Seroprevalence of HIV in women attending antenatal clinic at KIMS hospital, Narketpally

Background: To assess seroprevalence of HIV among antenatal women and the extent of utilization of therapeutic interventions to minimize the risk of mother to child transmission.Methods: Pregnant women attending antenatal clinic of a medical college in a rural area of Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, India from August 2006 to July 2009 were tested for HIV by Rapid Test which included pre and post test counseling. Antiretroviral prophylaxis with nevirapine was given to seropositive mother-baby pairs during delivery.Results: Of the 5809 new antenatal booking visits 4848 attended pretest counseling and 4698 accepted HIV testing. Fifty three women were found to be seropositive. Sero-prevalence rate of HIV infection was 1.12%. Ten had opted for pregnancy termination. Out of forty three deliveries four were intrauterine deaths. All the newborns received nevirapine prophylaxis.Conclusions: The seroprevalence of HIV infection among antenatal women is 1.12% which was high as the institute is located in Andhra Pradesh which is a known high prevalence state. Thirty one babies tested after 18 months of age were negative. Nine babies died before they reached 18 months of age

Structural origin of set-reset process in a new bulk Si15Te83Ge2 phase-change memory material

A new phase-change memory material, in bulk, has been prepared by melt-quenching technique, which has a better glass forming ability. This sample is set and resettable relatively easily for several cycles at 2mA SET and RESET input currents, and is likely to be a suitable material for phase-change memory applications. Raman scattering studies have been undertaken during the SET and RESET operations to elucidate the local structural transformations that occur during these operations

Thermal and electrical switching studies on Ge20Se80-xBix (1 <= x <= 13) ternary chalcogenide glassy system

Alternating Differential Scanning Calorimetric (ADSC) and electrical switching studies have been undertaken on Ge20Se80-xBix glasses (1 <= x <= 13), to understand the effect of topological thresholds on thermal properties and electrical switching behavior. It is found that the compositional dependence of glass transition temperature (Tg), crystallization temperature (T-c1) and thermal stability (AT) of Ge20Se80-xBix glasses show anomalies at a composition x= 5, the rigidity percolation/stiffness threshold of the system. Further, unusual variations are also observed in different thermal properties, such as T-g, T-c1, Delta T, Delta C-p and Delta H-NR, at the composition x= 10, which indicates the occurrence of chemical threshold in these glasses at this composition. Electrical switching studies indicate that Ge20Se8o_RBig glasses with 5 11 exhibit threshold switching behavior and those with x = 12 and 13 show memory switching. A sharp decrease has been noticed in the switching voltages with bismuth concentration, which is due to the more metallic nature of bismuth and the presence of Bi+ ions. Further, a saturation is seen in the decrease in V-T around x = 6, which is related to bismuth phase percolation at higher concentrations of Bi. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Ultrarapid Measurement of Diagnostic Antibodies by Magnetic Capture of Immune Complexes

Contains fulltext : 189976.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Impact of smoking on erythrocyte indices and oxidative stress in acute myocardial infarction

Context: The free radicals generated by cigarette smoke are responsible for the production of excessive oxidative stress, causing damage to the cellular and subcellular components in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Aims: The present study is aimed to evaluate the impact of smoking on erythrocytic oxidative stress and erythrocyte indices in patients with AMI. Materials and Methods: Two hundred consecutively admitted male patients with AMI were enrolled in our study and were subsequently divided into two groups, smokers and nonsmokers. All the subjects were evaluated for lipid profile, red blood cell (RBC) indices and the antioxidant enzyme activities-catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were studied. Statistical Analysis Used: The independent sample t-test was used, and P values were calculated. Results: We found significantly high (P < 0.001) hematocrit, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in smokers. While evaluating the antioxidant enzymes, we observed a reduction in GPX activity in the erythrocytes of smokers in comparison to nonsmokers and this was found to be highly significant (P < 0.001) whereas, CAT and SOD activities even though were reduced, they were not as highly significant (P = 0.023, P = 0.006 respectively) as GPX activity. Conclusions: Along with altered RBC indices, the erythrocyte GPX activity is more reliable and sensitive indicator of oxidative stress than CAT and SOD activities for the assessment of oxidative stress in AMI patients who are smokers