Comparative study between intrauterine insemination following preovulatory pertubation versus intrauterine insemination alone in induced ovulation cycles in infertility patients

Background: To compare the efficacy of pertubation with low dose lignocaine before ovulation followed by intrauterine insemination versus intrauterine insemination alone in induced ovulation cycles in infertility patients.Methods: Total 60 ovulation induction cycles were studied, were randomly divided in Group A and Group B of 30 cycles each. Ovulation induction was done with clomiphene citrate / gonadotrophins. Post ovulation IUI was done in both the groups. Additionally, preovulatory pertubation with low dose lignocaine diluted in balanced salt solution was done 10-12 hrs after ovulation trigger in group A. The primary outcome conception (positive urine pregnancy test) in patients were compared between two groups. The secondary outcomes, full term pregnancy, abortion, ectopic pregnancy, procedural pain, infection, haemorrhage, and long term complications were also studied and compared.Results: Pregnancy rate was found to be slightly more in the preovulatory perturbation with low dose lignocaine and IUI group (20.6% in Group A) as compared to IUI alone group (14.7% in Group B). But the difference was not found to be statistically significant (p>0.05). The spontaneous pregnancy rates in patients with endometriosis is <5%. In the intervention group it was 37.5% in cases with endometriosis, which was encouraging. The pertubation treatment used in this study proved to be a safe treatment option without complications. Procedure was associated with mild to moderate pain in 76% patients and severe in 8.8% patients and one patient (2.9%) had syncope. Post procedure PID was noted in one patient (2.9%).Conclusions: Preovulatory perturbation followed by IUI was associated with increased clinical pregnancy rate as compared with IUI alone in induced ovulation cycles. The efficacy was more pronounced in the patients with endometriosis. It is safe and well tolerated

Structural and Functional Studies of Carbohydrates.

Plasmodium falciparum is the parasite responsible for a major loss of human life due to malaria. The biochemistry of invasion of the parasite into human red cells is the subject of much study and controversy. The receptor mediated endocytosis of the parasite into the red cells is postulated to involve at least two major receptors on the cells. Earlier work focussed on glycophorin of red cells as a likely receptor. The present study focussed on the role of erythroglycan, the N-linked carbohydrate chain of band 3 of human red cells in the invasion process. Erythroglycan showed high levels of inhibition of malaria parasite invasion into human red blood cells. This implied its role as a receptor for invasion. These studies were corroborated by other studies such as affinity binding of parasite proteins. A 118 kDa protein is being reported for the first time as specific erythroglycan binding parasite protein. The involvement of erythroglycan in parasite recognition was also corroborated by studies with red cells defective in the carbohydrate portion of band 3 from a HEMPAS patient. HEMPAS is characterized by a truncated erythroglycan. Parasite growth and invasion was decreased in HEMPAS cells compared with normal cells. Structural studies of erythroglycan were carried out using smaller synthetic erythroglycan-like saccharides. High resolution NMR afforded information about anomeric configuration, epimer order, ring size and, most important, the linkage between saccharidic residues. Information obtained from such a study was used for the first time to discern the structure of intact, underivatized, high molecular weight (7 kDa) erythroglycan. NMR titration studies were performed on Concanavalin A-methyl glucopyranoside. Analysis of thermodynamic parameters indicated unfavorable entropy but favorable enthalpy of binding. This indicates involvement of hydrogen bonds and van der Waal\u27s forces. The model experiment can be applied to the study of larger biological systems

Economic Growth and Social Development: An Empirical Study on Selected States in India

The paper attempts to explore the relationship between economic growth and social development in India across states. The study uses panel regression technique to measure the impact of Economic Growth on Social Development of 16 states in India explaining the development process for the period spanning 1981 to 2009. The panel regression technique helps incorporate both the cross-section and time-series aspects of the data. In order to analyze the differences in impact of the explanatory variables on the explained variable across states, the study uses Fixed Effect Dummy Variable Model. The results reveal that most of the economic indicators have played a significant role for the reduction of death rate (Social Development Indicator) in the various states in India. The conclusion of the study is that economic growth has a desirable impact on social development, and that the impact is different for different states in India. Keywords: Panel Regression, Fixed Effect Model, Economic Growth Indicators, Social Development Indicator

Modeling the mechanics and failure of discrete viscoelastic fiber networks

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. October 2018. Major: Mechanical Engineering. Advisor: Victor Barocas. 1 computer file (PDF); ix, 152 pages.Network problems arise in all aspects of bioengineering, including biomechanics. For decades, the mechanical importance of highly interconnected networks of macromolecular fibers, especially collagen fibers, has been recognized, but models at any scale that explicitly incorporate fiber-fiber interactions into a mechanical description of the tissue have only started to emerge more recently. The mechanical response of networks shows an inherent non-linearity arising from the network architecture, and the non-affine deformations occurring within it. Thus, the overarching goal of this dissertation was to model the steady-state and time-dependent behaviors of discrete fiber networks to understand better how the behavior of an individual fiber differs from that of a network, and to study the effect of a network’s structure on its mechanics. First, viscoelastic relaxation of networks composed of linear viscoelastic fibers was analyzed, throwing light on two different contributions to the network re- laxation process: a material contribution due to the intrinsic viscoelasticity of the fibers, and a kinematic contribution due to the structure of the network. The effect of network composition on its relaxation spectrum was also analyzed revealing a constant evolution of structure-dependent characteristic relaxation times with changing composition. Next, network fatigue behavior was modeled using a fiber-based cumulative damage model to obtain stress-life (SN) curves for the network, and to compare fatigue behaviors of different network structures. Finally, the network model was used in a multiscale finite element approach to model actin-myosin motor-driven cell cytoskeletal contraction. The multiscale model was also used to highlight the importance of the choice of microstructure in predicting tissue pre-failure and failure behaviors

