Immune function and parasite resistance in male and polymorphic female Coenagrion puella

Background: Colour polymorphisms are widespread and one of the prime examples is the colour polymorphism in female coenagrionid damselflies: one female morph resembles the male colour (andromorph) while one, or more, female morphs are described as typically female (gynomorph). However, the selective pressures leading to the evolution and maintenance of this polymorphism are not clear. Here, based on the hypothesis that coloration and especially black patterning can be related to resistance against pathogens, we investigated the differences in immune function and parasite resistance between the different female morphs and males. Results: Our studies of immune function revealed no differences in immune function between the female morphs but between the sexes in adult damselflies. In an experimental infection females infected shortly after emergence showed a higher resistance against a fungal pathogen than males, however female morphs did not differ in resistance. In a field sample of adult damselflies we did not find differences in infection rates with watermites and gregarines. Conclusion: With respect to resistance and immune function 'andromorph' blue females of Coenagrion puella do not resemble the males. Therefore the colour polymorphism in coenagrionid damselflies is unlikely to be maintained by differences in immunity

Retrospective study of massive obstetric haemorrhage and its materno fetal outcomes in a tertiary care centre

Background: Massive obstetric haemorrhage is defined as blood loss of >1500 ml, or a decrease in haemoglobin>4 gm/dl or acute transfusion requirement of >4 units of blood when need for further transfusion is foreseeable. The purpose of this study is to analyse the demographic, medical and obstetric risk factors for massive obstetric haemorrhage and it’s materno fetal outcomes.Methods: Criteria for patient selection was all patients who had an acute obstetric haemorrhage necessitating a transfusion of >4 units of blood at a stretch when there was a need for more. This is a retrospective study conducted for a period of one year January to December 2015. Data regarding all cases under study during this period was obtained from Medical Records Department with prior permission. This study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Government Raja Mirasudhar Teaching Hospital, Thanjavur Medical College, Tamil Nadu. Maternal outcomes like mode of delivery, rate of hysterectomy, postpartum complications, maternal mortality and fetal outcomes like intra uterine death, still birth and preterm birth were analysed.Results: The rate of massive obstetric haemorrhage in our hospital during the study period was 5.7/1000 births. Massive obstetric haemorrhage contributed to 25% of all maternal deaths in 2015. Atonic PPH was the commonest cause. Multiparity and previous caesarean section were identified to be significant risk factors.Conclusions: We found an increased association of massive obstetric haemorrhage with multiparity, caesarean sections and pre-eclampsia. Atonic PPH was the commonest cause. Massive obstetric haemorrhage had contributed significantly to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes

Sonomorphology and colour flow Doppler studies in differentiating between benign and malignant ovarian masses

Background: Ovarian cancer is the most frequent cause of death from Gynaecological malignancies in the world. Most patients with epithelial ovarian cancer are asymptomatic in early stage disease and usually present with stage III or IV disease. There are various screening methods for detection of ovarian cancer like bimanual pelvic examination, ultrasound examination (TVS and TAS) with or without color Doppler flow imaging and measurement of various circulating proteins like CA 125. The Purpose of a study is to determine optimal cut off point for a morphological scoring system and color flow directed Doppler values to differentiate benign and malignant ovarian masses.Methods: This study was done at Department of obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Rajah Mirasudhar Teaching Hospital attached to Government Thanjavur Medical College, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India during the period of June – 2011 to October – 2012. This study consisted of 73 patients, 3 patients were not operated as they were not fit for surgery for medical reasons. Hence 70 patients were included in the study. A note was made of their main symptoms at admission, Parity, menopausal status, family history of carcinoma. Patients admitted with diagnosis of ovarian masses and clearly ovarian by sonomorphology and surgery were only included in this study. Morphological Score, RI and PI were calculated. All patients underwent exploratory laparotomy with surgical removal of the tumor. The final diagnosis obtained based on HPE were classified as either benign or malignant. The score of each mass and the Doppler values were assessed individually and in combination with regard to its relationship to final diagnosis.Results: In summary the resistance to flow measurement obtained by Doppler had a higher sensitivity and specificity compared to the morphological scoring system in differentiating benign and malignant ovarian masses. The combination of morphological score and Doppler Measurements improved the specificity positive predictive value for differentiating benign and malignant ovarian masses. Conclusions: The combination of ultrasound and Doppler values is better in differentiating benign from malignant ovarian masses. The cut off point for ultrasound guided morphological scoring system was 4 and Doppler velocimetry for differentiating benign and malignant ovarian masses was a RI of 0.55 and PI of 0.8

Effect of Silambam Practice on Body Composition Agility and Cardiovascular Endurance among College Girls

The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of Silambam practice on body composition and cardio vascular endurance among college girls. Silambam fencing is a martial art native to the soil of Tamil Nadu. It has been originated from 3000 B.C and practiced by the pre-historic Dravidian Tamils who were dwelling from the Mohan-ja-daro & Harappa regions and is still practiced today. To achieve the purpose of this study, 40 sedentary college girls were selected as subjects. The age of the subjects were ranged from 18 to 20 years. The subjects were further classified at random into two equal groups of 20 subjects each. Group - I underwent Silambam training for three days per week for sixteen weeks and group - II acted as control. The selected criterion variables namely body weight, BMI, lean body mass, percent body fat and cardio vascular endurance were assessed before and after the training period. The collected data were statistically analysed by using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). From the results of the study it was found that there was a significant improvement in cardio vascular endurance and significant reduction in body weight, BMI, lean body mass, and percent body fat with no significant change in agility among the experimental group when compared with the control group

