Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction and its effects on fetomaternal outcome in pregnant women of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy and its impact on obstetrical outcome in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.Methods: This was a prospective observational study undertaken at antenatal clinics and indoor of BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. Total 720 antenatal women, ≤20 weeks of gestation were recruited for the study. In all patients’ routine obstetrical investigations and thyroid function tests were done. All patients were followed up to delivery. Maternal and perinatal outcome were ascertained.Results: Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among pregnant was found to be 21.1% and subclinical hypothyroidism (15.9%) was the commonest thyroid disorder. Most common complication observed in subclinical and overt hypothyroidism was preeclampsia (9.56 % versus 20%) followed by preterm labour (7.82% versus 10%). Major fetal complications in hypothyroid mothers included intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight and stillbirth.Conclusions: Prevalence of hypothyroidism was found to be high in our study and was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes; hence, thyroid screening should be included in routine antenatal investigations

Comparative evaluation of test characteristics of acetic acid, lugol’s iodine and toluidine blue stains in cervical cancer screening

Background: Cervical cancer rank second in female cancer and India alone account for one fourth of the global cervical cancer burden. The study was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of acetic acid (3%), lugol’s iodine and toluidine blue (1%) in detection of abnormal cervical lesions.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur over a period of one year from July 2016 to June 2017. The study included 200 women in age group 20-60 years with signs and symptoms suspicious of abnormal cervical lesion. The cases were subjected to detailed history, clinical examination, Pap smear, Visual inspection test, colposcopy followed by cervical biopsy.Results: Out of total 200 patients, 114 patients had acetowhite area on VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid) test, 113 were VILI (visual inspection with lugol’s iodine) positive and 107 women stained positive with Toluidine blue but only 88 showed biopsy proven pre-invasive and invasive lesions. So, sensitivity of acetic acid, lugol’s iodine and Toluidine blue was 81.8%, 84.09% and 90.9% respectively. Similarly, the specificity of the three stains were 62.5%, 65.17% and 75.8% respectively.Conclusions: Toluidine blue (1%) has proved to be significantly more sensitive and specific stain as compared to acetic acid (3%) and lugol’s iodine (50% dilution) in diagnosing pre-invasive and invasive cervical cancer. Hence, it may aid as an important tool in screening and treating precancerous and cancerous lesions

Hypovitaminosis D in pregnancy and its correlation with preeclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus

Background: Hypovitaminosis D has been associated with a number of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and has been recognised as a public health concern. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of Vitamin D deficiency on maternal complications like gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and preeclampsia (PE) among pregnant women.Methods: This was a case control study undertaken at antenatal clinics and indoor of BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Two maternal blood samples, one at <20 weeks and other at term along with cord blood at delivery were taken. Patients were classified into preeclampsia (n=60), gestational diabetes mellitus (n=35) and control group (n=180) after abstracting past medical records at delivery. Vitamin D was estimated by 25- Hydroxyvitamin D125 RIA kit and categorized according to ACOG criteria. Statistical analysis was done by using chi square test, binary logistic regression and Pearson’s correlation coefficient to compare between two variables. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Out of 275 women included in the study, 78% of women were Vitamin D deficient. Mean serum vitamin D was significantly lower among preeclamptic women 11.53±6.22 ng/ml and GDM women 12.62±6.69 ng/ml as compared to controls 24.25±14.44 ng/ml (median=18.2 ng/ml) (P<0.05). Vitamin D deficiency was significantly higher in pregnant women GDM (94.28% vs 68.3%) and preeclampsia (96.67% vs 68.3%) when compared to uncomplicated group.Conclusions: Maternal vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in early pregnancy and is significantly associated with elevated risk for GDM and preeclampsia

Association Of Handgrip Strength, Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference And Depression Scale Among Adults: A Hospital Based Cross-Sectional Observational Study

In the northeastern region of India, particularly, there has been limited research on the connection between handgrip strength, body mass index (BMI), and depression. The current study aimed to investigate whether obesity in adult women (aged 20 to 80) influenced the relationship between handgrip strength and the risk of depression. This research was conducted at Kolkata's Peerless Hospital from February 2022 to March 2023, involving a cross-sectional observational study with a total of 458 participants, both male and female, aged 18 to 80. Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Center, located at 360 Pancha Sayar Rd, Sahid Smirity Colony, Pancha Sayar, Kolkata, West Bengal 700094 (PHH&amp;RCLCREC/ 4020/2023). The study adhered to the ethical guidelines established by the institution's research committee and followed the principles outlined in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its subsequent revisions to ensure consistent ethical standards in all procedures involving human participants. Prior to commencing the study, informed written consent was obtained from all participants. Older women with thyroid dysfunction, or hormone replacement therapy, amenorrhea, those taking vitamin D supplements and individuals with physical or mental challenges, and those who were generally uncooperative were excluded from the study. The results of the present study demonstrated a statistically significant association between depression and handgrip strength, as indicated by the Chi-Square test. Handgrip strength also displayed a significant negative correlation with BMI. Waist circumference (WC) showed a significant association with handgrip strength, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.66. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between WC and handgrip strength. When considering body fat percentage, the OR for handgrip strength was 2.92, and a significant association was observed between handgrip strength and body fat percentage

Decrypting the multi-functional biological activators and inducers of defense responses against biotic stresses in plants

Plant diseases are still the main problem for the reduction in crop yield and a threat to global food security. Additionally, excessive usage of chemical inputs such as pesticides and fungicides to control plant diseases have created another serious problem for human and environmental health. In view of this, the application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for controlling plant disease incidences has been identified as an eco-friendly approach for coping with the food security issue. In this review, we have identified different ways by which PGPRs are capable of reducing phytopathogenic infestations and enhancing crop yield. PGPR suppresses plant diseases, both directly and indirectly, mediated by microbial metabolites and signaling components. Microbial synthesized anti-pathogenic metabolites such as siderophores, antibiotics, lytic enzymes, hydrogen cyanide, and several others act directly on phytopathogens. The indirect mechanisms of reducing plant disease infestation are caused by the stimulation of plant immune responses known as initiation of systemic resistance (ISR) which is mediated by triggering plant immune responses elicited through pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). The ISR triggered in the infected region of the plant leads to the development of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) throughout the plant making the plant resistant to a wide range of pathogens. A number of PGPRs including Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera have proven their ability to stimulate ISR. However, there are still some challenges in the large-scale application and acceptance of PGPR for pest and disease management. Further, we discuss the newly formulated PGPR inoculants possessing both plant growth-promoting activities and plant disease suppression ability for a holistic approach to sustaining plant health and enhancing crop productivity

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe