Comparative study of sonohysterosalpingography with hysterosalpingography for determination of tubal patency in infertile women

Background: Ever since the history of mankind, human infertility has been a source of personal misery and social stigma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the tubal factors of infertility, especially the tubal patency by SSG and HSG and study the advantages of both.Methods: The present work was undertaken in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Radiodiagnosis of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi. 60 patients with primary or secondary infertility attending the OPD were selected over a period of 15 months (July 2008 to September 2009). Inclusion criteria: women of age 20-35 years with regular menstrual cycle whose male partners had no faults. Exclusion criteria: women with PID or other proven causes of infertility. All the patients were subjected to both SSG and HSG (interval period being 1 menstrual cycle) and the results compared in terms of tubal occlusion detection rate, detection of pelvic pathologies and complications of both the procedures.Results: Out of 60 cases, 70% (42) were of primary infertility and 30% (18) were of secondary infertility. History of reproductive tract infections was higher in secondary infertility group (44%). SSG appeared to be more sensitive in detection of tubal obstruction (35%) than HSG (30%), but the difference was statistically insignificant (p>0.05). HSG could locate the exact site of tubal obstruction which was not evident in SSG. SSG was more sensitive in detection of associated pelvic pathologies (p = 0.05) like ovarian cyst, endometriosis and fibroid uterus. However, HSG was better in diagnosis of genital tuberculosis. 20% of patients complained of pelvic pain, bleeding, infection or allergic reaction during or after HSG, while only 7% of patients reported the same with SSG. Thus, SSG was superior to HSG in this respect (p = 0.02).Conclusions: SSG, though not a substitute, can be used as an alternative to HSG for assessment of tubal factors of infertility

The Role Conception of A Deontological Code for Teachers ? A Study of its Role Performance

The role conception and role performance and their complete correspondence in the light of a Deontological code for the teachers form the theme of the present study. The field of ethics gives place to two approaches – Deontological and Teleological. The first deals with duties, actions and rules to be performed and adhere to them strictly and imperatively in their performance. The second concerns with their purpose or Teleology and, therefore, leans towards their evaluations. These two aspects of duties to be performed by professional teachers were exposed with the support of factual and theoretical studies undertaken by eminent researchers in the field of professional ethics in general and for in-service teachers in particular, enriching the area. Finally it was observed that moral and ethical issues in character education are slowly becoming important as a part of teacher education programs where role conception, role demands in relation to role performance are taking firm grounds in their complete correspondence with evaluations. It is proposed therefore that if one takes teaching as a career, one must be committed to it.  ‘Be’ a teacher, ‘Remain’ a teacher and ‘Make’ a teacher in his/her choice as a teacher in promotion of values and in the interest of progress of teacher education. Key Words: Deontology, Teleology, Role Conception, Role Performance, Moral Maturity

Comparative study of vaginal delivery and caesarean section in antepartum eclampsia at tertiary care hospital

Background: Eclampsia is characterized by the sudden onset of generalized tonic clonic seizures. Eclampsia is usually preceded by a history of the pre-eclampsia but rarely arises in a woman with minimally increased blood pressure and no proteinuria. Eclampsia most commonly occurs in the third trimester, though rarely eclampsia may occur before 20 wks in molar or multiple pregnancy. The aim of the study was to compare maternal and fetal outcome in antepartum eclampsia when terminated by vaginal delivery and caesarean section.Methods: 50 women with eclampsia attending emergency department OBG department of Katihar Medical College, Katihar were collected from Feb 2015 to Sep 2016. Depending upon the mode of delivery, they were divided into two groups, CD group where caesarean section was performed and VD group where vaginal delivery was performed.Results: Of the 50 cases, caesarean section was done in 40% of the cases, while vaginal delivery was carried was carried in 60%.Maternal complications in CD group was 35% and 80% in VD group (p<0.001).The incidence of live births, still birth and neonatal death was 85%, 15%, 0% in CD group and 60%, 40%, 10% in VD group. The corrected perinatal mortality was 50%.Conclusions: Timely caesarean section reduces maternal and perinatal mortality and improves their outcome in antepartum eclampsia

