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Aim To develop an evidence-based expert group opinion on the role of insulin motivation to overcome insulin distress during different stages of insulin therapy and to propose a practitioner’s toolkit for insulin motivation in the management of diabetes mellitus (DM). Background Insulin distress, an emotional response of the patient to the suggested use of insulin, acts as a major barrier to insulin therapy in the management of DM. Addressing patient-, physician- and drug-related factors is important to overcome insulin distress. Strengthening of communication between physicians and patients with diabetes and enhancing the patients' coping skills are prerequisites to create a sense of comfort with the use of insulin. Insulin motivation is key to achieving targeted goals in diabetes care. A group of endocrinologists came together at an international meeting held in India to develop tool kits that would aid a practitioner in implementing insulin motivation strategies at different stages of the journey through insulin therapy, including pre-initiation, initiation, titration and intensification. During the meeting, emphasis was placed on the challenges and limitations faced by both physicians and patients with diabetes during each stage of the journey through insulinization. Review Results After review of evidence and discussions, the expert group provided recommendations on strategies for improved insulin acceptance, empowering behavior change in patients with DM, approaches for motivating patients to initiate and maintain insulin therapy and best practices for insulin motivation at the pre-initiation, initiation, titration and intensification stages of insulin therapy. Conclusions In the management of DM, bringing in positive behavioral change by motivating the patient to improve treatment adherence helps overcome insulin distress and achieve treatment goals.

Aim The primary objective of this review is to develop a practice-based expert group opinion on the role of precision medicine with a specific focus on sulfonylureas (SUs) in diabetes management. Background The clinical etiology, presentation and complications of diabetes vary from one patient to another, making the management of the disease challenging. The pre-eminent feature of diabetes mellitus (DM) are chronically elevated blood glucose concentrations; however, in clinical practice, the exclusion of autoimmunity, pregnancy, pancreatic disease or injury and rare genetic forms of diabetes is crucial. Within this framework, precision medicine provides unique insights into the risk factors and natural history of DM. Precision medicine goes beyond genomics and encompasses patient-centered care, molecular technologies and data sharing. Precision medicine has evolved in the field of diabetology. It has helped improve the efficacy of SUs, a class of drugs, which have been effectively used in the management of diabetes mellitus for decades, and it has enabled the expansion of SUs use in diabetes patients with genetic mutations. Review Results After due discussions, the expert group analyzed studies that focused on the use of SUs in diabetes patients with genomic variations and rare mutations. The expert group opined that SUs are important glucose-lowering drugs and that precision medicine helps in improving the efficacy of SUs by matching them to those patients who will benefit most. Conclusion Precision medicine opens new vistas for the effective use of SUs in unexpected patient populations, such as those with genetic mutations.

Prevalence of addictive disorders among persons with diabetes mellitus (DM) (type 1 and type 2) ranges from 9.6 to 29%. Excessive and problematic use of psychoactive substances in persons with diabetes results in poor glycemic control with frequent hyperglycemic crisis. Tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, benzodiazepines, inhalants, and stimulants are common psychoactive substances used among persons with diabetes in India. The daily use of alcohol by men and women with DM should not exceed 15 and 30 g of ethanol, respectively. Use of other psychoactive substances is not recommended for persons with DM. Various screening tools exist for assessing substance abuse like WHO-ASSIST, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and Opioid Risk Tool. Integrated management of co-occurring addictive disorder and DM is recommended. Psychosocial treatments for substances include brief interventions (BIs), motivational interviewing, contingency management, relapse prevention, and cognitive behavior therapy

