Prospective study of contraceptive knowledge among the patients seeking medical termination of pregnancy in 1st and 2nd trimester in a tertiary health care

Background: A rapid population growth is a burden on the resources of many developing countries. Unregulated fertility, which contributes to such situations compromise the economic development and political stability.Methods: It was a prospective, observational study over a period of 12 months at Vani Vilas hospital, attached to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute. All patients seeking medical termination of pregnancy in I and II trimester in tertiary health care were evaluated for contraceptive knowledge.Results: Majority of the patients were from 25 – 30 years, educated, and had married life of 5 years, multipara, with no relationship with religion. The major reason for seeking termination of pregnancy was V i.e. failure of contraception. Intrauterine devices are the most popular method of contraception. There were various sources for knowledge.Conclusions: This study concludes that there is considerable level of knowledge and awareness about contraception in the above studied women but actual practice of those methods is low

HLA-A<SUP>∗</SUP>0201-restricted cytotoxic T-cell epitopes in three PE/PPE family proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

CD8+ T cells are thought to play an important role in protective immunity against tuberculosis. We report the identification of three peptides derived from Rv1818c, Rv3812 and Rv3018c proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that bound to HLA-A&#8727;0201 molecules and their ability to induce in vitro T-cell response in peripheral blood lymphocytes from HLA-A&#8727;0201-positive healthy individuals (PPD+) and patients with TB. The peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) generated were capable of recognizing peptide pulsed targets. Three 9-mer peptides bound with high affinity to HLA-A&#8727;0201 and displayed low dissociation rates of the bound peptide from HLA. Epitope-specific recognition was demonstrated by the release of perforin and -interferon. Overall, our results demonstrate the presence of HLA class I-restricted CD8+ CTL against proteins from PE and PPE proteins of M. tuberculosis and identify epitopes that are strongly recognized by HLA-A&#8727;0201-restricted CD8+ T cells in humans. These epitopes thus represent potential subunit components for the design of vaccines against tuberculosis

Design and implementation of a gas leakage detector using wireless data acquisition system for real time applications using the concept of IoT

According to recent studies regarding environmental hazards, gas leakage has become a major concern. Various safety measures are being taken to avoid any untoward gas accidents. Here, we imbibe on a task to install gas detectors in premises' that are prone to gas accidents. The objective of this work is to design an automatic notifying and alarming system which can detect gas leakage in various premises. Many flammable gases are detected with the aid of a MQ-5 gas sensor, which is followed by a mobile notification to the user in order to take any appropriate actions to prevent excess damage

Experimental study on antiepileptic action of Kousheyashma Bhasma

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases. It is characterized by recurrent episodes of disturbance in movement, sensation and consciousness. With increased incidence rate of epilepsy, numbers of treatment modalities as well as formulations are being developed in recent years. In Ayurveda also many formulations are available for treatment of epilepsy. However, there is a search of formulations which can show quick and longstanding efficacy on epilepsy. Kousheyashma is a mineral drug used in Ayurveda pharmaceutics. It is yellowish white and is identified as asbestos. Magnesium calcium and silicate are chief chemical entity of this drug. It is an easily and abundantly available mineral in India. The Bhasma is economic as the pharmaceutical processing of it is easy. In the pharmacological and therapeutic properties of this drug, it is mentioned that it has anti-epileptic activity. However there is no substantial evidence to prove the antiepileptic activity of Kousheyashma. Hence the present study is undertaken to experimentally evaluate the efficacy of Kousheyashma Bhasma in epilepsy. Antiepileptic activity was evaluated in Swiss albino mice by two methods namely Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) induced seizure method and kindling PTZ induced seizure method. Mice selected based on exclusion and inclusion criteria were randomly allocated in to five groups. Mice were subjected for chemo convulsions by injecting PTZ intra peritoneal and observed for 35 minutes to analyze convulsion behaviors of mice kousheyashma Bhasma has shown statistically significant result in PTZ induced epileptic symptoms in Swiss albino mice

