Ayurvedic Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus - A Case Study

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), can occur in women who have normally never had diabetes previously and for the first time occurring in her pregnancy and might get resolved after delivery. Women in second and third trimester are more prone to gestational diabetes. Prevalence of GDM is increasing world wide. There is no direct reference of GDM in Ayurveda, but Garbha Vridhi is described as a complication. In Garbha Vridhi there is excessive increase in size of abdomen, perspiration and labor is difficult. It is observed that obesity is closely linked to the body being insulin resistance. In Ayurveda classics, description of diabetes comes under Prameha where its different types and detailed management including Ahara, Vihara and Aushadha Chikitsa is mentioned. This presentation is a case study on GDM

Variant drainage of frontal sinus

Frontal sinuses are drained by front nasal duct. The opening of the front nasal duct is found on the anteromedial aspect of the floor of the sinus. The duct then continues through the ethmoidal labyrinth and enters the ethmoidal groove at the anterior end of the middle meatus. Here we noticed that frontal sinus was draining into the bulla ethmoidalis on both the sides. These anatomical variations affect the drainage and ventilation of Para nasal sinus due to infection lead to stasis of secretion cause recurrent and chronic sinusitis

Yonikanda - A Conceptual Study

Yonikanda is a disease of vulva or lower vaginal canal, which has round or irregular shape, requires only local treatment and is easily curable. Clinically it can be correlated with abcess of bartholin gland. Few workers have equated this with polypoidal growth protubering through introitus. Ayurveda, including Madhavanidana, Bhavaprakasha, Yogaratnakara, Sharngdhara Samhita explained well about the Nidana, Samprapti and Chikitsa of Yonikanda in detail

Unilateral left rectus sternalis muscle: a case report

The rectus sternalis muscle is a small supernumerary muscle present in the anterior thoracic wall and is superficial to the sterno-costal fibers of pectoralis major muscle. In present study we came across left rectus sternalis, originated as a small tendon from the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle, and the fascia of the rectus abdominis, and seen inserted into the clavicular fibres of pectoralis major of the opposite side of the manubriosternal joint. The rectus sternalis or sternalis muscle is of much importance in the field of radiology or surgery as its presence and knowledge might be effective and useful for the radiologists and surgeons during management of the pectoral region

Relación entre la abundancia de foraminíferos y las condiciones tróficas de la zona marino-costera, al oeste de la India

Surface seawater and sediment parameters indicate the trophic state of coastal marine systems. We used a biochemical approach to identify descriptors of the trophic state and environmental quality of intertidal ecosystems, based on the analysis of the quality and quantity of sedimentary organic matter, water nutrients and their correlation with the foraminiferal population at two sites on the west coast of India. Surface intertidal sediments were collected for a period of 17 months from January 2012 to May 2013 at intervals of two months by using a short core tube. Total foraminiferal number and live foraminiferal number showed a peak during the post-monsoon period, when there is an enrichment of sediment chlorophyll a as well as a dominance of carbohydrates over sedimentary protein. Thus, a small change in the trophic status of the environment from a lower oligotrophic to a higher oligotrophic condition is responsible for the enhancement of foraminiferal population and diversity in the study sites. In particular, sediment protein concentration appeared to be a good descriptor of the trophic state. A gradual increase in foraminiferal population from a protein-rich, fresh organic matter environment to a carbohydrate-rich, detritus organic matter environment indicates the foraminiferal preference for detritus food sources. Thus, the main regulation factor for abundance and diversity of foraminifera at the study sites is trophication.Los parámetros del agua de mar superficial y del sedimento son indicadores del estado trófico de los sistemas marinos costeros. Hemos usado una aproximación bioquímica para identificar los descriptores del estado trófico y calidad ambiental de los ecosistemas intermareales, basado en el análisis de la calidad y la cantidad de materia orgánica sedimentaria, de los nutrientes del agua y su correlación con la población de foraminíferos en dos lugares de la costa oeste de la India. Las muestras de la superficie de los sedimentos intermareales se recogieron durante un período de diecisiete meses desde enero de 2012 a mayo de 2013, a intervalos de dos meses mediante el uso de un corer. El número total de foraminíferos (TFN), así como el número de foraminiferos vivos (LFN) mostró un pico durante el periodo posterior al monzón cuando se produce un enriquecimiento de clorofila a en el sedimento y un dominio de la concentración de hidratos de carbono sobre la de las proteínas sedimentarias. Por tanto, un cambio pequeño en el estado trófico del medio ambiente desde condiciones de menos a más oligotróficas son responsables de la mejora de la población y la diversidad de foraminíferos en los sitios de estudio. En particular, la concentración de proteína del sedimento resultaba ser un buen descriptor del estado trófico del sistema. Un incremento gradual de la población de foraminíferos desde un ambiente rico en proteínas y materia orgánica fresca a uno rico en carbohidratos y materia orgánica detrítica indica que los foraminíferos prefieren las fuentes de alimento de detritus. Así, el factor de regulación principal para la abundancia y diversidad de foraminíferos se debe al distinto grado trófico del sistema

