Scleractinian corals from the Gulf of Kutch

The Scleratinian corals of the Gulf of Kutch from the north-west coast of India is taxonomically analysed. The coral fauna include 37 species among 24 genera. Out of these, 20 genera with 33 species are hermatypec and the rest 4 genera and 4 species is ahermatypes. Early mention in literature on the occurrence of genera such as Pavona, Podabacia, Leptoria and Lobophyllia from the Gulf of Kutcb is not taken into account, since these records are based on unconfirmed determinations. All genera and species considered are widespread in the Indo-Pacific coral provinces and no new species is described herein

Projecting prevalence by stage of care for prostate cancer and estimating future health service needs: protocol for a modelling study

Introduction Current strategies for the management of prostate cancer are inadequate in Australia. We will, in this study, estimate current service needs and project the future needs for prostate cancer patients in Australia. Methods and analysis First, we will project the future prevalence of prostate cancer for 2010-2018 using data for 1972-2008 from the New South Wales (NSW) Central Cancer Registry. These projections, based on modelled incidence and survival estimates, will be estimated using PIAMOD (Prevalence, Incidence, Analysis MODel) software. Then the total prevalence will be decomposed into five stages of care: initial care, continued monitoring, recurrence, last year of life and long-term survivor. Finally, data from the NSW Prostate Cancer Care and Outcomes Study, including data on patterns of treatment and associated quality of life, will be used to estimate the type and amount of services that will be needed by prostate cancer patients in each stage of care. In addition, Central Cancer Registry episode data will be used to estimate transition rates from localised or locally advanced prostate cancer to metastatic disease. Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits data, linked with Prostate Cancer Care and Outcomes Study data, will be used to complement the Cancer Registry episode data. The methods developed will be applied Australia-wide to obtain national estimates of the future prevalence of prostate cancer for different stages of clinical care. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the NSW Population and Health Services Research Ethics Committee. Results of the study will be disseminated widely to different interest groups and organisations through a report, conference presentations and peer-reviewed articles.This work is supported by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (grant number: PCFA – YI 0410). Both David Smith and Xue Qin Yu are supported by an Australian NHMRC Training Fellowship (Ref 1016598, 550002). Mark Clements is supported by an Australian NHMRC Career Development Award (Ref 471491)

Diabetic foot resulting in amputation: our experience

Background: The aim of our study was to early diagnosis of diabetic foot so that the complications can be prevented, to control the systemic infection and prevent the complications, to study the effectiveness of regular dressing in diabetic foot so as to prevent the local spread of infection and the ulcer and to conclude that early diagnosis, care and proper meticulous treatment of diabetic foot can prevent amputation. Methods: The present study was prospective, observational and longitudinal. Protocol of the procedure was formed along with Performa, Patient Information Sheet, Informed Consent Form and approval from Ethical Committee. The present study was carried out in surgery department of C.U Shah medical college, Surendranagar; Gujarat state. The study was carried out from 1st August 2011 to 30th September 2013. A total of one hundred patients admitted in surgery ward with diabetes type 1 or 2 with ulcer on foot having grade 1 or 2 of Wagner’s classification without any other co morbid condition. These patients undergo daily dressing with various dressing solutions according to their ulcer characteristics. All the patients given diet/oral hypoglycaemic drug/insulin for control of diabetes. Antibiotics given according to the infective status of the patients. Patients were either completely treated, went under skin grafting or ended up with amputation were recorded.Results: Of 100 cases studied, youngest patient was 32 years and oldest was 80 years of age. Highest number of cases was found in the age group 61-70 years (30%). Of the 100 cases studied in this series 36 (36%) patient were having Wagner’s class 1 ulcer and 64 (64%) patient having class 2 ulcers. Of 100 cases, various surgical treatment given to the patients according to the ulcer. In that 65(65%) debridement, 20 (20%) Incision & drainage, 10 (10%) STG, 5 (5%) fasciotomy. Most of the patients were undergone basic surgical procedure which is debridement on the 7th day follow up, out of 100 cases 70 patients came for follow up. Out of 70, all patients having healing ulcer. Out of 70 patients, 15(21.43%) patients were underwent STG on 15th day and other 55 (71.57%) patients having healing ulcer advised daily dressing with follow up after 1 week. Out of 30 patients, 3 (10%) patients underwent amputation on 7th day of follow up. On the 15th day new 5 (16.67%) patients underwent amputations, so total number of amputation done till date was 8 (26.67%). On 21st day, new 7 (23.34%) patients were underwent amputations and total number of amputations till date were 15 (50%). On 30th day, new 15 (50%) patients underwent amputations.Conclusions: Foot ulceration in diabetic patients is a resource consuming, disabling morbidity that often is the first step towards lower extremity amputation. Prevention is the best treatment.

