Evaluation of primigravida in labour using modified WHO partograph: comparative study of 100 cases

Background: Prolonged labour has become a rarity in developed countries, but it still poses a problem in developing countries causing increase in maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. This study is undertaken to assess the efficacy of modified WHO partograph in monitoring progress of labour in primigravidae with spontaneous onset of labour and in patients with active management and to assess whether active management of labour helps in reducing the duration of labour.Methods: In this study, 100 primigravidae partographs are analyzed, 50 patients are in active management group (early amniotomy and use of oxytocin) and 50 patients are in control group (spontaneously).Results: The mean duration of first stage of labour in the study group is 6.73±2 and in the control group is 11.30±4.51hrs( statistically significant p0.05 ). Assisted vaginal delivery (vaccum) is found in 6% in the study group and 8% in control group patients (p>0.05). LSCS is found 10% in study group and 8% in control group patients (p>0.05).Conclusions: Active management of labour significantly reduces the mean duration of 1st active stage, 2nd stage and total duration of labour, but does not decrease the rate of the caesarean section

Medical methods of abortion using lowest effective dose of mifepristone and misoprostol: case study of 100 women

Background: Medical abortion or Medical Methods of abortion (MMA) (or Chemical abortion) is defined as “the non-surgical way of termination of termination of pregnancy by a drug or combination of drugs”. With introduction of MMA there has been a steep rise in abortion related complications due to irrational use of these drugs. This study is undertaken using lowest effective dose of mifepristone and misoprostol in 100 women willing for termination of pregnancy with period of gestation <49 days to study the efficacy, side effects and failure rate. Present study emphasizes on using MMA by proper selection of patient, adhering to proper schedule under provision of MTP Act (counselling, consent, examination, confirmation of pregnancy, prescription by a registered medical practioner) in order to enhance efficacy and avoid complications.Methods: Prospective Clinical Study consist of use of single dose of 200mg of mifepristone orally followed by misoprostol (400µg) by vaginal route for terminating pregnancy in ≤49 days of gestation. Statistical analysis done by Chi square test.Results: In this study, success rate i.e. complete abortion without requiring surgical procedure was 96%and failure rate was 4%. Nausea (56%) is the most common side effect of Mifepristone. Chills (33%) is the most common side effect of Misoprostol. Mean Induction Abortion Interval is 2.17±1.2 hrs. Mean Duration of Bleeding is 7.79±4.42 days.Conclusions: Medical abortion is a promising method of early abortion in a developing country like India as it requires no technical skills and manpower with a good safety profile

Monovalent ions modulate the flux through multiple folding pathways of an RNA pseudoknot

The functions of RNA pseudoknots (PKs), which are minimal tertiary structural motifs and an integral part of several ribozymes and ribonucleoprotein complexes, are determined by their structure, stability and dynamics. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the general principles governing their thermodynamics/folding mechanisms. Here, we combine experiments and simulations to examine the folding/unfolding pathways of the VPK pseudoknot, a variant of the Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (MMTV) PK involved in ribosomal frameshifting. Fluorescent nucleotide analogs (2-aminopurine and pyrrolocytidine) placed at different stem/loop positions in the PK, and laser temperature-jump approaches serve as local probes allowing us to monitor the order of assembly of VPK with two helices with different intrinsic stabilities. The experiments and molecular simulations show that at 50 mM KCl the dominant folding pathway populates only the more stable partially folded hairpin. As the salt concentration is increased a parallel folding pathway emerges, involving the less stable hairpin structure as an alternate intermediate. Notably, the flux between the pathways is modulated by the ionic strength. The findings support the principle that the order of PK structure formation is determined by the relative stabilities of the hairpins, which can be altered by sequence variations or salt concentrations. Our study not only unambiguously demonstrates that PK folds by parallel pathways, but also establishes that quantitative description of RNA self-assembly requires a synergistic combination of experiments and simulations.Comment: Supporting Information include

Can Tobacco consumption explain the association between SEP and chronic periodontitis in adults living in a deprived area of the UK? A secondary analysis of the ELOHI study data.

Aim: To assess whether there are social inequalities on periodontitis at the population level in a deprived area of the United Kingdom (UK) and further elucidate the relationship between socio-economic position, plaque accumulation, tobacco smoking, and chronic periodontitis in a representative sample of adults living in a multicultural and socially deprived area. Methods: The present sub study used the cross-sectional data previously collected in the East London Oral Health Inequality (ELOHI) study, conducted in the outer northeast boroughs of London, UK. A stratified two-staged sampling was performed which consisted of a sample of 2149 adults (16-65 years of age). Participants underwent an oral examination and answered a supervised questionnaire in their own homes. Data regarding information on the explanatory variables: socio-economic position (SEP), oral health behaviour and indicators were obtained from the ELOHI study. The main outcome variable for the present sub study was chronic periodontitis (presence of at least one site of a tooth with a pocket depth (PD) ≥4mm). Statistical analysis included conceptual hierarchical modelling and mediation analysis. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: The prevalence of periodontitis in this area of East London was very high, 80.5% among males and 82% among females although these differences were not statistically significant. Hierarchical conceptual modelling analysis demonstrated that those in the manual/routine occupations category were 2.21 (95% CI 1.64-2.989) more likely to have chronic periodontitis than those in the professional category. The difference between those in the intermediate and the professional and managerial occupations category were not statistically significant after adjusting for demographic and behavioural variables. The results of mediation analysis, using the four steps proposed by Baron and Kenny demonstrated that the association between socio-economic position and periodontitis was partially mediated through smoking. Conclusion: A social gradient in periodontal diseases in part mediated by tobacco consumption may exist even in areas where there are highly socially deprived communities was identified. SEP as measured by NS-SEC was found to be associated with the chronic periodontitis experience (PD ≥ 4mm) with individuals placed higher in the NS-SEC ranking demonstrating a lesser risk of disease as compared to a lower NS-SEC ranking

