportation.

The isopod parasite, Nerocila phaeopleura (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoidae), collected from the caudal region of the host Rastrelliger kanagurta (Teleostei, Perciformes, Scombridae), has been recorded for the first time from the Bay of Bengal, Odisha coast.

Dengue fever has become a global concern and can lead to a severe life threatening illness. The development of dengue vaccines is complicated by the antibody dependent enhancement effect. Thus the development of a plant based antiviral preparation promises a more potential alternative in combating dengue disease. The present study investigated the antiviral effects of standardized lyophilized aqueous, aqueous-ethanolic and ethanolic extracts of Azhadirachta indica and Quercus lusitanica on Dengue 1 & 3 strains in Vero cell line and compared with known antiviral drug Ribavirin. The antiviral activity of lyophilized aqueous extract of Azhadirachta indica showed better activity for Dengue 1 & 3 at a Maximum nontoxic dose concentration of 500µg/ml and the ethanolic extracts are partially inhibited at the concentration of 500µg/ml to dengue 1 but not in dengue 3. Whereas the aqueous-ethanolic extract of neem and three extracts of Quercus lusitanica did not show any inhibition on dengue 1 & 3. The antiviral activity of Ribavirin exhibited 15.6µg/ml & 7.5µg/ml for dengue 1 & 3 respectively. These data suggest that the lyophilized aqueous extracts of Azhadirachta indica possess the ability of inhibiting the activity of Dengue 1 & 3 by in vitro assays. This plant is worth to be further investigated and might be advantageous as an alternative drug for dengue treatment.

Background: Patients with chronic abdominal pain can undergo numerous diagnostic tests with little change in their pain. This study was under taken to assess the efficacy of performing diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy in patients with chronic abdominal pain for longer than 3 months Methods: All patients undergoing laparoscopy for chronic abdominal pain were included in the study from Nov. 2008 to Oct. 2009. The patient’s demographic data, duration of pain, diagnostic studies, intraoperative findings, interventions and follow-up were determined. Results: A total of 25 patients (19 women and 6 men) with an average age of 34.64yrs underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for the evaluation and treatment of chronic abdominal pain. Average duration of pain was 32.96 weeks. Findings included abdominal Koch's in 9, appendicitis in 8, cholecystitis in 1, cirrhosis in1, ovarian cyst in 1, bilateral fimbrial cyst in 1 and 4 patients had no obvious pathology. 82.6% of patients had pain relief at the time of follow up. Conclusion: laparoscopy has a diagnostic and therapeutic role in patients with chronic pain abdomen.

This investigation was carried out to isolate and identify the predominant microbial flora in milk product samples collected from different parts of the Tamil Nadu. A total of 30 samples were collected from Thanjavur, Trichy and Madurai, in sterile bottles and transported in a cool box at 4ºC for analysis. The samples were subjected to microbiological examination (total viable bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella sp., lactic acid bacteria and yeasts and moulds). The results showed the occurrence of coliform bacteria, S. aureus, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and moulds in the samples, while Salmonella sp. was not detected. Coliform bacteria were not detected in samples collected from Madurai area, and detected in 30 and 20% of samples collected from Trichy and Thanjavur areas respectively. S. aureus was detected in 40, 60 and 20% of samples from Madurai, Trichy and Thanjavur respectively while yeasts and moulds were detected in 100, 90 and 90% of samples from Madurai, Trichy and Thanjavur areas, respectively .Lactic acid bacteria were detected in all samples under study.

Background & Objectives: To study variations of the Anterior cerebral artery –anterior Communicating complex (ACA- ACoA complex). Anomalies of the ACA- ACoA like fenestrations and median trunk – Azygous ACA and Bihemispheric ACA are exceedingly very rare anomalies. Any variation in the vessels of anterior part of Circle of Willis influences the change in the hemodynamics of blood supply of frontal lobe. The awareness of this rare anatomical variant is important considering today advanced imaging modalities and give consideration to its potential serious complications with fellow clinicians. Method: The study variations of the Anterior Cerebral Artery (ACA) and Anterior Communicating Artery (ACoA) of the circle of Willis at the base of the brain were studied in 50 human brain specimens. Results: In the anterior part of the circle, complete absence, double ACoA and fenestrated ACoA was found in one case each 2%. The 'H' complex was seen more commonly in the ACoA - ACA complex found in 80%, ‘V’ shaped complex in 8%. Absence of A1 segment on the right side was seen in one case (2%) and hypoplasia of the A1 segment was seen in another case (2%). In one case (2%), both the A2 segments arose from contralateral ACA – Bihemispheric ACA. An Azygous anterior cerebral artery/ median trunk ACA was found in 6.66% of the cases.

