Software-based Solution for Analysis and Decoding of FSK-2 Modulated, Baudot-coded Signals

In the present-day scenario, digital communication has become predominant choice overanalog communication worldwide. Digital modulation schemes form the main block of the digitalcommunication. Among these, frequency shift keying (FSK-2) is a widely used technique employedfor Baudot-coded english text transmission. A Baudot-coded-FSK-2 modulated signal wassimulated corresponding to an english text file. A technique has been developed for its analysisand decoding in the MATLAB environment. This technique does the signal analysis, its parameterextraction, and then digital demodulation, to retrieve its corresponding composite bit-stream. Anefficient method for edge detection using the number of zero-crossings has been devised andimplemented successfully. From the composite bit-stream, overhead bits were removed anddecoding was performed to get back the text output

Trade, investment and economic growth in India and China

Using time series data from 1980 to 2014, this study examines the relationship between trade, investment and economic growth in India and China. The present study attempts to assess the contributions of not only foreign direct investment and exports as done by the previous studies but also incorporates domestic direct investment and imports. The study uses more comprehensive and recent autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to examine the existence of short-run and long-run relationships. The main advantage of this approach is that it can be used regardless of the stationarity properties of the variables in the sample. The study gives different results for both countries. In case of China, exports, FDI  and domestic investment have positive impact on economic growth whereas for India only the variable of domestic investment has been found to be significant. China is a world leader in merchandise exports and its services exports have complemented its goods exports. The main weakness of Indian economy is the poor performance of manufacturing sector as a result of which India’s merchandise exports are concentrated around a few categories. Though India is a leader in IT related services exports but these exports are unable to compensate for poor performance of merchandise exports

Comparison of obstetric outcomes of pregnancies after donor oocyte IVF: Three-arm age-matched retrospective cohort study

Background: Oocyte donation has become widely used as a treatment option for infertile couples. The few available studies report conflicting evidence about the risk of hypertensive disorders in donor oocyte pregnancies after adjusting for maternal age and it is unclear whether pregnancy complications and obstetric risks are due to oocyte donation or to confounding factors such as maternal age. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare obstetric complications between women who conceived after oocyte donation and age-matched control women with spontaneous conception and self oocyte IVF conception.Methods : The present study comprised of women aged 20-45 years conceived from oocyte donation (n=104) between 1/12/2010 to 15/10/2017. Two age-matched control groups—Self oocyte IVF (n=150) and the other containing women who conceived spontaneously (n=312) were used for comparison of obstetric and perinatal outcomes.Results: Mean maternal age was statistically significantly higher in the Donor oocyte IVF group as compared to  self oocyte ivf and spontaneous conception group. Miscarriage, first trimester bleeding, pregnancy induced hypertension and gestational diabetes mellitus was significantly higher in Donor oocyte IVF group as compared to self-oocyte and spontaneous conception group (p=0.001). Using multiple logistic regression analysis age class adjusted PIH and GDM  incidence was significantly higher in donor oocyte group as compared to spontaneous conception (P=0.010).There was significant variation in perinatal outcomes between the three groups.Conclusion: Oocyte donation should be treated as an independent risk factor for miscarriage, first trimester bleeding, hypertensive disorder and gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnancy

Placenta accreta: the silent invader

Background: To review incidence causes, clinical presentations, management, maternal mortality and morbidity associated with placenta accreta.Methods: A prospective study was carried out at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, GSVM Medical College, Kanpur during the period of January 2010 to December 2014. During this period all the patients who were diagnosed with placenta accreta were included in the study.Results: Majority of patients presenting with placenta accreta belonged to age group 30-35 years (46%) were multigravida (95%) came from both rural and urban background. Majority of deliveries complicated by placenta accrete were booked cases (78%). Previous LSCS with placenta previa proved to be the major cause (86%). Out of whole spectrum including placenta accreta, increta, percreta, placenta accreta was the commonest of all and placenta percreta required maximum number of blood transfusions (5-6 units of blood on an average). Hysterectomy was required in 29 cases out of 37 (78%), 6 women suffered from bladder injury which were repaired. Among total of 37 women 7women couldn't be saved even after our best of efforts.Conclusions: Incidence of placenta accrete has increased now a days because of increased incidence of cesarian sections, placenta accreta was seen in primi due to uterine procedures  done deliberately  in both diagnostic and therapeutic indications. Morbidly adherent placenta is always a nightmare for the obstetrician. Suspicion of a case on history, preoperative confirmation of diagnosis, planned management with bundle of care, with multi-disciplinary approach can save many patients from the clutches of inevitable death

