Multiple Risk Factors of Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Myocardial Infarction Patients

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the most critical medical emergency and contributor to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Myocardial infarction is the most common form of coronary heart disease and leading cause of premature death. Past century has seen substantial advancement in the field of medical sciences but still mortality trends due to myocardial infarction is increasing in developing countries including India. We have conducted this study to compare the Sociodemographic characteristics of alcoholic and non alcoholic MI patients admitted in coronary care unit of Saveetha Medical College, Chennai, India. Methods: An exploratory cross sectional study was performed by enrolling a convenient sample of 100 Myocardial Infarction patients. Information about Sociodemographic characteristics, past medical history, alcohol and tobacco intake, physical activity, psychological stress and biochemical measurements was gathered. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 46 (SD=6) years and majority of them were male i.e. 82%. 100% married and 89% literate, there were 24% past and 22% present alcoholics. Consumption of alcohol on a monthly, weekly and daily basis was 8%, 11% and 5% respectively. Preference to brandy was 67%, rum was 21% and that the beer was 12%. Current smoker were 20% and former were 11%. 93% and 52% respondents were under medication of beta blocker and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors respectively. Conclusion: Worldwide, MI is the most common cause of mortality and morbidity and hence early diagnosis and management is most essential. Results from our study revealed that, participants had sedentary lifestyles where risk factors of MI such as alcohol consumption, and smoking does existed

Severity and clustering of menopausal symptoms among obese and nonobese postmenopausal women in India

Background: The symptoms of menopause have a negative impact on quality of life, especially in women transitioning to menopause and earlier transitions. This study was conducted with the objective of assessing the effect of obesity on the severity of menopausal symptoms and the clustering of symptoms in postmenopausal women in India. Methodology: The Menopausal Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms of postmenopausal women of Chennai, visiting Saveetha Medical College, Chennai, India. This cross‑sectional study was conducted from August to November 2013 in Chennai, India. Sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure level, menopausal history, personal health history, and hormonal disorder issues were investigated. Results: The results have shown that 24% of the participants had complaint of mild to severe hot flushes, half of them had reported heart ailments (49%; n = 74), and disturbed sleep (48%; n = 72). The proportion of overweight/obese participants was higher in married (64%) than widows (41%), and this difference was found statistically significant (P = 0.005). There were no significant differences in MRS scores of obese and nonobese postmenopausal participants. Conclusion: There is a need of developing interactive, user friendly, technology based education module for addressing the chronic ailments of postmenopausal women

Water and sanitation hygiene knowledge, attitude, and practices among household members living in rural setting of India

Background: Rural population in developing countries face water, sanitation, and hygiene-related health issues. To objectively highlight these issues, we studied the knowledge, attitude, and practices-related to drinking water and sanitation facilities among the rural population of Chennai, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed involving individuals over 18 years of age living in Thandalam village, Chennai, India. Basic information about sociodemographic profile and existing drinking water and sanitation related knowledge, attitude, and practices was collected using a modified version of previously validated questionnaire and analyzed. Results: Forty-five percent of the participants were not following any methods of water treatment and among them half of the participants felt that water available to them was clean and did not require any additional treatment. Twenty-five percent of the participants surveyed did not have access to toilets inside their household. Conclusion: There is a need for intervention to educate individuals about drinking water treatment methods, sanitation, and hand washing practices

Dry eyes among information technology professionals in India

AIM: To perform the determination ofthe burden of dry eye syndrome among information technology(IT)professionals and examine association of dry eye syndrome between various daily activities. <p>METHODS: This was a pilot cross-sectional study conducted for a period of 3mo from October-December, 2013 in Chennai, South India. The study population was enrolled from three IT companies in a city in Chennai. The inclusion criteria consisted of individuals working in the IT industry at least for a period of 6mo, aged 18y or above and giving voluntary, written informed consent. Variable information was gathered by using series of questionnaires and ophthalmic assessment. Information about sociodemographic characteristics was also gathered. Schirmer's test was performed for ophthalmic assessment. All of the analysis was performed by using SPSS vs.16. <p>RESULTS: About one fifth(<i>n</i>=36, 18%)of the participants were suspected to have dry eyes, with mean age of 29y(SD=7), and majority of them being males, graduates/ postgraduates, single, living in extended families in urban areas. Windy environment significantly showed to aggravate redness(<i>P</i>=0.04)and burning sensation of the eyes(<i>P</i>=0.000). Similarly, watching television significantly showed to aggravate gritty sensation(<i>P</i>=0.01)and led to excess mucous in the eyes(<i>P</i>=0.02). <p>CONCLUSION:Based on the results of our study, it can be concluded that the exposure to various daily activities such as watching television, using computer, reading, and use of air conditioning and windy environments(dry environments)were associated with signs and symptoms of dry eyes. Also, watching television and windy environment were significantly positively correlated with some of the signs of dry eye. This study emphasizes the urgent need of multi-factorial approach including policy measures for addressing the burden of dry eye in population

