"Mother-weights" and lost fathers: parents in South Asian American literature

That parent-child relationships should play a significant role within South Asian American literature is perhaps no surprise, since this is crucial material for any writer. But the particular forms they so often take – a dysfunctional mother-daughter dynamic, leading to the search for maternal surrogates; and the figure of the prematurely deceased father – are more perplexing. Why do families adhere to these patterns in so many South Asian American texts and what does that tell us about this œuvre? More precisely, why are mothers subjected to a harsher critique than fathers and what purpose does this critique serve? How might we interpret the trope of the untimely paternal death? In this article I will seek to answer these questions – arguably key to an understanding of this growing body of writing – by considering works produced between the 1990s and the early twenty-first century by a range of South Asian American writers

Distribution of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in adult women

OBJECTIVE: To determine the distribution of lower urinary tract symptoms in adult women and the frequency with which the women consulted a health care provider for their symptoms. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Community Health Center of Aga Khan University Hospital from November 1st to 30th, 2002. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A trained interviewer administered a structured questionnaire to women patients or attendants aged 18 years and older coming to the center. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of the study subjects reported having at least one or more urinary complaints in the past. Stress incontinence was the highest reported complaint (38.4%) followed by burning (34.4%), frequency (26%), painful micturition (20.4%), urge incontinence (18.8 %), incomplete emptying of bladder (14.4%), dribbling (12.4%) and poor stream (8.4%). Forty-three percent of the women with LUTS never consulted a health care provider for their problem.CONCLUSION: Although the distribution of LUTS among females was found to be high, the patients did not consider it important enough to consult a health care provider. There is a need to create awareness among females regarding LUTS and the need to consult a health care provider for their problems

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from neovascular age-related macular degeneration patients produce higher levels of chemokines CCL2 (MCP-1) and CXCL8 (IL-8)

Flow cytometry analysis of PBMCs. PBMCs were first divided into CD11b+CD3−, CD11b−CD3+ and CD11b−CD3− cells (A) and the average percentage of all samples (n = 55) was analysed before and after stimulation with PMA/ionomycin (B). Figure S2. Percentage of total IL-4 and IL-10 producing PBMCs and percentage of CD11b−CD3+ IL-17A and IFNγ producing PBMCs (almost all of IL-17A and IFNγ producing PBMCs were CD11b−CD3+) from controls and nAMD patients under non-stimulated culture conditions and after stimulation with PMA/ionomycin. Controls n = 27, nAMD = 28; mean + SEM are shown. (PDF 413 kb

Diagnostic Error of an Extraoral Sinus by Interdisciplinary Bridge Gap and Its Dental Management: A Case Series

Introduction: Diagnostic error of the cutaneous sinus tract is typically unusual. An individual with a cutaneous sinus seeks initial medical attention before coming to the dentist because its appearance resembles a variety of dermatological conditions. Any cutaneous sinus of odontogenic origin emerges when the harmful by-products of necrosed dental pulp migrate from the root apex to the facial skin, following the route of least resistance. The situation becomes more complex due to long-term systemic antibiotics, curettage of the lesion, or surgical excision unless the underlying dental issue is addressed. This occurs because the main cause is often misdiagnosed. Case description: This case series has extraoral sinuses that are misdiagnosed and did not receive attention in the oral cavity by general practitioners. These cases have been managed successfully by dental professionals through conservative endodontic therapy. Conclusion: Successful management of odontogenic extraoral sinus tracts depends on well-communicated collaboration between medical and dental professionals, proper diagnosis, and removal of etiology

Impact of ambient heat exposure on pregnancy outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

Increasing global temperatures due to climate change have raised serious concerns regarding its potential impact on health outcomes. Pregnant women and their fetuses are among the most vulnerable groups being affected by these dramatic changes resulting in adverse outcomes for both the mother and the developing fetus. Evidence regarding heat-related pregnancy adversities in high-income countries is conclusive, however, such evidence is rare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This review was conducted to bridge the knowledge gap by providing evidence-based insights into the specific repercussions of high heat exposures during pregnancy and its effect on birth outcomes in LMICs. A systematic review was conducted to assess the impact of high environmental or ambient temperatures on pregnancy outcomes (abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth, and low birthweight (LBW)) in LMICs. Electronic searches were conducted on MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus. Observational studies published between 2010 and 2023 were included in the review. Screening of studies was done using Covidence software, data was extracted on Excel sheets and quality assessment was done using the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute tool. We included 11 studies. Four of six studies that included preterm births showed an association between heat and preterm births. Four of five studies reported an association between heat exposure and LBW. Three of four studies on stillbirths showed a significant association between heat exposure and stillbirths. One of the two studies that reported spontaneous abortion revealed a significant association of heat with abortion. Meta-analysis could not be performed due to the lack of homogeneity in defining heat exposure. Amongst the included studies, seven were categorized as “good” and four were categorized as “fair” on methodological quality. This study concluded that ambient temperature and heat exposure during pregnancy can impact birth outcomes such as preterm births, LBWs, abortions, and stillbirths in LMICs. Urgent action is imperative on both national and global scales to facilitate a comprehensive and definitive assessment of heat exposure in LMICs, enabling a deeper understanding of its repercussions on pregnant women. Longitudinal studies are paramount for confirming these associations and devising targeted interventions and strategies aimed at enhancing maternal and child health within LMIC contexts. Registration: PROSPERO ID: CRD42023449173

