A Prospective Study of Doppler Velocimetry in Pregnancy-induced Hypertension in a Rural Population of a Developing Country

Background: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) remains a great challenge to obstetricians. Doppler velocimetry can detect fetal compromise much before other antepartum tests.Aim: The aim of this study is to detect the changes of uterine artery, umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery in PIH by Doppler velocimetry.Subjects and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on hundred subjects with PIH. Doppler studies were carried, and parameters recorded in uterine, umbilical and middle cerebral artery (MCA) were Systolic/Diastolic ratio, Resistance Index, Cerebro Placental Index (CPI). Fetal outcomes were monitored. Statistical analysis was performed using Epi InfoTM software (Version 3.5.1, CDC, Atlanta). Test for significance was done with student’s t-test and Chi-square where applicable. A P- value of<0.05 was considered as significant.Results: Among the 100 subjects, 76 (76%) of fetuses had abnormal and 24% normal umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry; 62% had abnormal and 38% normal MCA Doppler velocimetry; 64% fetuses had abnormal and 36% normal CPI. In 95% of subjects having abnormal umbilical Doppler studies, caesarean section had to be done for acute fetal distress. Incidence of caesarean section was 61% in abnormal MCA group and 63% in abnormal CPI group. Among 14 patients who had abnormal uterine artery Doppler, four developed pre-eclampsia, 2 IUGR. In patients with notches in uterine artery Doppler, 38% developed pre-eclampsia, 38% had IUGR, 13% babies were still born and 25% of newborns required NICU admission. In umbilical artery Doppler, when S/D ratio was abnormal, 60% developed pre-eclampsia, 40% had IUGR and 40% of newborns had to be admitted in NICU.Conclusion: Doppler study for fetal surveillance in pregnancy-induced hypertension is a very useful device and abnormal umbilical artery and uterine artery velocimetry seems to have worse pregnancy outcomes in the present study. Notch as a single parameter is the best indicator with highest sensitivity and positive predicative values. However, combination of parameters is the best indicator.  Keywords: Doppler study, fetomaternal outcome, pregnancy-induced hypertensio

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Topical delivery of tetrahydrocurcumin lipid nanoparticles effectively inhibits skin inflammation: in vitro and in vivo study

Tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) also referred to as "white curcumin", is a stable colourless hydrogenated product of curcumin with superior antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Present study is an attempt to elevate the topical bioavailability of THC, post incorporation into a nano-carrier system with its final dosage as a hydrogel. Lipid nanoparticles of THC (THC-SLNs) prepared by microemulsification technique were ellipsoidal in shape (revealed in TEM) with a mean particle size of 96.6 nm and zeta potential of -22 mV. Total drug content and entrapment efficiency of THC-SLNs was 94.51% ± 2.15% and 69.56% ± 1.35%, respectively. DSC and X-Ray diffraction studies confirmed the formation of THC-SLNs. In vitro drug release studies showed the drug release from THC-SLNs gel to follow Higuchi's equation revealing a Fickian diffusion. Ex-vivo permeation studies indicated a 17 times (approximately) higher skin permeation of THC-SLNs gel as compared with the free THC gel. Skin irritation, occlusion and stability studies indicated the formulation to be non-irritating, and stable with a desired occlusivity. Pharmacodynamic evaluation in an excision wound mice model clearly revealed the enhanced anti-inflammatory activity of THC-SLNs gel and confirmed using biochemical and histopathological studies. It is noteworthy to report here that THC-SLNs gel showed significantly better (p≤0.001) activity than free THC in gel. As inflammation is innate to all the skin disorders, the developed product opens up new therapeutic avenues for several skin diseases. To best of our knowledge, this is the first paper elaborating the therapeutic usefulness of white curcumin loaded lipidic nanoparticles for skin inflammation

Role of IKK/NF-κB Signaling in Extinction of Conditioned Place Aversion Memory in Rats

The inhibitor κB protein kinase/nuclear factor κB (IKK/NF-κB) signaling pathway is critical for synaptic plasticity. However, the role of IKK/NF-κB in drug withdrawal-associated conditioned place aversion (CPA) memory is unknown. Here, we showed that inhibition of IKK/NF-κB by sulphasalazine (SSZ; 10 mM, i.c.v.) selectively blocked the extinction but not acquisition or expression of morphine-induced CPA in rats. The blockade of CPA extinction induced by SSZ was abolished by sodium butyrate, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase. Thus, the IKK/NF-κB signaling pathway might play a critical role in the extinction of morphine-induced CPA in rats and might be a potential pharmacotherapy target for opiate addiction

