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Introduction: Perineural dexamethasone gives promising results in prolonging duration of analgesia in brachial plexus block. Doses between 1 to 10 mg have been used but the optimum dose is not yet settled. Aim: To compare the analgesic efficacy of two low doses of dexamethasone in Ultrasonography (USG)-guided brachial plexus block for planned upper limb surgery. Materials and Methods: A double-blind randomised clinical trial was conducted with 126 adult patients of either sex, randomised in equal numbers to 2 mg and 4 mg dexamethasone groups, the steroid being administered in conjunction with 0.5% levobupivacaine. Time to onset of sensory and motor blocks, duration of analgesia, duration of motor block, total consumption of analgesics in the first 24 hours postoperative period, haemodynamic parameters and features of neurotoxicity were compared. Tramadol 50mg intravenous was permitted as rescue analgesic. Results: No significant differences in onset of sensory and motor blocks were encountered. Duration of sensory block with 4 mg {median (Interquartile range); 1080 (900-1140) min} clearly exceeded that with 2 mg {840 (720-960) min} (p-value<0.001) dexamethasone. Duration of motor block was also greater with 4 mg dexamethasone {1080 (1020-1170) versus 870 (810-990)min} (p-value<0.001). Total analgesic consumption in first 24 hours was 225 (175-250) mg versus 100 (75-200) mg in 2 mg and 4 mg groups respectively (p-value<0.001). No features of neurotoxicity were encountered in either group. Conclusion: Perineural dexamethasone 4 mg gives better results as analgesic adjuvant to bupivacaine compared to 2mg in brachial plexus block for upper limb surgery without increasing adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are synthetic compounds widely used as consumer items such as cosmetics and therapeutic drugs across the globe. The inappropriate disposal of PPCPs in the environment has raised serious concerns regarding their potential adverse impacts on human and animal health. Hence, the present study aims to delve into the environmental contamination of numerous PPCPs and their detrimental impacts on biota and climate change. Mining of data published in the relevant literature has revealed that active ingredients of PPCPs and their metabolites generally invade the ecosystem via multiple sources. Varying concentrations of these contaminants are reported in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater treatment plants. The majority of PPCPs pose acute and chronic toxicity to living organisms. They adversely affect the structure and function of the algal community along with the feeding, mating, metabolic activities, and reproductive behavior of invertebrates, fishes, and higher vertebrates, including humans. The occurrence of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations as a response to PPCP contamination is another health concern. In addition, targeting mitochondrial respiratory proteins and cytochrome enzymes by PPCPs might contribute to the onset of multiple physiological ailments. Studies have deciphered the connection between PPCP contamination and methanogenesis, which could potentially impact climate change. Several degradation methods have been used for the removal of PPCPs. However, none of them completely remove the PPCPs from samples. Therefore, developing more advanced eco-friendly approaches is warranted for better treatment of PPCPs in water media. In addition, further investigations are required for the risk assessment of several PPCPs that have not yet been investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mice offer a wealth of opportunities for investigating brain circuits regulating multiple behaviors, largely due to their genetic tractability. Social behaviors are of translational relevance, considering both mice and humans are highly social mammals, and disruptions in human social behavior are key symptoms of myriad neuropsychiatric disorders. Stresses related to social experiences are particularly influential in the severity and maintenance of neuropsychiatric disorders like anxiety disorders, and trauma and stressor-related disorders. Yet, induction and study of social stress in mice is disproportionately focused on males, influenced heavily by their natural territorial nature. Conspecific-elicited stress (i.e., defeat), while ethologically relevant, is quite variable and predominantly specific to males, making rigorous and sex-inclusive studies challenging. In pursuit of a controllable, consistent, high throughput, and sex-inclusive paradigm for eliciting social stress, we have discovered intriguing sex-specific social aversions that are dependent upon the sex of both experimental and conspecific mice. Specifically, we trained male and female F1 129S1/SvlmJ × C57BL/6J mice to associate (via classical conditioning) same or different sex C57BL/6J conspecifics with a mild, aversive stimulus. Upon subsequent testing for social interaction 24 h later, we found that males socially conditioned better to male conspecifics by exhibiting reduced social interaction, whereas females socially conditioned better to male conspecifics. Serum corticosterone levels inversely corresponded to social avoidance after different sex, but not same sex, conditioning, suggesting corticosterone-mediated arousal could influence cross sex interactions. While our paradigm has further optimization ahead, these current findings reveal why past pursuits to develop same sex female social stress paradigms may have met with limited success. Future research should expand investigation of utilizing male mouse conspecifics to instigate social stress across sexes.

Present study examined various socio-demographic factors, dietary patterns, habit of tobacco consumption and plasma vitamin levels in 56 healthy individuals, 146 patients with oral precancerous conditions (OPC) and 132 untreated oral and pharyngeal cancer patients. The subjects were interviewed with a detailed health, habit and diet questionnaire. Plasma b-carotene, vitamin-A and vitamin-E levels were determined spectrophotometrically. An increased incidence of OPC was observed in the age group of <30 years which was associated with tobacco chewing. Whereas, incidence of cancer was in the age group of 30-60 years where habit of tobacco smoking was more prevalent. Majorities of the subjects were from rural area, poor, unaware about association of diet with cancer. The body mass index was lower (p=0.045) in patients with OPC and cancer patients as compared to the controls. Plasma b-carotene and vitamin-E levels were lower in patients with OPC (p=0.000 and 0.031, respectively) and untreated cancer patients (p=0.000 and 0.071, respectively) than the controls. ROC curve revealed that plasma vitamin levels have ability to discriminate between controls and cancer patients. Lower plasma b-carotene and vitamin-E levels were observed in tobacco consumers as compared to non-consumers. Odds ratio revealed that controls and patients with OPC having tobacco habit and lower plasma levels of b-carotene were at a higher risk (p<0.05) of developing cancer. Regression study and Analysis of Variance revealed that plasma b-carotene levels were inversely associated (r(2)=0.14, p=0.001 and F=0.000, respectively) with increase in the stage of cancer. The data provide interesting clues of potential role of diet, tobacco habits, socio-demographic status and plasma vitamin levels in etiology of oral and pharyngeal cancer in Gujarat, where no such findings are reported.