An Empirical Study on Impact of Infrastructural Development on Social and Economic Growth in Indian States

The study attempts to draw a relationship between infrastructural development and socio-economic growth in India. It further tries to determine the magnitude of the impact of infrastructural investment on social and economic indicators. The study uses panel regression technique to measure the impact of infrastructural investment on social growth indicator, i.e., state-wise Mortality Rate per Thousand Population (MRPTP) and economic growth indicator, i.e., Per-capita Income (PCI) in Indian States. Panel regression technique helps incorporate both the cross-section and time-series aspects of the dataset. In order to analyze the difference in impact of the explanatory variables on the explained variables across states, the study uses Fixed Effect Dummy Variable Model. The conclusions of the study are that infrastructural investment has a desirable impact on social and economic development and that the impact is different for different states in India. We analyze time series data (annual frequency) ranging from 1987 to 2008. The study reveals that the infrastructural investment significantly explains the variation of social and economic indicators. Keywords: Infrastructural Investment, Multiple Regression, Panel Regression Techniques, Socio-economic Development, Fixed Effect Dummy Variable Mode

Named cells and inclusion bodies in bacterial and viral infections associated with oral cavity

An oral pathologist can explore the world of intricate features in complicated tissues thanks to this visual speciality. Because our eyes are more accustomed to seeing normal morphology in cells and structures, we can become stuck in a state of flux when we encounter specific ill cells or bodies. Although they may appear to be deceiving, they aid the pathologist in making a diagnosis because they are pathognomonic for numerous diseases and conditions. With a focus on pathogenesis, microscopic features, and stains used to highlight features of the same, the current article is an attempt to compile various histopathological bodies seen in various diseases associated with bacterial and viral diseases associated with the oral cavity.

Cytopathological evaluation of various thyroid lesions based on Bethesda system for reporting thyroid lesions

Background: An encouragement for the thyroid proposal was the Bethesda system for reporting cervical cytology interpretations, a uniform reporting system for thyroid FNA will facilitate effective communication among health care providers. The objective of the present study was to classify thyroid lesions in various categories under Bethesda system correlating the cytological findings in various thyroid lesions with clinical and radiological details.Methods: A retrospective study on FNAC thyroid was performed in a tertiary hospital and a Medical teaching institution in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India which included cases which were reported from 1st January 2010 to 31st July 2011. For cytomorphological analysis, all smears (Papanicolaou and MGG) were reviewed and cases were categorized into six Bethesda categories. The FNAC findings were correlated with clinical, radiological and laboratory findings. Discrepancies between original diagnosis and review diagnosis as well as difficulties encountered during application of Bethesda were studied in detail.Results: Total 413 FNACs were received during the study period. The original diagnoses included 10 different categories or labels some of which were descriptive. On application of Bethesda, maximum cases were found in category II (82.32%) followed by category I i.e. inadequate (7.7%). Category III (Atypia of Undetermined significance) included wide spectrum of cases which were previously diagnosed as goitre, suspicious or neoplastic.Conclusions: Bethesda system of reporting thyroid FNAC has brought uniformity in cytology reporting. It has facilitated better understanding between cytopathologist and clinicians as every category connotes specific risk of malignancy and recommends treatment

Dire le racisme, taire la race, faire parler la nation. La représentation du problème du racisme à travers la presse locale

S’appuyant sur un travail conduit dans le Nord–Pas-de-Calais, cet article analyse la représentation du problème public du racisme dans la presse locale, à travers l’exemple du journal La Voix du Nord. Analysant un corpus d’articles des années 2000, il met en lumière le travail narratif opéré par le média pour définir le racisme à l’aune d’un antiracisme moral, dont le référent est en réalité indexé à l’imaginaire national. L’article montre comment le discours public tend à reformuler la question de la race (et son principe de division) dans une nation idéalisée (avec son présupposé d’unité consensuelle). Cela a au moins deux effets : d’une part, une dissolution de la matérialité du racisme au profit d’un racisme imaginé, pendant inversé de la « communauté imaginée » qu’est la nation ; d’autre part, et ce faisant, un transfert relatif du racisme dans l’imaginaire national.On the basis of a study carried out in Nord–Pas-de-Calais region, this article analyses the representation of the public problem of racism in the local printed press, through the example of La Voix du Nord. Analysing a corpus of articles written in 2000’s, it highlights the narrative work undertaken by the media to define racism. That narrative work is modeled on a moral anti-racism that actually relates to a national ideology. The article shows how public discourse tends to reformulate the question of race (and its principle of division) in a idealized nation (and its presumption of consensual unity), with at least two consequences: firstly, the materiality of racism gets dissolved in the process, favoring imagined racism, a reversed reflection of the national imagined community. Secondly, in doing so, a relative racism transfers into the national ideology.Apoyándose en un trabajo llevado a cabo en la región del Nord–Pas-de-Calais, este texto analiza la representación del problema público del racismo en la prensa local, mediante el ejemplo del periódico La Voix du Nord. Se analiza un corpus de artículos de los años 2000, poniendo de relieve el trabajo narrativo operado por este media para definir el racismo como antirracismo moral, cuyo referente resulta en realidad indexado al imaginario nacional. El texto muestra de qué manera el discurso público tiende a reformular la cuestión de la raza (y de su principio de división) dentro de una nación idealizada (con su unidad consensual presupuesta). Esto acarrea dos efectos: por un lado, una disolución de la materialidad del racismo que privilegia un racismo imaginado, cara inversa de la «comunidad imaginada» que constituye una nación; por otro lado, una transferencia relativa del racismo dentro del imaginario nacional