Competency based medical education as an accelerator to end tuberculosis (End TB) in India.

Tuberculosis is a major public health challenge in India and has been targeted for elimination. The National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), in its all-previous forms has been one of the leading national health programs with the institutionalized engagement of medical colleges. This article outlines the mechanisms for medical college engagement in NTEP and discusses how the recent adoption of competency based medical education (CBME) for graduate medical education provides an opportunity for strengthening medical college participation in NTEP.

Collaboration with medical colleges and public health institutions for implementation of national health programs: The way forward.

Health system strengthening is a much-needed priority to achieve the major public health goals of control, elimination, and eradication of various diseases. It depends on improving the country's ability to successfully perform essential functions while focusing on sustainability, equity, effectiveness, and efficiency. Medical colleges and public health institutions play an integral role in health system strengthening by educating and training the current and the future generations of health-care workforce with a vision to achieve the global standards in public health.

Finding the most cost-effective option from commonly used Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in India: a systematic study.

Objective: To identify a preferred and cost-effective drug among Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4Is) for Indian patients with T2DM.

Methods: We performed a systematic literature search using standard databases for relevant literature. Original studies comparing the efficacy and/or safety of different DPP4Is were included.

Self-Medication with Modern and Complementary Alternative Medicines in Patients with Chronic Pain.

Objective: The study aimed to assess the prevalence, pattern, and determinants of the self-medication practices with modern and/or complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies in patients with chronic pain.

Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2021 and January 2022 and assessed a representative sample of chronic pain patients visiting outpatient departments in India by administering a semi-structured questionnaire. The survey questionnaire consisted of forty multiple response items, including ten questions that assessed the subjects' sociodemographic profile, for example, age, sex, education, marital status, employment status, residence, and distance of home from any health care facility.

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on medical advice seeking and medication practices of home-bound non-COVID patients.

Background: Many countries are implementing measures for social distancing to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Indian government also issued an order for complete lockdown of the country, with all the nonessential services, including most of the services for nonemergency health issues, being temporarily suspended.

Objectives: This study aimed to understand the effect of pandemic lockdown on medical advice-seeking behavior and the medication practices of the non-COVID Indian patients confined to homes, who would have normally visited the outpatient departments (OPDs) for medical advice.

The Hindi Version of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form: Reliability and Validity Assessment.

Background: Despite the cultural sanctity and elevation of breastfeeding practices, nearly one in two Indian women nationwide are unable to practice exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Early identification of mothers at risk of reduced breastfeeding through a suitable instrument can enable targeted interventions for breastfeeding support.

Objectives: We conducted this study with the objectives of translation into Hindi and to psychometrically test the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) and to ascertain the sociodemographic and other correlates of breastfeeding self-efficacy.

Knowledge, attitude, and perception of Indian population toward coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread very fast worldwide as a pandemic causing unprecedented morbidity and mortality. Most countries in the world have undergone emergency lockdown in an attempt to flatten the curve and reduce the load on healthcare systems.

Objective: This study was done to assess the knowledge, attitude, and perception toward the disease among the home-bound Indian population during the lockdown.

Impact of increased focus on pharmacovigilance on knowledge and attitude towards adverse drug reaction reporting among medical students in India.

Background: Recent years have seen a surge in pharmacovigilance (PV) related activities in India. In the present study the impact of these initiatives on medical students from across the country was evaluated to identify their effectiveness, lacunae and arrive at remedial measures.

Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire based study was conducted.

Stability of non-metal dopants to tune the photo-absorption of TiO at realistic temperatures and oxygen partial pressures: A hybrid DFT study.

TiO anatase is considered to play a significant importance in energy and environmental research. However, for developing artificial photosynthesis with TiO, the major drawback is its large bandgap of 3.2 eV.

A pharmacoeconomic analysis to compare cost-effectiveness of metformin plus teneligliptin with metformin plus glimepiride in patients of type-2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: With the available evidence of early combined oral drug therapies being more effective in lowering blood glucose levels than maximal doses of a single drug, many clinicians are taking the aggressive approach of adding a sulfonylurea or a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor to metformin as the initial therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Pharmacotherapy for a chronic disease like diabetes has substantial economic implications for patients especially in a developing country like India. So it is important to scientifically evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these commonly practiced combination therapies in the management of T2DM.

Impact of antiepileptic drugs on bone health: Need for monitoring, treatment, and prevention strategies.

Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder affecting approximately 50 million people worldwide. In India, overall prevalence of epilepsy is reported to be 5.59/1000 population.

Vedolizumab: A novel anti-integrin drug for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the chronic inflammatory disorder of gastrointestinal tract consisting of two subtypes: Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. IBD occurs due to infiltration of leukocytes in intestinal mucosa and derangements in intestinal barrier function. One of the most important steps in pathogenesis of IBD is the interactions between integrins on the surface of leukocyte.