Aim The primary objective of this review is to develop practice-based expert group opinions on the cardiovascular (CV) safety and utility of modern sulfonylureas (SUs) in cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs). Background The United States Food and Drug Administration issued new guidance to the pharmaceutical industry in 2008 regarding the development of new antihyperglycemic drugs. The guidance expanded the scope for the approval of novel antihyperglycemic drugs by mandating CVOTs for safety. A few long-term CVOTs on dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors have been completed, while others are ongoing. SUs, which constitute one of the key antihyperglycemic agents used for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), have been used as comparator agents in several CVOTs. However, the need for CVOTs on modern SUs remains debatable. In this context, a multinational group of endocrinologists convened for a meeting and discussed the need for CVOTs of modern SUs to evaluate their utility in the management of patients with T2DM. At the meeting, CVOTs of modern SUs conducted to date and the hypotheses derived from the results of these trials were discussed. Review results The expert group analyzed the key trials emphasizing the CV safety of modern SUs and also reviewed the results of various CVOTs in which modern SUs were used as comparators. Based on literature evidence and individual clinical insights, the expert group opined that modern SUs are cardiosafe and that since they have been used as comparators in other CVOTs, CVOTs of SUs are not required. Conclusion Modern SUs can be considered a cardiosafe option for the management of patients with diabetes mellitus and CV disease; thus CVOTs among individuals with T2DM are not required.

The economic assessment on juvenile landings of four dominant marine catfishes at New Ferry Wharf (NFW) landing centre, Mumbai, Northwest coast of India was carried out during January to December, 2013. The dominant catfishes viz. Nemapteryx caelata (19.7 %), Plicofollis dussumieri (21.5 %), P. tenuispinis (24.8 %) and Osteogeneiosus militaris (27.5 %) together contributing 93% of total marine catfish landings of the state. Among four species, the juvenile landings of N. caelata contribute maximum (93.17 %) followed by P. dussumieri (57.14 %), O. militaris (36.11 %) and P. tenuispinis (21.43 %) with the maximum landing during November to March . The bioeconomic model reveals that if juveniles are allowed to grow up to length at first maturity (Lm); an estimated total annual economic gain will be Rs. 13.15 crores with an estimated biomass gain of 1222 t per annum. The estimated total annual biomass is increased by 2.07 times with an increase in additional revenue by 3.7 times would have been realised. The results of present study suggest that sustainable harvest of these resources would have been yielded maximum economic return to the fishers. With the help of stakeholders participatory approach, management measures such as strict mesh size regulation, effort restriction on bottom trawl up to 50 m depth and awareness campign on catching juveniles and adult in particular to the oral incubated male ariids, would have been implemented during November to March to avoid growth overfishing.

Spotted seerfish Scomberomorus guttatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) is one of the highly priced table fishes in India, which contributed 4.7% of all India scombrid fishery with 17,684 t landed in 2014. Its fishery is dominant in the Arabian Sea and northern Arabian Sea contributed 62% to India’s spotted seerfish fishery. Biological information on S. guttatus is scarce and the same was studied during the period 2010-2014 from Maharashtra coast, north-eastern Arabian Sea. A total of 930 specimens (185-550 mm FL) collected from commercial landings were used for the study. Length-weight relation of pooled sexes was estimated as log (W) = -3.1988+2.66074 log (L) (r2 = 0.93). Fishery was dominated by males with the sex ratio of 0.76:1. Relative fecundity ranged from 105-343 eggs g-1 of bodyweight. The length at first maturity (Lm) was estimated to be 410 mm TL for females. Mature and gravid females were dominant in May and August-November. Dietary studies (% IRI) showed dominance of Acetes spp.

