A comparative study of maternal outcome between low dose and standard dose magnesium sulphate as regimen for the treatment of eclampsia in a tertiary centre

Background: Eclampsia is an obstetric emergency complicating the maternal outcome in all developing countries. Various regimen of magnesium sulphate have been tried to treat the condition with varied results. A few studies have been done to compare between various types of regimen in this part of India. Magnesium sulphate is a double edged sword. Aim of the study was to compare the maternal morbidity and mortality after administering two different regimen of magnesium sulphate in eclampsia patients in a tertiary care hospital in Odisha.Methods: This is a randomized prospective study conducted at the Labour room, Dept of O and GSCB Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha over a period of 18 months (January 2015 to June 2016). 228 eclampsia patients were randomly selected out of which 114 were administered low dose (Dhaka) regimen and the other 114 subjects were given high dose (Pritchard) regimen. The findings were analysed using SPSS version 21.Results: In low dose regimen group convulsion was controlled in 96% of eclampsia patients and in only few cases recurrence of seizure occurred and was shifted to standard dose regimen.Conclusions: The toxicity profile also seems to be less so low dose regimen (Dhaka) can be adopted with less toxicity in peripheral hospitals with low resource setting

Bicycle level of service in urban Indian context

The purpose of this study is to define Bicycle level of service (BLOS) for urban Indian context based on the mixed traffic flow condition and various road attributes. Video camera was employed to collect the data sets from two cities, Rourkela and Bhubaneswar of Odisha State, India. The collected data are used to calibrate the BLOS model developed by the Florida Department of Transportation to find the BLOS score of each road segment. Calibrated model coefficients appropriate in Indian context are determined using multivariate regression analysis. In order to define levels of service provided by urban on-street segments, BLOS scores are classified into six categories (A-F) using k-mean, HAC, Fuzzy c-means, Affinity Propagation (AP), Self Organizing Map (SOM) and GA-fuzzy clustering methods. These clustering methods show different BLOS ranges for service categories. However, to know the most appropriate clustering technique applicable in Indian context, Average Silhouette Width (ASW) is calculated for every clustering method. After a thorough investigation it is induced that K-mean clustering method is the most appropriate one to define BLOS categories. The defined BLOS score ranges in this study are observed to be higher than that witnessed by FDOT studies; implies the kind of service the bicyclist perceived in urban Indian context is inferior to that observed by FDOT. From all the factors that affect BLOS score, “effective width of outside through lane” affects the most. The study concludes that bicyclist travel, more often, at the poor quality of service of “D”, “E” and “F”, than good quality of service of “A”, “B” and “C”. This may be due to lack of proper attention by the planners and developers towards bicycle facilities in urban Indian context

A comparative study of maternal outcome between low dose and standard dose magnesium sulphate as regimen for the treatment of eclampsia in a tertiary centre

Background: Eclampsia is an obstetric emergency complicating the maternal outcome in all developing countries. Various regimen of magnesium sulphate have been tried to treat the condition with varied results. A few studies have been done to compare between various types of regimen in this part of India. Magnesium sulphate is a double edged sword. Aim of the study was to compare the maternal morbidity and mortality after administering two different regimen of magnesium sulphate in eclampsia patients in a tertiary care hospital in Odisha.Methods: This is a randomized prospective study conducted at the Labour room, Dept of O and GSCB Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha over a period of 18 months (January 2015 to June 2016). 228 eclampsia patients were randomly selected out of which 114 were administered low dose (Dhaka) regimen and the other 114 subjects were given high dose (Pritchard) regimen. The findings were analysed using SPSS version 21.Results: In low dose regimen group convulsion was controlled in 96% of eclampsia patients and in only few cases recurrence of seizure occurred and was shifted to standard dose regimen.Conclusions: The toxicity profile also seems to be less so low dose regimen (Dhaka) can be adopted with less toxicity in peripheral hospitals with low resource setting

Online learning: A blessing during pandemic with special reference to students studying in private institutions at Dehradun (Uttarakhand)

Online teaching and learning during Covid 19 was initially tryout which later turned out to be a blessing so far as enabling students to continue their studies from the comforts of their homes is concerned. E- learning has raised the level of learning on digital platform. This paper attempts to throw light on all the aspects of online teaching and learning. Response of students of higher education was reported during second and third wave of COVID 19 respectively. 148 students participated in the survey that started in May 2021 and ended in February 2022.  Data was analyzed using SPSS. Results showed that online learning was initially found to be challenging in the first wave of Covid-19 but later during second and third wave provided great support in strengthening education system all over the world.  The study recommends the benefits of online learning by using technologies in classroom.&nbsp

Patterns and predictors of sitting among women from disad-vantaged neighbourhoods over time: A 5-year prospective cohort study

Background: Our aim was to describe patterns of sitting over time and determine the sociodemographic predictors of sitting over time among women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Methods: Women age between 18 and 45 years (mean = 34.4 ±8.1, n = 4349) reported their sitting time, sociodemographic (e.g., age), and health (e.g., body mass index) three times over 5 years. Linear mixed modelling was used to determine the predictors of change in sitting over time, adjusting for covariates. Results: Mean baseline sitting time was 40.9 h/week, decreasing to 40.1 h/week over five years. Greater sitting time was reported in participants ≤25 years of age, living with obesity, living in urban areas, self-reported poor/fair health, working full-time, with higher education, never married and with no children. Annually, the average sitting time decreased by 0.4 h/week (95% CI; −0.7 to −0.05) in women working full-time but increased by 0.1 h/week (95% CI; −0.2 to 0.6) who were not working. Similarly, annual sitting time decreased by 0.6 h/week (95% CI; −0.2 to 1.3) in women with no children but increased by 0.4 h/week (95% CI; −0.2 to 0.5) and 0.9 h/week (95% CI; 0.3 to 1.3) among those with two and three/more children, respectively. Conclusion: Among disadvantaged women, those not working and with two or more children may be at particular risk for increased sitting time and warrant further attention

Sedentary behavior in obese pregnant women is associated with inflammatory markers and lipid profile but not with glucose metabolism

AbstractBackgroundSedentary behavior is an independent risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, but the role of sedentary behavior in the development of gestational diabetes is unclear.ObjectivesThis study tested the hypothesis that less sedentary behavior is related to better insulin sensitivity, lipid and cytokine profile in obese pregnant women.MethodsA longitudinal observational study with 46 overweight and obese pregnant women was conducted. Sedentary behavior was measured objectively using accelerometers at 15, 24 and 32weeks of gestation, and at those time points fasting blood was taken as well. A 100g oral glucose tolerance test was performed at 24 and 32weeks. Levels of glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides were measured, as well as cytokines. The relationship between sedentary behavior and metabolic outcomes was assessed using linear regression analysis.ResultsWomen spent almost 60% of their time sitting throughout pregnancy. In cross-sectional analyses, an association of sedentary time at 24weeks was found with increased total cholesterol and HDL. More sedentary time was associated with lower IL-6 at 24weeks and with higher IL-10, TNF-α and leptin levels at 32weeks of pregnancy. Changes in sedentary time were not associated with changes in any of the metabolic outcomes.ConclusionsIn conclusion, time spent sedentary in pregnancy was associated with lipid and cytokine profile. Whether decreasing sedentary time beneficially influences lipid profile and influences cytokine profiles of overweight and obese women needs to be assessed in future intervention studies