Anticoagulant potential and total phenolic content of six species of the genus Ficus from Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Purpose: To investigate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Ficus benghalensis, Ficus elasticaa, Ficus palmata, Ficus religiosa, Ficus semicordata and Ficus auriculata, and to determine their anticoagulant potential. Methods: Crude methanol extracts were prepared from the plant leaves, and fractionated using liquidliquid partition with n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate. The total flavonoid and total phenolic contents of the extracts and their fractions were determined. The anticoagulant potential of the six Ficus species were evaluated in healthy human plasma, using activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) methods. Results: Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of considerable amounts of flavonoids ranging from 5.3 ± 0.7 to 11.8 ± 0.3 mg rutin equivalents (RE)/g, and phenolic compounds ranging from 8.0 ± 0.7 to 86.5 ± 1.5 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g in each fraction of the six species. Results from in vitro anticoagulant potential assays showed significant anticoagulant properties, with prothrombin time (PT) ranging from 17.7 ± 0.7 to 26.7 ± 2.2 s, and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) varying from 47.7 ± 3.3 to 72.3 ± 5.4 s. Conclusion: The results indicate that F. semicordata and F. Religiosa have higher anticoagulant potential than the other Ficus species studied

Female Dental Student’s Perception of Their Dental Aesthetics and Desired Dental Treatment

Objectives: This study aims to assess the self-perception of female dental students of their dental aesthetics regarding their satisfaction, its effect on their quality of life and felt need for treatment. Materials and Method: This is a descriptive study for 1st, 2nd and 3rd year dental students (n=110) in the College of Dentistry at Princess Nourah University (PNU). The survey was distributed via link "Google form". A 20 item questionnaire was prepared and tested before on seven students for clarity. Questions were regarding how students feel about their dental aesthetics and what they desire for treatment. Whether they felt their teeth affected their attractiveness, confidence and quality of life. Data was entered in SPSS for statistical analysis. Results: With a response rate of 94.5% majority (89.4%) of students felt their teeth affected the attractiveness of their faces. Almost one third (30.8%) have tried to hide their smile. Around half (51%) were not satisfied with their tooth colour. Almost two thirds of students (61.5%) felt their quality of life is affected by the appearance of their teeth. ‘Tooth whitening’ was selected by almost two thirds of students (64.4%) followed by almost half (46.2%) the students wanting ‘orthodontic treatment’. Conclusion: Dental aesthetics is rated highly among female dental students.The majority of the students felt that their teeth affected the attractiveness of their face and influenced their quality of life. Students desired teeth whiteneing followed by orthodontic treatment as their perceived need for aesthetic dental treatments

3D-QSPR Method of Computational Technique Applied on Red Reactive Dyes by Using CoMFA Strategy

Cellulose fiber is a tremendous natural resource that has broad application in various productions including the textile industry. The dyes, which are commonly used for cellulose printing, are “reactive dyes” because of their high wet fastness and brilliant colors. The interaction of various dyes with the cellulose fiber depends upon the physiochemical properties that are governed by specific features of the dye molecule. The binding pattern of the reactive dye with cellulose fiber is called the ligand-receptor concept. In the current study, the three dimensional quantitative structure property relationship (3D-QSPR) technique was applied to understand the red reactive dyes interactions with the cellulose by the Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) method. This method was successfully utilized to predict a reliable model. The predicted model gives satisfactory statistical results and in the light of these, it was further analyzed. Additionally, the graphical outcomes (contour maps) help us to understand the modification pattern and to correlate the structural changes with respect to the absorptivity. Furthermore, the final selected model has potential to assist in understanding the charachteristics of the external test set. The study could be helpful to design new reactive dyes with better affinity and selectivity for the cellulose fiber