A study on assessment of sleep quality in south Indian pregnant women

Background: Sleep disturbances are common during pregnancy. The risk of sleep disturbances is estimated to be two times higher in the later part of pregnancy compared to the early trimester. Thus, the present study was planned to assess the sleep quality in different trimesters of South Indian pregnant women.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A total of 90 healthy pregnant women with a mean age of 25 years were recruited and sleep quality was assessed using a standardized PSQI questionnaire. Mean global PSQI score of ≥5 is suggestive of poor sleep quality. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications and daytime medication were found to be significantly higher in the second and third trimester (p<0.0001) pregnant women. Mean global PSQI score was ≥5 in the third trimester pregnant women.Conclusions: The present study shows that the sleep quality is disturbed during pregnancy and it is more in the third trimester of pregnancy. Pregnant women should be aware of the effects of sleep deprivation and adverse outcomes related to it. Thus, proper identification of sleep disturbances and a good awareness on the cumulative effects of the risk factors associated with sleep deprivation during pregnancy will help the physicians to manage and prevent the adverse maternal and fetal outcomes

Elastic behavior of neodymium based manganites

a b s t r a c t With a view to investigate the elastic behavior of Nd 0.67 A 0.33 MnO 3 (where A = Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb) manganite system, the samples were prepared by the sol gel method. After characterizing the samples structurally, a systematic investigation of ultrasonic longitudinal and transverse sound velocities of all the samples was undertaken by pulse transmission technique in the temperature range, 100-300 K. It has been found that all the elasticity parameters, including Debye temperature, are found to increase continuously with increasing ionic radii of the dopant ion. All the samples are also found to exhibit anomalies in both the longitudinal and transverse velocities near their ferro to para magnetic transition (T C ) temperatures. Apart from this, Nd 0.67 Ca 0.33 MnO 3 sample is also found to exhibit, a transition at its charge ordering temperature (T co ). An explanation for the observed elastic anomalies based on a mean field theory has been given

Spamming the mainstream: A survey on trending Twitter spam detection techniques

In recent years, social networking sites are being referred frequently by the people, due to this the social networking sites are growing very fast. Twitter is one such micro-blogging site where the users are able to connect with new people and know what is happening in the world through the topics discussed on twitter. For this reason, twitter is targeted by malicious users who post harmful links, unwanted messages which are not of users interest which is called, spam. In this paper, a comprehensive survey on existing methods on twitter spam detection is presented. From this survey, it is clear that detecting URL content in the tweet is very important to know whether the tweet is spam or non-spam. The advantages and faws are discussed. The comparative analysis of the existing detection methods are also presented by reviewing research papers published from 2010-2017. There is a lot of scope for the researchers to

Hydrographic features and water quality of Cochin backwaters in relation to industrial pollution

141-145Impact of industrial effluents on quality of receiving waters as assessed by COD, suspended solids, and some hydrographic features has been studied over an year at 4 stations in Cochin backwaters. The effect of effluents is considerable in the vicinity of the main discharge site (st 2) in nonmonsoon months. The monsoonal floods provide adequate dilution and mask the effects. No serious oxygen depletion is noticed at any of the stations. An attempt has been made to correlate the relative abundance of benthic fauna at the stations with the water characteristics like ammonia content and organic matter

Sediments of Cochin Backwaters in Relation to Pollution

111-114Organic carbon, nitrogen, C/N ratio and nature of sediments at 4 stations, viz. upstream of industrial complex (st 1), effluent discharge area (st 2), barmouth (st 4) and point about midway between sts 2 and 4 (st3), on the northern limb of Cochin backwaters, Kerala, India are reported. Effluents discharged into the river Periyar at Udyogamandal (Eloor), prior to its joining the backwaters cause high local fluctuations in the parameters studied. Seasonal variations are most pronounced at st 2 and least at st 3. Fine grained sediments and organic matter show a direct relationship only at st 4. Organic carbon and nitrogen though positively correlated at all stations is significant only at st 1. Nature and extent of fluctuations in the composition and nature of sediments at st 2 indicate a high stress environment

