Abnormal uterine bleeding in relation to thyroid dysfunction

Background: Abnormal uterine bleeding is an abnormal bleeding from the uterus in absence of any organic disease of genital tract and demonstrable extra genital causes. Thyroid dysfunction is marked by large number of menstrual abnormalities. This study is aimed at detecting thyroid dysfunction in patients with provisional diagnosis of AUB (abnormal uterine bleeding).and refer positive cases to physician for further management.Methods: All patients from are from puberty to pre-menopausal age groups, presenting as menoraghia, metrorragia, polymenorrhoea, polymenorragia, hypomenorrhoea, and acyclical bleeding. Onset, duration, amount of bleeding, complaints related to thyroid dysfunction was noted in detail. A thorough clinical examination including general physical examination, neck examination, systemic and gynecological examination was carried out, with special reference to thyroid dysfunction. A provisional clinical diagnosis of DUB was made. Patients with clinical signs and symptoms of thyroid disease were excluded. All these patients were subjected to routine investigations like Hb%, blood counts, urine routine, and bleeding and clotting time to rule out coagulation defects. Then all were subjected for serum T3, T4, and TSH estimation. Patients were then grouped into 4 categories: euthyroid, subclinical lhypothyroid, hypothyroid, and hyperthyroid. Patients who had thyroid disease, on hormonal treatment, IUCD users, and bleeding disorders were excluded.Results: Among 100 patients studied with abnormal uterine bleeding, patients were distributed according to age groups from puberty to perimenopause age. Majority of patients belongs to 31-40 years of age about 40% and the least age group were between 41-45 years of age.(7%).Among different parity status AUB was more common among para three patients(26%). Out of 100 patients, 32% of patients had thyroid dysfunction of which 16% of patients had subclinical hypothyroidism. 15% of patients had hypothyroidism and only 2% of patients had hyperthyroidism. The commonest bleeding abnormality in AUB were polymenorrhoea (30%) and menorrhagia (35%). All hyperthyroid cases were oligomenorrhoeic.Conclusions: This study concludes that thyroid dysfunction should be considered as an important etiological factor for menstrual abnormality. The biochemical evaluation of T3, T4, and TSH estimations should be made mandatory in AUB cases to detect apparent and occult thyroid dysfunction

Incorporation of lyophilized leaves and pods into artificial diet to assess antibiosis component of resistance to pod borer in pigeonpea

Helicoverpa armigera, is the most damaging insect pest of grain legumes including pigeonpea in the semi-arid tropics, and host plant resistance is an important component for the management of this pest. Because of the variation in insect density over space and time, it is difficult to assess the contribution of different components of resistance to this insect under field conditions. Therefore, we standardized a bioassay involving incorporation of lyophilized leaves or pods into the artificial diet to assess antibiosis component of resistance to H. armigera. Antibiosis was assessed in terms of larval mortality, larval and pupal weights, adult emergence, and duration of development on fresh leaves, flowers and pods, and through incorporation of lyophilized leaves and pods of different pigeonpea genotypes into the artificial diet. Incorporation of 10 g of lyophilized leaf or pod powder into the artificial diet (300 ml) of diet resulted in maximum differences in survival and development of H. armigera larvae on the resistant (ICPL 332) and susceptible (ICPL 87) genotypes. Reduced larval and pupal weights, and prolongation of larval and pupal development periods were observed in insects reared on intact leaves or pods of ICPL 332, ICPL 84060, ICP 7035, ICPL 88039 and T 21. Similar effects were also observed in larvae reared on artificial diet impregnated with lyophilized leaves or pods of ICPL 332, ICPL 84060, ICP 7035, ICPL 187-1, ICPL 88039, and ICP 7203-1. Larval and pupal periods, pupal weight, and pupation and adult emergence were positively correlated between the insects reared on fresh leaves or pods, and on artificial diets impregnated with lyophilized leaves or pods. However, there was no correspondence in terms of larval weight and mortality between the fresh plant parts and diet impregnation assay. Incorporation of lyophilized leaves or pods of pigeonpea into artificial diet for assessing the antibiosis component of resistance to H. armigera has been discussed

