DPOAE in HIV infected adults

HIV infection is associated with impairment of hearing function, at any stage of disease causing complication to the external, middle, inner ear and CNS. Audiological manifestation of HIV is a direct consequence of virus or secondary to the pharmacological treatment or viral complication. \ud Objectives: There is paucity of information pertaining to hearing status in HIV. As the deafness can occur at any stage of HIV with varying degree and people with HIV live longer, there is need to address the hearing problems in these individuals. So this study aimed detecting the outer hair cell functioning by doing DPOAE in normal hearing HIV infected adults.\ud Method: The experimental group comprised of 12 HIV infected (24 ears) within 20 to 40 years. The age matched control group comprised of 15 subjects (30 ears). All the subjects had normal hearing sensitivity. Initially puretone audiometry and immittance was performed for the subject selection. Subsequently DPOAE procedure was done. \ud Results: The DPOAE was abnormal in 50% of the subjects.\ud Conclusion: It can be concluded that the cochlear involvement is a common observation in HIV infected individuals. DPOAE test can be used as a tool for early identification of cochlear pathology in HIV infected

Literature Review Report on-“Work-Life Balance of Loco-Pilots (Railway Drivers) in India”

The railway driver is exposed to a demanding psychosocial work environment, which includes solitary work, limited opportunities for social contact and a heavy responsibility for operating the train (in terms of both safety and adhering to the timetable). The railway driver’s job, i.e. to operate the train, is largely governed by timetables and technical conditions (e.g. type of train, track area), which restricts the driver’s ability to decide for himself how the job is to be done. Railway drivers struggle to fulfill work and family responsibilities. This struggle is due to long hours, irregular and inflexible work schedules, and heavy workloads. Thus, work–family conflict can be a common work stressor for railway drivers. This paper deals with the quality of work life of Indian railways’ drivers and the factors that lead to an imbalance, causing high probability of accident. This paper discusses the working conditions and quality of life to the Indian railway drivers. This paper also briefly reviews concepts relevant to defining work-life balance. This  review of literature deals with the Work-Life balance of an Indian railways’ drivers to determine the working conditions and level of their work life balance which is having very high importance on their total wellbeing and hence their productivity and entire growth of an Indian railway. Keywords: Railway driver, Working conditions, Stress and Work-life balanc

Literature Review Report on -“An Analytical Study on Working Conditions of Loco-Pilots (Railway Drivers) in India”

The work of Indian railways’ drivers is considered as extremely stressful. It is working in an environment over which they have no control whatsoever and is an atmosphere that wrecks their schedules, disrupts their home life, makes social activities and regular breaks very hard to plan. This paper deals with the working conditions of Indian railways’ drivers and the factors that lead to a fatigue and stress, causing high probability of accident. This review of literature deals with the working conditions of an Indian railways’ drivers which is having very high importance on their total wellbeing and hence their productivity and entire growth and safety of an Indian railway. Keywords: Railway driver, working conditions, fatigue and stress

INCIDENCE OF PREDIABETES AND DIABETES IN WOMEN WITH PREVIOUS GESTATIONAL DIABETES AND NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY.

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are two common metabolic disorders that have similar pathophysiological mechanisms, including chronic inflammation and resistance to insulin. The aim of this research was to examine the incidence of prediabetes and diabetes in females who had previously experienced GDM and NAFLD, and to determine the variables linked to the advancement of glycaemic categories within this cohort. Methods The study included 230 women who were evaluated for NAFLD at a baseline postpartum visit. The participants were categorized based on their GDM status during pregnancy and NAFLD presence. Incidence rates of prediabetes and diabetes were calculated, and significant predictors of glycaemic progression were identified. Data collection included medical history, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical parameters. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata 15.0. Results Of 230 women, 167 (72.6%) had GDM, and 63 (27.4%) had normoglycaemia during pregnancy. Over 3 years, 98 (42.6%) developed prediabetes or diabetes, with higher incidence rates in those with both GDM and NAFLD. Key factors for glycaemic progression were age >35 (OR 2.3, p=0.005), postpartum overweight/obesity (OR 3.1, p<0.001), family history of diabetes (OR 1.9, p=0.02), and NAFLD presence (OR 2.7, p=0.001). Cardiometabolic risk factors worsened significantly, especially in women with GDM and NAFLD. Conclusion Females with GDM and NAFLD are at high risk for prediabetes and diabetes. Glycaemic progression is predicted by age, postpartum BMI, family history of diabetes, and NAFLD. These findings suggest targeted surveillance and early intervention to avoid diabetes and manage cardiometabolic hazards in this high-risk group. Recommendations Regular screening for glycaemic status and cardiometabolic risk factors should be prioritized in females with a history of GDM and NAFLD. Lifestyle interventions focusing on weight management and metabolic health are essential to reduce the progression to prediabetes and diabetes in this high-risk group