Breast cancer is the most frequent carcinoma in females and the second most common cause of cancer related mortality in women. Early detection of breast cancer is widely reported to be one of the most effective ways leading to better prognosis and lower death rate. For marker discovery, the analysis of mRNA expression signatures in peripheral human blood has been widely used showing to be a promising technique. Cytokeratin-19 (CK 19) is a novel gene that was diagnosed as a highly specific marker for primary breast cancer. The aim of the present study is detecting the expression levels of the CK-19 gene mRNAs in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients in comparison with benign and healthy controls as a tool for screening and diagnosis the early stage breast cancers, and estimating the diagnostic and prognostic values of these levels in association with tumor size and lymph node status. The marker was determined in peripheral blood (PB) of 55 patients with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and samples from 20 healthy donors, and 10 women with newly diagnosed benign breast tumors were served as control group using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). CK-19 was detected in 41(74.54%) peripheral blood of breast cancer patients while 14(25.46%) patients were CK 19-negative. CK-19 also detected in, 1(10%) of the benign tumors and 2(10%) of healthy individuals. It showed statistically significant relations with size of the tumor, and Lymph node involvement. On the other hand, it was statistically non-significant for age of breast cancer patients. The present study results suggest that CK-19 is a specific molecular marker for detection of breast cancer, discrimination between benign and malignant breast tumors, and it might be of value as a prognostic marker.

Background: Blood groups play an important role in transfusion medicine. A blood group has many subtypes, but A1 and A2 are the main subtypes. The percentage of these subtypes was fluctuating in an approximate average of 80% for A1 and 20% for A2. This study conducted to measure the frequency of the subgroups A1 and A2 among Sudanese donors attending the Military hospital blood bank. Materials and methods: A total of 100 venous blood samples collected randomly from blood group A donors attending military hospital blood bank between September –October 2013. Red cells were tested against monoclonal IgM anti-A and Anti-B, while the sera was tested against A1, B and O cells. Results and conclusion: Among the analyzed one hundred blood samples, 74%were A1 and 26% were A2. Our results was likely similar to the results obtained by other researchers worldwide.

The effect of supplementing a regular diet with ascorbic acid on haematological indices was studied in teenage pregnant women attending antenatal clinics of three government hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria. Informed consent was obtained from 45 subjects and this formed the sample for the study. The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental group consisting of 30 subjects and control which consisted of 15 subjects. Baseline records of four blood parameters were obtained from all the subjects before each member of the experimental group was given a daily dose of 100mg ascorbic acid supplement for four weeks. The initial records of the haemoglobin levels, haematocrit value, red blood cell count and Plasma Ascorbic concentration of the experimental subjects ranged between 6.4 to 19.6gl 100ml, 24% to 37%, 1.62 x 106 to 3.87 x 106/mm3 and 0.00mg/100ml to 1.47mg/100ml respectively. In the control subjects, these range between 10.0 to 19.2g/100ml, 25 to 38%, 2.63 x 106 to 4.37 x 106/mm3 and 0.05 to 1.46mg/100ml respectively also. The experimental group that was given a daily ascorbate load of 100mg above their normal dietary intake for four weeks period recorded a general increase in the blood parameters. The haemoglobin level, haematocrit, red blood cell count and plasma ascorbate levels rose from 7.1 to 20.0g/100ml, 30 to 39%, 2.14 to 4.22 x 106/mm3 and 0.20 to 2.06 mg/100ml respectively. The low levels were still recorded in the control group after 4 weeks study period and this ranged between 10.3 to 18.2g/100ml, 25 to 37%, 2.94 x 106 to 3.64x106/mm3 and 0.00mg/100 to 1.45mg/100ml in that order as well. The 4.8 x 106/mm3 which is the normal standard value of red blood cell and 40 - 47%, which is that of the haematocrit, were not met by all the subjects at the initial record. After 4 weeks of the supplementation (in the experimental subjects), these two values were still not met though there were some appreciable improvements. Generally, the data obtained from the study showed that ascorbate supplementation produced a positive haematological response in teenage pregnant women.

Background: This research was aimed at determining the relationship between the oral hygiene practices and the oral hygiene status of students of the Bayelsa State College of Health Technology, Otuogidi, Ogbia – Town. Method: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among students of the Bayelsa State College of Health Technology. Data were collected through oral examination and closed-ended questionnaires assessing the oral hygiene practices of students. Results: Students presented mostly with a fair oral hygiene status, with mean Oral Hygiene Status (OHIs) of 1.98+1.20 S.D. Female students have better oral hygiene status than their male counterparts and toothbrush and toothpaste were the most commonly used oral hygiene aids. Regarding the frequency of brushing per day, 199 subjects (63.00%) clean their teeth twice or more than twice daily. Routine visits to the dental clinic was however treated lightly as only 27 subjects (8.4%) visited the dental clinic at least once a year, 47 (14.9%) only visited when they had a dental problem and 240 subjects (76.0%) had never visited the dental clinic. Our study ultimately revealed that oral hygiene status is dependent on the number of times the mouth is cleaned daily as well as the time of the day when the mouth is cleaned. Conclusion: The oral hygiene status of the students of the Bayelsa State College of Health Technology is fair and is dependent on their oral hygiene practices. It was however recommended that oral health education and awareness be improved not just among these students but to all Nigerians and the world at large.

