Travel Package Recommendation

Location Based SocialNetworks (LBSN) benefit the users by allowing them to share their locations and life moments with their friends. The users can also review the locations they have visited. Classical recommender systems provide users a ranked list of single items. This is not suitable for applications like trip planning,where the recommendations should contain multiple items in an appropriate sequence. The problem of generating such recommendations is challenging due to various critical aspects, which includes user interest, budget constraints and high sparsity in the available data used to solve the problem. In this paper, we propose a graph based approach to recommend a set of personalized travel packages. Each recommended package comprises of a sequence of multiple Point of Interests (POIs). Given the current location and spatio-temporal constraints, our goal is to recommend a package which satisfies the constraints. This approach utilizes the data collected fromLBSNs to learn user preferences and also models the location popularity

Mode of delivery and outcome of breech presentation: a prospective observational study in a tertiary centre

Background: Breech presentation is the commonest malpresentation with the incidence of 3-4% at term. This study was done with the objective of studying the mode of delivery in breech presentation and to compare the maternal and fetal outcome in patients delivered vaginally to those delivered by cesarean section.Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in Vanivilas Hospital, affiliated to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, from June 2014 to May 2015. The study group included 509 patients with breech presentation who were studied with respect to their gestational age, birth weight, type of breech, mode of delivery, maternal and perinatal outcome.Results: The incidence of breech presentation was 2.92% (509) among 17454 total deliveries with the incidence of 3.17% in primi and 2.73% in multies. 193 (38%) patients had vaginal breech delivery and 316 (62%) delivered by LSCS. Apgar score of less than 7 at 1 minute was seen with 21.42% of vaginally delivered fetuses and 9.09% of fetuses delivered by cesarean section. The perinatal mortality was 1.6% (8 cases) in vaginal group 0.8% (4 cases) in LSCS group. The short term maternal complications in LSCS group was 7.62% and in vaginal delivery group was 3.09%.Conclusions: The short term maternal morbidity is higher in patients with cesarean section compared to those with vaginal breech delivery. Perinatal outcome is better in babies delivered by cesarean section. Still vaginal breech delivery can be an option for breech babies with proper selection and when conducted by a skilled obstetrician

Evaluation of Eggplant Accessions for Resistance to Bacterial Wilt Caused by Ralstonia solanacearum (E.F. Smith) Yabuuchi et Al.

Forty-one eggplant accessions were screened in a sick plot for bacterial wilt resistance at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta, Bengaluru. Nine accessions, viz., IIHR-322, AVT-IIRES-1, AVT-IIRES-2, AVT-IIRES-4, AVT-IIRES-5, IIHR500-A, BPLH-1, IIHR-3 and IIHR-5 showed highly resistant reaction, with no wilting of plants; five accessions, viz., RES-2, RES-5, RES-6, 37-36-4-4 and 36-37-13, showed resistance reaction per cent wilt 3.33 -10.0. Two accessions, viz., 36-37-3 and 37-4-20, showed moderately resistant reaction, with 11.0 and 12.0 per cent wilt incidence, respectively; while, 22 accessions were 'moderately susceptible to highly susceptible', with wilt incidence ranging from 25.45 to 100.0%

Cisplatin in renal transplant recipients : not an absolute contraindication

The chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin is usually contraindicated in renal transplant recipients due to its well-known side effect of nephrotoxicity, but is an important (and sometimes irreplaceable) drug in the management of cancer. We report a case of cisplatin usage concurrently with radiation (CRT) in unresectable head and neck cancer, along with a review of the literature

INFLUENCE OF SEASONS AND PLANT PARTS ON THE ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION OF THE ENDEMIC SPECIES ARISTOLOCHIA KRISAGATHRA SIVARAJAN AND PRADEEP

