Comparative study of post-partum intrauterine contraceptive device in vaginal and intra caesarean insertion

Background: Institutional deliveries have increased all over the country, thereby providing opportunities for quality postpartum family planning services. In this period, women are highly receptive to accept family planning methods. Objective of this study was to evaluate CuT Multiload 375, in terms of acceptance, safety, efficacy, continuation rate, removal rate and to find out PPIUCD complications e.g. bleeding irregularities, perforation, expulsion and discontinuation due to various reasons.Methods: Prospective analytical study was conducted from February 2016 to June 2016 in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.100 patients in each vaginal and cesarean group were selected randomly. Multiload 375 was inserted after obtaining written consent.Results: Missing threads were detected more in cesarean group (22.8%) than vaginal group (12.9%). Cumulative expulsion rate was 15.2% in vaginal group and 10.8% in cesarean group. Heavy Bleeding PV with or without the pain was the main reason for removal of CuT in both the groups. Removal rate for vaginal and cesarean group was 15.2% and 10.8% respectively.Conclusions: PPIUCD is very effective, safe and reversible contraceptive method which provides contraceptive effect soon after birth. Although there is relatively high incidence of expulsions and removal in the both group still the continuation rate was 69.4% in vaginal group and 78% in cesarean group

Guillian-Barré Syndrome Following Vaccination with Covishield Vaccine: An Adverse Event of Special Interest

Several formulations of vaccines against novel coronavirus have been launched. Thereby, increasing the plausibility of having one or more successful vaccines. India put in place the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccination drive in January 2021. However, the side effects of these vaccines are slowly unfolding. Each new vaccine has potential adverse events of special interest (AESI) that warrant a focused evaluation. We report a very rare neurological complication Guillain-Barré syndrome, immediately following the first dose of COVID vaccination in a young female. An apparently healthy 35 years old female presented with acute onset lower backache, weakness of bilateral lower limbs 11 days after receiving the first dose of Covishield vaccine, which rapidly ascended to upper limbs over 5 days with symmetric motor weakness, power 1/5 in bilateral lower limbs, 3/5 in bilateral upper limbs, with absent deep tendon reflexes. Mild sensory involvement was seen. Evolving dysphagia and hoarseness of voice. Bladder/bowel function, respiratory pattern, and hemodynamics were unaffected. A provisional diagnosis of Guillain-Barre Syndrome was made on basis of clinical presentation, neurological examination, and nerve conduction studies suggesting axonal polyneuropathy. Gradual improvement of the muscle power over the next 2 weeks following Human Intravenous immunoglobulin was seen. The risk-benefit analysis for an individual should be considered prior to Covid-19 vaccination, including the implementation of a pre-vaccination screening checklist to ensure vaccine safety for every vaccine recipient. The vaccine continues to be far more beneficial than detrimental for the public at large. Nonetheless, increased awareness amongst healthcare professionals and the public regarding the potential adverse effects of the vaccine is warranted

Non-destructive Quality Monitoring of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Quality determines the shelf life as well as selling price of fresh fruit or vegetable and therefore, quality monitoring and testing of fresh commodities have paramount importance in their postharvest handling and supply chain management. Most of the methods used to assess fruits and vegetables quality are destructive in nature. Now-a-days, various mechanical, optical, electromagnetic, and dynamic non-destructive methods are gaining importance due to ease in operations, faster turn over and reliability. Some of the non-destructive techniques (NDT) are currently being used in laboratories, research institutions and food packaging and processing industries, whereas, some methods are still at developmental stage. Various NDT with respect to their principle and applications such as impact test, electronic nose, time-resolved reflectance spectrometry (TSR), near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-Ray, ultra sonic, acoustic impulse response method, electrical conductivity methods etc., are discussed in this review

Outcome of medical versus surgical therapies for gastroesophageal reflux disease : meta analysis of randomized controlled trials [abstract]

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease is one of the most common chronic gastrointestinal tracts. Medical management includes use of antisecretory medications or surgical management. Randomized controlled trials have compared both forms of treatment with controversial results. Therefore, we conducted meta-analysis to compare medical versus surgical therapy of GERD

Electropolymerization of b–cyclodextrin onto multi–walled carbon nanotube composite films for enhanced selective detection of uric acid