India’s nuclear policy has evolved gradually rather than dramatically, India became a nuclear weapon state after testing five nuclear device in 1998. The self-imposed restraint for 24 years, after having demonstrated nuclear capability in 1974, is unique in the world. Various factors influenced India’s pursuit of a nuclear development programme. Ultimately it was concern of national security that played the critical role in turning it to a military oriented project. In particular, security dilemma involving itself, China, and Pakistan. Based on in-depth historical process-tracing studies this paper is an attempt to explain changing contour of India’s nuclear policy and postures and analyses the factors that led it down the road to Pokhran I and II.

Community health workers (CHWs) are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. The study is aimed to assess knowledge about health programs among community health workers. A sample of 240 health workers was randomly selected from health center at Ruhango district. Questionnaire method was used for data collection and analysis was done through frequency and percent. It has been observed from this study that majority of the health workers had possessed knowledge about timing of first ANC visit in first trimester (97%) and number of ANC visit required during pregnancy(83%),knowledge on providing counseling to women (>95%) on Intake of nutritive food ,proper rest, exercise ,checkup, etc during pregnancy. In this paper, an attempt has been made to assess the level of knowledge of community health workers, focusing on maternal health care and newborn health care

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rose) is an herbaceous perennial. The crop is heavily suffered due to rhizome rot in the light soil of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh where ginger is grown as cash crop. Highest germination and minimum rhizome rot incidence and maximum yield of Ginger was recorded in Copper hydroxide which is at par with Trichoderma viride. Seed treatment followed by soil drenching by Mancozeb and Soil application Trichoderma viride with FYM suppressing the rhizome rot of Ginger at farmer’s field with higher yield in comparison to farmers practice.

Air pollution is perhaps the commonest form of environmental degradation in urban and rural area of both developed and developing countries. In the environment there are many pollutants which have been observed during different studies regarding air pollution. Among all the pollutants, gaseous and particulate pollutants are more important. In this paper an attempt has been made to study the status and trend of sulphurdioxide (SO2), oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), particulate matter (PM10,&PM2.5), and the industrial area the specific pollutants Methyl Mercapten, Vinyl Chloride in State Industrial Promotion corporation Of Tamilnadu(SIPCOT) Cuddalore. The study has been carried out six months in six sampling station of SIPCOT for the above mentioned pollutants with the help of Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board Cuddalore. Each of Air pollutants are analyzed by using BIS & USEPA methods.

This paper introduces a Dashboard Builder for easily build and customize Business Intelligence information dashboards. Dashboard Builder provide very intuitive environment for dynamically creating, rearranging, searching and exploring multiple visual data representation. In industry there is very less time to analyze and make decisions of the company. In highly mechanized world one has very little time to care about filling all the details and keeping a constant check on its dynamic changes. Thus there is a requirement of the system which helps us to maintain relationship with the data in the perfect way without wasting much time. Dashboard Builder for easily build and customize Business Intelligence information dashboards. Dashboard Builder provide very intuitive environment for dynamically creating, rearranging, searching and exploring multiple visual data representation.In industry there is very less time to analyze and make decisions of the company. In highly mechanized world one has very little time to care about filling all the details and keeping a constant check on its dynamic changes. Thus there is a requirement of the system which helps us to maintain relationship with the data in the perfect way without wasting much time.

It was found that the world wide annual expenditures for cosmetics is estimated at U.S.$18 billion, and many players in the field are competing aggressively to capture more market share. Hence, companies are interested to know about consumer’s preferences towards cosmetics so as to devise strategies to win over competition. The main purpose of this research paper is to investigate the influence of preferences on cosmetics buying behavior especially men's deodorants like the factors those influence the consumer choice and to identifies the most popular deodorant brand. Also to examine the level of awareness of brands available. We have conducted research to know the factors for retailers preferences also. Originality/value: This research paper brings out unique factors of consumer preferences towards deodorants in the Saudi Market, particularly in the Al Baha region. This research paper has reviewed suitable literature within a customized research to garner the preferences of both the consumers as well as the retailers. We have used two different questionnaires used in this market.

The organization stores encrypted data on cloud and issues decryption keys to authorized users. Data owner issues decryption keys to authorized users. When user leaves organization, then he/she becomes unauthorized user for data access. When a user is left the organization, then data owner will issue re-encryption commands to the cloud to re-encrypt the data. So we prevent the left user from decrypting the data by using the old decryption key. And to generate new decryption keys to valid users only. So only authorized users can continue to access the data. By considering cloud architecture, such commands may not be received properly due to unreliable network communications. So we proposing a time based re-encryption scheme, which enables the cloud servers to automatically re-encrypt data based on their internal clocks of system. Within given time period users can access data, after timestamp they cannot access data.