Medicinal nuts like hirada and ritha have many medicinal properties and used for many pharmaceutical operations. Presently shelling of hirada ( Terminalia chebula ) and ritha (Sapindus mukorossi) nuts is done manually, which is labour intensive, slow and tedious operation. Therefore, a power operated medicinal nut sheller was developed on the basis of shear principle. The capacity of the machine has been observed to be 114 kg-h -1 and 170 kg-h -1 for hirada and ritha nuts, respectively. Shelling efficiency of nuts was 83 per cent and 80.66 per cent for hirada and ritha, respectively. Per cent broken seeds were observed as 28.9 per cent and 7.9 per cent for hirada and ritha, respectively.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a progressive disease with multifactorial etiology. The first-line therapy includes monotherapy (with metformin), which often fails to provide effective glycemic control, necessitating the addition of add-on therapy. In this regard, multiple single-dose agents formulated as a single-dose form called fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) have been evaluated for their safety, efficacy, and tolerability. The primary objective of this review is to develop practice-based expert group opinion on the current status and the causes of concern regarding the irrational use of FDCs, in Indian settings. After due discussions, the expert group analyzed the results from several clinical evidence in which various fixed combinations were used in T2DM management. The panel opined that FDCs (double or triple) improve patient adherence, reduce cost, and provide effective glycemic control and, thereby, play an important role in the management of T2DM. The expert group strongly recommended that the irrational metformin FDC's, banned by Indian government, should be stopped and could be achieved through active participation from the government, regulatory bodies, and health ministry, and through continuous education of primary care physicians and pharmacists. In T2DM management, FDCs play a crucial role in achieving glycemic targets effectively. However, understanding the difference between rational and irrational FDC combinations is necessary from the safety, efficacy, and tolerability perspective. In this regard, primary care physicians will have to use a multistep approach so that they can take informed decisions.

Trawl fisheries sector account more than 50% of the marine fisheries production of India. Annual average fish landing from trawlers was 17, 21, 000 t (2008-2011), which formed around 51 % of the marine fish landing of the coast. In this about 51% of the catch was contributed by the west coast and remaining by the east coast of India. Recent studies of the trawl fishery in India have shown that incidental catches/low value bycatch (LVB) landing and utilization has increased over the period of time. The present study is based on the data collected from major trawl landing centres along the coast of India during the period 2008-2011.The estimated landing of low value bycatch (LVB) in trawl fisheries, increased from 14 % in 2008 to 25 % in 2011, which is reflected as reduction in discard volume by trawlers. On an average the highest quantity of LVB landed was in Veraval (50,000 t) and in Mangalore, LVB landing increased from 3% in (3000 t) in 2008 to 26 % (12,000 t) in 2011.In Mumbai, the percentage of trash fish landed remained around 5% during the study period. In Calicut, the LVB landed in 2011 contributed 26% to the total landings by the trawl. In Kochi, Kerala the total LVB landed in 2011 was 1,992 t forming 7.2 % of the total landing. In Chennai, Tamilnadu, the LVB landing which was 13 % in 2008 increased to 17% in 2011, while in Visakhapatanam, Andhra Pradesh, LVB landing showed a steady increase from 2% in 2008 to 21% in 2011. The landing centre price for LVB showed an increasing trend due to increased demand for trash fish for the production of fish meal and fertilizer. The dominance of finfishes in LVB found to increase the value of LVB and the value realized for 30,000 t of LVB in

Commercial exploitation of lobsters from the Indian seas began in the 1950s. Annual landings have been declining from a peak of 4075 t in 1985 to 1364 t in 2002. Major fisheries were located on the north‐west, south‐west, and south‐east coasts. Among the 12 species recorded, only four species of spiny lobsters (three littoral and one deep sea) and one species of slipper lobster are commercially important. At Kayalpattinam and Tharuvaikulam, on the south‐east coast, lobster landings sharply declined for the gill‐net fishery. Of the two species that contributed to the fishery, Panulirus ornatus and Panulirus homarus, the latter has been more affected owing to high vulnerability to fishing activities. Catch composition analysis of the trammel‐net fishery showed that 35% of the landings consisted of P. homarus in the size range of 23–50 mm carapace length. On the north‐west coast, the spiny lobster Panulirus polyphagus and the slipper lobster Thenus orientalis are incidentally caught in trawl nets. H...