Discontinuous harvesting policy in a Filippov system involving prey refuge

In this article, a non-smooth predator-prey dynamical system is considered. Here, we discuss about sustainable harvesting in a Filippov predator-prey system, which can produce yield and at the same time prevent over-exploitation of bioresources. The local and global stability analysis of the two subsystems, with and without harvesting, are studied. Furthermore, for the Filippov system, we have performed bifurcation analysis for several key parameters like predation rate, threshold quantity and prey refuge. Some local sliding bifurcations are also observed for the system. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the dynamical behaviour of the system

Voltage to Frequency Converter: Modeling and Design

In this thesis a study on conventional voltage to frequency converter is given. A linear voltage to frequency converter is assumed i.e. the output frequency level changes with the varying input voltage level. Then as per the findings of our study a voltage to frequency converter is designed and a physical model of the designed circuit is prepared. A transformer and full wave rectifier are used to reach the optimal dc voltage level while the regulator is used for controlled power supply. An op-Amp based voltage to frequency converter is designed whose output is obtained through a 555 timer. The main operation of the op-Amp is to serve as a voltage integrator which is necessary for triangular wave generation and also as a comparator for converting the triangular wave into square wave. The timer circuit is operated in monostable mode. A simple and low cost voltage to frequency converter design and its performance analysis is the main objective of this thesis

Political Leaders’ Communication: A Twitter Sentiment Analysis during Covid-19 Pandemic

The pandemic made it critical for political leaders to intensify measures in fight against Covid-19 and one such measure was building trust among public through communication. With exponential growth in reach of social media, while state political leaders have progressively used internet for election campaigns, limited studies have explored as to how leaders use this medium to communicate during crisis, what kind of information do they share and what are common issues addressed. This paper, using qualitative research design, analyses Indian political leaders’ communication on Twitter. Sentiment Analysis was carried to identify and extract subjective information in leaders’ communication using 29 Indian political leaders, where in 12.128 tweets were extracted. Subjectivity scores depicted more than half of leaders had shared fact-based information, and Polarity scores indicated that almost 90% of leaders shared positive or neutral information thus leading to an inference that leaders share more of facts based and positive or neutral information rather than statements in form of opinions

Un criblage ciblant de nouveaux facteurs impliqués dans l’assemblage mitotique des chromosomes dans le nématode C. elegans

