Perceptions about caesarean section among women and health care providers: a qualitative study in a rural maternity hospital in Karnataka, India

Background: Caesarean section is life-saving, but rising rates are a cause for concern. Perceptions surrounding caesarean delivery may play a significant role in the shared-decision making process. Objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of caesarean section among antenatal, postnatal women and healthcare providers in a rural maternity hospital in Ramanagara district, Karnataka.Methods: Qualitative research methodology was adopted to explore perceptions regarding preferred birthing mode, caesarean and its perceived complications. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with antenatal and postnatal women, their caregivers and health care providers. Inductive coding approach and thematic framework analysis was done.Results: Five major themes emerged regarding perceptions of caesarean section among women in a rural area of Karnataka: understanding, fears, decision making, after-care and prevention. Women had a strong preference for normal vaginal birth, but willing to accept doctor’s decision for caesarean as they believed that it would protect the life of unborn child. Women perceived that caesarean was profitable to the hospital. Common mentioned side effects following caesarean were backache and pain at the surgical site.Conclusions: The understanding regarding caesarean section was adequate. Women had fears linked to caesarean such as pain, inability to work, weight gain, prolonged recovery and caesarean deliveries in subsequent pregnancies. Husbands and other family members as well as the doctors were the important decision makers, while the women themselves had little say in the matter. Obstetricians need to focus on alleviating concerns among pregnant women and their family members regarding caesarean section

Formulation and optimization of Retapamulin loaded PLGA nanoparticles for burn wounds

In the present study, PLGA nanoparticles (PLGA-NP) of retapamulin (RP) were prepared and optimized by studying the effect of various formulation and process variables for effective delivery at burn wound site. Drug loaded PLGA-NP were successfully prepared and characterized by TEM, XRD and DSC study. Formulation and process variables like surfactant concentration, drug concentration, polymer concentration etc. showed significant effect on the particle size, entrapment efficiency and drug loading. PLGA-NP exhibited prolonged drug release following Higuchi release kinetics (R2= 0.9907). In vitro study demonstrated systemic escape of drug from PLGA-NP which might eliminate side effects associated with topical exposure through conventional treatment. Further retention of activity of entrapped drug was confirmed by in vitro antimicrobial assay. Optimized PLGA nanoparticle of Retapamulin was incorporated into PVA-Chitosan hydrogel slurry and casted into film to prepare multiphase hydrogel.Thus, present optimized system can be effectively used for delivery of drug at burn wound site in especially compromised wounds.&nbsp

Effects of copper bioaccumulation on growth and biochemical constituents of the seedlings of Casuarina equisetifolia L.

Accumulation of heavy metals in the soil causes a significant impact on the biological processes in the plants.  In the present study, the impact of bioaccumulation of copper (Cu) on the growth and biochemical constituents of the seedlings of Casuarina equisetifolia was assessed. The results showed that C. equisetifolia is a hyper-accumulator of Cu. The roots of the C. Equisetifolia significantly accumulated (p< 0.05) greater levels of Cu than stem and leaves. Similarly, the seedlings exposed to different concentrations of Cu showed differential height and collar diameter. The higher concentrations of Cu significantly (p< 0.05) hindered the fresh and dry weights of seedlings. It was noticed that accumulated Cu caused a significant decrease in levels of total carbohydrates, proteins and chlorophyll contents in C. equisetifolia seedlings

Assessment of aflatoxin B1 in livestock feed and feed ingredients by high-performance thin layer chromatography

Aim: Detection of aflatoxin B1 in Livestock compound Feed and feed ingredients by high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). Materials and Methods: Chromatography was performed on HPTLC silica gel 60 F 254, aluminum sheets by CAMAG automatic TLC sampler 4, with mobile phase condition chloroform:acetone:water (28:4:0.06). Extraction of aflatoxin B1 from samples was done as per AOAC method and screening and quantification done by HPTLC Scanner 4 under wavelength 366 nm. Results: A total of 97 livestock feed (48) and feed ingredients (49) samples received from different livestock farms and farmers were analyzed for aflatoxin B1of which 29 samples were contaminated, constituting 30%. Out of 48 livestock compound feed samples, aflatoxin B1 could be detected in 16 samples representing 33%, whereas in livestock feed ingredients out of 49 samples, 13 found positive for aflatoxin B1 representing 24.5%. Conclusion: HPTLC assures good recovery, precision, and linearity in the quantitative determination of aflatoxin B1 extracted from Livestock compound feed and feed ingredients. As more number of feed and feed ingredients are contaminated with aflatoxin B1 which causes deleterious effects in both animal and human beings, so there is a need for identifying the source of contamination, executing control measures, enabling better risk assessment techniques, and providing economic benefits

