Aerodynamic measurement-Maximum Phonation Time in young patients with benign vocal fold lesions and with normal voice: a comparative analysis

Background: Clinicians use Maximum Phonatory Time (MPT) as one of tool to verify the glottic efficiency objectively. Impairment of vocal fold mucosa integrity due to lesions results in alteration in MPT. The aim of current study was to compare MPT in young adults with vocal fold lesions and age and sex matched normal subjects.Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of ENT & Head and Neck surgery of Government Medical College Srinagar on 41 adult patients with benign vocal fold lesions and 41 healthy subjects matched for age and sex for a period of 2 years from April 2017- April 2019. The aerodynamic measure was measured as maximum phonation time in seconds and the results were analysed statistically. Both patients and controls were explained the procedure. Results: Mean MPT in seconds in males with vocal fold lesion was 14.42 seconds with SD of 5.62 seconds and in females was 10.81 seconds with SD of 3.44 seconds. Coefficients of variation (CV) was 0.35 and 0.21 respectively. In control group it was 18.15 seconds with SD of 5.88 in males and in females it was 15.72 seconds with a SD of 6.21. Mean difference between patients and controls in males and females was 3.8 and 4.9 respectively. P-Value in males and females was 0.053 and 0.003 respectively.Conclusion: Vocal cord lesions decrease MPT in both sexes even in young adults

Assessment of contraceptive utilization and associated factors among sexually active HIV-positive Indian women: A cross-sectional study from an antiretroviral therapy center

Background: HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the most serious global public health problems, more particularly seen in low and middle-income countries. Females contribute around 40% of total HIV cases in India who predominantly belong to fertile age group. This study aimed to assess the contraceptive utilization patterns and factors affecting the HIV-positive Indian women. Methods: A cross-section of 400 confirmed HIV-positive women aged between 18 and 45 years were recruited. All the relevant information including socio-demographic and anthropometric details were collected from the participants. All other needed parameters were recorded from patients file. The SPSS ver. 21 was used to perform statistical analysis. Results: The mean age of the participants was found to be 29.53 ± 5.35 years. The majority of women were housewives (97%), Illiterate (58.8%) and 90.5% had a monthly family income under 10,000 INR. Maximum (82.8%) of HIV transmission was found through unprotected sexual routes while 68.8% of patients were on HAART. Male condoms were highly utilized whereas 44.3% of participants never used any methods. Percentage of consistent contraceptive use was highest when patients were educated to graduate level (66.7%), aware of contraception methods (49.8%) and who have a monthly income more than 20,000 INR (66.7%). Conclusion: This study gives a real picture of the contraceptive utilization among HIV-infected women from rural regions of India. The study anticipates the immediate needs in healthcare sector to improve awareness of patients regarding modern methods of contraception and effective family planning strategies

Designing of Peptide Based Multi-Epitope Vaccine Construct against Gallbladder Cancer Using Immunoinformatics and Computational Approaches

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive and difficult to treat biliary tract carcinoma with a poor survival rate. The aim of this study was to design a peptide-based multi-epitope vaccine construct against GBC using immunoinformatics approaches. Three proteins implicated in the progression of GBC were selected for B and T cell epitope prediction and the designing of the potential vaccine construct. Seven CTL, four HTL and six Bcell epitopes along with a suitable adjuvant were selected and connected using linkers for designing the vaccine construct. The secondary and tertiary models of the designed vaccine were generated and satisfactorily validated. A Ramachandran plot of the final 3D model showed more than 90% of the residues in allowed regions and only 0.4% in disallowed regions. The binding affinity of a vaccine construct with TLR 2, 3 and 4 receptors was assessed through molecular docking and simulation. The average numbers of hydrogen bonds for vaccine-TLR 2, 3 and 4 complexes in the simulation were 15.36, 16.45, and 11.98, respectively, and remained consistent over a 100 ns simulation period, which is critical for their function. The results of this study provide a strong basis for further evaluation through in vitro/in vivo experimental validation of the safety and efficacy of the designed vaccine construct

Influence of processing on physicochemical and antioxidant properties of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L. variety Narmo)

Fresh apricot pulp and its processed products (bar, chutney, and leather) were analyzed for physicochemical (moisture content, titrable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid, and percent reducing sugars) and antioxidant properties (2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power, total phenolics, lipid peroxidation, ferric reducing antioxidant potential, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity). Reducing sugars, TA, and ascorbic acid content were found to be higher in the processed products than the fresh pulp. A significant difference in the antioxidant properties between the fresh apricot pulp and its processed products was observed. The difference in antioxidant properties between the fresh and the processed products may be attributed to the partial degradation of the bioactive compounds by the action of heat during processing. Among the processed products, apricot bar showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity, lipid peroxidation, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Therefore, production of apricot bar could a suitable option for processing of apricots