Body mass index contributes to sympathovagal imbalance in prehypertensives

Abstract Background The present study was conducted to assess the nature of sympathovagal imbalance (SVI) in prehypertensives by short-term analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) to understand the alteration in autonomic modulation and the contribution of BMI to SVI in the genesis of prehypertension. Methods Body mass index (BMI), basal heart rate (BHR), blood pressure (BP), rate pressure product (RPP) and HRV indices such as total power (TP), low-frequency power (LF), normalized LF (LFnu), high-frequency power (HF), normalized HF (HFnu), LF-HF ratio, mean heart rate (mean RR), square root of the mean squared differences of successive normal to normal intervals (RMSSD), standard deviation of normal to normal RR interval (SDNN), the number of interval differences of successive NN intervals greater than 50 ms (NN50) and the proportion derived by dividing NN50 by the total number of NN intervals (pNN50) were assessed in three groups of subjects: normotensives having normal BMI (Group 1), prehypertensives having normal BMI (Group 2) and prehypertensives having higher BMI (Group 3). SVI was assessed from LF-HF ratio and correlated with BMI, BHR, BP and RPP in all the groups by Pearson correlation. The contribution of BMI to SVI was assessed by multiple regression analysis. Results LF and LFnu were significantly increased and HF and HFnu were significantly decreased in prehypertensive subjects in comparison to normotensive subjects and the magnitude of these changes was more prominent in subjects with higher BMI compared to that of normal BMI. LF-HF ratio, the sensitive indicator of sympathovagal balance had significant correlation with BMI (P = 0.000) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (P = 0.002) in prehypertensives. BMI was found to be an independent contributing factor to SVI (P = 0.001) in prehypertensives. Conclusions It was concluded that autonomic imbalance in prehypertensives manifested in the form of increased sympathetic activity and vagal inhibition. In prehypertensives with higher BMI, vagal withdrawal was predominant than sympathetic overactivity. Magnitude of SVI (alteration in LF-HF ratio) was linked to changes in BMI and DBP. BMI had an independent influence on LF-HF ratio. It was advised that life-style modifications such as yoga and exercise would enable achieve the sympathovagal balance and blood pressure homeostasis in prehypertensives.</p

Sympathovagal imbalance contributes to prehypertension status and cardiovascular risks attributed by insulin resistance, inflammation, dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in first degree relatives of type 2 diabetics.

BackgroundThough cardiovascular (CV) risks are reported in first-degree relatives (FDR) of type 2 diabetics, the pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to these risks are not known. We investigated the association of sympathovagal imbalance (SVI) with CV risks in these subjects.Subjects and methodsBody mass index (BMI), basal heart rate (BHR), blood pressure (BP), rate-pressure product (RPP), spectral indices of heart rate variability (HRV), autonomic function tests, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), lipid profile, inflammatory markers, oxidative stress (OS) marker, rennin, thyroid profile and serum electrolytes were measured and analyzed in subjects of study group (FDR of type 2 diabetics, n = 72) and control group (subjects with no family history of diabetes, n = 104).ResultsBMI, BP, BHR, HOMA-IR, lipid profile, inflammatory and OS markers, renin, LF-HF (ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency power of HRV, a sensitive marker of SVI) were significantly increased (pConclusionSVI in FDR of type 2 diabetics occurs due to sympathetic activation and vagal withdrawal. The SVI contributes to prehypertension status and CV risks caused by insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, inflammation and oxidative stress in FDR of type 2 diabetics

Double-masked, sham and placebo-controlled trial of corneal cross-linking and topical difluprednate in the treatment of bacterial keratitis: Steroids and Cross-linking for Ulcer Treatment Trial (SCUT II) study protocol.

IntroductionAlthough antibiotics are successful at achieving microbiological cure in infectious keratitis, outcomes are often poor due to corneal scarring. Ideal treatment of corneal ulcers would address both the infection and the inflammation. Adjunctive topical steroid treatment may improve outcomes by reducing inflammation. Corneal cross-linking (CXL) is a novel prospective therapy that may simultaneously reduce both inflammatory cells and bacterial pathogens. The purpose of this study is to determine differences in 6-month visual acuity between standard medical therapy with antibiotics versus antibiotics with adjunctive early topical steroid therapy versus antibiotic treatment plus CXL and early topical steroids.Methods and analysisThis international, randomised, sham and placebo-controlled, three-arm clinical trial randomises patients with smear positive bacterial ulcers in a 1:1:1 fashion to one of three treatment arms: (1) topical 0.5% moxifloxacin plus topical placebo plus sham CXL; (2) topical 0.5% moxifloxacin plus difluprednate 0.05% plus sham CXL; or (3) the CXL group: topical 0.5% moxifloxacin plus difluprednate 0.05% plus CXL.Ethics and disseminationWe anticipate that both adjunctive topical steroids and CXL will improved best spectacle corrected visual acuity and also reduce complications such as corneal perforation and the need for therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty. This study will comply with the NIH Data Sharing Policy and Policy on the Dissemination of NIH-Funded Clinical Trial Information and the Clinical Trials Registration and Results Information Submission rule. Our results will be disseminated via ClinicalTrials.gov website, meetings and journal publications. Our data will also be available on reasonable request.Trial registration numberNCT04097730