A considerable effort has been recently devoted to the development of database management systems (DBMS) which guarantee high assurance security and privacy. Organizations spend a significant amount of resources securing their servers and network perimeters. An important component of any strong security solution is represented by intrusion detection systems, able to detect anomalous behavior by applications and users. To date, however, there have been very few intrusion detection mechanisms specifically tailored to database systems. We have proposed a novel solution called Log mining approach. The approach we propose to intrusion detection is based on mining database traces stored in log files. In this Paper, we present a new technique for identifying malicious database transactions, are ideal for profiling data correlations for identifying malicious database activities. The result of the mining process is used to form user profiles that can model normal behavior and identify intruders.

A survey conducted by IMRB International for Colgate Palmolive India found that only 2.5% Indians visit a dentist at least once a year compared with 48% which is the global average. 67% of Indians have never gone for a dental check-up. Out of those that do finally seek treatment for their dental problems, 1 in 3 have to get tooth extractions as generally it is too late. Tooth decay (dental caries) is a disease of multifactorial etiology. The essential factors include: the appropriate number and species of bacteria, the type, quantity and frequency of consumption of fermentable carbohydrates, and susceptible tooth surfaces. The aim of this study was to determine the oral bacteria counts and their sensitivity to plant extracts. Swab samples were collected from male persons without smoking and pan or nut products chewing habit. From the bacterial isolates obtained Streptococci spp. were identified by using HiStrepTM identification kit and tested for antibiotic sensitivity (Ampicillin, Tetracycline, BenzylPencillin, Amoxycillin, and Erythromycin). Resistant species were tested against aqueous plant extracts of Punica grantum, Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia catappa, Azadirachta indica, Mentha arvensis, Acacia nilotica. Plant extract concentrations were tested against Streptococci spp. The total bacteria counts enumerated from the swab samples were 50.8×108. 10 isolates of Streptococci spp. were found multidrug-resistant. MIC, MBC and statistical analysis (mean, SD) were analyzed. From our study we could prove that the multi drug resistant isolates oral bacteria were sensitive to the test plant extracts. Based on our findings the plant extracts possess good taste and aroma is better than antibiotics.

An Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) was used to assess the status of the fish assemblage of Huwazah marsh, Iraq from October 2005 to September 2006. IBI scores were calculated from 14 separate assemblage metrics based on the species richness, species composition and trophic guilds. After more than two years of restoration activities and improved water quality, the state of the fish community in Huwazah marsh was fair (IBI= 53.2%), and better than the other marshes after four years of restoration. The results revealed that no substantial improvements have been recorded during the late years of restoration, reflect that the environment is still fragile and need time to be recovering.

Burn injuries are of major concern with respect to morbidity and mortality.It isthe leading cause of death among children worldwide. Burn damages cell membrane, causes loss of cell integrity and membrane permeability which brings major changes in serum electrolytes. Liver, kidney and pancreas are among the most vulnerable organs in burn trauma, markers of which help to assess the pattern and severity of injury. Hepatic changes are constantly reported in burns. This includes plasma proteins, acute phase reactants, various enzymes and coagulation factors. These parameters suggest the degree of severity, risk involved and prognosis. This is an effort to put all these hepatic markers together.

In this paper, we examine the use of racial stereotypes by one ethnic group against another in Nigeria and the data used were drawn from participant observation, recordings of spontaneous utterances and interviews with some travellers who returned from crisis-ridden places in Nigeria. We, however, focus on Hausa, Igbo and Yorùbá, the three major ethnic groups because the population of the three outnumbers the population of other ethnic groups and if the three are united, then, such unity will serve as a good reference point for other ethnic groups and the survival of the country can be assured. We argue that racial or language stereotypes are common occurrences in Nigeria and that the use by an ethnic or a sub-ethnic group against another cuts across nearly all ethnic and sub-ethnic groups in Nigeria. We show also that since independence, successive governments in Nigeria have been conscious of the need to promote unity, peace and oneness among the various ethnic and sub-ethnic groups in Nigeria but that much is still desired to promote the indices of oneness and that such indices include the removal of ethnic or sub-ethnic bias, quick resolution of conflicts if there are and national acceptance of Nigerians wherever they may be in any part of the country and to achieve these there should be emphasis on inter-marriage, appointments of non-indigenes into each of the states’ cabinet, review of the Nigerian constitution such that any Nigerian born in any state can be regarded as the indigene of the state among others. We conclude that racial stereotypes are just products of pride, self-esteem, self-deceit and self-ego and that from all sincerity are artificially created and the use should be discouraged by every well-meaning Nigerians so as to have a racism-free Nigeria.

The Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant (K.T.P.P) is situated on the right bank of the river Rupnarayan in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. It is well connected with south-eastern Railway, NH- 6 and NH-41. This power plant was established during the sixth Five Years Plan period (1980-85). WBPDCL (West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited) took the charge of this power plant since 1985. Presently its total power generating capacity is 1260MW, with six units, 210 MW each. K.T.P.P. generates around 7500-8000 metric tons of fly ash every day following the consumption of 18000 tons of coal (Source: KTPP office, 2009). The power plant has been failed miserable to meet the PM emission standard during last few years. So huge amount of fly ash particulate matter (PM) suspended in the air and finally deposited on the ground surface like, water body, vegetation, settlement, etc. It has changes the physico-chemical characteristics of the surrounding surface water. Present paper deals with the fluctuations of physico-chemical and microbial profile of pond water at different station around K.T.P.P.

The valley of Kashmir abounds in large number of fresh water bodies including lakes, rivers and springs which are contaminated with different kinds of pollutants resulting from increasing population, urbanization and also due to various other factors. The present study was done at 4 stations in the Dal Lake viz., Telbal Nallah, Hazratbal basin, Gagribal basin and Nigeen basin. The water samples collected during the study period from May, 2010 to April, 2011 showed that water temperature was almost same at all the stations. Transparency values were higher in winter. Water showed pH above 7.5 at all the stations throughout the working period. Alkalinity was also same at all stations. Chloride and conductivity were higher at site IV (Gagribal). Nitrogenous compounds like ammonia, nitrate were higher in the Gagribal basin. Total phosphorus also showed the similar trend.

Various species of Pteridophytes and Bryophytes abound in the Nigerian Neogene as revealed by palynomorph records. One of the commonest is Sphagnum species with spores which are normally with smooth exine (Stereisporites spp.), which are of three types. These appear to have evolved close to the Early Late Miocene much before those with varied sculptures hereby ascribed to Trilites which are concentrated in the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Their stratigraphic ranges revealed that these latter species evolved close to the Early Pliocene and may have possibly continued to the present time. Their acmes are in the P900 subzone, while the species with smooth sculptures continue into the Late Miocene and are mostly used as the P840/P830 boundary marker. These undescribed new taxa which consist of three species of Stereisporites, two species each of Camarozonosporites, Trilites, and a single species each of Echitriletes, Rugulatisporites, Selaginella, Triporoletes and Granulatisporites sp., are hereby highlighted. The result of this investigation will aid the refinement of the existing palynological zones of the Western Niger Delta and further improve paleovegetational and paleoecological inferences henceforth.

Ultrasonography is an imaging modality which uses ultrasounds generated by a probe placed on the skin or in a natural cavity. The objective of this work is to assess the prevalence of microbial contamination of ultrasonography devices in Saint-Louis. The ultrasonography facilities of public health structures have been sampled. Thus for the gel, the probes and their storage, some scovels have been used then soaked in a broth of culture and incubated at 37°C. Concerning the environment two cans of Muller Hinton agar-agar have been exposed in each ultrasonography room during one hour before being incubated. Five health institutions have been gathered. One notices: Out of twelve superficial probes examined, two are infected with Staphylococcus saprophyticus. No endocavity probe was contaminated. Two out of seventh storages of probes were contaminated with Citrobacter spp. Two out of seventh bottles of gel in current use were contaminated with Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Enterobacter spp, two keyboards and screens were contaminated with stumps of Enterobacter spp among which one BLSE and Pseudomonas spp, two out of 14 cans of agar were contaminated. Some bleach for the disinfection of echographs and hydro- alcoholic gel for hand antisepsis were available in all the sites.

Aim: Zinc deficiency is prevalent in children in developing countries and diarrhea is prevalent in worldwide. Supplemental zinc provides therapeutic benefits in diarrhea and prophylactic zinc supplementation reduces the diarrheal episodes and duration. Method: In this prospective study, we enrolled infants aged 6 to 11 months from urban slum areas. Total 28 slum areas were selected and we enrolled total 946 infants, these were randomly assigned as cases and control. Cases (473) received 20 mg of zinc orally every day for 2 weeks and rest 473 infants were assigned as controls. The primary outcome was the incidence and episodes of diarrhea. Results: In cases 382 (80%) infants had acute diarrhea and 452 (95%) in controls, whereas persistent diarrhea 35 (7%) in cases and 125 (26%) in controls. 48 (10%) infants of cases and 52 (11%) of controls had dysentery (p=1.007). Respiratory tract infection 122 (25%) in control and 48 (10%) in cases, whereas skin infection 34 (7%) in cases and 62 (13%) in controls. 15 (3%) infants of cases and 59 (12%) of controls had hospital admission. Conclusion: Present study highlights, prophylactic zinc supplementation for 2 weeks in infants aged between 6months to 11months has significantly reduced the incidence and duration of diarrhea during follow-up of 5 months and also reduced incidence of acute respiratory tract infections and skin infection.