Biodiversity Status, Distribution and Use Pattern of Some Ethno-Medicinal Plants

The erosion of plant biodiversity is a matter of global concern. Due to unawareness the building blocks of entire ecosystems are disappearing. Some medicinal plants like Taxus baccata Linn., Thymus serpyllum Linn., Coleus forskohli Will., Oroxylum indicum Linn., Valeriana hardwickii Wall., Malaxis acuminata D.Don, Habenaria edgeworthii Hook. f.ex.Collett., Costus speciosus (Koen.) Sm., Dioscorea deltodea Wall., Gloriosa superba Linn., Polygonatum cirrhifolium Wall. and Polygonatum verticillatum Linn., Thalictrum foliolosum DC., Berberis aristata DC., Baliospermum montanum Will., Bergenia ciliata (Haworth) Sternb., Clerodendrum serratum Linn., Valeriana jatamansii Jones, Celastrus paniculatus Will., Habenaria intermedeia D. Don, and Curculigo orchioides Gaerth are reached on the border of extinction. The 2008 IUCN Red List shows that the number of threatened plant species is increasing gradually (IUCN 2008). Therefore, there is an immediate need for conservation steps to be taken up along with promotion of conservation of medicinal plants

Taxonomical Description, Nativity and Endemism with Particular Reference to Threatened Ethnomedicinal Plants of Almora District of Western Himalaya

Out of 187 ethno-medicinal plants of Almora district (Kumari et. al. 2011), identifications, distribution, nativity and endemic/near endemic of 21 threatened ethno-medicinal plant species were studied. These 21 species of ethno medicinal plants belonging to 16 families were recorded. Of these, 2 species were trees, 1 shrub, 16 herbs and 2 climbers. The families Taxaceae, Ranunculaceae, Berberadaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Saxifragaceae,Verbenaceae,Bignonoaceae, Celastraceae, Costaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Hypoxidaceae, Valerianaceae and Gentianaceae having single species,  Lamiaceae, having two species and Orchidaceae, Liliaceae having three species were identified

Collaborative authorship patterns in computer science publications

Based on the analysis of data we observe that the share of single-authored papers was significantly high in theoreticalcomputer science, while collaborative efforts dominate computer science system research like PL, AI, ML, etc.Collaborative authorship is higher in journals over conferences. Further, values of collaborative indicators are also high forjournals except for the Machine Learning (ML) subfield. In addition, the author distribution patterns are different forconferences and journals. The findings also exhibited diversity in authorship trends across sub-fields of CS research. Ourresults show collaboration trends in conferences and journals of major CS subfields. Such collaborative patterns benefit thefunding agency, policymakers, scientific community, and researchers to plan and execute their research

JACKFRUIT SEED AS A NOVEL SUBSTRATE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AN ACIDOPHILIC AND ACID-STABLE α-AMYLASE FROM BACILLUS SP.4

Objective: The objective of the current study is to do a comparative analysis of the ability of a strain of Bacillus to grow and produce α-amylase on various agro-residues under solid state fermentation (SSF), as amylases comprise one of the most important enzymes in industries. Methods: Bacteria were isolated from various soil samples by serial dilution method, screened for amylase production by rapid screening method on starch agar plates and the best amylase producer was chosen. The best isolate was cultured on different agro-residues such as wheat bran, watermelon outer rind, Avarekai seed coat (Dolichos lablab), coconut endosperm, and jackfruit seeds for maximum amylase production. The pH and temperature optima of the enzyme were determined by culturing the bacteria under different pH and temperatures. The crude enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by ion-exchange chromatography methods. Results: The best isolate chosen was Bacillus sp.4, which produced an acidophilic and acid-stable α-amylase with maximum enzyme production at the acidic pH of 5.5 and 6.5 (21.11 and 21.62 U/mg protein, respectively) and maximum stability at pH 5.5. Jackfruit seed was found to be the most suitable agro waste for α-amylase production by our isolate. Purification of the enzyme by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by ion-exchange chromatography resulted in 23.17-fold increase in its activity (86.67 U/mg protein). Conclusion: Considering its acid-stable and highly promising enzyme activities, the enzyme from this bacterial isolate can be further characterized for future applications in starch and other food industries