Eco-friendly Sustainable Multiphase Polymer Systems for Advanced Functions

When Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson discovered polyethylene accidentally, they never realized how useful their discovery will be for mankind, similar to how Charles Goodyear’s idea of adding sulphur to polyisoprene would revolutionize the tire and other rubber industries. Although those discoveries centuries ago have never realized their current impact, however, the fact is undeniable on how polymer science has conquered the world, gaining an irreplaceable position from a utilitarian perspective

Morbidity pattern among women during puerperium and its risk factors: A concurrent cohort study

OBJECTIVES: 1. To determine the magnitude of morbidity experienced among women in postpartum period up to 6 weeks after childbirth in a rural bock of southern India. 2. To find the association of demographic and obstetric risk factors with the morbidity. METHODS: A concurrent cohort study was conducted among 202 participants in a rural block in Vellore among antenatal women in third trimester (>28 weeks of gestation) who were followed up to 42 days of childbirth to study the morbidity profile and risk factors during postpartum period. Participants were given a home based record book which contained symptoms of the conditions studied. Home visits were made at 7-10 days,28 days and 42 days after childbirth by either the investigator or health care worker wherein sociodemographic, antepartum, intrapartum details and details on any infection experienced by them were noted. Additionally, Edinburgh postpartum depression scale and blood was tested for haemoglobin at 42 days after childbirth. Univariate analysis was done using frequency and percentages of categorical variables and mean for continuous variables. Chi square test was used to determine significance of association between the categorical variables. Risk factors with p value less than 0.05 were included in multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Among the studied morbidity, anaemia had the highest prevalence of 35.8%. This was followed by postpartum depression which was 27.7%. The incidence of developing infections by 7-10 days postpartum was found to be 5.4%, by 28 days was 1.5%, and by 42 days was 8.6%. Among them, surgical site wound infection had the highest proportion of 4.9% followed by episiotomy wound infection of 3.6% and 1% of mastitis and urinary tract infection each. None of the women developed puerperal sepsis. Among the analysis of risk factors, women married at less than 21 years of age [Odd’s ratio(OR) 2.3 , 95% confidence interval(95% CI) 1.163 - 4.737], women with poor perceived family support [OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.543 – 15.883] and those with poor perceived spousal support [OR 5.9, 95% CI 1.597 – 22.223] were identified as significant risk factors for postpartum depression. Antepartum anaemia [OR 2.4, 95%CI 1.168- 4.418] was found to have a significant association with postpartum anaemia. CONCLUSION: Anaemia and depression constitutes a significant proportion of morbidity postpartum most of which remains undiagnosed. Younger age at marriage, poor spousal support and poor family support are associated with developing postpartum depression. Antepartum anaemia is associated with developing postpartum anaemia

Oral Health Status of Institutionalized Orphans and Non-Orphans Aged 6-12 Years in a Central Indian City: A Comparative Study

INTRODUCTION: Oral Health, like general health, is a basic fundamental right for all, and even more so for the underprivileged. AIM: To evaluate the oral health status of Institutionalized orphans aged 6-12 years and non-orphans in Indore, Madhya PradeshMATERIALS AND METHODS: The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among various registered orphanages in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Oral Examination was done by two standardized examiners (ADA type III examination) and data was entered using a pre-tested and pre-validated proforma. Data was transferred into MS excel and after application of descriptive statistics, the independent samples t-test and multiple logistic regression were applied (p value significant at ≤ 0.5). RESULTS: Of the total 263 study subjects, there were 132(50.2%) orphans and 131(49.8%) school children aged 6-12 years. Among orphans, males (62.9%) formed the majority; use of toothbrush with toothpaste was observed among 69.7% of orphans, while 6.1% did not use any oral hygiene aid. The most common observed hard lesion was dental caries (31.8%) as compared to 20.6% in school children and its presence revealed a significant association (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: It is recommended that a special emphasis should be made to promote oral health among the children residing in orphanages

Risk factors for maternal mortality among 1.9 million women in nine empowered action group states in India: secondary analysis of Annual Health Survey data.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the risk factors for pregnancy-related death in India's nine Empowered Action Group (EAG) states. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis of the Indian Annual Health Survey (2010-2013). SETTING: Nine states: Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. PARTICIPANTS: 1 989 396 pregnant women. METHODS: Maternal mortality ratio (MMR), overall and for each state, with 95% CI was calculated. Stepwise multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the association of risk factors with maternal mortality. Area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was used to assess the prediction of the model. OUTCOME MEASURES: MMR adjusted for survey design, adjusted OR (aOR)with 95% CI and C-statistic with 95% CI. RESULTS: MMR calculated for the nine states was 383/100 000 live births (95% CI 346 to 423 per 100 000). Age exhibited a U-shaped association with maternal mortality. Not having a health scheme and belonging to a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe group were significant risk factors for maternal death with aOR of 2.72 (95% CI 2.41 to 3.07), 1.10 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.18) and 1.43 (95% CI 1.31 to 1.56), respectively. Socioeconomic status and rural residence were not associated with maternal mortality after adjusting for access to a healthcare facility. Complications of pregnancy and medical comorbidities were the strongest risk factors for maternal death (aOR 50.2, 95% CI 44.5 to 56.6). Together, the risk factors identified accounted for 89% (95% CI 0.887 to 0.894) of the AUROC. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal mortality in India's EAG states greatly exceeds the national average. The identified risk factors demonstrate the importance of improving the quality of pregnancy care. Notably, the study showed that the risk conferred by poor socioeconomic status could be mitigated by universal access to healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF BLUMEA MOLLIS (D.DON) MERRILL

Objective: The objective of this research was to carry out the preliminary phytochemical screening and to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extract of the Blumea mollis. Methods: In the present work, the phytochemicals of the whole plant were extracted using petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol, ethanol, and distilled water. These were then screened for triterpenes/steroids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and phenolic acids using standard methods. Further, the antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extract was determined using Gram-positive and negative bacteria. Agar well diffusion method was employed for antimicrobial activity study, and the zone of inhibition was found out. Results: The intensity of the color produced or the precipitate formed was used as the analytical response to these tests. Flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic acids showed positive results for phytochemical screening. The concentration of total phenols and flavonoids of the decoction was 45.5±0.2000 μg/ml gallic acid equivalent and 42.3±0.3606 μg/ml quercetin equivalent, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans were inhibited by the methanolic extract of B. mollis in agar well diffusion test. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the methanolic extract of B. mollis contains glycosides, phenolics, tannins, and flavonoids. Plant possesses significant antibacterial and antifungal property; the potent antimicrobial activity of the plant could be attributed to the presence of flavonoids and phenolic compounds in it