Serological characterization of chicken salmonellae isolated from four thousand, six hundred and sixteen (N= 4,616) samples from 1,319 chickens was done between 2006 and 2011 with the live bird market in Jos, Plateau state as the study site. Sample breakdown consisted of crop tissues (n=1,319), poultry droppings (n=1,319), gizzard tissue (n=1,319) and oviducts (n=659). Standard methods for bacterial cultivation and phenotypic identification were adopted prior to serological typing of the isolates. 28 (0.006%) of the total samples yielded Salmonella serotypes. 15 were from improved breed of chickens while 13 were from local breeds. Eighteen (64.3%) of the 28 Salmonella isolates were from layers while 10 (35.7%) were from cockerels. Samples from oviduct accounted for the most isolates (10) while the crop tissue accounted for the least (3) isolates. Serological analysis of the 28 isolates showed that 3(10.7%) each were Enteritidis, Typhimurium and Bargny. They were closely followed by St. Paul with 2 (7.14%). The remaining serotypes had one isolate each, with 3 of them typed to serogroup level only (one group D and 2 group B). Findings from this study indicate that chicken salmonellosis is prevalent in Jos. Also, the occurrence of highly invasive and rare serotypes is of great economic and public health significance. Concerted effort must therefore be made to improve on preventive and curative measures against chicken salmonellosis and other zoonoses.

Background: Manifestations of the occipital vertebrae in the region of anterior rim of foramen magnum, either in the midline and/or laterally are due to failure of segmentation of the proatlas. The proatlas is derived from the fourth occipital sclerotome. There is a broad spectrum of occipital vertebrae variations which includes: third occipital condyle (condylus tertius), basilar process, paracondylar process and prebasioccipital arch (hypocondylar arch). These manifestations, if present can cause brainstem myelopathy and lower cranial nerves palsy during first and second decades of life. Materials and Method: Two hundred dry adult human skulls of Indian origin were studied in the Department of Anatomy, M.S Ramaiah Medical College. The base of these skulls was observed for presence of remnants of occipital vertebrae. Results: Out of 200 skulls, 4 skulls showed remnants of occipital vertebrae (2%). Median occipital condyle was observed in one skull (0.5%), hypocondylar arch was observed in one skull (0.5%), bilateral basilar process in one skull (0.5%) and bilateral paracondylar process in one skull (0.5%). Conclusion: The knowledge of manifestations of occipital vertebrae is important for the radiologists during interpretation of radiographic images of the craniovertebral junction to make a distinctive diagnosis of its diseases and the neurosurgeons while doing skull base surgeries. An attempt has been made in the present study to throw light on the various manifestations of occipital vertebrae, its embryological and clinical significance.

Background: Malaria is one of the important public health problems in India by considering its prevalence, virulence and drug resistance. Aim: This study was undertaken to analyze and introspect the presentation of this disease in a tertiary referral centre. Methodology: This record-based descriptive retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care level hospital -P.D.U. Government Hospital, Rajkot city, Gujarat, India from January 2011 to December 2013. The data were collected from the medical records department of the hospital and analyzed by using Microsoft excel. All the patients with fever as chief complain who had attended OPD of Medicine and patients admitted in ward, their blood samples were collected from Central laboratory & Pathology Department of hospital. Results: Out of a total of 187690 cases studied, 3957(2.10%) cases were positive for malaria. 2430(61.41%) cases were positive for Plasmodium vivax and 1526(38.56%) were positive for Plasmodium falciparum. The overall slide positivity rate (SPR), slide falciparum rate (SFR) and P.falciparum (PF) were 2.10%, 0.81 % and 38.57% respectively. Further analysis with month wise distribution of cases shows that malaria cases are more or less high in month of August, September and October. Conclusions: There is high prevalence of P. vivax as compare to P. falciparum infections. The maximum number of cases was reported in month of August to October which concludes that malaria has its peak incidence during rainy season. As year progresses there is gradual decrease in number of positive malarial cases concludes that awareness, availability of treatment, education &preventive measurements all of this help to decrease prevalence of malaria in Rajkot city.

