Preterm birth among pregnancies conceived by assisted reproduction techniques in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Background: Preterm births are an enormous global problem on families, medical system and economy. The rates of preterm birth are increasing and one of the contributors is growing use of Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART) leading to multifetal gestations. Some risk factors for preterm birth are specific to women who conceive by ART. Since there is limited data from India, this pilot study was undertaken to assess the magnitude of preterm birth among pregnancies conceived by ART and to study the contributing factors.Methods: Clinic based descriptive cohort study through eight ART clinics in Mumbai for one year. Data was collected using an in-depth questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, ART details, course and complications during pregnancy, mode of delivery, pregnancy outcome, risk factors related to preterm birth and neonatal outcome. Complete details of 113 participants who completed the study were analyzed.Results: Study showed high incidence of preterm birth (76.23%) among women conceived with ART. Multiple gestations were observed in 45.1%. Pregnancy related complications like heterotrophic pregnancy (3%), pre eclampsia (15%) and gestational diabetes (11%) were high. Incidence of caesarean section was very high (98%). Neonatal outcome was good with 98% live births and only 2 still births.Conclusions: Present study highlights that preterm birth, multiple pregnancies, pregnancy related complications like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and caesarean sections are very high among women conceived by ART. With growing use of ART there is an urgent need to develop a National ART Surveillance system in India like the one in Centre for Disease Control Atlanta to get complete data on the pregnancy course and outcomes of ART conceptions. Efforts to limit the number of embryos transferred should be strengthened to prevent multiple births

Increased risk of early-onset preeclampsia in pregnant women with COVID-19

Objective To estimate incidence, risk of early and late-onset preeclampsia (PE) and understand their relationship with severity of COVID-19. Methods Pregnant women with COVID-19 (n = 1929) were enrolled from 1 April 2020 to 24 February 2022. Primary outcome measure was incidence and risk of early onset PE in women with COVID-19. Results The incidence of early and late-onset PE was 11.4% and 5.6%. Moderate to severe COVID-19 was associated with eight times higher risk of early onset PE [aOR = 8.13 (1.56–42.46), p = 0.0129] compared to asymptomatic group. Conclusions Risk of early onset PE was higher in pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 as compared to asymptomatic women

Review of Automatic Attendance Using Facial Recognization

ABSTRACT: Authentication is a significant issue in system control in computer based communication. Human face recognization is a important biometric verification and has widely used in many applications such as video monitoring system, human computer interaction, door control system and network security. The automatic face recognization system was designed with the aim that to mark attendance of student in classroom automatically. This system continuously captures images of classroom and by comparing this image with database images system will mark attendance of present students automatically and provide list of absent students. This system will reduce human efforts and also time required to take attendance and also will increase accuracy

National snakebite project on capacity building of health system on prevention and management of snakebite envenoming including its complications in selected districts of Maharashtra and Odisha in India: A study protocol.

BackgroundSnakebite envenoming (SBE) is an acute, life-threatening emergency in tropical and subtropical countries. It is an occupational hazard and a major socioeconomic determinant. Limited awareness, superstitions, lack of trained health providers, poor utilization of anti-venom results in high mortality and morbidity. India is the snakebite capital of the world. Yet, information on awareness, knowledge, and perceptions about snakebite is limited. Data on capacity building of health systems and its potential impact is lacking. Recommended by the National Task Force on snakebite research in India, this protocol describes the National Snakebite Project aiming for capacity building of health systems on prevention and management of snakebite envenomation in Maharashtra and Odisha states.MethodsA cross-sectional, multi-centric study will be carried out in Shahapur, Aheri blocks of Maharashtra, and Khordha, Kasipur blocks of Odisha. The study has five phases: Phase I involves the collection of retrospective baseline data of snakebites, facility surveys, and community focus group discussions (FGDs). Phase II involves developing and implementing educational intervention programs for the community. Phase III will assess the knowledge and practices of the healthcare providers on snakebite management followed by their training in Phase IV. Phase V will evaluate the impact of the interventions on the community and healthcare system through FGDs and comparison of prospective and baseline data.DiscussionThe National Snakebite Project will use a multi-sectoral approach to reduce the burden of SBE. It intends to contribute to community empowerment and capacity building of the public healthcare system on the prevention and management of SBE. The results could be useful for upscaling to other Indian states, South Asia and other tropical countries. The findings of the study will provide critical regional inputs for the revision of the National Snakebite Treatment protocol.Trial registrationRegistered under the Clinical Trials Registry India no. CTRI/2021/11/038137

Preterm birth among pregnancies conceived by assisted reproduction techniques in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Background: Preterm births are an enormous global problem on families, medical system and economy. The rates of preterm birth are increasing and one of the contributors is growing use of Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART) leading to multifetal gestations. Some risk factors for preterm birth are specific to women who conceive by ART. Since there is limited data from India, this pilot study was undertaken to assess the magnitude of preterm birth among pregnancies conceived by ART and to study the contributing factors.Methods: Clinic based descriptive cohort study through eight ART clinics in Mumbai for one year. Data was collected using an in-depth questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, ART details, course and complications during pregnancy, mode of delivery, pregnancy outcome, risk factors related to preterm birth and neonatal outcome. Complete details of 113 participants who completed the study were analyzed.Results: Study showed high incidence of preterm birth (76.23%) among women conceived with ART. Multiple gestations were observed in 45.1%. Pregnancy related complications like heterotrophic pregnancy (3%), pre eclampsia (15%) and gestational diabetes (11%) were high. Incidence of caesarean section was very high (98%). Neonatal outcome was good with 98% live births and only 2 still births.Conclusions: Present study highlights that preterm birth, multiple pregnancies, pregnancy related complications like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and caesarean sections are very high among women conceived by ART. With growing use of ART there is an urgent need to develop a National ART Surveillance system in India like the one in Centre for Disease Control Atlanta to get complete data on the pregnancy course and outcomes of ART conceptions. Efforts to limit the number of embryos transferred should be strengthened to prevent multiple births

Genetic Variation at Chromosome 2q13 and Its Potential Influence on Endometriosis Susceptibility Through Effects on the IL-1 Family

Endometriosis is characterized by the growth of epithelial and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. It has a complex etiology and affects ∼10% of reproductive age women. It is accompanied by a chronic inflammatory response with substantial evidence to indicate genetic susceptibility. The causal genes and their pathways leading to endometriosis, however, are still unknown. Recently, genomewide association studies on endometriosis identified 14 genomic risk loci in women of European and Japanese ancestry. It is becoming increasingly clear that these risk regions are intergenic and thus contribute to disease susceptibility through regulatory mechanisms, most likely mediated through regulation of genes within a restricted distance from the risk variants. One endometriosis risk locus has been detected at chromosome 2q13 within an inflammatory-rich region of gene transcripts and thus may play a role in the inflammation component of the disease. We carried out detailed analysis of the genomic region 250 kb on either side of sentinel SNP rs10167914 and identified 21 transcripts which contained 6 interleukin (IL)-1 family genes, 3 previously reported coding genes that have a relationship to inflammation, 4 novel coding, or pseudogenes, and 8 noncoding RNA transcripts. Through an extensive literature search, we examined the roles these genes and their resultant proteins play in endometriosis pathogenesis. The results suggest alteration in the expression the IL-1 family transcripts either alone or as a complex milieu could have a significant influence on endometriosis and should be prioritized for future study on the implications of inflammation on endometriotic lesions