Stability of resistance to pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera in pigeonpea

Because of increasing difficulties in controlling the damage by the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera in pigeonpea with synthetic insecticides, it is important to identify genotypes with resistance to this pest for use in integrated pest management. Therefore, we evaluated a set of 12 diverse genotypes for resistance to H. armigera for two years over four plantings under natural infestation. There were significant differences among the genotypes in numbers of eggs and larvae, percentage pod damage, visual damage rating, and grain yield. The genotypes ICPL 187-1, ICP 7203-1, ICPL 98008, T 21, ICP 7035, and ICPL 332 exhibited moderate levels of resistance to H. armigera across planting dates, although there were a few exceptions. ICPL 187-1, ICP 7203-1, ICPL 84060, ICPL 87119, and ICPL 332 also showed better grain yield potential than the susceptible checks, ICPL 87 and ICPL 87091. All the genotypes were stable in their reaction to pod borer damage based on visual damage rating (except ICPL 87119 and ICPL 84060), but unstable for percent pod damage. Grain yield of most of the genotypes under H. armigera infestation was also unstable, except that of ICPL 87119, ICP 7035, and ICPL 332. Principal component analysis placed the test genotypes into different groups, and there is a possibility of increasing the levels and diversifying the basis of resistance to pod borer, H. armigera

An Enhanced Analysis of Traffic Intelligence in Smart Cities Using Sustainable Deep Radial Function

Smart cities have revolutionized urban living by incorporating sophisticated technologies to optimize various aspects of urban infrastructure, such as transportation systems. Effective traffic management is a crucial component of smart cities, as it has a direct impact on the quality of life of residents and tourists. Utilizing deep radial basis function (RBF) networks, this paper describes a novel strategy for enhancing traffic intelligence in smart cities. Traditional methods of traffic analysis frequently rely on simplistic models that are incapable of capturing the intricate patterns and dynamics of urban traffic systems. Deep learning techniques, such as deep RBF networks, have the potential to extract valuable insights from traffic data and enable more precise predictions and decisions. In this paper, we propose an RBF based method for enhancing smart city traffic intelligence. Deep RBF networks combine the adaptability and generalization capabilities of deep learning with the discriminative capability of radial basis functions. The proposed method can effectively learn intricate relationships and nonlinear patterns in traffic data by leveraging the hierarchical structure of deep neural networks. The deep RBF model can learn to predict traffic conditions, identify congestion patterns, and make informed recommendations for optimizing traffic management strategies by incorporating these rich and diverse data To evaluate the efficacy of our proposed method, extensive experiments and comparisons with real world traffic datasets from a smart city environment were conducted. In terms of prediction accuracy and efficiency, the results demonstrate that the deep RBF based approach outperforms conventional traffic analysis methods. Smart city traffic intelligence is enhanced by the model capacity to capture nonlinear relationships and manage large scale data sets.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, and 3 Table

Crystal structure of (7-fluoro-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)methyl morpholine-4-carbodithioate

In the title compound, C15H14FNO3S2, the 2H-chromene ring system is close to being planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.024 angstrom) and the morpholine ring adopts a chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the 2H-chromene ring system and the morpholine ring (all atoms) is 88.21 (11)degrees. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of very weak C-H center dot center dot center dot F hydrogen bonds generate R-2(2)(8) loops; C-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds connect the dimers into 010] chains. Weak aromatic pi-pi stacking interactions between the pyran rings of the chromene systems centroid-centroid distance = 3.6940 (16) angstrom] are also observed

Genetic and genomic resources, and breeding for accelerating improvement of small millets: current status and future interventions

