PRESCRIPTION PATTERN ANALYSIS OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS IN PSYCHIATRIC OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN INDIA

ABSTRACTObjectives: (1) To study the prescription pattern of antidepressants in treatment of depression in psychiatry outpatient department of tertiary carehospital in India, (2) to find the change in drug therapy during last 1 year of the treatment (old patients), (3) to study reason for a change in drugtherapy, and (4) to calculate prescribed daily dose (PDD) of the individual drugs.Methods: It was cross-sectional single centered observational study with a sample size of 284 cases. Case record forms were filled from case paper.Results were analyzed.Results: Monotherapy was practiced in 259 patients, i.e., 91.19% of the study population. A maximum number of patients (n=159, 55.98%) receivedescitalopram monotherapy. Polytherapy was practiced in 25 (8.8%) patients. Out of 160 old cases, 9 patients required a change in drug therapyeither in the form of drug or dose. PDD values were escitalopram: 12.30, fluoxetine: 18.43, paroxetine: 25, sertraline: 96.35, amitriptyline: 57.79,imipramine: 5.75, and mirtazapine: 17.67.Conclusion: From our study, it is concluded that the incidence of depression is more in females. Selective serotonin receptor inhibitors were themost common class of drugs used followed by tricyclic antidepressants. Escitalopram was most frequently prescribed antidepressant followed byamitriptyline. The prescription trend was toward monotherapy. Most patients continued treatment on the same medication. The poor therapeuticresponse was the most common reason for drug change.Keywords: Depression, Prescribed daily dose, Defined daily dose

Non-Photochemical Quenching in Cryptophyte Alga Rhodomonas salina Is Located in Chlorophyll a/c Antennae

Photosynthesis uses light as a source of energy but its excess can result in production of harmful oxygen radicals. To avoid any resulting damage, phototrophic organisms can employ a process known as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), where excess light energy is safely dissipated as heat. The mechanism(s) of NPQ vary among different phototrophs. Here, we describe a new type of NPQ in the organism Rhodomonas salina, an alga belonging to the cryptophytes, part of the chromalveolate supergroup. Cryptophytes are exceptional among photosynthetic chromalveolates as they use both chlorophyll a/c proteins and phycobiliproteins for light harvesting. All our data demonstrates that NPQ in cryptophytes differs significantly from other chromalveolates – e.g. diatoms and it is also unique in comparison to NPQ in green algae and in higher plants: (1) there is no light induced xanthophyll cycle; (2) NPQ resembles the fast and flexible energetic quenching (qE) of higher plants, including its fast recovery; (3) a direct antennae protonation is involved in NPQ, similar to that found in higher plants. Further, fluorescence spectroscopy and biochemical characterization of isolated photosynthetic complexes suggest that NPQ in R. salina occurs in the chlorophyll a/c antennae but not in phycobiliproteins. All these results demonstrate that NPQ in cryptophytes represents a novel class of effective and flexible non-photochemical quenching

Alkali attack by molten-salts on alumino-silicate samples

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High pressure clamp for electrical measurements up to 8 GPa and temperature down to 77 K

A compact clamp-type high pressure cell for carrying out electrical conductivity measurements on small solid samples of size 1 mm or less at pressures upto 8 GPa (i.e., 80 kbar) and for use down to 77 K has been designed and fabricated. The pressure generated in the sample region has been calibrated at room temperature against the polymorphic phase transitions of Bismuth and Ytterbium. The pressure relaxation of the clamp at low temperatures has been estimated by monitoring the electrical conductivity behavior of lead. Review of Scientific Instruments is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics