scholarly journals Quality evaluation and UV spectrophotometric assay of ten brands of amlodipine tablets marketed in Uyo, Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65
Author(s):  
Arnold C. Igboasoiyi ◽  
Amarachi P. Egeolu ◽  
Effiong M. Edet
Keyword(s):  
Vision Loss ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chronic Health Condition ◽  
Spectrophotometric Assay ◽  
Quantitative Assay ◽  
Assay Method ◽  
Predisposing Factor

Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker that is widely used to treat hypertension, which is a chronic health condition characterized by persistent elevated pressure of blood in the arteries. Hypertension is a predisposing factor to stroke, kidney failure, heart diseases and vision loss. The large demand for amlodipine makes it a good candidate for fakers. Consumption of substandard and/or fake amlodipine tablets will have a negative impact on the management of hypertension. This justifies continuous monitoring of amlodipine preparations in the marketplace and the provision of simple and cost-effective assay method that could be routinely utilised for their assay. Ten different brands of amlodipine tablets were  qualitatively assessed for uniformity of weight, friability, hardness, disintegration and dissolution rate using standard physical methods.  Quantitative assay was carried out using spectrophotometric method. The spectrophotometric measurement was done at a wavelength of 240 nm. Seven brands met the official requirements for uniformity of weight; eight passed the friability test and the hardness tests. All the brands tested passed the disintegration test and nine brands passed the dissolution test. The spectrophotometric assay showed that all the brands passed the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) requirement for percentage drug content. The assay method used in this study is reliable, simple and cost- effective and can be routinely used to assay amlodipine tablets. Keywords: Amlodipine, qualitative, quantitative, assay, ultraviolet spectrophotometry

Health Communication: Implications for Diverse Populations

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Amy Hasselkus
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Good Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Care Decisions ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Health Related

The need for improved communication about health-related topics is evident in statistics about the health literacy of adults living in the United States. The negative impact of poor health communication is huge, resulting in poor health outcomes, health disparities, and high health care costs. The importance of good health communication is relevant to all patient populations, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Efforts are underway at all levels, from individual professionals to the federal government, to improve the information patients receive so that they can make appropriate health care decisions. This article describes these efforts and discusses how speech-language pathologists and audiologists may be impacted.

Remote Heart Beat Monitoring System

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Saman Shahid ◽  
Saima Zafar ◽  
Mansoor Imam ◽  
Muhammad Usman Chishtee ◽  
Haris Ehsan
Keyword(s):  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Heart Beat ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Android Application ◽  
Development Environment ◽  
Future Assessment ◽  
Pulse Sensor ◽  
Hospital Visits ◽  
Monitoring Module

There is an increased prevalence of heart diseases in developing countries and continuous monitoring of heart beats is very much important to reduce hospital visits, health costs and complications. The Internet of Things (IoT) equipped with microcontrollers and sensors can give an easy and cost-effective remote health monitoring. We developed a Heart Beat monitoring module based on an android application. The software involved was the Android Application developed using Android Studio, which is the Integrated Development Environment (IDE). This app retrieved the data from the open IoT platform thingspeak.com. A highly sensitive Pulse Sensor was used to measure the heartbeat of the patient automatically. An Arduino Uno microcontroller interfaced with a Wi-Fi module ESP8266 used to transmit pulse reading over the internet using Wi-Fi. The heartbeat was displayed on the LCD of the patient in run-time. The heartbeat in beats per minute (BPM) was plotted against time (minutes). A mounted pulse sensor to the patient had monitored the heartbeat and transmitted it in the form of voltage signal to the microcontroller, which converted it back into a mathematical value. The Arduino transmitted the data onto the thingspeak.com portal, where it was plotted on a graph and the values were stored for future assessment. The user of the app was given a things peak API and the channel number as an access code, through which physician or nurse can accessed the patient’s data. IoT based heartbeat module as an android application can provide a convenient, cost effective and continuous remote measurements for heart patients to help physicians and nurses update. This app can reduce the burden of hospital visits or admissions for elderly patients.