Health seeking attitude of women regarding reproductive tract infections in a rural area of Surendranagar district

Background:In the recent years, the issue of gynaecological problems of poor women in the developing countries has been receiving increasing attention. High levels of gynaecological morbidity, especially reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted infections may turn out to be fatal if not treated properly. The objective of this study was to assess the health seeking attitude of women regarding reproductive tract infections, to elicit the past history pertaining to it, to assess the personal hygiene measures relevant to it. Methods: Various community based studies carried out in the different regions world showed the prevalence of reproductive tract infections 36-84%. The sample size of study as per statistical calculation (4pq/l2, where p =50, q=100-p and l= 10% of p) came out to be 400. Prior enlisting all villages of Surendranagar district, one village was selected randomly. After random selection the village found was Khodu. Results: 75.3% of women narrated treatment was necessary; 44% told that preferably to be taken from doctor and 24.7% told treatment should not be taken because of social and personal reason. 56.5% of women having one or the other kind of symptom of reproductive tract infections. Women with poor menstrual and personal hygiene has got 2.5 times chances of reproductive tract infections (OR= 2.35, CI= 1.374-4.01, P value: 0.001). Thus the overall prevalence in our study is 56.5%. On statistical analysis it was found that women who used clothes were two times more symptomatic as compared to women who used sanitary pads, a significant association between women having symptoms of reproductive tract infections and their sexual history. The present study showed 61.94% of women had taken treatment which shows that the health seeking behavior had improved. Conclusions: Women who used sanitary pads during menstrual periods had lower prevalence. Women with complaints of dyspareunia, bleeding during and or after intercourse and history of forceful intercourse had maximum prevalence of reproductive tract infections. 19.8% of women gave past history of reproductive tract infections and out of that 15.16% of women had taken treatment for it. Regarding health seeking attitude of symptomatic women, 61.94% of women had taken treatment and majority of them had taken treatment from doctors. This implies that health intervention measures directed towards reducing morbidity from reproductive tract infections need not focus mainly on treatment of reproductive tract infections but rather on disease preventing strategies

A cross sectional study on the prevalence of reproductive tract infections amongst married women in the rural area of Surendranagar district

Background: In the recent years, the issue of gynaecological problems of poor women in the developing countries has been receiving increasing attention. High levels of gynaecological morbidity, especially reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted infections may turn out to be fatal if not treated properly. Objectives of current study were to find out the prevalence of reproductive tract infections amongst married women, to co-relate the disease with certain socio demographic variables and to assess the awareness about reproductive tract infections in the study population. Methods: Sample size - Various community based studies carried out in the different regions world showed the prevalence of reproductive tract infections 36-84%. The sample size of study as per statistical calculation (4pq/l2, where p =50, q=100-p and l= 10% of p) came out to be 400. Method of Sampling - Prior enlisting all villages of Surendranagar district, one village was selected randomly. After random selection the village found was Khodu. Results: 56.5% of women reported either one or more symptoms of reproductive tract infections; vaginal discharge (29.7%) was the commonest symptom. Basic awareness about disease was 64.0%; Maximum prevalence of reproductive tract infections (62.90%) was found in the age group of 25-34 years.Conclusions: There is a significant association between socio-economic class, educational status and women having symptoms of reproductive tract infections.

Weak-localization corrections to the conductivity of double quantum wells

The weak-localization contribution \delta\sigma(B) to the conductivity of a tunnel-coupled double-layer electron system is evaluated and its behavior in weak magnetic fields B perpendicular or parallel to the layers is examined. In a perpendicular field B, \delta \sigma(B) increases and remains dependent on tunneling as long as the magnetic field is smaller than \hbar/e D \tau_t, where D is the in-plane diffusion coefficient and \tau_t the interlayer tunneling time. If \tau_t is smaller than the inelastic scattering time, a parallel magnetic field also leads to a considerable increase of the concuctivity starting with a B**2 law and saturating at fields higher than \hbar/e Z (D \tau_t)**(1/2), where Z is the interlayer distance. In the limit of coherent tunneling, when \tau_t is comparable to elastic scattering time, \delta \sigma(B) differs from that of a single-layer system due to ensuing modifications of the diffusion coefficient. A possibility to probe the weak-localization effect in double-layer systems by the dependence of the conductivity on the gate-controlled level splitting is discussed.Comment: Text 18 pages in Latex/Revtex format, 4 Postscript figures. J. Phys.: CM,in pres

Oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in the treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients - a prospective study

Toxoplasma encephalitis is the commonest cause of intracranial mass lesions in AIDS patients, Effective therapy includes pyrimethamine plus sulfadiazine, dindamycin with pyrimethamine, and co-trimoxazole. This study examines the efficacy of oral co-trimoxazole in 20 AIDS patients with toxoplasmosis and seeks to confirm the experience of Torre et al

Migration health research in the United Kingdom: A scoping review

Background: One in seven people living in the United Kingdom (UK) is an international migrant, rendering migrants an important population group with diverse and dynamic health and healthcare needs. However, there has been no attempt to map contemporary trends within migration health research conducted in the UK. The aim of this scoping review was to describe trends within migration health research and identify gaps for future research agendas. Methods: PubMed and Embase were systematically searched for empirical research with a primary focus on the concepts “health” and “migrants” published between 2001 and 2019. Findings were analysed using the UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration and Health Conceptual Framework for Migration and Health. Results: In total, 399 studies were included, with almost half (41.1%; 164/399) published in the last five years of the study period between 2015 and 2019 and a third (34.1%; 136/399) conducted in London. Studies included asylum seekers (14.8%; 59/399), refugees (12.3%; 49/399), and undocumented migrants or migrants with insecure status (3.5%; 14/399), but most articles (74.9%; 299/399) did not specify a migrant sub-group. The most studied health topics were specific disease outcomes such as infectious diseases (24.1% of studies) and mental health (19.1%) compared to examining systems or structures that impact health (27.8%), access to healthcare (26.3%), or specific exposures or behaviours (35.3%). Conclusions: There has been a growing interest in migration health. Ensuring a diverse geographic distribution of research conducted in the UK and disaggregation by migrant sub-group is required for a nuanced and region-specific understanding of specific health needs, interventions and appropriate service delivery for different migrant populations. More research is needed to understand how migration policy and legislation intersect with both the social determinants of health and access to healthcare to shape the health of migrants in the UK