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Malnutrition remains a key development challenge in many developing countries. Diversified agriculture practice can play an important role in dealing with this challenge. This paper attempts to review the research done on Agriculture and nutrition and analyze its outcome on employment generation through a systematic review of the literature. The paper concludes that the first paper on this aspect was published in 1974, but very few papers were published in this area. Post the year 2000, and there was an increase in the number of papers published in this area. However, the number of publications in this area is still quite less, which calls for a focus on the research in this area. Several research patterns have evolved from issues like mortality, mother, breastfeeding, child population, and education and have turned to recent issues like sustainability, livelihood, food insecurity, and urban agriculture. This paper provides insights into the gaps in the field of agriculture relating nutrition and employment aspect and analysis of new frontiers for Agriculture, Employment, and Nutrition, enabling future research directions. The literature analysis shows that the linkage between agriculture, nutrition, and employment is a less explored area, and there is a need for further research in this area. Particularly, developing nations have much importance to agriculture and its role in improving nutrition and employment. Their research should explore this nexus for achieving the Sustainable development goals of “No Poverty” and Zero Hunger.”

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess adverse drug reaction (ADR) profile of the drugs prescribed to treat Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) positive patients and to determine whether ADRs are associated with any comorbidities. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done with Laboratory confirmed COVID-19 positive patients who experienced ADRs during their admission period at tertiary care center, Rajkot from April 2020 to March 2021. All the necessary information including ADRs information was obtained from patient’s case record file and filled in suspected ADR reporting form. Suspected ADRs were assessed for demographic parameters and causality, preventability, and severity using World Health Organization (WHO) scale and Naranjo algorithm, modified Schumock and Thornton’s criteria, and modified Hartwig’s criteria, respectively. Results: Out of the 100 patients there were 60 males. The mean age of the patients was 52.65±13.95 year. Fourty-six patients had comorbidities. The most common type of ADR was GI disorders. Among the single suspected medication, most common drug was methylprednisolone and among the two drugs, azithromycin was common. According to the WHO and Naranjo scale, Probable ADRs were 70% and 36%, respectively. The percentage for mild, moderate and severe ADRs were 44%, 39%, 17%, respectively. Eighty-six percent ADRs were definitely preventable. Fifty-one patients were recovered from adverse reactions. Conclusions: Seriousness of reactions is mainly associated with co-morbid conditions. This indicates that patients with comorbidity should be closely monitored to avoid harmful consequences. These ADRs monitoring and reporting program will help physicians to choose their therapy sensibly and decrease chances of mortality in this pandemic era.

Background: Currently, Benzodiazepines like chlordiazepoxide, diazepam and lorazepam are the preferred drugs in the management of Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). These drugs of similar class are different in their pharmacokinetic profile which differently affect in AWS. Chlordiazepoxide is longer acting and converted to active metabolites in the liver, while lorazepam is shorter acting, with no active metabolites. Materials and methods: An observational, prospective and comparative study conducted in 100 patients of AWS. They received either Chlordiazepoxide or Lorazepam and divided into two comparison groups at the screening. Observation was started from day of admission to every day till day of discharge. The initial withdrawal assessment and subsequent changes in withdrawal during treatment were assessed using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol scale, revised (CIWA-Ar) in both the groups. Clinical global impression (CGI) score was also used to evaluate drug efficacy in both the groups. Details of adverse drug reactions, if any appear were recorded. Results: CIWA-Ar score, CGI-Severity (CGI-S) score and CGI-Improvement (CGI-I) score showed statistically significant difference between two groups. But percentage reduction in CIWA-Ar, CGI-S and CGI-I score were almost similar in both groups. Intra group comparison at different duration of treatment progressed and in between days of treatment there was statistically significant reduction of these scores. Considering no. of adverse events, reported adverse events causality, severity, predictability and preventability assessment, both drugs were safe. Conclusion: Both the drugs had almost similar efficacy in terms of to reduce CIWA-Ar score, CGI-S score, CGI-I score and similar safety profile.

Background: Acne vulgaris is a dermatological disorder characterised by formation of comedones and inflammatory lesions. Acne is one of the most common reason for visiting a dermatologist in early adulthood. The current line of management for mild to moderate acne is topical medications with antimicrobials and retinoids. The present study assessed the effectiveness and safety of topical combination therapy for mild to moderate acne vulgaris.Methods: An observational, prospective and comparative study conducted on newly diagnosed acne vulgaris patients who were treated with topical combination therapy. Changes in the total, inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts, investigator global assessment (IGA) and dermatology life quality index (DLQI) scales were recorded to check effectiveness. Treatment emergent adverse events were recorded in suspected ADR reporting form for safety assessment.Results: Participants (n=97) were treated with three topical combination treatments either clindamycin-benzoyl peroxide (group-A), clindamycin-adapalene (group-B) or benzoyl peroxide-adapalene (group C). Majority of participants (42.3%) were treated with clindamycin-benzoyl peroxide group. Reduction from baseline of total, inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts were highly significant within group comparison (p