Shape recognition through multi-level fusion of features and classifiers

Shape recognition is a fundamental problem and a special type of image classification, where each shape is considered as a class. Current approaches to shape recognition mainly focus on designing low-level shape descriptors, and classify them using some machine learning approaches. In order to achieve effective learning of shape features, it is essential to ensure that a comprehensive set of high quality features can be extracted from the original shape data. Thus we have been motivated to develop methods of fusion of features and classifiers for advancing the classification performance. In this paper, we propose a multi-level framework for fusion of features and classifiers in the setting of gran-ular computing. The proposed framework involves creation of diversity among classifiers, through adopting feature selection and fusion to create diverse feature sets and to train diverse classifiers using different learn-Xinming Wang algorithms. The experimental results show that the proposed multi-level framework can effectively create diversity among classifiers leading to considerable advances in the classification performance

The global distribution of lymphatic filariasis, 2000–18: a geospatial analysis

Background Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease that can cause permanent disability through disruption of the lymphatic system. This disease is caused by parasitic filarial worms that are transmitted by mosquitos. Mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelmintics is recommended by WHO to eliminate lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. This study aims to produce the first geospatial estimates of the global prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection over time, to quantify progress towards elimination, and to identify geographical variation in distribution of infection. Methods A global dataset of georeferenced surveyed locations was used to model annual 2000–18 lymphatic filariasis prevalence for 73 current or previously endemic countries. We applied Bayesian model-based geostatistics and time series methods to generate spatially continuous estimates of global all-age 2000–18 prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection mapped at a resolution of 5 km2 and aggregated to estimate total number of individuals infected. Findings We used 14 927 datapoints to fit the geospatial models. An estimated 199 million total individuals (95% uncertainty interval 174–234 million) worldwide were infected with lymphatic filariasis in 2000, with totals for WHO regions ranging from 3·1 million (1·6–5·7 million) in the region of the Americas to 107 million (91–134 million) in the South-East Asia region. By 2018, an estimated 51 million individuals (43–63 million) were infected. Broad declines in prevalence are observed globally, but focal areas in Africa and southeast Asia remain less likely to have attained infection prevalence thresholds proposed to achieve local elimination. Interpretation Although the prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection has declined since 2000, MDA is still necessary across large populations in Africa and Asia. Our mapped estimates can be used to identify areas where the probability of meeting infection thresholds is low, and when coupled with large uncertainty in the predictions, indicate additional data collection or intervention might be warranted before MDA programmes cease

Catalysing sustainable fuel and chemical synthesis

Concerns over the economics of proven fossil fuel reserves, in concert with government and public acceptance of the anthropogenic origin of rising CO2 emissions and associated climate change from such combustible carbon, are driving academic and commercial research into new sustainable routes to fuel and chemicals. The quest for such sustainable resources to meet the demands of a rapidly rising global population represents one of this century’s grand challenges. Here, we discuss catalytic solutions to the clean synthesis of biodiesel, the most readily implemented and low cost, alternative source of transportation fuels, and oxygenated organic molecules for the manufacture of fine and speciality chemicals to meet future societal demands

Основы творческой деятельности веб-журналиста. Учебная программа учреждения высшего образования по учебной дисциплине для специальности: 1-23 01 08 Журналистика (по направлениям) направления специальности 1-23 01 08-03 Журналистика (веб-журналистика)

Wildfires pose a serious threat to life in many countries. For police, fire and emergency services authorities in most jurisdictions in North America and Australia evacuation is now the option that is preferred overwhelmingly. Wildfire evacuation modeling can assist authorities in planning evacuation responses to future threats. Understanding residents' behavior under wildfire threat may assist in wildfire evacuation modeling. This paper reviews North American and Australian research into wildfire evacuation behavior published between January 2005 and June 2017. Wildfire evacuation policies differ across the two regions: in North America mandatory evacuations are favored, in Australia most are advisory. Research from both regions indicates that following a wildfire evacuation warning some threatened residents will wish to remain on their property in order to protect it, many will delay evacuating, and some residents who are not on their property when an evacuation warning is issued may seek to return. Mandatory evacuation is likely to result in greater compliance, enforcement policies are also likely to be influential. Self-delayed evacuation is likely if warnings are not sufficiently informative: residents are likely to engage in information search rather than initiating evacuation actions. The wildfire warning and threat histories of a location may influence residents' decisions and actions. The complexities of behavioral factors influencing residents' actions following an evacuation warning pose challenges for wildfire evacuation modeling. Suggestions are offered for ways in which authorities might reduce the numbers of residents who delay evacuating following a wildfire warning. © 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Natur