Predictors of oocyte yield in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation IVF/ICSI cycles: a retrospective analysis in a tertiary care centre

Background: The most important predictor of oocyte yield in ART cycles is female age, but other biochemical and ultrasonographic markers done before controlled ovarian stimulation may predict the oocyte yield in women undergoing COS in IVF cycles.Methods: The main aim of the study was to evaluate ovarian reserve markers before COS which can help to individualise treatment protocols to achieve optimal response and minimise risk of complications. It is retrospective observational study, 1924 women undergoing COS in IVF/ICSI cycles in tertiary care centre in India, from January 2010 to June 2017 were included. Results: Univariate analysis showed that age, D2FSH, AMH, D2AFC and E2 on the day of trigger were significant predictors of oocyte yield (p7.82 IU/ml was predictor of poor response (sensitivity 78.13%, specificity 79.53%).Conclusions: A combination of predictors demonstrated superior ability of predicting oocyte yield after controlled ovarian stimulation than compared with any single endocrine marker. D2 FSH though thought to be obsolete, but we found significant predictive ability in terms of oocyte yield in the Indian population

Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) and Diabetic Foot: Pathophysiological Findings and Recent Developments in Their Inhibitors of Natural as well as Synthetic Origin

Management of diabetic foot remains a major challenge for healthcare system. Though wound healing is a multiphase process and involved multiple biomarkers that acts in stepwise manner, pathophysiology diabetic foot ulcers is still not much clear and need standardization. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are often linked with non-healing characteristic of diabetic foot ulcers. They play vital roles in various phases of healing process. Major functions are removal of damaged extracellular matrix in inflammatory phase, breakdown of capillary basement membrane prior to angiogenesis and facilitation in fibroblast migration during proliferation phase. For efficient healing, these enzymes are needed in certain amount only. Imbalance of these enzymes leads to excessive degradation which has been linked with the non-healing nature of diabetic ulcers. This chapter will shed light on the role of MMP’s in various phases of wound healing and the inhibitors of MMP’s from natural as well as synthetic origin. It would help researchers and physicians to the understand nature of diabetic foot more clearly and design of strategies for diabetic foot management

Genetic structure of Plasmodium falciparum field isolates in eastern and north-eastern India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Molecular techniques have facilitated the studies on genetic diversity of <it>Plasmodium </it>species particularly from field isolates collected directly from patients. The <it>msp-1 </it>and <it>msp-2 </it>are highly polymorphic markers and the large allelic polymorphism has been reported in the block 2 of the <it>msp-1 </it>gene and the central repetitive domain (block3) of the <it>msp-2 </it>gene. Families differing in nucleotide sequences and in number of repetitive sequences (length variation) were used for genotyping purposes. As limited reports are available on the genetic diversity existing among <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>population of India, this report evaluates the extent of genetic diversity in the field isolates of <it>P. falciparum </it>in eastern and north-eastern regions of India.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A study was designed to assess the diversity of <it>msp-1 </it>and <it>msp-2 </it>among the field isolates from India using allele specific nested PCR assays and sequence analysis. Field isolates were collected from five sites distributed in three states namely, Assam, West Bengal and Orissa.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>P. falciparum </it>isolates of the study sites are highly diverse in respect of length as well as sequence motifs with prevalence of all the reported allelic families of <it>msp-1 </it>and <it>msp-2</it>. Prevalence of identical allelic composition as well as high level of sequence identity of alleles suggest a considerable amount of gene flow between the <it>P. falciparum </it>populations of different states. A comparatively higher proportion of multiclonal isolates as well as multiplicity of infection (MOI) was observed among isolates of highly malarious districts Karbi Anglong (Assam) and Sundergarh (Orissa). In all the five sites, R033 family of <it>msp-1 </it>was observed to be monomorphic with an allele size of 150/160 bp. The observed 80–90% sequence identity of Indian isolates with data of other regions suggests that Indian <it>P. falciparum </it>population is a mixture of different strains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study shows that the field isolates of eastern and north-eastern regions of India are highly diverse in respect of <it>msp-1 </it>(block 2) and <it>msp-2 </it>(central repeat region, block 3). As expected Indian isolates present a picture of diversity closer to southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea and Latin American countries, regions with low to meso-endemicity of malaria in comparison to African regions of hyper- to holo-endemicity.</p