Antioxidant Activity and Hepatoprotective Potential of Polyalthia longifolia and Cassia spectabilis Leaves against Paracetamol-Induced Liver Injury

In the present study, in vitro antioxidant, free radical scavenging capacity, and hepatoprotective activity of methanol extracts from Polyalthia longifolia and Cassia spectabilis were evaluated using established in vitro models such as ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH•), hydroxyl radical (OH•), nitric oxide radical (NO•) scavenging, metal chelating, and antilipidperoxidation activities. Interestingly, all the extracts showed considerable in vitro antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities in a dose-dependent manner when compared to the standard antioxidant which verified the presence of strong antioxidant compound in leaf extracts tested. Phenolic and flavonoid content of these extracts is significantly correlated with antioxidant capacity. Since P. longifolia extract was exhibited better in vitro antioxidant activities, it was subjected for in vivo hepatoprotective activity in paracetamol-intoxicated mice. Therapy of P. longifolia showed the liver protective effect on biochemical and histopathological alterations. Moreover, histological studies also supported the biochemical finding, that is, the maximum improvement in the histoarchitecture of the liver. Results revealed that P. longifolia leaf extract could protect the liver against paracetamol-induced oxidative damage by possibly increasing the antioxidant protection mechanism inmice. Our findings indicated that P. longifolia and C. spectabilis have potential as good sources of natural antioxidant/antiaging compounds

Effect of Suprascapular Nerve Block in Shoulder Pain and Disability

INTRODUCTION: A normal shoulder is a highly mobile diarthrodial (synovial), ball and socket joint with a remarkable range of movement.1 Normal function of the shoulder complex requires the coordinated movements of the sternoclavicular (SC), acromioclavicular (AC), and glenohumeral (GH) joints, as well as the scapulothoracic articulation and the motion interface between the rotator cuff and the overlying coracoacromial arch. Approximately 10% of the general adult population will experience an episode of shoulder pain in their lifetime pain in the shoulder is exceeded only by pain in the low back and the neck3 shoulder pain is a common reason for care seeking as it impacts upon on a range of activities of daily living, including sleep. It is estimated that around 95% of people with shoulder pain are treated in primary care settings. Many people presenting with acute shoulder pain are likely to have conditions that will resolve spontaneously regardless of treatment. Indeed, there are reports that 50% of people with shoulder pain do not seek care at all. Van der Windt DA et a reported that 23% of all new episodes of shoulder pain resolve fully within one month and 44% resolve within three months of onset. However, the results of studies on the natural history of shoulder pain vary considerably because of the range of definitions used to describe shoulder disorders. METHODOLOGY: STUDY DESIGN: The design used in this study is double blinded randomised controlled trail. STUDY SETTING: This study was conducted in Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Directorate of Health & Family Welfare Services, Government of Puducherry. STUDY POPULATION: The population of this study included patients with shoulder pain in the age group of 30 to 60 yrs. SAMPLE SIZE: The total number of participants in this study was n=20. SELECTION CRITERIA: 1. Pain in the shoulder- due to local causes and referred pains are excluded. 2. Age group- 30 to 60yrs. 3. Pain due to trauma without fracture and dislocations. 4. Post traumatic stiffness and Degenerative shoulder pain. 5. Pain due to soft tissue of the shoulder like Adhesive Capsulitis. MATERIALS: The SPADI is a self-administered questionnaire that consists of two dimensions, one for pain and the other for functional activities. The pain dimension consists of five questions regarding the severity of an individual's pain. Functional activities are assessed with eight questions designed to measure the degree of difficulty an individual has with various activities of daily living that require upper-extremity use. It takes 5 to 10 minutes for a patient to complete and is the only reliable and valid regionspecific measure for the shoulder. To answer the questions, patients place a mark on a 10cm visual analogue scale for each question. Verbal anchors for the pain dimension are ‘no pain at all’ and ‘worst pain imaginable’, and those for the functional activities are ‘no difficulty’ and ‘so difficult it required help’. The scores from both dimensions are averaged to derive a total score. It shows good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and criterion and construct validity. It can detect change over time and accurately discriminates between patients who have improved or worsened. CONCLUSION: In this study, Group A individuals who depended purely on the Suprascapular Nerve Block and Exercises, showed a greater improvement than the Group B individuals who depended on Heat Modalities and Exercises, which suggests that the influence Suprascapular Nerve Block and Exercises are better in use clinical setting. From this study it is concluded that Suprascapular Nerve Block and Exercises significantly improve the Shoulder Pain and Disabilities in individuals with Shoulder Pain. Hence, Suprascapular Nerve Block and Exercises can be implemented in the rehabilitation program of every individual with Shoulder Pain in order to reduce Pain and Disabilities

Bed bug aggregation on dirty laundry: a mechanism for passive dispersal

Bed bugs have shown a recent and rapid global expansion that has been suggested to be caused by cheap air travel. How a small, flightless and anachoretic insect that hides within its host's sleeping area manages to travel long distances is not yet clear. Bed bugs are attracted to the odour of sleeping humans and we suggest that soiled clothing may present a similarly attractive cue, allowing bed bugs to 'hitch-hike' around the world after aggregating in the laundry bags of travellers. We show that (1) soiled clothing is significantly more attractive than clean clothing to active bed bugs moving within a bedroom sized arena and (2) elevation of CO2 to a level that simulates human occupancy in the same arena appears to initiate search behaviour rather than direct it. Our results show, for the first time, how leaving worn clothing exposed in sleeping areas when travelling can be exploited by bed bugs to facilitate passive dispersal