Nanometric chemical decomposition of infertile Himalayan soils from Uttarakhand

We present the nanometric chemical decomposition of Himalayan agricultural soils. The motivation to use this state-of-the-art material characterisation in the soil is to reduce the testing cost while increasing the efficiency of the characterisation. In India, a bulk volume of soil is still required for the characterisation of agricultural soil. The fertility of micronutrient contents and crop supply capacity vary greatly depending on soil types, crop types, ecology, and agroclimatic variability. Since total levels of micronutrients are rarely predictive of the availability of a nutrient to plants, knowledge of the differences in soil micronutrients that are available to plants is essential for the sensible management of micronutrient fertility and toxicity. In the state of Uttarakhand, low levels of micro-nutrients in the soil are frighteningly common, and this issue is made worse by the fact that many current cultivars of important crops are extremely vulnerable to low mineral levels. These baseline results are to be used to inform local farmers about the potential remedies, costs, and consequential benefits and durability. We intend not to present a generalized or generalized solution. Therefore, we limit our soil sample collections to five arc minutes (8.6 square kilometers) and document variations and heterogeneity in the chemical components of the soil. In this study, we used scanning electron microscopy to chemically deconstruct the barren Himalayan soils from Uttarakhand. Aluminium, carbon, oxygen, and silicon were identified as the primary elements that contributed more than 5% of the total weight and atomic percentage. Other elements include less than 4% of iron, titanium, nitrogen, sodium, magnesium, chloride, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, and calcium

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Not AvailableA field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of contrasting tillage systems viz., no- tillage, reduced tillage and conventional tillage with four cropping systems viz., soybean + pigeon pea (2:1), soybean - wheat, maize + pigeon pea (1:1) and maize - chickpea on yields and soil quality in a Vertisols of Central India. Surface soil samples were collected and analyzed for physicochemical properties. Correlation analysis of seven soil physicochemical attributes showed a significant correlation in eight (P < 0.01) and four (P < 0.05) attribute pairs out of the 49 soil attribute pairs. The results revealed that the soil properties such as soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity, organic carbon, mean weight diameter, available nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium were influenced by tillage and cropping systems. Evaluation of soil quality using soil quality index (SQI) under different tillage and cropping system showed that soil quality was better in maize + pigeon pea (1:1) and soybean + pigeon pea (2:1) under reduced tillage and no tillage as compared to the other systems. The tillage that caused destructive effects on soil quality should be discouraged for long-term cultivation to maintain good soil health for sustainable agricultural production. The value of SQI was positively and significantly correlated with soybean grain equivalent yield for all the tillage and cropping system. This indicates that the index parameters may be used for computing the soil quality under different management practices.Not Availabl

Image_1_Field-friendly anti-PGL-I serosurvey in children to monitor Mycobacterium leprae transmission in Bihar, India.TIF

BackgroundIt has been amply described that levels of IgM antibodies against Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I) correlate strongly with the bacterial load in an infected individual. These findings have generated the concept of using seropositivity for antibodies against M. leprae PGL-I as an indicator of the proportion of the population that has been infected. Although anti-PGL-I IgM levels provide information on whether an individual has ever been infected, their presence cannot discriminate between recent and past infections. Since infection in (young) children by definition indicates recent transmission, we piloted the feasibility of assessment of anti-PGL-I IgM seroprevalence among children in a leprosy endemic area in India as a proxy for recent M. leprae transmission.Material and methodsA serosurvey for anti-PGL-I IgM antibodies among children in highly leprosy endemic villages in Bihar, India, was performed, applying the quantitative anti-PGL-I UCP-LFA cassette combined with low-invasive, small-volume fingerstick blood (FSB).ResultsLocal staff obtained FSB of 1,857 children (age 3–11 years) living in 12 leprosy endemic villages in Bihar; of these, 215 children (11.58%) were seropositive for anti-PGL-I IgM.ConclusionThe anti-PGL-I seroprevalence level of 11.58% among children corresponds with the seroprevalence levels described in studies in other leprosy endemic areas over the past decades where no prophylactic interventions have taken place. The anti-PGL-I UCP-LFA was found to be a low-complexity tool that could be practically combined with serosurveys and was well-accepted by both healthcare staff and the population. On route to leprosy elimination, quantitative anti-PGL-I serology in young children holds promise as a strategy to monitor recent M. leprae transmission in an area.</p