Objective: Aristolochia krisagathra, a species endemic to the Western Ghats of India is found closely allied to two other species native to India, A. indica and A. tagala. The plant is medicinally useful and hence may harbor important phytochemical constituents. The phytochemical studies on this plant are less. Hence, the objective of the research was to analyse the oil composition of this endemic plant considering the seasons and plant parts.Methods: The essential oil analyses of both the leaf and stem oil of the plant was carried out in three different periods, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon to analyse the major compounds present and the effect of seasons on the oil composition. Oil extraction of the shade dried leaves and stem were done in a clevenger type apparatus. 4 h of hydro distillation was done and the oil samples were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).Results: The stem oil yield was higher than leaves and the oil colour of the leaves and stem varied. The results showed the predominance of sesquiterpenes. Diterpenes were completely absent in the stem oil in all the three seasons but was present in leaf oil in small concentrations. The oil yield from stem was higher than leaves. The major compound in the leaf and stem oil varied. Major compound in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon remained the same, copaene in the leaf and alloaromadendrene in the stem. The major compound in the monsoon period was delta-cadinene in leaf and spathulenol in stem. Caryophyllene, the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, was present in both the stem and leaf oil irrespective of the seasons studied.Conclusion: The study showed that the plant parts and seasons are important factors affecting the oil composition. Hence while collecting medicinal plants and their oils for various bioactivities, these factors need to be considered

Renal Granulomatosis Post Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Therapy for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy is a proven, effective treatment for intermediate- and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Minor side effects are common and expected but systemic effects can occur in \u3c 5% of treated patients. We present a rare case of a 49-year-old male that presented with fever and chills after 3 weeks of intravesical BCG therapy post transurethral resection of bladder tumor. New renal lesions were present on contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan which was histologically proven to be necrotizing renal granulomatosis

Preliminary PCR-based screening indicates a higher incidence of Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus subtype C (PERV-C) in feral versus domestic swine

Xenotransplantation is considered a potential alternative to allotransplantation to relieve the current shortage of human organs. Due to their similar size and physiology, the organs of pigs are of particular interest for this purpose. Endogenous retroviruses are a result of integration of retroviral genomes into the genome of infected germ cells as DNA proviruses, which are then carried in all cells of the offspring of the organism. Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) are of special concern because they are found in pig organs and tissues that might otherwise be used for xenotransplantation. PERV proviruses can be induced to replicate and recombine in pigs, and have been shown to infect human cells in vitro. There are three subtypes of PERVs based on differences in the receptor binding domain of the env protein; PERV-A, PERV-B, and PERV-C. PERVs A and B can infect human cells in vitro and can recombine with PERV-C, resulting in a recombinant virus with a higher rate of replication in pig and human cell lines. In this study, we used a PCR-based analysis of 50 domestic and 35 feral pigs to study the distribution of PERVs A, B, and C in swine raised under domestic conditions, versus feral swine from rural areas. PERV-A and PERV-B were universal in both domestic and feral swine. Feral swine had a higher incidence of PERV-C (85.7%) compared to domestic swine (42.0%). Further studies in other feral swine herds are ongoing to verify this observation

Soil and Plant Analysis - A Strategic Tool to Diagnose Micronutrient Imbalance in Lime and Sapota Orchard in Tablelands of Chambal Ravine Region of India

Micronutrient imbalance in lime and sapota fruit crops result in unstable fruit yield, fruit shedding and degrade quality of the produce. A study was therefore conducted to evaluate micronutrient statusoflime and sapota orchard by analysing soil and plant samples. Soil samples were collected from surface (0-15cm) and sub-surface (15-30cm) depth representing whole orchard. At the same time, plant samples including 35-40 each for leaves and petiole samples each from lime and sapota field was also collected. Available micronutrients from soil samples were extracted using diethylenetriaminepenta acetic acid (DTPA) and it was in the order of manganese (Mn)> iron (Fe)> zinc (Zn)> copper (Cu) in both lime and sapota plantations. DTPA- extractable Zn and Cu showed low status, marginal status of Fe and sufficient level of Mn in soils of sapota plantations. In plant analysis, high concentration of Cu (869 mg kg-1) and Zn (411mg kg-1) was observed in lime leaves; however, in sapota crop Cu and Zn content was 8.25mg kg-1 and 16.7mg kg- 1 respectively. Similarly, Fe and Mn content of lime leaves was 197 and 43 mg kg-1 which was slightly higher than sapota leaves that recorded 128 and 49mg kg-1 of Fe and Zn respectively. In sapota plants, higher Mn and Cu concentration in leaf resulted in Zn deficiency symptoms such as shortened internodes or rosette disorders of sapota plants. Thus, correcting micronutrient deficiency is pre-requisite for qualitative and quantitative fruit production in tablelands of India