Experimental study on antiepileptic action of Kousheyashma Bhasma

364-369Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases. It is characterised by recurrent episodes of disturbance in movement, sensation and consciousness. With the increased incidence rate of epilepsy, a number of treatment modalities as well as formulations are being developed in recent years. In Ayurveda also many formulations are available for the treatment of epilepsy. However, there is a search of formulations which can show quick and longstanding efficacy on epilepsy. Kousheyashma is a mineral drug used in Ayurveda pharmaceutics. It is yellowish white and is identified as asbestos. Magnesium, calcium and silicate are the chief chemical entity of this drug. It is an easily and abundantly available mineral in India. The Bhasma is economic as the pharmaceutical processing of it is easy. In the pharmacological and therapeutic properties of this drug, it is mentioned that it has anti-epileptic activity. However, there is no substantial evidence to prove the antiepileptic activity of Kousheyashma. Hence, the present study was undertaken to experimentally evaluate the efficacy of Kousheyashma Bhasma in epilepsy. Antiepileptic activity was evaluated in Swiss albino mice by two methods namely Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure method and kindling PTZ-induced seizure method. Mice selected based on exclusion and inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into five groups. Mice were subjected to chemo convulsions by injecting PTZ intraperitoneally and observed for 35 min to analyse convulsion behaviours. Kousheyashma Bhasma has shown statistically significant results in PTZ-induced epileptic symptoms in Swiss albino mice

Generic CBTS: Correlation based Transformation Strategy for Privacy Preserving Data Mining

Mining useful knowledge from corpus of data has become an important application in many fields. Data Mining algorithms like Clustering, Classification work on this data and provide crisp information for analysis. As these data are available through various channels into public domain, privacy for the owners of the data is increasing need. Though privacy can be provided by hiding sensitive data, it will affect the Data Mining algorithms in knowledge extraction, so an effective mechanism is required to provide privacy to the data and at the same time without affecting the Data Mining results. Privacy concern is a primary hindrance for quality data analysis. Data mining algorithms on the contrary focus on the mathematical nature than on the private nature of the information. Therefore instead of removing or encrypting sensitive data, we propose transformation strategies that retain the statistical, semantic and heuristic nature of the data while masking the sensitive information. The proposed Correlation Based Transformation Strategy (CBTS) combines Correlation Analysis in tandem with data transformation techniques such as Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Non Negative Matrix Factorization (NNMF) provides the intended level of privacy preservation and enables data analysis. The proposed technique will work for numerical, ordinal and nominal data. The outcome of CBTS is evaluated on standard datasets against popular data mining techniques with significant success and Information Entropy is also accounted

Development and evaluation of introgression lines with yield enhancing genes of the Indian mega-variety of rice, MTU1010

MTU 1010 is an early maturing and high-yielding mega rice variety widely grown in an area of 3 Mha. It is characterised by limited grain number and panicle branching. To improve the grain number in MTU 1010, an IRRI breeding line, IR121055-2-10-5 was utilized as donor to transfer yield-enhancing genes Gn1a and OsSPL14 (associated with increased grain number and better panicle branching, respectively) into MTU1010 by Marker-Assisted Backcross Breeding (MABB). At each backcross generation, foreground selection was carried out with Gn1a and OsSPL14- specific molecular markers, whilst background selection was done with a set of SSR markers polymorphic between the IR121055-2-10-5 and MTU1010. With the use of a gene-specific marker, homozygous BC2 F2 plants carrying the yield-enhancing gene were identified and advanced through pedigree-method of selection till BC2 F6 and best performing ten lines were selected and evaluated in replicated station trials for yield contributing traits, where grain number and brancing per panicle exhibited high significant and positive correlation with single plant yield. Three promising lines namely RP6353-5-8-13-24, RP6353-26-13-39-5 and RP6353-32-12-8-16 with higher grain number and yield than MTU1010 were identified and nominated for evaluation in Initial Varietal Trial-Aerobic (IVT-Aerobic) of All India Crop Improvement Programme on Rice (AICRP), of which RP6353-26-13-39-5 (IET28674), was promoted for further testing

Health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of earlier eligibility for adult antiretroviral therapy and expanded treatment coverage: a combined analysis of 12 mathematical models.