Background: Metabolic syndrome is a common health problem in the Saudi population and is a known cardiovascular risk. Most of the studies that were conducted to estimate the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among Saudi population included subjects with a wide age range. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in a group of apparently healthy and relatively young group of women. Subjects and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in the “Center of Excellence for Osteoporosis Research”, King Abdulaziz University, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the year 2011. Saudi women were enrolled for this study (n=205, age range 20-45 years). All recruited subjects were free of any chronic illnesses and not on any regular medications. “National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)- Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) criteria” were used to identify women with the metabolic syndrome. Anthropometric measures were taken and blood pressure was measured in a standardized manner. Fasting blood samples were taken for various biochemical tests. Results: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the study group was 7.8%, and the most common component was central obesity (46.3%). Reduced high density lipoprotein was the second most common component (29%). At least one component was present in 59% of the studied women. Conclusion and recommendation: The presence of the metabolic syndrome (8%) along with the high prevalence of central obesity in this young healthy group of women is quite alarming. Timely measures to reduce obesity in this group may reduce the incidence of future cardiometabolic disorders.

In Kenya, over 24 million plastic bags are used monthly, half of which end up in the solid waste mainstream. Plastic bags now constitute the biggest challenge to solid waste management in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Nairobi is home to three million, three hundred people. They are ingested by livestock endangering their health and even causing death; they choke soils and are slow bio-degraders. The study therefore endeavoured to meet the following objectives: to determine the sources of plastic wastes in Nairobi City and; to determine the factors contributing to the problem of plastic bags waste. A sample of 380 respondents was drawn from the target population using non-probabilistic approach. The age of the participants ranged from 13-60 years. A questionnaire with both structured and unstructured items was used for data collection. Interviews and observations were also made to enrich information from the questionnaire. The instruments were piloted to determine their validity and reliability. The study established that: households contribute the bulk of the solid waste which included; plastic bottles, carton boxes, metals, glassware, and sharp objects with plastic bags waste forming the bulk of the total waste. Main sources of the waste included plastic industries, supermarkets, shops, hotels, and hospitals. Main factors that contribute to accumulation of plastic wastes included: lack of adherence to the guidelines on solid waste management by stakeholders in the city, failure of the City Council of Nairobi to address the problem of plastic bag waste due to weak policies, and industries and supermarkets that produce and release large volumes of plastic bags to the consumers. The study therefore recommended that: consumers to be educated on the health hazards that emanate from poor disposal of plastic wastes and the Kenya government to legislate sound laws on plastic waste management to strengthen the by-laws for effective reinforcement in the city solid waste management. The government should encourage the establishment of plastic waste recycling industries to assist in plastic waste management.

The study attempts to analyze the impact of advertising on consumer buying behaviour. Market provides a key to gain actual success only to those brands which match best to the current environment i.e." imperative" which can be delivered what are the people needs and they are ready to buy at the right time without any delay. The study, based on an analytical approach on a survey of 100 randomly selected consumers in Shimla city, examined the role played by advertising and media in influencing consumers buying behaviour for four selected washing products i.e Nirma, Tide, surf exel, and Rin. After analysis Results reveal that consumers are highly influenced by advertising in their preference for the brand. Out of these four detergents Surf Excel was the most popular and its advertisement could be easily recalled, remembered and understood by majority of respondents. Out of the media used for advertisement television was the most popular and effective method for promoting a particular brand. The major reasons for this preference are its attractive advertising policy and rich quality. But it was also seen that excess repetition of advertisements cause irritation in the minds of the consumer. The creative presentation and language of surf excel advertisements among selected washing product are successful to convey Message, Emotion, Value system regarding the product. The study clearly reveals that the advertisement has its impact on buying behaviour of consumers. Therefore, it is advisable to companies to emphasize their advertisement campaign not only to retain their market but to height it also.

Health is a basic Human right; hence one of the most important determinants of quality health service delivery is availability of essential drugs in public health facilities. Yet expenditure on health in general and that of drugs in particular in Africa are often lamented as being inadequate, inefficient, inequitable and unsustainable. This study examined deep across subject under the supply of Drugs and Medical Utensils in Public Hospitals. Drug Supply in Ethiopian Health sector conveyed as a very low rates. For those patients who visited public Hospitals (Mekelle and Quah), about 52.04% % were unhappy with the service delivery because drugs were not available and got medicine from private pharmacies with a higher price. Low income layer (66%) of the public hospital users in this study earn a salary below 120ETB moreover (28% are unemployed and 40% are students and farmers) in Mekelle and Quaha where the study was undertaken. They were exposed to unnecessary expenses to purchase drugs and medical utensils from the private pharmacies at high cost. On average private pharmacy price was greater than hospital price by 88.89% and this indicated that the service users were highly exploited by private pharmacy service suppliers and this was the result of low accessibility in public hospitals of the most demanded medicines and utensils.

