Pregnancy outcome in Non-cirrhotic portal hypertension

Background: To study the maternal and fetal outcome of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH) in pregnancy.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed ten women with the diagnosis of NCPH in pregnancy. The study was done at St John’s Medical College Hospital Bangalore, Karnataka from January 2012 - January 2016. All the necessary data was obtained by record review.Results: The mean age of the pregnant woman was 25.5 years. Among 10 women with the diagnosis of NCPH 4 had Non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis (NCPF) and 6 had Extrahepatic portal venous obstruction (EHPVO). Six patients were diagnosed with NCPH prior to pregnancy; while among the remaining 4 patients, 1 had variceal bleed and the other 3 manifested with splenomegaly during pregnancy which led to the diagnosis of NCPH. All these 4 patients were successfully managed with beta blockers alone without any surgical intervention during pregnancy. Thrombocytopenia and splenomegaly were the most common clinical manifestations which were observed in all 10 patients. Severe thrombocytopenia (platelet <50,000 cells/mm3) was seen in 7 patients who received platelet transfusion. Six (60%) of patients had vaginal delivery, the other 4 underwent cesarean section due to meconium stained liquor and fetal distress in early labor. Hence cesarean delivery was reserved only for obstetric indication. Postpartum hemorrhage was seen in 2 patients managed conservatively, one patient on 3rd postoperative day developed ascites and pleural effusion requiring pleural tapping and diuretics with successful recovery. There was no maternal mortality during the study period. The fetal/neonatal outcome was good in the present study with 90% of babies with good APGAR score, whereas 1 preterm neonate developed HIE stage 2 requiring prolonged NICU stay. The overall pregnancy outcome was good in the present study.Conclusions: Pregnancies can be allowed and managed successfully in patients with NCPH

Infant feeding practices in an urban tertiary care hospital: A descriptive longitudinal study

Background: Infant and young child feeding are the corner stone for child development. More than a third of the world’s&nbsp;undernourished children reside in India. Inadequate infant and young child feeding practices with inadequate care and management&nbsp;of common illnesses contributes to malnutrition. Objective: To study the prevailing infant feeding practices and determine influence&nbsp;of factors on infant feeding in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A descriptive longitudinal follow-up study was&nbsp;conducted in a tertiary care hospital between November 2010 and April 2012. Maternal and baby’s profiles were obtained using&nbsp;oral questionnaire after birth by personal one-to-one interview. These cases were followed up for their infant feeding practices till&nbsp;1 year of age in outpatient department and also by telephonic conversation. Continous variables were analysed by mean and SD. For&nbsp;categorical variable frequency and percentage were determined. Results: 61.25% mothers had initiated breastfeeding within 1 h.&nbsp;Prelacteal feed was given to 28.6% babies. 61.5% had initiated complementary feed at 6 months. Bottle feeding was preferred mode&nbsp;of feeding. There was a statistically significant association between initiation of breastfeeding and parity (p=0.022) and type ofdelivery (p&lt;0.0001), religion and complementary feeding introduction (p&lt;0.001), religion and duration of exclusive breastfeeding&nbsp;(EBF) (p=0.003), occupation and EBF duration (p=0.005), education (p=0.015), and religion (p=0.001) were associated with&nbsp;prelacteal feeds. Conclusions: Infant feeding practices observed from the study include early initiation of breastfeeding, appropriate&nbsp;duration of EBF, and timely introduction of complementary feed. Practice of prelacteal and bottle feeding was seen. Infant feeding&nbsp;practices are found to be influenced by several socio-demographic factors

POSITIVE INFLUENCE OF INTERCROPS ON COCCINELLID AND SPIDER FAUNA IN GROUNDNUT

ABSTRACT: Groundnut, (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the major oilseed cum valuable cash crops for millions of small scale farmers in the semi-arid tropics. The insect pests of groundnut inflicts serious losses both directly as defoliators, sap suckers, root feeders etc and indirectly as vectors to dreaded viral diseases of the crop. Chemical control is being recommended with success but the awareness of deleterious effects of chemicals led to the thinking about alternatives to chemicals. Cultural operations in agriculture have well established history for their role in insect pest management. Of these, inter/mixed cropping systems have been considered as important components and constitutes the most practical oriented approach. A field trial in RBD was conducted at S.V.Agricultural College, Tirupati to study the influence of intercrops on natural enemies of groundnut insect pests during kharif 2011. The systems studied were groundnut + red gram, groundnut + castor (at 7:1 ratio), groundnut + cowpea, groundnut + field bean (at 6:1 ratio) and pure groundnut. Coccinellids and spiders were predominant during crop growth period. Various species of coccinellid predators were considered as a group, and their presence was recorded in all the cropping systems. All the spiders, irrespective of the family to which they belonged, were recorded together as one unit. Among the coccinellids, Chelomenes sexmaculata was the predominant predator which accounts for 70 per cent of the population. Spiders belonging to Lycosidae family were predominant. Population of coccinellids and spiders was increased up to 60 -70 DAS and declined later. This may be due to availability of sufficient prey like aphids, jassids etc during vegetative stage of the crop. Change in microclimate due to shredded/shrinked foliage at later stages of the crop also may not favour the natural enemy fauna. The data shows that coccinellid population was comparatively high in groundnut + cowpea system (2.44 per plant). Aphids that prefer cowpea might have attracted the grubs and adults of coccinellids towards the crop, as coccinellids are the major predators of aphids. In the remaining intercrop systems also, significantly higher lady bird beetle population was observed. Spider population was comparatively higher in groundnut + field bean system (1.66 per plant) followed by groundnut + cowpea system (1.32 per plant). Other systems had nearly 0.8-1.3 spiders per plan