Otocephaly: a case report

A case of otocephaly was reported in 26±4 week’s female fetus during routine fetal autopsy at GMCH, Chandigarh, India. Mother was 25 years old, second gravid. The first child is one year old normal male baby. Present pregnancy resulted in spontaneous abortion. Antenatal history, past history, family history and medical history of mother was not suggestive of any ethiological factor responsible for the defect. The external examination showed 2 vessels in umbilical cord. There was anteroposterior lengthening of skull, mouth was in the form of a proboscis with a small opening in the centre, the right ear was absent. The left pinna was low placed and had small tags. On internal examination oral cavity was found small with hypoplastic mandible, tongue was absent (aglossia), thoracic cavity was small, left lung was absent, right lung had only single lobe, heart dilated with normal position of major vessels, In abdominal cavity gut was opening in a dilated cloaca like chamber. X-ray examination revealed small hypoplastic mandible and maxilla. Otocephaly is a rare lethal syndrome of microstomia, agnatia and ear anomalies. Other anomalies associated are holoprosenxcephaly, skeletal, genitourinary, cardiovascular system, endocrine gland hypoplasia etc. The differential diagnosis includes Treacher Collins syndrome, Goldenhar syndrome and Mobius syndrome. The etiology, incidence, causative factors of this case will be discussed in light of available literature

Prevalence and risk factors for depression among antenatal women during third trimester of pregnancy in a tertiary care centre

Background: With the rising incidence of Maternal deaths due to suicide as evident from reports of Kerala state confidential review of maternal deaths, there is a felt need for screening for depression in study antenatal population. Though there have been various screening tools used, a simplified tool validated in study population was not used in study antenatal women till now. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression among antenatal women admitted in the department of obstetrics and gynecology, Government Medical College, Thrissur and also to study the risk factors associated with depression in the study population.Methods: A questionnaire based cross sectional observational study was conducted among 100 antenatal women in their third trimester. PHQ-9 questionnaire was used to screen for depression and the information regarding risk factors was collected from the patient, her caregivers and from clinical records. Data analysis was done using EPI-INFO/SPSS software.Results: Prevalence of depression among hospitalized mothers: 53%. Most cases (70%) had: mild depression (PHQ Score: 5-9). Only very few (2%) of them had severe depression (PHQ score: more than 20). 9% had: moderately severe depression (PHQ score: 15-19). 19% had: moderate depression (PHQ score: 10-14). Statistically significant risk factors identified in this study were fetal gender preference, anxiety about labour process, anxiety about labour pain, anxiety about making the baby a part of their life and anxiety about baby’s health.Conclusions: The prevalence of depression among hospitalized mothers using PHQ-9 scale is high (53%). Screening for depression was found to be feasible and can be made a part of routine antenatal care so that appropriate interventions can be provided to improve maternal mental health and thereby prevent the maternal mortality occurring due to suicides

Theory and experiments of spiral unpinning in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction using a circularly polarized electric field

We present the first experimental study of unpinning a spiral wave of excitation using a circularly polarized electric field. The experiments are conducted in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky(BZ) reaction, and the system is modeled using the Oregenator model. The mechanism of unpinning in the BZ reaction differs from that in the physiological medium. We show that the wave unpins when the electric force opposes the propagation of the spiral wave. We developed an analytical relation of the unpinning phase with the initial phase, the pacing ratio, and the field strength and verified the same.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

The Dietary Flavonoid, Luteolin, Negatively Affects Neuronal Differentiation

Luteolin, a polyphenolic plant flavonoid, has been attributed with numerous beneficial properties like anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory action. Luteolin has been reported earlier to be neuroprotective in models of spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury and also induces neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. However, the effect of luteolin on early differentiation, which might be important for its beneficial effects, is unknown. In this report, we show that luteolin negatively affects early differentiation of embryonic stem cells, hampering the formation of embryoid bodies. At later stages of differentiation, luteolin specifically inhibits neuronal differentiation, where the expression of early neuronal markers is suppressed, whereas luteolin treatment does not inhibit expression of meso- and endodermal markers. Further, in a developing zebrafish model, luteolin treatment leads to fewer numbers of mitotic cells in the brain. These specific effects of luteolin on neuronal differentiation could possibly be due to its ability to inhibit the lysine acetyltransferase, p300, since the structurally closely related p300 non-inhibitor flavonoid, apigenin, does not inhibit neuronal differentiation. These results show that luteolin perturbs neuronal differentiation of embryonic stem cells