La division cellulaire est un processus fondamental des êtres vivants. À chaque division cellulaire, le matériel génétique d'une cellule mère est dupliqué et ségrégé pour produire deux cellules filles identiques; un processus nommé la mitose. Tout d'abord, la cellule doit condenser le matériel génétique pour être en mesure de séparer mécaniquement et également le matériel génétique. Une erreur dans le niveau de compaction ou dans la dynamique de la mitose occasionne une transmission inégale du matériel génétique. Il est suggéré dans la littérature que ces phénomènes pourraient causé la transformation des cellules cancéreuses. Par contre, le mécanisme moléculaire générant la coordination des changements de haut niveau de la condensation des chromosomes est encore incompris. Dans les dernières décennies, plusieurs approches expérimentales ont identifié quelques protéines conservées dans ce processus. Pour déterminer le rôle de ces facteurs dans la compaction des chromosomes, j'ai effectué un criblage par ARNi couplé à de l'imagerie à haute-résolution en temps réel chez l'embryon de C. elegans. Grâce à cette technique, j'ai découvert sept nouvelles protéines requises pour l'assemblage des chromosomes mitotiques, incluant la Ribonucléotide réductase (RNR) et Topoisomérase II (topo-II). Dans cette thèse, je décrirai le rôle structural de topo-II dans l'assemblage des chromosomes mitotiques et ces mécanismes moléculaires. Lors de la condensation des chromosomes, topo-II agit indépendamment comme un facteur d'assemblage local menant par la suite à la formation d'un axe de condensation tout au long du chromosome. Cette localisation est à l'opposé de la position des autres facteurs connus qui sont impliqués dans la condensation des chromosomes. Ceci représente un nouveau mécanisme pour l'assemblage des chromosomes chez C. elegans. De plus, j'ai découvert un rôle non-enzymatique à la protéine RNR lors de l'assemblage des chromosomes. Lors de ce processus, RNR est impliqué dans la stabilité des nucléosomes et alors, permet la compaction de haut niveau de la chromatine. Dans cette thèse, je rapporte également des résultats préliminaires concernant d'autres nouveaux facteurs découverts lors du criblage ARNi. Le plus important est que mon analyse révèle que la déplétion des nouvelles protéines montre des phénotypes distincts, indiquant la fonction de celles-ci lors de l'assemblage des chromosomes. Somme toute, je conclus que les chromosomes en métaphase sont assemblés par trois protéines ayant des activités différentes d'échafaudage: topoisomérase II, les complexes condensines et les protéines centromériques. En conclusion, ces études prouvent le mécanisme moléculaire de certaines protéines qui contribuent à la formation des chromosomes mitotiques.Cell division is a fundamental process that continuously happens in all living organisms. In each cell division, genetic material of the parent cell duplicates and segregates to produce genetically identical daughter cells in a process called mitosis. Cells need to condense their genetic material to be able to partition them equally. Any subtle defects, either timing or compaction level, could lead to the unequal inheritance of genetic material, a phenomenon that is believed to be the leading cause of cancerous transformation. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the coordinated changes of higher-order chromosome structure are poorly understood. In the last two decades, various approaches have identified several conserved factors required for chromosome condensation. To define the roles of known and novel factors in this process, I performed an RNAi based screen using high-resolution live imaging of the C. elegans one-cell embryo. Importantly, using an in vivo approach, I discovered seven novel factors required for mitotic chromosome assembly, including Ribonulceotide reducatase (RNR) and DNA topoisomerase II (topo-II). In this thesis, I report a structural role for topo-II in mitotic chromosome assembly and underlying molecular mechanisms. During chromosome condensation process, topo-II acts independently as a local assembly factor leading to global chromosome axis formation, contradicting models that chromosomes organize around preassembled scaffolds, thus representing a novel pathway for chromosome assembly in C. elegans. Furthermore, I also discovered a non-enzymatic role of RNR in the mitotic chromosome assembly process. During this process, RNR is involved in nucleosome stability, and thereby, it allows higher-order chromatin assembly. In this thesis, I also report preliminary data for other novel factors that I discovered in the RNAi based screen for factors involved in chromosome condensation. Importantly, my analyses revealed that the depletion of several proteins results in distinct chromosome condensation phenotypes, indicating that they function in discrete events during mitotic chromosome assembly. In sum, I conclude that metaphase chromosomes are built by the distinct scaffolding activities of three proteins: DNA topoisomerase II, condensin complexes and centromere proteins. Taken together, these studies provide underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to the mitotic chromosome formation

Controlling the size distribution of nanoparticles through the use of physical boundaries during laser ablation in liquids

A simple, yet effective method of controlling the size and size distributions of nanoparticles produced as a result of laser ablation of target material is presented. The method employs the presence of physical boundaries on either sides of the ablation site. In order to demonstrate the potential of the method, experiments have been conducted with copper and titanium as the target materials that are placed in two different liquid media (water and isopropyl alcohol). The ablation of the target material immersed in the liquid medium has been carried out using an Nd:YAG laser. Significant differences in the size and size distributions are observed in the cases of nanoparticles produced with and without confining boundaries. It is seen that for any given liquid medium and the target material, the mean size of the nanoparticles obtained with the boundary-fitted target surface is consistently higher than that achieved in the case of open (flat) targets. The observed trend has been attributed to the plausible role(s) of the confining boundaries in prolonging the thermalisation time of the plasma plume. In order to ascertain that the observed differences in sizes of the nanoparticles produced with and without the presence of the physical barriers are predominantly because of the prolonged thermalisation of the plasma plume and not due to the possible formation of oxide layer, select experiments with gold as the target material in water have also been performed. The experiments also show that, irrespective of the liquid medium, the increase in the mean size of the copper-based nanoparticles due to the presence of physical boundaries is relatively higher than that observed in the case of titanium target material under similar experimental conditions.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, a part of this work has been published in Photonics Prague 2017, (Proc. SPIE 10603, Photonics, Devices, and Systems VII, 1060304) titled "A novel method for fabrication of size-controlled metallic nanoparticles