When to Give Up Infertility Treatment?

Infertility is a worldwide phenomenon. In recent times, Women prefer to study and build a career. They marry late and many women are 30+ years by the time they decide to conceive. Some couples in first few years after marriage, believe in DINK syndrome (Double income no kids). Suddenly they realize the need to have a child. In some cultures infertility is considered a social stigma. The woman suffers the most if she is infertile. Infertile couples may feel loss of self-esteem, sexual distress (stress), depression, guilt, anxiety, frustration, emotional distress and marital problems. The treatment of infertility can have physical, economic and emotional effects on infertile couples. Some modalities of treatment (IVF, ICSI) are complex and stressful

A Qos Adaptive Routing Scheme (IGLAR) For Highly Dynamic Vehicular Networks with Support to Service and Priority

This paper proposes an improved geolocation based QoS aware routing algorithm (IGLAR), which focuses on identifying optimal paths for effective routing in highly dynamic mobile ad hoc network such as VANET based on vehicular traffic at cross roads over a static high way lane. The process of selection and utilizing the optimal QoS route gets updated on transmission. IGLAR works on route identification, route binding, update and deletion process based on the validation of adaptive QoS metrics, before the optimal route selection process between source and destination. This research work discusses on the survey and analysis the performance of GPSR [9], AODV [8], DYMO [12] and proposed scheme based on simulation test beds and scenario mapping using VanetMobiSim with NS-3 simulator. The proposed routing scheme IGLAR has been designed and implemented as per the DSRC specifications [13] and IEEE 802.11p MAC. Keywords: VANET, GPSR, AODV, DYMO, VanetMobisi

Great Divisions: The Evolution of Polarization During the Man-made Emergency of January 6, 2021.

Polarization, which refers to the formation of two opposing groups based on the users' beliefs and opinions, has a growing body of literature. However, social media polarization differs from offline polarization in that beliefs change almost instantaneously on social media as a result of events unfolding. We investigate the uses of social media communication that has resulted in polarized opinions among individuals prior to, during, and after the January 6th Capitol riots. Analyses of the dominant narratives on Twitter surrounding the incident reveal a high level of polarization throughout the unfolding of the event, with increased polarization possibly attributable to the onset of the crisis. We also observed that polarization is a dynamic phenomenon: as an event unfolds, polarization changes, and knowing how it changes is important for timely crisis resolution. We propose three measures of polarization that could be used to examine polarization accurately during a crisis

Seasonality of birth in India

The conception rate in Baroda and Manipal, India, is lowest during the hottest weather. The greatest extremes are found in Baroda and, following high summer temperatures, there is a prolongation of low conception rates which may indicate that part or all of the effect is mediated through an effect on scrotal temperature. However, other factors may also be involved and a reduction of coital frequency is likely at extremes of temperature. Seasonal changes in abortion, stillbirths and prematurity are also observed. Changes in spontaneous abortion could be due to heat stress in the mother or possibly to abnormal sperm production at high temperature or to less frequent coitus, leading to embryonic defect

Drug utilization study in ophthalmology in OPD patients at a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Drug therapy is a major component of patient care management in health care settings. Irrational and inappropriate use of drugs in health care system observed globally is being a major concern. In the field of ophthalmology, there have been many drug developments and different classes of drugs with combinational products are available in ophthalmology for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases. Periodic prescription analysis in the form of drug utilization study can improve the quality of prescription and curb the menace of irrational prescribing. Aim and objectives were to study the prescribing pattern and drug utilization trends in Ophthalmology outpatient department at a tertiary care hospital in Navi Mumbai.Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted over a period of six months in Ophthalmology department of a tertiary care teaching hospital, Navi-Mumbai. A total of 103 adult patients visiting Ophthalmology OPD for curative symptoms were included and their prescriptions were analyzed with WHO prescribing indicators and additional indices.Results: Analysis showed that the average number of drugs per prescription was 1.9. Percentage of drugs prescribed by brand was 100 % versus generic 0 %. Percentage of drugs prescribed from National Essential drug list (NEDL) was 53%. The percentage of encounters with antibiotics was 30.6%. The commonest prescribed drugs were ocular lubricants followed by antibiotics. Eye drops were the commonest prescribed dosage form.Conclusions: Ocular lubricants and antibiotics dominated the prescribing pattern in this study with restraint on polypharmacy, but showed ample scope for improvement in encouraging the ophthalmologist to prescribe generic and selection of essential drugs

Examining the Public Response to Vigilantism: A Multi-dimensional Model of Social Media Discourse