An amperometric uric acid (UA) sensor incorporating a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) network in Nafion and electropolymerized β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) layer is investigated. The electrochemical sensor is comprised of a glassy carbon electrode modified with Nafion-MWCNT nanocomposite film, a β-CD polymer inner selective layer, and a Hydrothane polyurethane (HPU) outer selective coating. The surface morphology and electronic structure of the electrode material are characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic activity of the sensor is studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronocoulometry (CC) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Analytical performance of the electrochemical sensor scheme with and without MWCNT and/or β-CD polymer is determined from direct UA injection during an amperometric analysis. The effective surface area is notably higher for Nafion-MWCNT coated glassy carbon electrodes, which in turn enhanced the sensitivity when coated with β-CD polymer. The results indicated an excellent electrocatalytic property of Nafion-MWCNT/β-CD film for UA detection with enhanced sensitivity (2.11 μA·mM− 1), wide linear responses over physiologically relevant concentrations, and fast response times. Enhancement is attributed to MWCNT offering increased electroactive surface area and the ability of β-CD to selectively sequester UA

Genome-wide association study for type 2 diabetes in Indians identifies a new susceptibility locus at 2q21.

Indians undergoing socioeconomic and lifestyle transitions will be maximally affected by epidemic of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of T2D in 12,535 Indians, a less explored but high-risk group. We identified a new type 2 diabetes-associated locus at 2q21, with the lead signal being rs6723108 (odds ratio 1.31; P = 3.32 × 10⁻⁹). Imputation analysis refined the signal to rs998451 (odds ratio 1.56; P = 6.3 × 10⁻¹²) within TMEM163 that encodes a probable vesicular transporter in nerve terminals. TMEM163 variants also showed association with decreased fasting plasma insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, indicating a plausible effect through impaired insulin secretion. The 2q21 region also harbors RAB3GAP1 and ACMSD; those are involved in neurologic disorders. Forty-nine of 56 previously reported signals showed consistency in direction with similar effect sizes in Indians and previous studies, and 25 of them were also associated (P < 0.05). Known loci and the newly identified 2q21 locus altogether explained 7.65% variance in the risk of T2D in Indians. Our study suggests that common susceptibility variants for T2D are largely the same across populations, but also reveals a population-specific locus and provides further insights into genetic architecture and etiology of T2D

Clinical outcome, viral response and safety profile of chloroquine in COVID-19 patients — initial experience

Introduction: Chloroquine and its analogues are currently being investigated for the treatment and post exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 due to its antiviral activity and immunomodulatory activity.Material and methods: Confirmed symptomatic cases of COVID-19 were included in the study. Patients were supposed to receive chloroquine (CQ) 500 mg twice daily for 7 days. Due to a change in institutional protocol, initial patients received chloroquine and subsequent patients who did not receive chloroquine served as negative controls. Clinical effectiveness was determined in terms of timing of symptom resolution and conversion rate of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on day 14 and day 15 of admission.Results: Twelve COVID-19 patients formed the treatment arm and 17 patients were included in the control arm. The duration of symptoms among the CQ treated group (6.3 ± 2.7 days) was significantly (p-value = 0.009) lower than that of the control group (8.9 ± 2.2 days). There was no significant difference in the rate of RT-PCR negativity in both groups. 2 patients out of 12 developed diarrhea in the CQ therapy arm.  Conclusion: The duration of symptoms among the treated group (with chloroquine) was significantly lower than that of the control group. RT-PCR conversion was not significantly different between the 2 groups

COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION OF HYPOTHETICAL PROTEINS OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS H37RA STRAIN

ABSTRACT The Tuberculosis is the classical human mycobacterial disease, caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a facultative intracellular pathogen that has evolved the ability to survive and multiply within human macrophages. These bacteria comprise of significant proteins, which were involve in the pathogenesis and regulation of cell activity. Thus there arises the need to understand various parameters of these proteins for prediction of their functionality. The computational approaches for prediction of their classes are fast and economical therefore can be used to complement the existing wet lab techniques. Realizing their importance, in this paper an attempt has been made for the insilico prediction of protein subcellular localization. As in the case of Mycobacterium, proteins are often involved in extensive interactions at various subcellular localizations in cell. Total one thousand four hundred and thirty-two hypothetical proteins of M. tuberculosis were predicted for four locations viz cytoplasmic, integral membrane, secretory and protein attached to membrane by Lipid anchor in the subcellular localization. Such predictions provide a method to annotate Mycobacterium proteomes with subcellular localization information rapidly. And they have widespread applications in function of proteins in the host cell and in designing the tuberculosis drugs