Novel NARC-G1 garlic: comparative allicin quantification with morpho-biochemical & genetic profiling.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is an important cash food crop, and the biotechnology industry has considerable interest in the plant because of its medicinal importance. These medicinal properties are attributed to organosulphur compounds as the accumulation of these compounds varies according to genotype, locality, light quality, and cultivation practices. In this study, we compared a newly developed garlic variety NARC-G1 by National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan with three different garlic cultivars and highlighted the distinctive attributes like phenotypic characteristics, the content of allicin, elemental profile, and gene polymorphism. Phenotypic analysis showed NARC-G1 has significantly higher bulb weight (66.36g ± 18.58), single clove weight (5.87g ± 1.041), and clove width (17.41mm ± 0.95) which directly correlates to the size of the garlic. The analytical analysis showed the highest allicin content (4.82 ± 0.001) in NARC-G1. Genotyping of the alliinase in all four cultivars showed indels in the gene resulting in distinguishable changes in organosulphur compounds' profile. NARC-G1 is unique from other garlic cultivars and could be the best choice for mass production with proper cultivation and irrigation management. Moreover, for Pakistan NARC-G1 could be a potential contender to earn the industrial benefits with inland cultivation instead of importing garlic alleviating the economic burden.

Less tongue engorgement with lateral placement of the Esophageal Tracheal Combitube.

BACKGROUND: The conventional technique of insertion and fixation of the Esophageal Tracheal Combitube (ETC) is occasionally associated with engorgement of the tongue. This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of an alternative placement technique in reducing the incidence of this complication. METHODS: Thirty ASA I and II adult patients posted for elective surgery under general anaesthesia lasting from 30 to 120 min were randomly divided into two groups (n=15, each). In Group A, the ETC was inserted and fixed in the midline. In Group B, the ETC was inserted along the angle of the mouth and was fixed at this lateral position. Intra-operative occurrence of engorgement of the tongue, the time of such an occurrence and any complaints of post-operative discomfort were recorded. RESULTS: The overall incidence of engorgement of the tongue in Group A patients (67%) was significantly more (P<0.01) as compared with Group B (17%). The incidence significantly increased (P<0.01) with an increase in the duration of surgery in both the groups. The engorgement persisted into the post-operative period in three patients in Group A and resolved spontaneously in <15 min in each case. CONCLUSION: Lateral insertion and fixation of the ETC is an easy, safe and effective method of preventing engorgement of the tongue associated with the use of this device without compromising a leak-proof oropharyngeal cavity.

A comparison of the laryngeal mask airway and PA(Xpress) for short surgical procedures.

Sixty adult patients undergoing minor peripheral surgery under general anaesthesia were randomly allocated to receive either the laryngeal mask airway (laryngeal mask airway; size 4 for females and size 5 for males) or the PAXpress (adult size), inserted by a single operator with experience of > 50 insertions of each device. The laryngeal mask airway was correctly placed on the first attempt in 27 patients (90%) compared with 20 patients (67%) when using the PAXpress (p < 0.01). No patient required more than two attempts at insertion and there were no failures with the laryngeal mask airway, compared with four (13%) who needed three attempts and two failures (7%) with the PAXpress (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). Mean (SD) total placement time was shorter with the laryngeal mask airway [24.6 (3.1) s] than with the PAXpress[35.4 (2.5) s; p < 0.01]. The most common complication was sore throat, which occurred less frequently with the laryngeal mask airway (8 patients; 26%) than with the PAXpress (15 patients; 53.5%; p < 0.001).

The effect of hip replacement on prescribing of NSAIDs, ulcer healing drugs and hospitalization--a matched cohort study.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of total hip replacement on prescribing of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), ulcer healing drugs (UHDs) and hospitalization. METHODS: Observational matched cohort study. RESULTS: There were 282 subjects in the hip replacement cohort and 1691 in the comparator cohort. Dispensing of NSAIDs fell from 89% to 57% after hip replacement but increased from 36% to 39% in comparators. Dispensing of UHDs fell from 33% to 30% after hip replacement but increased from 16% to 23% in the comparators. Hospitalization for upper gastrointestinal events fell from 2.5% to 1.8% after hip replacement but increased from 1.4% to 1.7% in comparators. Hospitalization for other causes increased from 32% to 42% after hip replacement compared with 25% to 28% in comparators. CONCLUSIONS: Hip replacement is associated with reduced prescribing of NSAIDs and UHDs. However, any effect on GI admissions will be small compared with increased hospitalization for other causes.