Sutureless, Glueless, Scleral Fixation of Single-Piece and Toric Intraocular Lens: A Novel Technique.

Sutureless, glueless, scleral fixation of an intraocular lens is a known technique of fixing a lens in the scleral pockets. However, this technique is applied to single-piece and toric lenses instead of 3-piece lenses, allowing the advantage of the use of premium lenses in patients with poor capsular support. Favourable results without complications of pigment dispersion, iris transillumination defects, dysphotopsia, elevated intraocular pressure, intraocular hemorrhage and cystoid macular edema with a well-centered, stable intraocular lens have been observed in the 3-month postoperative period in both cases.

Hypersensitivity reaction with deferasirox.

Thalassemias comprise a group of hereditary blood disorders. Thalassemia major presents with anemia within the first 2 years of life requiring frequent blood transfusions for sustaining life. Regular blood transfusions lead to iron overload-related complications.

To evaluate efficacy and safety of Caralluma fimbriata in overweight and obese patients: A randomized, single blinded, placebo control trial.

Aim: The aim of the following study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Caralluma fimbriata extract (CFE) in overweight and obese individuals in a prospective, randomized, placebo controlled trial.

Materials And Methods: Commercially available CFE was assessed in overweight and obese individuals. A total of 89 patients were randomized into a treatment group (n = 47) and placebo group (n = 42) to receive either CFE in the form capsules/oral 500 mg b.

Comparative evaluation of aliskiren, ramipril, and losartan on psychomotor performance in healthy volunteers: A preliminary report.

Aim: To compare the effects of aliskiren, ramipril, and losartan on the psychomotor performance in healthy volunteers.

Materials And Methods: In this preliminary, single-dose, open-label, cross-over study conducted in 12 healthy volunteers, psychomotor assessment was carried out by four tests: Simple reaction time (SRT), multiple choice reaction time test (MCRT), critical flicker fusion frequency threshold test (CFFT), and tracking performance test (TPT). Each volunteer received a single dose of each of the three test drugs with a washout period of 10 days between different test sessions and then evaluated for post-drug scores at 2-h intervals up to 12 h and then at 24 h.

Effect of Carum carvi, a herbal bioenhancer on pharmacokinetics of antitubercular drugs: A study in healthy human volunteers.

Aim And Objectives: The present study was undertaken in 20 healthy human volunteers to evaluate the effect of a herbal bioenhancer, Carum carvi on pharmacokinetics of rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide in fixed dose combination (FDC).

Materials And Methods: It was a prospective, two-period, open-label, cross-over experiment on 20 healthy human male volunteers. The volunteers were administered a single dose of FDC containing rifampicin (450 mg), isoniazid (300 mg), and pyrazinamide (1000 mg) and after 10 days washout period the same FDC along with C.

2-(Phenyl-selenon-yl)pyridine.

In the title compound, C11H9NO2Se, the pyridine and phenyl rings are almost perpendicular, with the dihedral angle between their mean planes being 79.16 (7)°. In the crystal, the mol-ecules pack so as to form ruffled sheets in the (110) plane connected by weak C-H⋯O inter-actions.

Effects of resistance training on metabolic profile of adults with type 2 diabetes.

Background & Objective: The number of diabetes in India is increasing at an alarming rate. The effects of physical activity in the form of resistance training or aerobic exercises on type 2 diabetes have not been studied in Indian population. The objective of this study was to analyse the effects of eight weeks of progressive resistance training (PRT) compared with aerobic exercise (AE) on glycaemic control, metabolic profile, cardiovascular fitness parameters and general well being in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Mixed surfactant based microemulsions as vehicles for enhanced solubilization and synthesis of organoselenium compounds.

We exploited the added degree of compositional freedom provided by mixed AOT/lecithin surfactants in reverse isooctane microemulsion to demonstrate that a small amount of added lecithin significantly enhances the solubility of organodiselenides over that in AOT reverse isooctane microemulsions alone. Conductivity results show that the added lecithin significantly increases the solubility of four different organodiselenides and raises the temperature required to induce percolation. FTIR, (1)H NMR, and UV-visible techniques were utilized to gain insight into the interactions of organodiselenides, AOT and lecithin headgroups with water in the micellar core.

Regioselective synthesis of bis(2-halo-3-pyridyl) dichalcogenides (E = S, Se and Te): directed ortho-lithiation of 2-halopyridines.

A novel method for the preparation of hitherto unknown symmetrical bis(2-halo-3-pyridyl) dichalcogenides (E = S, Se and Te) by the oxidation of intermediate 2-halo-3-pyridyl chalcogenolate, prepared by lithiation of 2-halo pyridines using lithium diisopropylamine is being reported. All the newly synthesized compounds have been characterized through elemental analysis employing various spectroscopic techniques, namely, NMR ((1)H, (13)C, (77)Se), infrared, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystal structures in representative cases.