Selection from Multivariate Normal Populations

Selection from multivariate normal population

Risk of uterine rupture after the partographic \u27alert\u27 line is crossed--an additional dimension in the quest towards safe motherhood in labour following caesarean section

To determine if prolonged active phase of labour is associated with increased risk of uterine scar rupture in labour following previous lower segment caesarean section, a retrospective cohort study (1988-91) was done to analyse active phase partographs of 236 patients undergoing trial of labour following caesarean section, 7 (3%) of whom had scar rupture. After onset of active phase (3 cm cervical dilatation), a 1 cm/h line was used to indicate alert . A zonal partogram was developed by dividing the active phase partographs into 5 time zones: A (area to the left of alert line), B (0-1 h after alert line), C (1-2 h after alert line), D (2-3 h after alert line) and EF (\u3e 3 h after alert line). The relative risk of uterine scar rupture was calculated for different partographic time zones. The relative risk of uterine scar rupture was 10.5 (95% confidence interval 1.3-85.5, p = 0.01) at 1 hour after crossing the alert line; 8.0 (95% confidence interval 1.6-40.3, p = 0.009) at 2 hours after crossing the alert line; and 7.0 (95% confidence interval 1.6-29, p = 0.02) at 3 hours after crossing the alert line. In women undergoing trial of labour following caesarean section, prolonged active phase of labour is associated with increased risk of uterine rupture. A zonal partogram may be helpful in assessing this risk in actively labouring women who cross the partographic alert line

Cell migration dynamics after alteration of cell-cell contacts in fibrosarcoma and glioblastoma cell lines

Cell migration is a vital component of metastasis. In this study, our intent was to study cell migration by alteration of the Wnt/GSK-3 Pathway. Since BeSO4 is a known GSK-3 kinase inhibitor, we hypothesized that this agent would cause cell migration to decrease as a result of β-catenin stabilization. Two human cell lines, HT-1080 (fibrosarcoma) and A172 (glioblastoma), were used to observe migration levels in the presence and absence of BeSO4. Our results show that cell migration is diminished for cells that were pre-treated with BeSO4, in comparison to the untreated (control) cells

Fusarium Oxysporum Infection of Cultivated Coneflowers (Echninacea Angustifolia

The narrow-leaf purple coneflower Echinacea angustifolia D.C. is a perennial composite native to the Central Great Plains. Because of its potential ornamental and pharmacological value, Echinacea is currently being brought into commercial production in South Dakota. A blight or wilt was observed in a field research plot on 1-to 3-year-old plants in the summers of 1993 and 1994. Up to 5% of plants growing in the wetter portion of the field showed symptoms. Affected plants became necrotic along leaf margins, followed by wilting and eventual death. Diseased plants were harvested and brought to the lab for analysis. Examination of roots and stems revealed darkening of the vascular and ground tissues. The pathogen was consistently isolated by plating 0.5 cm surface sterilized stem segments on lactic acid PDA for 3 to 5 days at room temperature. To complete Koch’s postulates, a single hyphal tip of the pathogen was transferred to carnation leaf agar. Micro and macro conidia formed abundantly within 10 days and matched the description of Fusarium oxysporum Schlect. Two to three month old coneflower seedlings were inoculated with the isolated pathogen by placing six mycelial plugs directly on the roots of each plant, just below the soil surface. Infected seedlings showed typical diagnostic symptoms (30% of inoculated seedlings) within three weeks. Non-inoculated plants remained symptomless. Fusarium oxysporum was reisolated from the seedlings as above. This is the first report of F. oxysporum as a pathogen on E. angustifolia

Stock assessment of small head hair tail Eupleurograrnmus muticus (Gray) (Pisces/Trichiuridae) from Mumbai coast

Based on the data collected from New Ferry Wharf, Versova and Vasai in the years 1997-99, the age, growth, mortality and stock assessment of small head hair tail, Eupleurograrnmus muticus (Gray)is reported in the present communication. The growth parameters - asymptotic length (Lm) and growth coefficient (K) were estimated as 81 1 mm and 0.78 per year respectively. The average total, natural and fishing mortality coefficients were estimated as 4.36, 1.15 and 3.21 respectively. The yield isopleths diagram shows that cumetric fishing could be achieved at exploitation rate (E) of 0.68 and LC 1 Lm value of 0.68. The present E of 0.73 is well beyond the optimum E of 0.50. Thus some management measures should be taken to prevent depletion of this resource

Comparison of condition factor of the ribbonfish Lepturacanthus savala (Cuvier, 1829) and Eupleurogrammus muticus (Gray, 1831) from Mumbai coast

Two co-existing species of ribbonfish Lepturacanthus savala (Cuvier, 1829) and Eupleurogrammus muticus (Gray, 1831) were landed by traditional dol net and trawl net in Mumbai waters with the former contributed more in the landings. Fluctuations in the condition factor have been found in both the sexes of L. savala and E. muticus. k value of the former species was highly affected by gonadal maturation than feeding activity where as k value of latter species was highly linked up with feeding intensity than sexual maturity. Female specimens had higher condition factors than males in both the species

Comparative study of clinical profile and presumptive stressful life events in patients of psychogenic non epileptic seizure and epileptic seizure: a cross sectional study

Background:Psychogenic Non Epileptic Seizure (PNES) is one of the most common conditions to be mistaken for epilepsy. No clinical feature is pathognomic of PNES, but some help in distinguishing it from epileptic seizure. Role of psychologically stressful events has been considered central to the pathogenesis of PNES and used in differentiating it from epileptic seizure. The purpose of present study was to compare the clinical profile and number of stressful life events in the two patient groups in Indian population.  Methods:50 new patients of epileptic seizure and PNES each, aged 16 to 60 visiting the psychiatric and neurology OPD were selected. Detailed history and physical examination was carried out to exclude any medical illness. Diagnosis was made based on clinical history given by an eye witness and EEG recording. Brain imaging (CT/MRI) was conducted, to rule out any secondary causes of seizure. General health questionnaire 12, and presumptive stressful life event scale was applied on all patients. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis. Chi square was used for categorical data and Man Whitney U test for continuous data.  Results:There were significantly more females in the PNES group (P = 0.001) and significantly more illiterate (P = 0.004) .There were no significant difference with regard to the age of onset, marital status. Also there was no statistically significant difference between the two group with regard to number of stressful life event (P = 0.330).  Conclusion:Stressful life event should not bias a clinician towards making a diagnosis of PNES.

UNDERSTANDING MARKET REACTION TO COVID-19 MONETARY AND FISCAL STIMULUS IN MAJOR ASEAN COUNTRIES

In this paper, we examine the effect of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus actions during the COVID-19 pandemic on the stock markets of four ASEAN countries, namely, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Using time-series regression models, we show the relative importance of monetary and fiscal policies. Our findings suggest that 7-days after the policy announcement, fiscal policies helped cushion financial market losses in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We do not find any robust evidence of policy effectiveness for Malaysia. While our investigation is preliminary it opens an additional avenue for understanding the effectiveness of policy stimulus.In this paper, we examine the effect of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus actions during the COVID-19 pandemic on the stock markets of four ASEAN countries, namely, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Using time-series regression models, we show the relative importance of monetary and fiscal policies. Our findings suggest that 7-days after the policy announcement, fiscal policies helped cushion financial market losses in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We do not find any robust evidence of policy effectiveness for Malaysia. While our investigation is preliminary it opens an additional avenue for understanding the effectiveness of policy stimulus