Cerebral autoregulation and vasomotor responsiveness to carbon dioxide were measured quantitatively in normal baboons and after intravertebral or intravenous of the beta-adrenergic blocking agent, propranolol hydrochloride (Inderal). Continuous measurements were made of cerebral blood flow (CBF: measured as bilateral internal jugular venous outflow using an electromagnetic flowmeter), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), arterial Po2 and Pco2 and venous Po2, cerebral arteriovenous oxygen difference and endotracheal Pco2. The autoregulation index (A.I. = deltaCBF/deltaCPP) and the chemical index (C.I.= deltaCBF/deltaPaco2), were used as quantitative measures.

This study presents ultrastructural confirmation of the embolic method of producing an ischemic lesion. The embolic method was shown to produce more advanced parenchymal changes than those reported for the same postocclusion period following vascular clipping. With this method there was less alteration in the morphological intergrity of occluded extraparenchymatous areas of the arterial bed, especially in the associated nerve bundles.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and metabolism were measured before and after withdrawal of 5 to 6 ml of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 17 baboons. The measurements were made before and after infusion of tyrosine, the precursor amino acid of the putative neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine, in the brain. The same observations were made in another experimental group, i.e., before and after acute cerebral multiembolization induced by microfil emboli. In the steady state CBF was unaltered following reduction of intracranial pressure by removal of CSF. After infusion of tyrosine, CBF was decreased, and cerebrovascular resistance increased significantly on removal of CSF. Cerebral embolization did not influence changes in CBF at reduced intracranial pressure. It appears that the cerebral resistance vessels constrict following reduction of intracranial pressure by removal of CSF and that cerebrospinal fluid pressure-CBF autoregulatory mechanisms are resistant to cerebral ischemia induced by middle cerebral artery embolization.

Cerebral hemispheric blood flow (HBF) and metabolism were measured before and after withdrawal of 20 to 30 ml of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) over a 10-minute interval in eight patients with recent cerebral infarction and in four patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Immediately after CSF removal HBF decreased significantly in the AD group (-14%) but showed no significant change in the stroke group (-5%). There was rapid reduction in cerebral venous O2 content and some increase in cerebral venous PCO2 appearing within 60 seconds of CSF withdrawal, interpreted as a rapid reduction of cerebral blood flow (CBF) as judged by cerebral A-VO2 differences. The reduction in CBF was confirmed by the hydrogen clearance method. Reduction of CBF in response to lowering CSF pressure is presumably of neurogenic origin since it was rapid and occurred without changes in PaCO2 or MABP. Furthermore, measurement of HBF demonstrated that cerebral metabolism constant after CSF removal. It is postulated that in AD, reduction of HBF following CSF withdrawal is mediated by a disordered neurogenic veno-arterial vasoconstriction reflex which is stimulated by rapid reduction in CSF pressure (CSFP). In patients with stroke, when cerebral perfusion pressure is increased by lowering CSFP, CBF is maintained constant most likely by a physiological cerebral veno-arterial vasoconstrictive reflex. Apparently, this vasocontrictive reflex becomes excessive in Alzheimer's disease, possibly due to cerebral neurogenic imbalance.

A clinical method for noninvasive measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and blood volume (rCBV) is described, based on Obrist's 10 minute, desaturation method after 1 minute inhalation of 133Xe. Sixteen collimated probes are placed over both hemispheres and brain stem-cerebellar regions. End-tidal 133Xe curves are used for correction of recirculation. KEV discriminators are set to record gamma and x-ray activity separately. Values are printed out automatically by a computer on a brain map. Extracerebral contamination is reduced by 1) computing curves from gamma activity, 2) applying pressure on the scalp beneath the probes, 3) 1 minute inhalation of 133Xe and recording desaturation curves for 10 minutes, thereby minimizing slow clearance from extracranial tissues. Normal values for both fast and slow compartments are reproducible and are in good agreement with the carotid injection method. The speech dominant hemishpere has higher flow than the right under conditions described. Posterior portions of the cranium over the cerebellum and brain stem appear to have higher flow gray values than the cerebral cortex. Gray matter flow decreases with advancing age.