Serum estradiol concentrations as a predictor of successful outcome in artificial frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles

Background: The role of late follicular serum estradiol monitoring in artificial FET cycles remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between serum estradiol levels on the day of starting progesterone supplementation with clinical pregnancy rates in FET cycle.Methods: This was a non-interventional observational cohort study of patients undergoing ICSI followed by FET at Nadkarni hospital and test tube baby center, Killa-Pardi, Gujarat during the period of January 2021 to May 2021. Total 64 cycles were studied and serum estradiol levels were analyzed on the day of starting progesterone supplementation. They were divided into 3 groups based on serum E2 levels (0-25th centile, 25th-75th centile and >75th centile). Chi square/Fisher exact test were used to compare the clinical pregnancy and implantation rates between these groups.Results: Clinical pregnancy and implantation rates in group A, B and C were 68.8%, 78.1%, 75% and 36.98±9.06, 32.03±4.48 and 29.69±5.69 respectively.Conclusions: Serum estradiol levels before progesterone supplementation in FET cycles do not predict the outcome of FET cycle therefore making routine monitoring of serum estradiol in FET cycle of questionable value

Ants mediate the structure of phytotelm communities in an ant-garden bromeliad

The main theories explaining the biological diversity of rain forests often confer a limited understanding of the contribution of interspecific interactions to the observed patterns. We show how two-species mutualisms can affect much larger segments of the invertebrate community in tropical rain forests. Aechmea mertensii (Bromeliaceae) is both a phytotelm (plant-held water) and an ant-garden epiphyte. We studied the influence of its associated ant species (Pachycondyla goeldii and Camponotus femoratus) on the physical characteristics of the plants, and, subsequently, on the diversity of the invertebrate communities that inhabit their tanks. As dispersal agents for the bromeliads, P. goeldii and C. femoratus influence the shape and size of the bromeliad by determining the location of the seedling, from exposed to partially shaded areas. By coexisting on a local scale, the two ant species generate a gradient of habitat conditions in terms of available resources (space and food) for aquatic invertebrates, the diversity of the invertebrate communities increasing with greater volumes of water and fine detritus. Two-species mutualisms are widespread in nature, but their influence on the diversity of entire communities remains largely unexplored. Because macroinvertebrates constitute an important part of animal production in all ecosystem types, further investigations should address the functional implications of such indirect effects

Phenol-crotonaldehyde resins. II. Effect of crotonaldehyde purity on resin properties

Acid-catalyzed polycondensation of phenol and crotonaldehyde results in soluble thermoplastic resins over a broad range of compositions. The thermal and curing behavior of the resins are found to vary markedly with the phenol to crotonaldehyde mole ratio and the purity of crotonaldehyde. Infrared analysis of the resins and their fractions separated by column chromatography indicates that all the resins are structurally similar. The number-average molecular weights of the resins fall in the range of 400 to 600. The resins from distilled crotonaldehyde exhibit higher molecular weights than those from crude crotonaldehyde. The thermal properties of the resins are comparable to the Novolak-type phenol-formaldehyde resins. The thermoplastic nature is retained even at higher fraction of crotonaldehyde, unlike for the conventional Novolak resins

Phenol-crotonaldehyde resins. III. Curing behavior with hexamethylenetetramine

Solid thermoplastic resins were prepared by acid-catalyzed condensation of phenol and crotonaldehyde (both crude and distilled). The thermal and curing properties were compared with the conventional phenol-formaldehyde (PF) novolak resins. Phenol-crotonaldehyde (PC) resins were found to be thermoplastic even after curing with the crosslinking agent hexamethylenetetramine up to 160°C. This curing behavior was observed irrespective of the purity of the crotonaldehyde or the phenol-to-crotonaldehyde mole ratio in the resin. Postcuring of these resins at elevated temperatures yielded insoluble and infusible thermoset products. This unique thermal characteristic could lead to interesting processing possibilities for the resins. The technical feasibility of thermoplastic processing of the PC resins followed by postcure heat treatment for transforming the molded part into a thermoset has been demonstrated

Asymptotic Behavior of the Correlator for Polyakov Loops

The asymptotic behavior of the correlator for Polyakov loop operators separated by a large distance $R$ is determined for high temperature QCD. It is dominated by nonperturbative effects related to the exchange of magnetostatic gluons. To analyze the asymptotic behavior, the problem is formulated in terms of the effective field theory of QCD in 3 space dimensions. The Polyakov loop operator is expanded in terms of local gauge-invariant operators constructed out of the magnetostatic gauge field, with coefficients that can be calculated using resummed perturbation theory. The asymptotic behavior of the correlator is $\exp(-MR)/R$, where $M$ is the mass of the lowest-lying glueball in $(2+1)$-dimensional QCD. This result implies that existing lattice calculations of the Polyakov loop correlator at the highest temperatures available do not probe the true asymptotic region in $R$.Comment: 10 pages, NUHEP-TH-94-2

Functional outcome of type 4 Pipkin classification of femoral head fracture operated by open reduction internal fixation by ganz safe surgical dislocation approach management: a case report