Current agricultural and food systems encourage research and development on major crops, neglecting regionally important minor crops. Small millets include a group of small- seeded cereal crops of the grass family Poaceae. This includes finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, little millet, teff, fonio, job’s tears, guinea millet, and browntop millet. Small millets are an excellent choice to supplement major staple foods for crop and dietary diversity because of their diverse adaptation on marginal lands, less water requirement, lesser susceptibility to stresses, and nutritional superiority compared to major cereal staples. Growing interest among consumers about healthy diets together with climate-resilient features of small millets underline the necessity of directing more research and development towards these crops. Except for finger millet and foxtail millet, and to some extent proso millet and teff, other small millets have received minimal research attention in terms of development of genetic and genomic resources and breeding for yield enhancement. Considerable breeding efforts were made in finger millet and foxtail millet in India and China, respectively, proso millet in the United States of America, and teff in Ethiopia. So far, five genomes, namely foxtail millet, finger millet, proso millet, teff, and Japanese barnyard millet, have been sequenced, and genome of foxtail millet is the smallest (423-510 Mb) while the largest one is finger millet (1.5 Gb). Recent advances in phenotyping and genomics technologies, together with available germplasm diversity, could be utilized in small millets improvement. This review provides a comprehensive insight into the importance of small millets, the global status of their germplasm, diversity, promising germplasm resources, and breeding approaches (conventional and genomic approaches) to accelerate climate-resilient and nutrient-dense small millets for sustainable agriculture, environment, and healthy food systems

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Malawian Farmers on Pre- and Post-Harvest Crop Management to Mitigate Aflatoxin Contamination in Groundnut, Maize and Sorghum—Implication for Behavioral Change

A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) study was conducted in three districts of Malawi to test whether the training had resulted in increased knowledge and adoption of recommended pre- and post-harvest crop management practices, and their contribution to reducing aflatoxin contamination in groundnut, maize and sorghum. The study was conducted with 900 farmers at the baseline and 624 farmers at the end-line, while 726 and 696 harvested crop samples were collected for aflatoxin testing at the baseline and end-line, respectively. Results show that the knowledge and practice of pre- and post-harvest crop management for mitigating aflatoxin were inadequate among the farmers at the baseline but somewhat improved after the training as shown at the end-line. As a result, despite unfavorable weather, the mean aflatoxin contamination level in their grain samples decreased from 83.6 to 55.8 ppb (p < 0.001). However, it was also noted that increased knowledge did not significantly change farmers’ attitude toward not consuming grade-outs because of economic incentive incompatibility, leaving potential for improving the practices further. This existing gap in the adoption of aflatoxin mitigation practices calls for approaches that take into account farmers needs and incentives to attain sustainable behavioral change

Bioactivity, biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties of a chitosan-mineral composite for periodontal tissue regeneration

A composite membrane of the polymer, chitosan, and the silver-exchanged mineral phase, tobermorite, was prepared by solvent casting and characterised by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The in vitro bioactivity, cytocompatibility and antimicrobial activity of the composite were evaluated with respect to its potential application as a guided tissue regeneration (GTR) membrane. The in vitro bioactivity was verified by the formation of hydroxyapatite on the surface of the membrane in simulated body fluid and its cytocompatibility was established using MG63 human osteosarcoma cells. The presence of silver ions conferred significant antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The findings of this investigation have indicated that the chitosansilver-tobermorite composite is a prospective candidate for GTR applications

Understanding economic abuse through an intersectional lens: Financial abuse, control and exploitation of South Asian women’s productive and reproductive labours

Existing literature on financial abuse focuses on men’s control over money, goods, assets and over women’s education/work, thereby implicitly constructing economic activity as paid work. This paper responds to this under-recognition of men’s (and in the context of particular communities, their family’s) abuse of and control over women’s unpaid (domestic) labour within a broader conceptualization of economic abuse. Drawing upon life-history interviews with 41 South Asian women from two separate studies in the UK and India, this paper takes an intersectional perspective to explore how gender, migration status, race/ethnicity and class can help understand women’s experiences as a continuum of economic abuse