Objective: To analyze available evidence on the safety of different biological response modifiers which are used for a treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Materials and Methods: We searched systematically for randomized controlled clinical trials on treatment of RA with different biological response modifiers, followed by a systematic review with meta-analysis. Trials were searched from MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases. The following safety parameters reported in the selected trials were analyzed: number of patients suffering any adverse event (AE), withdrawal due to AEs, serious AE (SAEs), infections, serious infections, infusion reactions, injection site reactions, malignancies, and overall mortality. Undesired effects were estimated using combined relative risks (RR) and number needed to harm (NNH). Heterogeneity was evaluated by Cochrane's Q and I2 statistics. Results: According to inclusion criteria, a total of 43 trials (20,504 patients) were included in this study. A total number of AEs were found more with abatacept (RR: 1.05, NNH: 21.93). Withdrawal due to AEs was found with all biologicals, highest with anakinra (RR: 3.48, NNH: 15.70). Patients receiving newer tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, golimumab, were more likely to develop SAEs (RR: 2.44, NNH: 12.72) and infection (RR: 1.25, NNH: 10.09), and in certolizumab, serious infections (RR: 2.95, NNH: 37.31) were found more. Infusion reaction develops more with rituximab (RR: 1.52, NNH: 8.47). Etanercept showed the highest risk to develop infusion site reaction (RR: 5.33, NNH: 4.65). Biologicals showed no difference to their control counterparts in malignancy and mortality risk. Conclusion: This meta-analysis helps to clarify some frequently encountered and unanswered safety questions of different biological response modifiers, a new class of drugs, in the clinical care of RA patients.

Manipulations of the environments of captive nonhuman primates often have welfare consequences to the animals, including behavioral effects, and for certain manipulations, physiological effects as well. The processes of transporting, relocating, and acclimatizing nonhuman primates across facilities represent manipulations that are likely to have welfare, behavioral, and physiological consequences to the relocated animals. Seventy-two chimpanzees were relocated from the Primate Foundation of Arizona (PFA) in Arizona to the Keeling Center (KCCMR) in Texas. Animals were transported for approximately 21 h in single cages in a USDA-approved, climate-controlled trailer. Chimpanzees were weighed, anesthetized, and blood samples were collected 1) immediately prior to departure from PFA, 2) immediately upon arrival at the KCCMR, and 3) at additional time point(s) between 3 and 12 weeks after arrival at the KCCMR. Chimpanzees were quarantined in familiar pairs or social groups for 60-90 days at the KCCMR. Blood samples were analyzed for hematological and clinical chemistry parameters and compared across time points. In addition, samples from a subset of animals were assayed for cell-mediated immune parameters. Comparisons of the data obtained just prior to transport, to the data obtained immediately upon arrival, revealed numerous statistically significant differences in hematological, clinical chemistry, and immunological parameters. Some of these were indicative of stress, and thus, changes in welfare state, although many remained within the published normal ranges for chimpanzees. Additional analyses showed that many of the clinical chemistry values collected 3 to 12 weeks after arrival at the KCCMR had returned to pre-transport values. In contrast, of the cell-mediated immune parameters that were affected by transport and relocation, few had returned to pre-transport levels 8 weeks after transport, and three of the four hematology variables analyzed had not returned to pre-transport levels 12 weeks after transport. Comparisons of body weights before and immediately after transport revealed that animals lost an average of 2.5 kg during the 21-h transport, a statistically significant reduction that some animals never regained. These results demonstrate that transport and relocation affect a variety of physiological parameters with potential welfare implications and that some of these effects last as long as 3 months. These findings have important implications for the welfare and use of recently transported nonhuman primates, especially chimpanzees, in biomedical research. In order to allow animals to adapt to their new surroundings and to prevent unwanted confounds from influencing experiments, sufficient time must be provided after transport for chimpanzees to acclimatize.

Targeted delivery of vaccine candidates to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract holds potential for mucosal immunization, particularly against mucosal pathogens like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Among the different strategies for achieving targeted release in the GI tract, namely the small intestine, pH sensitive enteric coating polymers have been shown to protect solid oral dosage forms from the harsh digestive environment of the stomach and dissolve relatively rapidly in the small intestine by taking advantage of the luminal pH gradient. We developed an enteric polymethacrylate formulation for coating hydroxy-propyl-methyl-cellulose (HPMC) capsules containing lyophilized Adenoviral type 5 (Ad5) vectors expressing HIV-1 gag and a string of six highly-conserved HIV-1 envelope peptides representing broadly cross-reactive CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell epitopes. Oral immunization of rhesus macaques with these capsules primed antigen-specific mucosal and systemic immune responses and subsequent intranasal delivery of the envelope peptide cocktail using a mutant cholera toxin adjuvant boosted cellular immune responses including, antigen-specific intracellular IFN-gamma-producing CD4(+) and CD8(+) effector memory T cells in the intestine. These results suggest that the combination of oral adenoviral vector priming followed by intranasal protein/peptide boosting may be an effective mucosal HIV vaccination strategy for targeting viral antigens to the GI tract and priming systemic and mucosal immunity.