Fracture of the femoral head is a severe, relatively uncommon injury; typically, it may have associated with traumatic posterior dislocation of the hip joint with or without acetabulum fracture. The Pipkin classification is the most commonly used classification system. Controversies include the preferred surgical approach (anterior versus posterior) versus ganz safe surgical dislocation approach and whether to perform femoral head fragment excision or internal fixation. Presenting a case report of 28 years old young male with a motor vehicle road traffic accident and suffered a head of femur fracture on right hip joint with posterior wall of right acetabulum fracture with Judet-Letournel type posterior wall and type 4 Pipkin’s classification of femoral head fracture. This patient was undergone for emergency surgical intervention of open reduction, internal fixation through Ganz approach and insertion of Herbert screws for femoral head and interfragmentary screw for trochanteric osteotomy. The patient was followed up for 1 year and have a complete range of motion at hip joint with painless daily lifestyle. Type 4 Pipkin classification of femoral head fracture managed timely and with surgical intervention by ganz safe surgical dislocation approach provides visualization to femoral head and whole acetabulum with internal fixation of femur head by herbert screw which preserves normal anatomic contour of femoral head shows appropriate reduction of fracture fragments and it may also avoid hemiarthroplasty surgeries. Fracture of the femoral head has been associated with a relatively poor functional outcome and requires timely management and surgical intervention. Specially type 4 Pipkin classification of femoral head fracture treated by ganz safe surgical dislocation approach with internal fixation of femur head by herbert screw shows better outcome and avoid risk of AVN of femoral head. Complications associated with fracture of the femoral head and subsequent treatment include osteonecrosis, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, heterotopic ossification and implant failure

The non-Abelian Debye screening length beyond leading order

In quantum electrodynamics, static electric fields are screened at non-zero temperatures by charges in the plasma. The inverse screening length, or Debye mass, may be analyzed in perturbation theory and is of order $eT$ at relativistic temperatures. An analogous situation occurs when non-Abelian gauge theories are studied perturbatively, but the perturbative analysis breaks down when corrections of order $e^2 T$ are considered. At this order, the Debye mass depends on the non-perturbative physics of confinement, and a perturbative ``definition'' of the Debye mass as the pole of a gluon propagator does not even make sense. In this work, we show how the Debye mass can be defined non-perturbatively in a manifestly gauge invariant manner (in vector-like gauge theories with zero chemical potential). In addition, we show how the $O(e^2 T)$ correction could be determined by a fairly simple, three-dimensional, numerical lattice calculation of the perimeter-law behavior of large, adjoint-charge Wilson loops.Comment: 30 pages, revtex format, 9 postscript figures included using epsf.st

Coping Strategies and Help-Seeking Behaviors among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Study of Spouses of Men with Heavy Drinking in India

Background. Despite the high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in India (33%), there are persistently low rates of disclosure and help-seeking amongst survivors. The aim of this study was to explore both coping strategies employed by survivors and the perceived barriers and facilitators to seeking support from informal and formal resource networks. Methods. We conducted semistructured, in-depth qualitative interviews with thirty-five women survivors of IPV in Goa, India, in secure, private locations, utilizing flipcharts and vignettes to elicit deeper insights into efficacies of support resources. The data were transcribed, translated, and analyzed utilizing qualitative content analysis. Results. The most common coping mechanisms cited by survivors involved passive resistance, such as self-distraction, keeping quiet during violent outbursts, and leaving the home temporarily. Generally, survivors sought support from informal support networks (the natal family, in-laws, neighbors/community members, and close friends) before approaching formal support structures (medical/legal professionals, professors, police, and nongovernment organizations). In fact, informal structures were often facilitators of formal help-seeking. Survivors sought help at various stages of their marital relationship. Primary deterrents to help-seeking included the normalization of IPV by survivors and providers alike, resulting in the stigmatization of disclosing experiences of IPV and ostracism of survivors and close relatives; another barrier was a general lack of awareness of existing support resources. Conclusion. Our findings reveal that there are numerous barriers to help-seeking and shortcomings of support resources. Survivors' evaluations of support resources reveal that robust, community-level, and meso-level structural changes are required to promote help-seeking behaviors, including the destigmatization of IPV amongst providers and broader society and raising awareness of available support resources

Heavy Quark Free Energies and Screening in SU(2) Gauge Theory

We investigate the singlet, triplet and colour average heavy quark free energies in SU(2) pure gauge theory at various temperatures T. We focus on the long distance behaviour of the free energies, studying in particular the temperature dependence of the string tension and the screening masses. The results are qualitatively similar to the SU(3) scenario, except near the critical temperature Tc of the deconfining transition. Finally we test a recently proposed method to renormalize the Polyakov loop.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, contribution to the Proceedings of SEWM 2002 (Heidelberg

S^1 \times S^2 as a bag membrane and its Einstein-Weyl geometry

In the hybrid skyrmion in which an Anti-de Sitter bag is imbedded into the skyrmion configuration a S^{1}\times S^{2} membrane is lying on the compactified spatial infinity of the bag [H. Rosu, Nuovo Cimento B 108, 313 (1993)]. The connection between the quark degrees of freedom and the mesonic ones is made through the membrane, in a way that should still be clarified from the standpoint of general relativity and topology. The S^1 \times S^2 membrane as a 3-dimensional manifold is at the same time a Weyl-Einstein space. We make here an excursion through the mathematical body of knowledge in the differential geometry and topology of these spaces which is expected to be useful for hadronic membranesComment: 9pp in latex, minor correction