Mapping of variations in child stunting, wasting and underweight within the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2000–2017

Background To inform actions at the district level under the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), we assessed the prevalence trends of child growth failure (CGF) indicators for all districts in India and inequality between districts within the states. Methods We assessed the trends of CGF indicators (stunting, wasting and underweight) from 2000 to 2017 across the districts of India, aggregated from 5 × 5 km grid estimates, using all accessible data from various surveys with subnational geographical information. The states were categorised into three groups using their Socio-demographic Index (SDI) levels calculated as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study based on per capita income, mean education and fertility rate in women younger than 25 years. Inequality between districts within the states was assessed using coefficient of variation (CV). We projected the prevalence of CGF indicators for the districts up to 2030 based on the trends from 2000 to 2017 to compare with the NNM 2022 targets for stunting and underweight, and the WHO/UNICEF 2030 targets for stunting and wasting. We assessed Pearson correlation coefficient between two major national surveys for district-level estimates of CGF indicators in the states. Findings The prevalence of stunting ranged 3.8-fold from 16.4% (95% UI 15.2–17.8) to 62.8% (95% UI 61.5–64.0) among the 723 districts of India in 2017, wasting ranged 5.4-fold from 5.5% (95% UI 5.1–6.1) to 30.0% (95% UI 28.2–31.8), and underweight ranged 4.6-fold from 11.0% (95% UI 10.5–11.9) to 51.0% (95% UI 49.9–52.1). 36.1% of the districts in India had stunting prevalence 40% or more, with 67.0% districts in the low SDI states group and only 1.1% districts in the high SDI states with this level of stunting. The prevalence of stunting declined significantly from 2010 to 2017 in 98.5% of the districts with a maximum decline of 41.2% (95% UI 40.3–42.5), wasting in 61.3% with a maximum decline of 44.0% (95% UI 42.3–46.7), and underweight in 95.0% with a maximum decline of 53.9% (95% UI 52.8–55.4). The CV varied 7.4-fold for stunting, 12.2-fold for wasting, and 8.6-fold for underweight between the states in 2017; the CV increased for stunting in 28 out of 31 states, for wasting in 16 states, and for underweight in 20 states from 2000 to 2017. In order to reach the NNM 2022 targets for stunting and underweight individually, 82.6% and 98.5% of the districts in India would need a rate of improvement higher than they had up to 2017, respectively. To achieve the WHO/UNICEF 2030 target for wasting, all districts in India would need a rate of improvement higher than they had up to 2017. The correlation between the two national surveys for district-level estimates was poor, with Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.7 only in Odisha and four small north-eastern states out of the 27 states covered by these surveys. Interpretation CGF indicators have improved in India, but there are substantial variations between the districts in their magnitude and rate of decline, and the inequality between districts has increased in a large proportion of the states. The poor correlation between the national surveys for CGF estimates highlights the need to standardise collection of anthropometric data in India. The district-level trends in this report provide a useful reference for targeting the efforts under NNM to reduce CGF across India and meet the Indian and global targets. Keywords Child growth failureDistrict-levelGeospatial mappingInequalityNational Nutrition MissionPrevalenceStuntingTime trendsUnder-fiveUndernutritionUnderweightWastingWHO/UNICEF target