BACKGROUND: New WHO guidelines recommend ART initiation for HIV-positive persons with CD4 cell counts ≤500 cells/µL, a higher threshold than was previously recommended. Country decision makers must consider whether to further expand ART eligibility accordingly. METHODS: We used multiple independent mathematical models in four settings-South Africa, Zambia, India, and Vietnam-to evaluate the potential health impact, costs, and cost-effectiveness of different adult ART eligibility criteria under scenarios of current and expanded treatment coverage, with results projected over 20 years. Analyses considered extending eligibility to include individuals with CD4 ≤500 cells/µL or all HIV-positive adults, compared to the previous recommendation of initiation with CD4 ≤350 cells/µL. We assessed costs from a health system perspective, and calculated the incremental cost per DALY averted ($/DALY) to compare competing strategies. Strategies were considered 'very cost-effective' if the$/DALY was less than the country's per capita gross domestic product (GDP; South Africa: $8040, Zambia:$1425, India: $1489, Vietnam:$1407) and 'cost-effective' if $/DALY was less than three times per capita GDP. FINDINGS: In South Africa, the cost per DALY averted of extending ART eligibility to CD4 ≤500 cells/µL ranged from$237 to $1691/DALY compared to 2010 guidelines; in Zambia, expanded eligibility ranged from improving health outcomes while reducing costs (i.e. dominating current guidelines) to$749/DALY. Results were similar in scenarios with substantially expanded treatment access and for expanding eligibility to all HIV-positive adults. Expanding treatment coverage in the general population was therefore found to be cost-effective. In India, eligibility for all HIV-positive persons ranged from $131 to$241/DALY and in Vietnam eligibility for CD4 ≤500 cells/µL cost $290/DALY. In concentrated epidemics, expanded access among key populations was also cost-effective. INTERPRETATION: Earlier ART eligibility is estimated to be very cost-effective in low- and middle-income settings, although these questions should be revisited as further information becomes available. Scaling-up ART should be considered among other high-priority health interventions competing for health budgets. FUNDING: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and World Health Organization

Ruthenium oxide-carbon-based nanofiller-reinforced conducting polymer nanocomposites and their supercapacitor applications.

In this review article, we have presented for the first time the new applications of supercapacitor technologies and working principles of the family of RuO2-carbon-based nanofiller-reinforced conducting polymer nanocomposites. Our review focuses on pseudocapacitors and symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitors. Over the last years, the supercapacitors as a new technology in energy storage systems have attracted more and more attention. They have some unique characteristics such as fast charge/discharge capability, high energy and power densities, and long stability. However, the need for economic, compatible, and easy synthesis materials for supercapacitors have led to the development of RuO2-carbon-based nanofiller-reinforced conducting polymer nanocomposites with RuO2. Therefore, the aim of this manuscript was to review RuO2-carbon-based nanofiller-reinforced conducting polymer nanocomposites with RuO2 over the last 17 years

Whole genome identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine candidates by comprehensive data mining and bioinformatic analyses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</it>, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), infects ~8 million annually culminating in ~2 million deaths. Moreover, about one third of the population is latently infected, 10% of which develop disease during lifetime. Current approved prophylactic TB vaccines (BCG and derivatives thereof) are of variable efficiency in adult protection against pulmonary TB (0%–80%), and directed essentially against early phase infection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A genome-scale dataset was constructed by analyzing published data of: (1) global gene expression studies under conditions which simulate intra-macrophage stress, dormancy, persistence and/or reactivation; (2) cellular and humoral immunity, and vaccine potential. This information was compiled along with revised annotation/bioinformatic characterization of selected gene products and <it>in silico </it>mapping of T-cell epitopes. Protocols for scoring, ranking and prioritization of the antigens were developed and applied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cross-matching of literature and <it>in silico</it>-derived data, in conjunction with the prioritization scheme and biological rationale, allowed for selection of 189 putative vaccine candidates from the entire genome. Within the 189 set, the relative distribution of antigens in 3 functional categories differs significantly from their distribution in the whole genome, with reduction in the Conserved hypothetical category (due to improved annotation) and enrichment in Lipid and in Virulence categories. Other prominent representatives in the 189 set are the PE/PPE proteins; iron sequestration, nitroreductases and proteases, all within the Intermediary metabolism and respiration category; ESX secretion systems, resuscitation promoting factors and lipoproteins, all within the Cell wall category. Application of a ranking scheme based on qualitative and quantitative scores, resulted in a list of 45 best-scoring antigens, of which: 74% belong to the dormancy/reactivation/resuscitation classes; 30% belong to the Cell wall category; 13% are classical vaccine candidates; 9% are categorized Conserved hypotheticals, all potentially very potent T-cell antigens.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The comprehensive literature and <it>in silico</it>-based analyses allowed for the selection of a repertoire of 189 vaccine candidates, out of the whole-genome 3989 ORF products. This repertoire, which was ranked to generate a list of 45 top-hits antigens, is a platform for selection of genes covering all stages of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>infection, to be incorporated in rBCG or subunit-based vaccines.</p