Enhancing gynaecological care: the obstetrics and gynaecological distress measurement scale

Background: Gynaecological patients are evaluated using a few scales that are not population-targeted, so a targeted tool was required, particularly for the Indian population where these problems are prevalent. Methods: A short interview was done after a top-down survey. Then, from the results of the pilot study, some items were retained after the deletion of others. Results: Using Cronbach's alpha, a reliability coefficient of 0.907 was obtained. With a value of 0.867, the split-half coefficient demonstrated a good degree of internal consistency. Convergent validity was 0.62. Conclusions: The OGDMS is a useful tool for detecting possible psychological distress in pregnant women. OGDMS is a standardised instrument which can be used by psychologists, physicians, and patients to pinpoint probable mental health-related problem areas

Genetic Analysis in Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.)

Fifty genotypes of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) were evaluated for variability, correlation, path analysis and divergence for yield and its contributing characters. Analysis of variance showed significant variation for all the characters, indicating presence of sufficient variability in the material studied. Genotypic correlations were higher than those of their respective phenotypic correlation coefficients in majority of the cases suggesting, that, genotypic correlations were stronger, reliable and free from environmental influences. Path analysis based on genotypic association revealed that number of fruits per plant and moisture percentage was the main yieldattributing characters in fruit yield of muskmelon. Total soluble solids exhibited positive direct effect on fruit yield per plant. Thus, number of fruits per plant, moisture percentage and total soluble solids may be given more weightage for an effective selection to improve fruit yield in muskmelon. On the basis of relative magnitude of D2 values, all the genotypes were grouped in seven clusters. Maximum genetic distance was observed between clusters II and V, while clusters III and VII displayed the lowest degree of divergence. Total soluble sugars followed by total soluble solids and fruit yield per plant contributed the most towards divergence

The obstetrics and gynaecological distress measurement scale: a promising tool for improving obstetrics care

Background: Screening done on obstetrics patients is based on a few scales which are not targeted towards the population, thus a need for a targeted tool was necessary especially for the Indian population where these issues are high and care provided lacks in quality. Methods: A top down survey was conducted followed by a brief interview. A pilot study was then done out of which specific items were selected. Results: Cronbach's alpha yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.907. Split-half coefficient yielded a high level of internal consistency with a value of 0.867. The convergent validity was 0.62. Conclusions: The OGDMS is a valuable tool for identifying potential psychological distress in women needing obstetrics care. OGDMS is a unified tool for doctors, psychologists, and patients to identify potential problem areas related to mental health

Towards the model driven organization

Todays modern organization is faced with a need for rapid response to changes from external business pressures by updating systems and operational procedures. The effect of such continuous evolution eventually leads to sub- optimal configurations of its underlying systems. The management of continuous business change is compromised by uncertainty due to the inadequacy of existing mechanisms for responding to multiple change drivers thus leading to signifi- cant organizational costs. This represents a major opportunity for seeking greater efficiencies. To date, there has been little or no attempt to apply model driven principles or approaches to addressing these issues. We present a new vision of a Model Driven Organisation (MDO) that has the potential to increase produc- tivity by promoting integration of business processes and collaborations across the organisation whilst supporting safe and convenient adaptations that enable rapid response to change whilst maintaining integrity of the systems within the organisation. The approach proposed is based on the use of modelling languages and simulation technologies that support abstractions for understanding business goals through to specification of IT systems and ultimately to deployed systems. The paper motivates the problem and proposes a definition of the MDO. We val- idate the proposal through an illustrative case and conclude with a review of the state of the art leading to a roadmap of research and emergent grand challenges towards achieving the MDO vision

