Comparative study of interval versus postpartum Cu-T insertion in a central referral hospital of North East India

Background: Aim of current study was to compare interval and postpartum Cu-T (380A) insertion in terms of safety and immediate outcome.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study where retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in the department of OBG, SMIMS, Gangtok, from April 2011 to April 2012 were taken for evaluation. 164 women who were inserted Cu-T after delivery and in the interval period were studied. 80 were inserted Cu-T at post-partum period (36 after vaginal delivery and 44 intra caesarean) while 84 were inserted at interval period. Follow up was done at 6 weeks and 3 months. Outcome was measured by tail visibility at 6 weeks and 3 months, spontaneous expulsion rate, removal rate and perception of insertion using visual analog scale (0-5).Results: Tail visibility at 6 weeks and 3 months was less in post-partum than that of interval insertion. Spontaneous expulsion rate was nil in post-partum while 5/84 (5.95%) in interval insertion. Perception of insertion for doctor and client was easiest in intra Caesarean (0) while difficult in interval (4). Removal rate was 1/80(1 %) in post-partum and 9/84 (10.7%) in interval.Conclusions: Study suggested that post-partum insertion is more effective than interval Cu-T insertion with low expulsion rate and complications compared to interval insertion.

Heavy landings of mobulids reported at Cochin Fisheries Harbour, Kerala

Heavy landings of mobulids was seen for four days during 19 - 22 August and again during 31 August - 3 September 2013 at Cochin Fisheries Harbour. During the first phase, around 600 mobulids (16 tonnes) were landed by gillnetters which operated off the coast of Vizhinjam, Kovalam and Colachel. The vessels operated for a period of 5-7 days in the fishing ground 08014’N; 76033’E at a depth of 15 -30 m. The gear used was “ozhukkuvalai” with a square mesh size of 80 - 150 mm. On an average, 15 – 30 numbers of mobulids were landed per boat

Recent trends in the mobulid fishery in Indian waters

Mobulidae are zooplanktivorous elasmobranchs, found circumglobally in tropical, subtropical and temperate coastal waters. It comprises of two recognized species of manta rays (Manta spp.) and nine recognized species of devil rays (Mobula spp.). Although the reports of mobulid fishery in India were only from 1960s, however it was commercially exploited only after 2007 for their valuable gillrakers. Mobula diabolus, M. tarpacana, M. japonica, M. kuhlii, M. thurstoni, Manta birostris and M. alfredi are the seven species which contributes to mobulid fishery. White gilled Mobula tarpacana is highly targeted for its high priced gill raker which fetches upto Rs. 8,000 kg-1 in dry weight. Few mobulid species has already reached the IUCN Red List status. Thorough monitoring of mobulid fish exploitation level is essential in India. It is necessary to ensure standardized sampling and modelling methodologies to estimate the stock position of these fishes from Indian waters

Southern sun fish Mola ramsayi (Giglioli, 1883) recorded from Kochi, southwest coast of India

Family Molidae with three genera (Ranzania, Masturus and Mola) and four species are known as the world’s heaviest fishes with a planktivorous diet. Known for their truncated anatomy, these fishes are characterized by lack of caudal bones, ribs and pelvic fins (Tifler, 1980). A southern ocean sunfish Mola ramsayi with total length 111cm and weighing 50kg was landed at Munambam Fisheries Harbour on 6 September 2013

Unusual landing of the spotted ocean triggerfish Canthidermis maculata at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

Unusual landing of the ocean triggerfish Canthidermis maculata (Family: Balistidae) was observed at Cochin Fisheries Harbour (CFH) on 11th January 2013 (Fig 1a & b). About 300 kg of fishes were landed in gillnet operated off Cochin at a depth of 20- 30 m. The species is occasionally seen in stray numbers in trawl landings at CFH and this is for the first time a landing of this magnitude is observed at CFH. The fishes were sold at the landing centre @ ` 30 – 40/- per kg for local consumption

Unusual landing of the whitetip reef shark Triaenodon obesus at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

T. obesus, the only member of its genus, is a small shark usually not exceeding 1.6 m in length. This species is easily recognisable by its slender body and short but broad head, tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, and white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins

Heavy landings of the shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

During January - February 2013, heavy landings of the shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus (Family: Lamnidae) by multiday gillnet-hooks and line units were observed at Cochin Fisheries harbour (CFH) (Fig. 1a & b). I. oxyrinchus is generally seen in the landings by gillnet-hooks and line units (operated off the west coast of India extending from Kerala to Gujarat coasts) at CFH, but in small numbers of larger specimens. The start of 2013 fishing season witnessed heavy landings of this species, of a wide size range (100 – 220 cm total length; 7 – 75 kg weight), dominating the shark landings at CFH second to Carcharhinus falciformis on certain days. The length-frequency distribution as well as detailed biological aspects of this species is currently being studied as part of the Institute research project on “Assessment of elasmobranch resources of Indian Seas

Giant devil manta rays landed by purse seiner at Cochin fisheries harbour

Two specimens of giant devil ray, Manta birostris locally known as ‘Aanathirandi’ measuring 307 and 194.5 cm in TL, 534 and 416 cm in disc width and weighing about 780 and 570 kg respectively were landed at Cochin fisheries harbour on 19.05.14 and 20.05.1

Challenges and opportunities in mixed method data collection on mental health issues of health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic in India

Background: The present paper describes the key challenges and opportunities of mixed method telephonic data collection for mental health research using field notes and the experiences of the investigators in a multicenter study in ten sites of India. The study was conducted in public and private hospitals to understand the mental health status, social stigma and coping strategies of different healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.Methods: Qualitative and quantitative interviews were conducted telephonically. The experiences of data collection were noted as a field notes/diary by the data collectors and principal investigators.Results: The interviewers reported challenges such as network issues, lack of transfer of visual cues and sensitive content of data. Although the telephonic interviews present various challenges in mixed method data collection, it can be used as an alternative to face-to-face data collection using available technology.Conclusions: It is important that the investigators are well trained keeping these challenges in mind so that their capacity is built to deal with these challenges and good quality data is obtained

Factors associated with stigma and manifestations experienced by Indian health care workers involved in COVID-19 management in India: A qualitative study

Healthcare personnel who deal with COVID-19 experience stigma. There is a lack of national-level representative qualitative data to study COVID-19-related stigma among healthcare workers in India. The present study explores factors associated with stigma and manifestations experienced by Indian healthcare workers involved in COVID-19 management. We conducted in-depth interviews across 10 centres in India, which were analysed using NVivo software version 12. Thematic and sentiment analysis was performed to gain deep insights into the complex phenomenon by categorising the qualitative data into meaningful and related categories. Healthcare workers (HCW) usually addressed the stigma they encountered when doing their COVID duties under the superordinate theme of stigma. Among them, 77.42% said they had been stigmatised in some way. Analyses revealed seven interrelated themes surrounding stigma among healthcare workers. It can be seen that the majority of the stigma and coping sentiments fall into the mixed category, followed by the negative sentiment category. This study contributes to our understanding of stigma and discrimination in low- and middle-income settings. Our data show that the emergence of fear of the virus has quickly turned into a stigma against healthcare workers