Simultaneous Derivative Spectrophotometric Analysis of Doxylamine Succinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride and Folic Acid in Combined Dosage Forms

Two UV spectrophotometric methods have been developed, based on first derivative spectrophotometry for simultaneous estimation of doxylamine succinate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, and folic acid in tablet formulations. In method I, the concentrations of these drugs were determined by using linear regression equation. Method II is also based on first derivative spectrophotometry however simultaneous equations (Vierdot''s method) were derived on derivative spectra. The first derivative amplitudes at 270.0, 332.8 and 309.2 nm were utilized for simultaneous estimation of these drugs respectively by both methods. In both the methods, linearity was obtained in the concentration range 2.5-50 μg/ml, 1-40 μg/ml and 1-30 μg/ml for doxylamine succinate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, and folic acid respectively. The developed methods show best results in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD, LOQ and ruggedness for standard laboratory mixtures of pure drugs and marketed formulations. The common excipients and additives did not interfere in their determinations.     

Dietary fats modulate methylmercury-mediated systemic oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage in rats.

We examined the effects of dietary fats on methylmercury (MeHg)-induced systemic oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage in liver and kidney of male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were treated with a casein-based purified isocaloric diet containing 15% by weight soy oil, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), seal oil, fish oil, or lard for 28 days, and then gavaged with 0, 1, or 3 mg MeHg/kg BW/day for 14 days. Urine was analyzed for 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and isoprostane, and serum for total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Liver and kidney were analyzed immunohistochemically for 8-OHdG. Both diet and MeHg showed significant main effects on some of these markers. As compared with the vehicle control, 3 mg MeHg/kg BW significantly increased urinary 8-OHdG in the lard group, urinary isoprostane in the DHA, seal oil, and fish oil groups, while significantly decreasing serum TAC in the lard and fish oil groups. In all dietary groups, 8-OHdG positive staining was located mainly in the nuclei of various cell types in liver and kidney. MeHg expressed a significant main increasing effect on 8-OHdG-positive cells in kidney. These results suggest that both dietary fats and MeHg are important mediators of systemic oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage.     

Uretero-vesical junction obstruction presenting as gaint hydronephrosis

A rare case of giant hydronephrosis due to ureterovesical junction obstruction is presented.     

Pattern of neoplasms in children

Pattern of neoplasms in children under 15 years is reviewed. Of 1424 lesions, 57 per cent were benign. The common malignant tumours in order of frequency were; lymphoma, central nervous system (CNS) tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, bona sarcomas, retinoblastoma, Wilms' tumour and carcinomas. Males were affected more often than females (ratio of 2·6∶1). Malignant tumours were commonest in the first five year of life.     

Synthesis and analgesic activity of some novel 2-substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazolo

An ecofriendly synthesis for 1,2,3,4,5,6,8-octahydro- 3-amino-2-thioxo-benzothieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-one (7A, B) has been developed. A series of hitherto unreported compounds (2a-i, 3a-c) have been synthesized by treating 3-Amino-2-mercaptopyrimidinones (7A, B) with one carbon donors like chloroacetyl chloride or chloroacetic acid and subsequently replacing the chloro group by various nucleophiles. Compound 2f was successfully synthesized by an alternate route. All the new compounds were characterized by elemental and spectral analyses. They were screened for analgesic activity in mice. Compounds 2a, b, 3a, b, and 2e, showed very good activity.     

Systolic time intervals in anemic children with or without congestive heart failure

Systolic time intervals (STI) were measured from simultaneous high speed recordings of electrocardiogram, phonocardiogram, and carotid artery trace in 47 children of anemia with or without congestive heart failure (CHF), and in 20 healthy normal children. Group I comprised 20 healthy controls with a mean Hb level of 13.65±0.73 gm percent, group II of 37 anemic children with a mean Hb level of 7.3±1.01 gm percent, without any evidence of CHF: Group III of 10 severely anaemic children with a mean Hb level of 2.75±0.82 gm percent with overt CHF. Electromechanical systole (QS2) pre-ejection period (PEP), left ventricular ejection time (LVET) and the ratio of PEP/LVET were studied and compared in various groups. PEP/LVET ratio was found to be 0.265±0.04, 0.363±0.07 and 0.407±0.06 in groups I, II, III cases respectively. The mean PEP/LVET ratio was significantly prolonged in groups II and III when compared with group I (p<.001). Further mean PEP/LVET ratio was significantly greater in group III subjects when compared with group II patients (p<.001). Thus it seems that LV dysfunction sets in early in cases of anemic children and as the severity of anemia increases. left ventricular dysfunction proportionately increases, ultimately resulting in congestive heart failure.     

Calculus anuria in a 20 months old child

Calculus obstruction of the solitary kidney presenting as anuria in small children is unusual. We record the youngest such patient reported in the literature with a congenital single kidney.     

Perceived barriers to medical-error reporting: an exploratory investigation

Medical-error reporting is an essential component for patient safety enhancement. Unfortunately, medical errors are largely underreported across healthcare institutions. This problem can be attributed to different factors and barriers present at organizational and individual levels that ultimately prevent individuals from generating the report. This study explored the factors that affect medical-error reporting among physicians and nurses at a large academic medical center located in the midwest United States. A nominal group session was conducted to identify the most relevant factors that act as barriers for error reporting. These factors were then used to design a questionnaire that explored the likelihood of the factors to act as barriers and their likelihood to be modified. Using these two parameters, the results were analyzed and combined into a Factor Relevance Matrix. The matrix identifies the factors for which immediate actions should be undertaken to improve medical-error reporting (immediate action factors). It also identifies factors that require long-term strategies (long-term strategy factors) as well as factors that the organization should be aware of but that are of lower priority (awareness factors). The strategies outlined in this study may assist healthcare organizations in improving medical-error reporting, as part of the efforts toward patient-safety enhancement. Although factors affecting medical-error reporting may vary between different organizations, the process used in identifying the factors and the Factor Relevance Matrix developed in this study are easily adaptable to any organizational setting.     

Ultrasonography and fluoroscopic fusion for prostate brachytherapy dosimetry

: To investigate the feasibility of performing postimplant and intraoperative dosimetry for prostate brachytherapy by fusing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) and fluoroscopic data.

: Registration of ultrasound (prostate boundary) and fluoroscopic (seed) data requires spatial markers that are detectable by both imaging modalities. In this study, the needle tips were considered as such fiducials. Prostate phantoms were implanted with the seeds, and four localization needles were inserted. In the TRUS frame of reference, the longitudinal coordinate of the needle tip was determined by advancing the needle until the echo from its tip just registered at a known probe depth. The tip’s transverse coordinates were determined from the associated TRUS slice. The three-dimensional needle tip positions were also calculated in the fluoroscopic coordinate system using a seed reconstruction method. The transformation between the TRUS and fluoroscopy coordinate systems was established by the least-squares solution using the singular value decomposition.

: With three of four needle tips as fiducials and the one remaining needle as a test target, the mean fiducial registration error was 0.8 mm and the test target registration error was 2.5 mm. When all four points were used for registration, the errors decreased to 1.1 mm. A comparison between the proposed method and CT-based dosimetry yielded a percentage of prostate volume receiving 100% and 150% of the prescribed minimal peripheral dose and minimal dose received by 90% of the prostate gland that agreed within 0.4%, 2.7%, and 4.2%, respectively.

: The combination of TRUS and fluoroscopy is a feasible alternative to the currently used CT-based postimplant dosimetry. Furthermore, because of online imaging capability, the method lends itself to real-time intraoperative applications.