The Radio Afterglow and Host Galaxy of the Dark GRB 020819

Of the fourteen gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) localized to better than 2' radius with the SXC on HETE-2, only two lack optical afterglow detections, and the high recovery rate among this sample has been used to argue that the fraction of truly dark bursts is ~10%. While a large fraction of earlier dark bursts can be explained by the failure of ground-based searches to reach appropriate limiting magnitudes, suppression of the optical light of these SXC dark bursts seems likely. Here we report the discovery and observation of the radio afterglow of GRB 020819, an SXC dark burst, which enables us to identify the likely host galaxy (probability of 99.2%) and hence the redshift (z=0.41) of the GRB. The radio light curve is qualitatively similar to that of several other radio afterglows, and may include an early-time contribution from the emission of the reverse shock. The proposed host is a bright R = 19.5 mag barred spiral galaxy, with a faint R ~ 24.0 mag "blob'' of emission, 3" from the galaxy core (16 kpc in projection), that is coincident with the radio afterglow. Optical photometry of the galaxy and blob, beginning 3 hours after the burst and extending over more than 100 days, establishes strong upper limits to the optical brightness of any afterglow or associated supernova. Combining the afterglow radio fluxes and our earliest R-band limit, we find that the most likely afterglow model invokes a spherical expansion into a constant-density (rather than stellar wind-like) external environment; within the context of this model, a modest local extinction of A_V ~ 1 mag is sufficient to suppress the optical flux below our limits.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. ApJ, in press. For more info on dark bursts, see http://www.astro.ku.dk/~pallja/dark.htm

Inertial Range Scaling, Karman-Howarth Theorem and Intermittency for Forced and Decaying Lagrangian Averaged MHD in 2D

We present an extension of the Karman-Howarth theorem to the Lagrangian averaged magnetohydrodynamic (LAMHD-alpha) equations. The scaling laws resulting as a corollary of this theorem are studied in numerical simulations, as well as the scaling of the longitudinal structure function exponents indicative of intermittency. Numerical simulations for a magnetic Prandtl number equal to unity are presented both for freely decaying and for forced two dimensional MHD turbulence, solving directly the MHD equations, and employing the LAMHD-alpha equations at 1/2 and 1/4 resolution. Linear scaling of the third-order structure function with length is observed. The LAMHD-alpha equations also capture the anomalous scaling of the longitudinal structure function exponents up to order 8.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures author institution addresses added magnetic Prandtl number stated clearl

Influence of pre-bloom sprays of benzyladenine on in vitro recovery of hybrid embryos from crosses of Thompson Seedless and 8 seeded varieties of grape (Vitis spp.)

The present investigations are part of a study to introgress downy mildew resistance in Thompson Seedless through breeding and in ovulo embryo rescue methods. The influence of sprays of benzyladenine (BA) at prebloom and bloom on the percentage of embryo recovery, germination and development of hybrid plants is described. BA gave mixed results among the 8 cross combinations. With some crosses, BA drastically improved these parameters. In almost all crosses, germination increased significantly with BA sprays. The influence on plant development and recovery depended on BA treatment and the male parent

Using an Automated Air Traffic Simulation Capability for a Parametric Study in Traffic Flow Management

Flight delays occur when demand for capacity-constrained airspace or airports exceeds predicted capacity. Demand for capacity-constrained airspace or airports can be controlled by a series of Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs), which use departure and airborne delays, as well as pre-departure and airborne reroutes, to manage access to the constrained resources. Two systems exist in current and planned future operations to address imbalances between demand and capacity. The Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) reduces demand to constrained resources by assigning strategic departure delay and pre-departure reroutes. Reroutes are selected from Trajectory Options Sets (TOSs) submitted by airlines. As flights approach the constrained resource, the Time-Based Flow Management System (TBFM) is used to assign tactical delay to satisfy constraints. This paper describes experiments performed to study the impact of varying levels of airline participation in CTOP via submission of TOSs on ground delay and flight time, and the impact of departure uncertainty on TBFM delays. Results suggest that as CTOP participation increases, average ground delays decrease for all airlines, but to the greatest extent for airlines participating in CTOP. A threshold in CTOP participation, which varies with the constraint capacity, is identified beyond which there is relatively little further reduction in average ground delays. Similarly, given the likely level of CTOP participation, the capacity reduction for which CTOP would be an appropriate TMI is also identified. Results also suggest that high average departure errors and high variability in departure error can make the prioritization of TBFM internal departures in TBFM metering and scheduling infeasible. Departure errors at current levels are, however, acceptable