Evolutionary Timescale of the DAV G117-B15A: The Most Stable Optical Clock Known

We observe G117-B15A, the most precise optical clock known, to measure the rate of change of the main pulsation period of this blue-edge DAV white dwarf. Even though the obtained value is only within 1 sigma, Pdot = (2.3 +/- 1.4) x 10^{-15} s/s, it is already constraining the evolutionary timescale of this cooling white dwarf star.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

Sensor Data Fusion using Unscented Kalman Filter for VOR-based Vision Tracking System for Mobile Robots

This paper presents sensor data fusion using Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) to implement high performance vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) based vision tracking system for mobile robots. Information from various sensors is required to be integrated using an efficient sensor fusion algorithm to achieve a continuous and robust vision tracking system. We use data from low cost accelerometer, gyroscope, and encoders to calculate robot motion information. The Unscented Kalman Filter is used as an efficient sensor fusion algorithm. The UKF is an advanced filtering technique which outperforms widely used Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) in many applications. The system is able to compensate for the slip errors by switching between two different UKF models built for slip and no-slip cases. Since the accelerometer error accumulates with time because of the double integration, the system uses accelerometer data only for the slip case UKF model. Using sensor fusion by UKF, the position and orientation of the robot is estimated and is used to rotate the camera mounted on top of the robot towards a fixed target. This concept is derived from the vestibule-ocular reflex (VOR) of the human eye. The experimental results show that the system is able to track the fixed target in various robot motion scenarios including the scenario when an intentional slip is generated during robot navigation

Re-defining the Empirical ZZ Ceti Instability Strip

We use the new ZZ Ceti stars (hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf variables; DAVs) discovered within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Mukadam et al. 2004) to re-define the empirical ZZ Ceti instability strip. This is the first time since the discovery of white dwarf variables in 1968 that we have a homogeneous set of spectra acquired using the same instrument on the same telescope, and with consistent data reductions, for a statistically significant sample of ZZ Ceti stars. The homogeneity of the spectra reduces the scatter in the spectroscopic temperatures and we find a narrow instability strip of width ~950K, from 10850--11800K. We question the purity of the DAV instability strip as we find several non-variables within. We present our best fit for the red edge and our constraint for the blue edge of the instability strip, determined using a statistical approach.Comment: 14 pages, 5 pages, ApJ paper, accepte

Semantic representations in the temporal pole predict false memories

Recent advances in neuroscience have given us unprecedented insight into the neural mechanisms of false memory, showing that artificial memories can be inserted into the memory cells of the hippocampus in a way that is indistinguishable from true memories. However, this alone is not enough to explain how false memories can arise naturally in the course of our daily lives. Cognitive psychology has demonstrated that many instances of false memory, both in the laboratory and the real world, can be attributed to semantic interference. Whereas previous studies have found that a diverse set of regions show some involvement in semantic false memory, none have revealed the nature of the semantic representations underpinning the phenomenon. Here we use fMRI with representational similarity analysis to search for a neural code consistent with semantic false memory. We find clear evidence that false memories emerge from a similarity-based neural code in the temporal pole, a region that has been called the "semantic hub" of the brain. We further show that each individual has a partially unique semantic code within the temporal pole, and this unique code can predict idiosyncratic patterns of memory errors. Finally, we show that the same neural code can also predict variation in true-memory performance, consistent with an adaptive perspective on false memory. Taken together, our findings reveal the underlying structure of neural representations of semantic knowledge, and how this semantic structure can both enhance and distort our memories

Verrucopapillary Lesions of the Oral Cavity: A Review

Verrucopapillary lesions are a spectrum of benign, potentially malignant and malignant lesions of the oral mucosa which usually are misdiagnosed. They pose a great diagnostic challenge mainly due to confusing terminology and also due to similar clinical and histopathological features which often makes these lesions indistinguishable from one another. The human papilloma virus (HPV) plays a important role in the pathogenesis of majority of these lesions. This review aims to summarize and highlight the key clinical and histopathological features of these lesions, and also provides a diagnostic approach to these entities

Organic matter depositional microenvironment in deltaic channel deposits of Mahanadi river, Andhra Pradesh

Quantitative and qualitative variations in microscopic plant organic matter assemblages and its preservation state in deltaic channel deposits of Mahanadi River was correlated with the depositional environment in the ecosystem in order to prepare a modern analogue for use in palaeoenvironment studies. For this, palynological and palynofacies study was carried out in 57 surface sediment samples from Birupa river System, Kathjodi-Debi River system and Kuakhai River System constituting Upper, Middle and Lower Deltaic part of Mahanadi river. Theapex of the delta shows dominance of Spirogyra algae indicating high nutrient, low energy shallow ecosystem during most of the year and recharged only during monsoons. The depositional environment is anoxic to dysoxic in the central and south-eastern part of the Middle Deltaic Plain (MDP) and Lower Deltaic Plain (LDP) indicated by high percentage of nearby palynomorphs, Particulate Organic Matter (POM) and algal or fungal spores. The northern part of the delta show high POM preservation only in the estuarine area in LDP but high Amorphous Organic Matter (MOA) in MDP. The sediment here is deposited under dysoxic to oxic fluvial conditions. Thus, the monsoon intensity, direction of fluvial discharge, and the landward extent of sea water incursion through river mouths inducing bottom water salinity play an important role in defining the magnitude of POM and its preservation in the shallow Mahanadi deltaic ecosystem