Cadmium in Jamaican Bush Teas

Samples of Jamaican plants used as bush teas were collected from households in high soil-cadmium (Cd) areas of central Jamaica and analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry for total cadmium and for cadmium extractable with a hot water brew as prepared for human consumption to determine their contribution to dietary cadmium exposure. The concentrations ranged from < 0.03 to 6.85 μg/g for total Cd, between 1 and 15% of which was extracted with a hot water brew. One cup (200 ml) of the teas examined was found to contain < 0.04–1.18 μg of Cd and would contribute 0.1 – 0.3 μg of Cd to a person''s dietary intake. This is significantly below the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of 7 μg Cd/kg body weight established by the World Health Organization (WHO). While this suggests that bush tea consumption does not contribute significantly to the PTWI, some of the teas examined exceed the WHO recommendation of less than 0.3 mg/kg Cd for medicinal plants.     

Prevalence of heterozygotes for hemochromatosis in the white population of the United States

In previous studies, the prevalence of HLA-linked hemochromatosis, thought to be the most common genetic illness in whites, has been estimated by identifying homozygotes in the population. Because not all homozygotes express the disease phenotypically, the accuracy of these estimates is uncertain. We analyzed the distribution of transferrin saturation values in the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to estimate the prevalence of hemochromatosis heterozygotes in the US population. After removing values for possible homozygotes, two populations were present (P < .01 for each gender). When weighted to reflect the US adult white male population as a whole, a proportion of 850 per 1,000 (95% confidence interval, 0.81 to 0.89) were included in a population with a lower mean saturation of 29.7% (29.1% to 30.3%), whereas 150 per 1,000 (0.11 to 0.19) comprised a population with a higher mean saturation of 47.0% (45.1% to 49.0%). Similar results were found for the female population. The gene frequencies were estimated to be 0.081 from the male population and 0.070 from the female population corresponding to prevalences of homozygotes of 6.6 and 4.8 per 1,000, respectively. Our results confirm that the gene for hemochromatosis is common.     

The preparation of fibrinogen concentrate for use as fibrin glue by four different methods

Fibrinogen concentrates for use as fibrin glue were prepared by modification of a cryoprecipitate method. The goals were the optimization of a method for different centrifuges and anticoagulants and the assay of factors not previously analyzed. Following a -70 degrees C freeze and a 4 degrees C thaw, CPDA-1 and ACD plasma were centrifuged at 6500 × g for 5 minutes or, alternatively, at 5000 × g for 7 minutes. The supernatant plasma was expressed to a final volume of 15.5 +/− 3 mL, and concentrates were stored at -30 degrees C. Preconcentration and postconcentration samples were analyzed for fibrinogen, fibronectin, factor XIII, and plasminogen content. Fibrinogen in CPDA-1 plasma was significantly higher than that in ACD plasma both before and after concentration at both centrifugation speeds. Fibronectin, factor XIII, and plasminogen concentrations were not significantly affected by centrifugation speed or the type of anticoagulant used. Fibronectin and plasminogen concentrations were significantly increased in components that were held for 5 to 6 days, as compared to those held for 0 to 1 day before freezing. Storage for up to 20 days in CPDA-1 and up to 5 months in ACD did not affect analyte concentration. It is concluded that ACD plasma centrifuged at 5000 × g yields a significantly low concentration of fibrinogen, while CPDA-1 plasma centrifuged at 6500 × g yields the highest amount. Acceptable yields were obtained from centrifugation of ACD plasma at 6500 × g and of CPDA-1 plasma at 5000 × g for use as fibrin glue.     

Effect of information, education and communication intervention on awareness about rational pharmacy practice in pharmacy students

Background:

There is a growing indifference among the pharmacy practitioners towards their duty as information providers to the patients. The patients do not always get enough desired information about proper use of medicines from the prescribers also. This contributes to improper use of medicines by the patients.

Objectives:

To bring about awareness about rational pharmacy practice in pharmacy students for better service to the patients.

Material and Methods:

The final year students of Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) from four colleges of Nagpur were enrolled for the study after informed consent. Their base knowledge was assessed through a written test which comprised of 27 objective questions related to rational pharmacy practice. This was followed by a series of seven articles on rational medicine use, published in leading local English news daily. The participants were reminded to read them on the day of publication of each article. As a backup, the articles were displayed on the notice board of respective colleges. Second intervention was a half day interactive session where series of six lectures were delivered to the participants on the right and wrong approaches in pharmacy practice. Posters about the do''s and dont''s of rational pharmacy practice were also displayed at the venue. The session was followed by a repeat test using the same pre-test to assess the change. Pre and post intervention data was compared using Fisher''s Exact test.

Results:

It was observed that the intervention did bring about a positive change in the attitude and knowledge of the final year Pharmacy students about rational pharmacy practice.

Discussion:

The role of a pharmacist in health care provision is usually overlooked in India. Hence there is strong need for reinforcement in final year B. Pharm when most of the students go in for community service. Such interventions will be helpful in bringing about a positive change towards rational practice of pharmacy.

Conclusion:

This study showed that a properly timed and meticulously implemented intervention brings about a positive change in the attitude and knowledge of pharmacy students.     

HLA antigens in South India: I. Major groups of Tamil Nadu

HLA-A, B profile of 385 normal healthy individuals living in Tamil Nadu, India was studied by microlymphocytotoxicity testing. Antigen, gene and haplotype frequencies of this population were calculated and compared to those already available in the literature. The sample was further divided into four major groups and the frequencies calculated. Genetic distances between the various major groups were also calculated: the analyses suggest that these different groups may differ by origin. The study further reveals that in any HLA genetic and disease association studies in India, one should give due consideration to the caste system of the sample studied.     

RANDOMISED,CONTROLLED, BLINDED FIELD TRIAL ON THE EFFICACY OF BIOCIDE FORMULATION (BACILLUS SPP.) IN THE CONTROL OF MOSQUITO VECTORS

A randomised, controlled, blinded field trial was conducted in a large cantonment area, to study the efficacy of the biocide formulation (Bacillus spp.) indigenously produced by Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India, as a mosquito larvicide, in comparison with Fenthion and Temephos. The study revealed that the biocide formulation in dosage of 5 grams per square metre brought about a very high level of control of culicine larvae from third day of application and the effect persisted till at least 28 days (median values of percentage reduction achieved being 93% to 100%). This effect was statistically significant from 7th to 28th day, as compared to Fenthion, Temephos or the biocide in dosage of 2 grams per square metre. Fenthion, on the other hand was statistically more efficacious in bringing about a quick reduction, with a 100% reduction being obtained within a day, but the effect declined to a low level by 7th day.KEY WORDS: Mosquito control, Biological pest control, Randomized control trial