Study the effect of intermediate and closer stiffener on the behaviour of the cold - formed steel lipped channel section under axial compression

Cold-Formed steel built-up columns are commonly used as compression member in the industrial roof and long span bridge structures to carry larger load. To improve the strength and stiffness of the cold-formed section, the built-up column with additional stiffeners and lacings are used. This paper reports the results of experimental tests conducted on built-up cold-formed columns, composed with the combination of intermediate and closer stiffeners with pin-ended condition under axial compression. Totally twelve columns with or without intermediate and closer stiffeners were tested to failure. The experimental results aim to quantify the effect of cross-section, intermediate and closer stiffener on the overall performance, including strength, strain and failure modes for the built-up column. The Finite element model was developed by ANSYS software and the model is validated with the experimental results. The built-up column strength predicated by recommended design equations of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) exhibited good agreement with the ultimate load of built-up columns obtained both by experimental and numerical. Based on this study a recommendation is proposed to DSM for the CFS built -up columns with intermediate and closer stiffeners

Study the effect of intermediate and closer stiffener on the behaviour of the cold - formed steel lipped channel section under axial compression

Cold-Formed steel built-up columns are commonly used as compression member in the industrial roof and long span bridge structures to carry larger load. To improve the strength and stiffness of the cold-formed section, the built-up column with additional stiffeners and lacings are used. This paper reports the results of experimental tests conducted on built-up cold-formed columns, composed with the combination of intermediate and closer stiffeners with pin-ended condition under axial compression. Totally twelve columns with or without intermediate and closer stiffeners were tested to failure. The experimental results aim to quantify the effect of cross-section, intermediate and closer stiffener on the overall performance, including strength, strain and failure modes for the built-up column. The Finite element model was developed by ANSYS software and the model is validated with the experimental results. The built-up column strength predicated by recommended design equations of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) exhibited good agreement with the ultimate load of built-up columns obtained both by experimental and numerical. Based on this study a recommendation is proposed to DSM for the CFS built -up columns with intermediate and closer stiffeners

Correlation of serum parameters with disease severity, exacerbations and hospitalizations in patients with Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis

Background: The factors essential to define the severity and the prognosis of subjects with NCFB have not been sufficiently assessed. A prospective observational study was conducted to assess the serum parameters, their correlation with BSI (bronchiectasis severity index) and FACED (FEV1% predicted, age, chronic colonization by pseudomonas aeruginosa, extension by radiological assessment and dyspnoea) score in assessing disease severity and respiratory hospitalizations in patients with NCFB.Methods: About 76 clinically stable patients diagnosed as NCFB were included. Data extraction was done using structured proforma. The BSI and FACED scores were calculated. The serum parameters albumin, CRP (C-reactive protein), ANC (Absolute neutrophil count) and Hb (hemoglobin) levels were estimated. The number of exacerbations and hospitalizations during the 6 months follow up period were recorded.Results: The mean value of the serum parameters albumin, CRP, absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and Hb were 3.86 (95% CI 3.77- 3.95), 19.61 (95% CI 15.53 -23.68), 8632.95 (95% CI 7258.5-10068) and 12.3 (95% CI 11.84- 12.74) respectively. There was strong negative correlation between serum albumin and the BSI and FACED score. The mean exacerbations and hospitalizations during the 6 months follow up period were 3.3 (95% CI 2.93-3.65) and 1.14 (95% CI 0.85-1.44) respectively.Conclusions: The serum albumin level exhibited strong correlation and was identified as a variable associated with the BSI and FACED scores. Further studies in this direction are needed for use of serum parameters in severity assessment

Bacteriology of Acute Respiratory Infections in Children

Bacteriological investigations were carried out on 151 children (80 males and 71 females) suffering from acute respiratory infections (ARI) to And out bacteria associated with ARI. Fifty one children presenting with upper respiratory infections (URI) and 100 with lower respiratory infections (LRI) seen at the outpatient department of the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Madras, were included in this study. In all, 56% of the children yielded any one or a mixture of bacteria that could be potential or probable pathogens of ARI. Nonfermenting gram negative bacilli (NFGNB) were the predominant organisms isolated (27%) followed by non-typable ampicillin resistant Haemophilus influenzae (13%) and b. haemolytic streptococci groups C and G (11%). The other bacteria isolated in this study were Klebsiella pneumoniae (7%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (3%), Neisseria sps. pure (3%) and Staphylococcus aureus (1%). The isolation rate of NFGNB was maximum (47%) when the duration of illness exceeded 7 days. Mixed infections of potential or probable pathogens were observed in 11 patients which included NFGNB + K. pneumoniae (2); H. influenzae + NFGNB (2); b- haemolytic streptococci + H. influenzae (2); b- haemolytic streptococci + K. pneumoniae (1) ; S. aureus + K. pneumoniae (1) ; Neisseria sp. + K. pneumoniae (2) and NFGNB + b- haemolytic streptococci + H. influenzae (1)