Detection of enteroviruses in marine waters by direct RT-PCR and cell culture

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 323-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Reynolds ◽  
C. P. Gerba ◽  
I. L. Pepper
Keyword(s):  
Cell Culture ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
Storm Water Runoff ◽  
Routine Monitoring ◽  
Reaction Amplification

Sewage outfalls and storm water runoff introduces pathogenic human enteric viruses into marine coastal waters, which may pose a potential public health risk. Although members of the enterovirus group have been suggested as possible indicators of sewage pollution in marine waters, the lack of rapid, sensitive and cost effective methods have prevented routine monitoring in the United States. This study compared traditional cell culture and direct RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) amplification for detection of an enterovirus. Poliovirus could be recovered from 100 L of artificial seawater with an average efficiency of 77%, using adsorption and elution from electronegative filters. Viruses were eluted from the filters with 1.5% beef extract for viruses (BEV) adjusted to pH 9.5 and reconcentrated by organic flocculation to a volume of 30 mL. Substances which interfered with detection by RT-PCR were removed by treatment of the concentrates with sephadex and chelex resins. Direct RT-PCR could detect 2.5 and 0.025 PFU (plaque forming units) for single (25 cycles) and double PCR (2 × 25 cycles) in 10 μL of pure culture poliovirus samples, respectively. These methods are currently being applied to assess the occurrence of enteroviruses at marine bathing beaches influenced by sewage discharges.

Mobilized by Injustice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah L. Walker
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Racial Boundaries ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Depth Interviews

Springing from decades of abuse by law enforcement and an excessive criminal justice system, members of over-policed communities lead the current movement for civil rights in the United States. Activated by injustice, individuals protested police brutality in Ferguson, campaigned to end stop-and-frisk in New York City, and advocated for restorative justice in Washington, D.C. Yet, scholars focused on the negative impact of punitive policy on material resources, and trust in government did not predict these pockets of resistance, arguing instead that marginalizing and demeaning policy teaches individuals to acquiesce and withdraw. Mobilized by Injustice excavates conditions under which, despite otherwise negative outcomes, negative criminal justice experiences catalyze political action. This book argues that when understood as resulting from a system that targets people based on race, class, or other group identifiers, contact can politically mobilize. Negative experiences with democratic institutions predicated on equality under the law, when connected to a larger, group-based struggle, can provoke action from anger. Evidence from several surveys and in-depth interviews reveals that mobilization as result of negative criminal justice experiences is broad, crosses racial boundaries, and extends to the loved ones of custodial citizens. When over half of Blacks and Latinos and a plurality of Whites know someone with personal contact, the mobilizing effect of a sense of injustice promises to have important consequences for American politics.

Accidental Sustainability

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Jones
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
The United States ◽  
Air Travel ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Natural Beauty ◽  
And Diffusion ◽  
Whole Foods

This chapter examines the scaling and diffusion of green entrepreneurship between 1980 and the present. It explores how entrepreneurs and business leaders promoted the idea that business and sustainability were compatible. It then examines the rapid growth of organic foods, natural beauty, ecological architecture, and eco-tourism. Green firms sometimes grew to a large scale, such as the retailer Whole Foods Market in the United States. The chapter explores how greater mainstreaming of these businesses resulted in a new set of challenges arising from scaling. Organic food was now transported across large distances causing a negative impact on carbon emissions. More eco-tourism resulted in more air travel and bigger airports. In other industries scaling had a more positive impact. Towns were major polluters, so more ecological buildings had a positive impact.

scholarly journals Reserved Bed Program Reduces Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit Capacity Strain: An Implementation Study

Neurosurgery ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-138
Author(s):  
Christopher D Shank ◽  
Nicholas J Erickson ◽  
David W Miller ◽  
Brittany F Lindsey ◽  
Beverly C Walters
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Implementation Study ◽  
Service Line ◽  
Hospital Units ◽  
Significant Negative Impact ◽  
Operational Issues

Abstract BACKGROUND Neurosciences intensive care units (NICUs) provide institutional centers for specialized care. Despite a demonstrable reduction in morbidity and mortality, NICUs may experience significant capacity strain with resulting supraoptimal utilization and diseconomies of scale. We present an implementation study in the recognition and management of capacity strain within a large NICU in the United States. Excessive resource demand in an NICU creates significant operational issues. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of a Reserved Bed Pilot Program (RBPP), implemented to maximize economies of scale, to reduce transfer declines due to lack of capacity, and to increase transfer volume for the neurosciences service-line. METHODS Key performance indicators (KPIs) were created to evaluate RBPP efficacy with respect to primary (strategic) objectives. Operational KPIs were established to evaluate changes in operational throughput for the neurosciences and other service-lines. For each KPI, pilot-period data were compared to the previous fiscal year. RESULTS RBPP implementation resulted in a significant increase in accepted transfer volume to the neurosciences service-line (P = .02). Transfer declines due to capacity decreased significantly (P = .01). Unit utilization significantly improved across service-line units relative to theoretical optima (P < .03). Care regionalization was achieved through a significant reduction in “off-service” patient placement (P = .01). Negative externalities were minimized, with no significant negative impact in the operational KPIs of other evaluated service-lines (P = .11). CONCLUSION Capacity strain is a significant issue for hospital units. Reducing capacity strain can increase unit efficiency, improve resource utilization, and augment service-line throughput. RBPP implementation resulted in a significant improvement in service-line operations, regional access to care, and resource efficiency, with minimal externalities at the institutional level.