Vision is the complex information processing which relies on the neural processing of the retina. Light incident on the tissue layer of retina which is sensible to light, produces a series of electrical and chemical synapses which creates the nerve impulses. The light passing the pupil gets focused by the lens presents an inverted image to the photoreceptors called the rods and cones. Neural signals from the rods and cones are processed in the retinal ganglion cells (RGC) whose axons form the optic nerve. These nervous messages are mostly associated with an electrical change known as the action potential. An all active Fohlmeister – Coleman – Miller (FCM) model with five nonlinear ion channels is modelled for the RGC, with an intracellular resistance (Ra), a membrane mechanism in parallel with a membrane capacitance and also a gap junction conductance (G) in between the compartments. The simulations were done for the above mentioned FCM neuron model and are analysed by stimulating with a constant dc current and also with a patterned biphase current stimulation with Inter Phase Gap (IPG). The action potential of the designed RGCs and the electrotonic current flowing across the boundaries were figured out for different patterned stimulating current and gap junction conductances.

The title compound LAM prepared by using AR-grade L-asparagine and NaCl. It is dissolved in de-ionized water to get NaOH and HCl and these two are used as solvents. Solubility of LAM can be determined by gravimetric method. Using slow evaporation technique (SET), the grown crystal can be obtained in 20 days. The crystallanity of the crystal can be confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The crystals, by X-ray (EDAX) confirm the composition of elements in the crystal. The structure can be determined from Single X-ray diffraction. It shows that it belongs to orthorhombic system with space group P212121. The various functional group associated with the crystal can be obtained from FTIR study. The NLO property can be confirmed by SHG test. It shows that, the grown crystal is 0.38 times that of KDP. The optional property of the grown crystal can obtained from UV-Visible transmittance study. The hardness of the grown crystal can be obtained from Vickers micro hardness test. The dielectric property and ac conductivity can be obtained from dielectric studies. From this activation energy can be obtained. An elementary analysis is carried out for the grown crystal by employing energy dispersive analysis.

In this paper we introduce difference sets in algebra. We study their properties and prove some interesting results. We define a maximal difference set and show that a proper left difference set of an algebra with identity can be embedded in a maximal difference set. Then we prove difference set under homomorphism of one algebra to another. We also develop a difference set in context of a Banach algebra.

In recent years, the role of metal nanoparticles in medicine and biology has rapidly increased, due to ease of synthesis, surface functionalization and biocompatible unique properties. In this paper, extracellular biosynthesis of Silver nanoparticles (AgNaPs) using methanol extract of Cauliflower leaves (Brassica oleracea L.) has been attempted and achieved rapid formation of AgNaPs in a short duration. The resulting AgNaPs were analyzed using UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy. The UV-visible spectrum showed a peak at 430nm corresponding to the Plasmon absorbance of the AgNaPs. FTIR spectra suggested the presence of biomolecules on the surface of the AgNaPs and XRD confirms the crystalline nature of the AgNaPs. The synthesized AgNaPs showed predominantly spherical structure and their sizes ranging from 20-70nm and 10-21nm under SEM and HRTEM observation respectively. The synthesized AgNaPs showed better antioxidant and efficiently inhibited various pathogenic organisms and reduced viability of the MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cells in a dose-dependent manner. This paper reported that the green chemistry approach for the synthesis of AgNaPs using methanol extract of cauliflower leaves would be a better alternative to the existing methods. The process may be helpful for the synthesis of plant based AgNaPs pharmaceutically useful drugs.

The modeling of the real time system with Static VAR Compensator (SVC) using ETAP software is presented in this paper. The system is analyzed under severe disturbance to study the transient behavior by simulating three phase to ground fault at particular bus. To enhance the transient stability of the system, SVC is inserted and tested to show the effect of the same on the transient stability under severe disturbance. The potential application of SVC on the improvement of voltage profile of the various buses and reduction in rotor angle oscillation of the generator is evaluated from the implementation results.

The study was carried out in Lake Wular between 2007-2009 and in this paper an attempt is made to draw a relationship between the nesting success and average reed height and density at nest in Indian great reed warbler. A positive correlation was found between nesting success and reed height (r = 0.94) and nesting success and reed density (r =0.98). Earlier nests were more susceptible to predation than the later because early nests were located in relatively shorter and less dense vegetation than the later nests. The nesting success during early periods of breeding season was therefore far less in comparison to late periods because of high effect of predation in less dense vegetation.

The study was conducted during 2013 in Vasudevanallur block of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu state to assess the profile characteristics of farmers growing SRI paddy. The study was conducted in Vasudevanallur block of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. A total of 120 respondents were selected, and interviewed using a well structured, pretested interview schedule. In addition to percentage analysis, cumulative frequency, correlation co-efficient and multiple regressions were the statistical tools employed. Majority of the respondents belonged to the old age category and were literates i.e., primary to secondary level of education. Majority of the respondents had agriculture as their secondary occupation and little more than half of the respondents belonged to low level of annual income group. Majority of the respondents had medium level of farming experience (25 years). Majority of the respondents had less than 2.5 acres of area under SRI cultivation. System of Rice Intensification farmers possessed medium level of social participation, scientific orientation, risk orientation, credit orientation, innovativeness, extension agency contact and economic motivation.