Descriptive Study on Prevalence of Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Diabetes, Hypertensive Patients

Introduction: The chronic diseases caused by genetics, life style, the environment and ageing itself are the key factors that affect health today; hence, we should concentrate our attention on our patients' last years of life aimed at raising the number of elderly people in health, able to sustain their physical and mental functions.Aims :To study the incidence and degree of sensorineural hearing loss in diabetic, hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: This is a prospective observational study done for a period of 18 months. The study will be conducted on 50 subjects diagnosed with diabetes, 50 subjects diagnosed with hypertension and 50 subjects with both hypertension and diabetes and 50 normal subjects without hypertension and diabetes. All the subjects in the age group of 20-60 years with diagnosed diabetes, hypertension and normal subjects without hypertension and diabetes both males and females are included in study.Results: Of 100 patients in study age of the group with associated disease is statistically higher in the group without associated disease. It was found that out of 150 cases with hypertension or diabetes or both in present study 138 were in the age group of 40- 60 and only 12 cases were between age 20-40. Patients with hypertension (86%) were at higher risk of developing SNHL when compared to controls (0%). Duration of hypertension had a slight influence on developing SNHL as only 77% cases within 5 year duration had SNHL but 100% of cases with duration of hypertension more than 5 years had SNHL. Effect of diabetes on the SNHL in comparision to controls which showed 70% chance of having SNHL in diabetic cases. All the cases had only mild SNHL and no moderate or severe hearing loss.Conclusion: The importance of preventive processes that may reduce the mechanisms that trigger hearing aid degeneration induced by circulatory problems especially high blood pressure and high blood sugar, and the need for much more information on the regulation of the effects of these comorbidities on hearing are highlighted

Bacillus coagulans (BSCB-2) PROBIOTICS EFFECTS ON PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF COLITIS INDUCED WISTAR RATS

Ulcerative colitis is a bowel inflammatory disorder which develops due to various reasons like heredity, food habitsand physiological stress in intestinal lumen. In this study, Bacillus coagulans probiotics was orally administered to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) colitis induced rats. Physical parameters such as body weight, feed intake, water intake and hepatorenal somatic indices were studied. Group I: control (n=6) rats without any drug was maintained. Group II: administrated with DSS (5%) and Group III: B. coagulans probiotics were orally administrated. In group II, increased body weight was due to the hepatomegaly and renomegaly conditions and increased food and water intake to overcome the stress developed by DSS. In group III, the megalic conditions were revoked when compared to group II. Our study concluded that B. coagulans probiotics reduces inflammation and infiltrations in liver and kidney tissues of male albino Wistar rats

Geopolymerization of Plastic Waste for Sustainable Construction: Unveiling Novel Opportunities in Building Materials

This study provides an in-depth bibliometric analysis of the research land-scape of Geopolymer concrete using data from two of the leading scientific databases, Scopus and Web of Science. The analysis covers a time span of 2010 to 2022 and provides a comprehensive evaluation of the growth, age, impact, and collaboration of research in the field. The results show that the annual growth rate of research in Geopolymer concrete is substantial, with a 43.92% increase in the number of documents in Scopus and 15.76% in Web of Science. Furthermore, the document average age is relatively low, with 1.59 years in Scopus and 3.11 years in Web of Science, suggesting that the research in this field is recent and dynamic. The study also found that the research in Geopolymer concrete is highly cited, with an average of 11.69 ci-tations per document in Scopus and 18.69 in Web of Science.The authorship and document type analysis provides valuable insights into the research col-laboration and output in the field. The results show a high level of collabora-tion, with an average of 4.29 co-authors per document in Scopus and 3.47 in Web of Science. Additionally, the majority of the documents in the field are articles, with a smaller number of conference papers, book chapters, and re-views. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the research landscape of Geopolymer concrete and highlights the areas of strength and potential for future research. The results of the analysis can be useful for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders in the field of Geopol-ymer concrete to understand the current state of the research, identify poten-tial gaps and opportunities, and plan future research activities.Page layou