scholarly journals 307 A systems approach to understanding biosecurity decision-making

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 43-43
Author(s):  
Scott C Merrill ◽  
Christopher Koliba ◽  
Gabriela Bucini ◽  
Eric Clark ◽  
Luke Trinity ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Livestock Industry ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
Operational Level

Abstract Disease and its consequences result in social and economic impacts to the US animal livestock industry, ranging from losses in human capital to economic costs in excess of a billion dollars annually. Impacts would dramatically escalate if a devastating disease like Foot and Mouth Disease or African Swine Fever virus were to emerge in the United States. Investing in preventative biosecurity can reduce the likelihood of disease incursions and their negative impact on our livestock industry, yet uncertainty persists with regards to developing an effective biosecurity structure and culture. Here we show the implications of human behavior and decision making for biosecurity effectiveness, from the operational level to the owner/managerial level and finally to the systems level. For example, adjustments to risk messaging strategies could double worker compliance with biosecurity practices at the operational level. The improvement of our risk communication strategy may increase willingness to invest in biosecurity. Furthermore, the adaptation of policies could nudge behavior so that we observe a short disease outbreak followed by a quick eradication instead of a pandemic. Our research shows how the emergence of now-endemic diseases, such as Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, cannot be adequately modeled without the use of a human behavioral component. Focusing solely on any one sector or level of the livestock system is not sufficient to predict emergent disease patterns and their social and economic impact on livestock industries. These results provide insight toward developing more effective risk mitigation strategies and ways to nudge behavior toward more disease resilient systems.

scholarly journals Arterial Stiffness: Its Relation with Prediabetes and Metabolic Syndrome and Possible Pathogenesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3251
Author(s):  
Juan J. Gagliardino ◽  
Martin R. Salazar ◽  
Walter G. Espeche ◽  
Paula E. Tolosa Chapasian ◽  
Daniela Gomez Gomez Garizoain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Arterial Stiffness ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Statin Treatment ◽  
Normal Glucose Tolerance ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
Preventive Strategy ◽  
Metabolic Characteristics ◽  
Healthy Life Style

Aims: To evaluate arterial stiffness indicators in people with prediabetes (PreD) and its possible pathogenesis. Materials and methods: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured in 208 people with FINDRISC ≥ 13 (57 ± 8 years old, 68.7% women) and thereafter divided into those having either normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or PreD. In each subgroup we also identified those with/out insulin resistance (IR) measured by the triglyceride/HDL-c ratio (normal cut off values previously established in our population). Clinical and metabolic data were collected for all participants. PWV was compared between subgroups using independent t test. Results: Women and men had comparable clinical and metabolic characteristics with obesity (BMI ≥ 30) and antihypertensive-statin treatment, almost half with either NGT or PreD. Whereas 48% of NGT people presented IR (abnormally high TG/HDL-c ratio), 52% had PreD. PWV was significantly higher only in those with a complete picture of metabolic syndrome (MS). Conclusions: Since PWV was significantly impaired in people with a complete picture of MS, clinicians must carefully search for early diagnosis of this condition and prescribe a healthy life-style to prevent development/progression of CVD. This proactive attitude would provide a cost-effective preventive strategy to avoid CVD’s negative impact on patients’ quality of life and on health systems due to their higher care costs.

scholarly journals Asymmetric dynamics between uncertainty and unemployment flows in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ahmed ◽  
Mark Granberg ◽  
Victor Troster ◽  
Gazi Salah Uddin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Business Cycle ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Large Uncertainty ◽  
Monthly Data ◽  
Uncertainty Measures ◽  
Linear And Nonlinear ◽  
The Business Cycle ◽  
The U.S

AbstractThis paper examines how different uncertainty measures affect the unemployment level, inflow, and outflow in the U.S. across all states of the business cycle. We employ linear and nonlinear causality-in-quantile tests to capture a complete picture of the effect of uncertainty on U.S. unemployment. To verify whether there are any common effects across different uncertainty measures, we use monthly data on four uncertainty measures and on U.S. unemployment from January 1997 to August 2018. Our results corroborate the general predictions from a search and matching framework of how uncertainty affects unemployment and its flows. Fluctuations in uncertainty generate increases (upper-quantile changes) in the unemployment level and in the inflow. Conversely, shocks to uncertainty have a negative impact on U.S. unemployment outflow. Therefore, the effect of uncertainty is asymmetric depending on the states (quantiles) of U.S. unemployment and on the adopted unemployment measure. Our findings suggest state-contingent policies to stabilize the unemployment level when large uncertainty shocks occur.

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