This paper examines the social media discourse of two real-world vigilantism incidents that had invited nation-wide debate: Murder of ‘Ahmaud Arbery’ (victim), a racially motivated hate crime and the fatal shooting of two men by ‘Kyle Rittenhouse’ (an aggressor). Both these incidents had invited a lot of debate in social media. However, little is known about the nature of discussions on vigilantism in social media. In this paper, first, through topic modeling, we examine the kind of discussions that were triggered by these incidents. We identify various dimensions of the on-line public conversations. Second, we study if there is polarization in the public discourses. We find that victim-oriented discourse on vigilantism displayed more polarization in a certain dimension and aggressor-oriented discourse on vigilantism displayed more polarization in another dimension. We also found that aggressor-oriented vigilantism discussions had higher negative emotion scores compared to victim-oriented discussion

Comparing bladder neck contracture rate between robotic intracorporeal and extracorporeal neobladder construction

Robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) has become more accessible to surgeons worldwide, and descriptions of intracorporeal urinary diversion techniques, such as orthotopic neobladder construction, have increased. In this study, we aim to compare the rate of bladder neck contracture (BNC) formation between RARC and two different urinary diversion techniques. We retrospectively reviewed our institutional database for patients with bladder cancer who underwent RARC with intracorporeal neobladder (ICNB) construction (n = 11) or extracorporeal neobladder (ECNB) construction (n = 11) between 2012 and 2020. BNC was defined by the need for an additional surgical procedure (e.g., dilatation, urethrotomy). Patients who underwent RARC with ICNB (n = 11) were compared to patients who underwent RARC with ECNB (n = 11) across patient characteristics and postoperative BNC formation rates. Kaplan-Meier curves were generated for freedom from BNC based on the neobladder approach and compared with the log-rank test. For patients who received an ECNB, 73% (8/11) developed a BNC; in comparison, none of the patients in the ICNB group experienced a BNC. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrates the ECNB group\u27s median probability of freedom from BNC as 1.3 years, while the ICNB group was free of BNC over the study period (p \u3c 0.001). RARC with ICNB creation demonstrated a significantly reduced BNC rate in contrast to RARC with ECNB construction. Longer-term follow-up is needed to assess the durability of this difference in BNC rates

Agenda 21 Militar numa Unidade do Exército Português: contributos para um desenvolvimento sustentável através da liderança participativa

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Gestão e Políticas AmbientaisNo seguimento da Cimeira da Terra em 1992 foram realizados vários esforços com vista a promover a sustentabilidade ao nível local. O conceito “Pensar global, agir local” levou a que os objectivos da Agenda 21 fossem transpostos para pequenas comunidades, surgindo por todo o Mundo diversos projectos de implementação da Agenda 21 Local. Em Portugal, o número de municípios e de escolas que implementaram Agendas 21 ainda é (infelizmente) muito reduzido. Avaliar e estudar a sua aplicabilidade ao sector da Defesa, designadamente ao Exército Português e desenvolver um modelo conceptual, que se optou designar por “Agenda 21 Militar” (A21M), constitui, para além de um grande desafio, uma possibilidade de adaptar um instrumento de gestão participada, sendo um contributo para o desenvolvimento sustentável nas Forças Armadas. O trabalho caracteriza os antecedentes e a evolução das questões ambientais na Defesa Nacional e no Exército Português, através da análise de directivas, legislação e documentação, identificando as várias “estruturas ambientais” e as suas capacidades de comunicação e partilha de informação ambiental. Devido à especificidade da instituição militar, fortemente hierarquizada, são analisados os estilos de liderança e a forma como se podem relacionar com os processos de gestão participada de uma Agenda 21 Local. São abordadas as formas permitem aumentar e facilitar a troca de informação ambiental entre as diferentes estruturas com responsabilidades ambientais no seio da Defesa Nacional e também com as comunidades envolventes. Julga-se que o modelo em estudo permitirá uma melhor conciliação entre a gestão ambiental e o cumprimento da Missão do Exército, rumo ao Desenvolvimento Sustentável, através da integração de metodologias participativas, do envolvimento e da co-responsabilização dos vários actores

The wheat Sr22, Sr33, Sr35 and Sr45 genes confer resistance against stem rust in barley

In the last 20 years, stem rust caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), has re-emerged as a major threat to wheat and barley production in Africa and Europe. In contrast to wheat with 60 designated stem rust (Sr) resistance genes, barley’s genetic variation for stem rust resistance is very narrow with only ten resistance genes genetically identified. Of these, only one complex locus consisting of three genes is effective against TTKSK, a widely virulent Pgt race of the Ug99 tribe which emerged in Uganda in 1999 and has since spread to much of East Africa and parts of the Middle East. The objective of this study was to assess the functionality, in barley, of cloned wheat Sr genes effective against race TTKSK. Sr22, Sr33, Sr35 and Sr45 were transformed into barley cv. Golden Promise using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. All four genes were found to confer effective stem rust resistance. The barley transgenics remained susceptible to the barley leaf rust pathogen Puccinia hordei, indicating that the resistance conferred by these wheat Sr genes was specific for Pgt. Furthermore, these transgenic plants did not display significant adverse agronomic effects in the absence of disease. Cloned Sr genes from wheat are therefore a potential source of resistance against wheat stem rust in barley