Obstetric violence: a health system study

Background: Disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth is a global problem with differing driving factors in different contexts. Obstetric Violence (OV) refers to professional deficiencies in maternity care. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and attitudes towards OV in a cohort of members of the obstetric healthcare team at a tertiary care, teaching hospital in Western India (Mumbai).Methods: A questionnaire-based study involving 80 participants comprising of trainee doctors and faculty, nursing students, staff and teachers from the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and hospital administration.Results: 57.97% of participants had heard the term ‘Obstetric violence’ earlier. 75.36% reported verbal abuse as a form of OV, others being physical abuse, non-consented care, discriminatory care, abandonment/neglect or refusal of care and imposition of interventions without scientific basis. 53% and 89.8% of the participants did not consider routine episiotomies and artificial rupture of membrane respectively as forms of OV. 84.06% and 59.4% of participants considered instrumental delivery without consent and Caesarean section citing safety/convenience respectively as forms of OV. 82.6% participants endorsed the need of birth companion. Improving the number and training of healthcare providers and better institutional policies on respectful maternity care were suggested as solutions.Conclusions: Majority of the participants had witnessed some form of OV. The need for practical training of healthcare personnel and better infrastructure in the healthcare system were emphasised, but there appeared to be a lack of consciousness of the paternalistic mindset and approach to women in labour. Soft skills training of healthcare providers with emphasis on key ethical principles like autonomy, respect and dignity is crucial to address the issue of OV.

Cemented hemi-arthroplasty for unstable intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly: a retrospective study

Background: Unstable intertrochanteric fractures belonging to 31A2 and A3 varieties are difficult challenges for orthopaedic surgeons, particularly in the elderly patients. Osteosynthesis by dynamic hip screw or proximal femoral nail are often plagued by complications like screw cut-out, excessive collapse and fixation failures due to osteoporotic bones. Because of these complications, patients are often kept confined to the bed which may increase the risks of pressure sores, venous thrombosis and pulmonary infections. So, it is desirable to mobilize these elderly patients as quickly as possible following surgery. In recent decades, primary hemi-arthroplasty has emerged as a valuable treatment option for mobilizing these patients early.Methods: We present our retrospective study on 27 patients above 60 years of age, who were managed with cemented bipolar hemi-arthroplasty after sustaining unstable intertrochanteric fractures. All the patients were operated through modified Hardinge approach. The fractured fragments were secured by stainless steel wiring, particularly the greater trochanter, wherever necessary.Results: Twenty-three patients (85%) were able to stand up with walkers by third post-operative day and were able to walk by fifth post-operative day. There was one case of hip dislocation; it was reduced under anaesthesia. No other complications were encountered at an average follow-up of 3.1 years. The Harris hip score was ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ in more than 60% patients.Conclusions: Cemented hemi-arthroplasty appears to be a reliable treatment method for unstable intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly and it allows early weight-bearing and rehabilitation in most patients following surgery.

Proposal for creating a centre for research in solar-terrestrial physics as an interdepartmental activity during IHY at Shivaji University, Kolhapur (16.40°N, 74.15°E)

This note describes teaching and R & D activities presently being carried out in the solar-terrestrial Physics at the Space Science laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur. A variety of solar and geophysical ground based experiments are available, which can be operated on a regular basis during IHY, with financial help from the government funding agencies in India. The main purpose of this note is to briefly describe our experimental research facilities of relevance to IHY

Scholars Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences

Abstract: A field trial was conducted in Instructional farm, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Angul of Odisha during kharif seasons of 2013 and 2014 to study weed growth, yield components, economics and nutrient uptake in maize as influenced by various herbicide applications under rainfed condition. The experiment comprised of seven treatments viz. at 60 DAS(173.34) and weed dry biomass(141.41 gm -2 ) was found in weedy check . Hence, farmers practice was found to be effective in case easy availability of labours where as in case of non availability of laborers, application of atrazine 1.0 kg ha -1 fb one hand weeding at 30 DAS was found economically viable for weed control with better nutrient uptake , higher grain yield and net profit

Breakup of 42 MeV <SUP>7</SUP>Li projectiles in the fields of <SUP>12</SUP>C and <SUP>197</SUP>Au nuclei

Inclusive cross sections of a particles and tritons from the breakup of 42 MeV 7Li by 12C and 197Au targets are presented and analysed in the framework of the Serber model. Spectral distortions due to the targets and relevant reaction mechanisms are discussed

Co-culture models of endothelial cells, macrophages, and vascular smooth muscle cells for the study of the natural history of atherosclerosis

Background This work aims to present a fast, affordable, and reproducible three-cell co-culture system that could represent the different cellular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, extending from atherogenesis to pathological intimal thickening. Methods and results We built four culture models: (i) Culture model #1 (representing normal arterial intima), where human coronary artery endothelial cells were added on top of Matrigel-coated collagen type I matrix, (ii) Culture model #2 (representing atherogenesis), which demonstrated the subendothelial accumulation and oxidative modification of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), (iii) Culture model #3 (representing intimal xanthomas), which demonstrated the monocyte adhesion to the endothelial cell monolayer, transmigration into the subendothelial space, and transformation to lipid-laden macrophages, (iv) Culture model #4 (representing pathological intimal thickening), which incorporated multiple layers of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells within the matrix. Coupling this model with different shear stress conditions revealed the effect of low shear stress on the oxidative modification of LDL and the upregulation of pro-inflammatory molecules and matrix-degrading enzymes. Using electron microscopy, immunofluorescence confocal microscopy, protein and mRNA quantification assays, we showed that the behaviors exhibited by the endothelial cells, macrophages and vascular smooth muscle cells in these models were very similar to those exhibited by these cell types in nascent and intermediate atherosclerotic plaques in humans. The preparation time of the cultures was 24 hours. Conclusion We present three-cell co-culture models of human atherosclerosis. These models have the potential to allow cost- and time-effective investigations of the mechanobiology of atherosclerosis and new anti-atherosclerotic drug therapies

Nucleotide Biosynthesis Is Critical for Growth of Bacteria in Human Blood

Proliferation of bacterial pathogens in blood represents one of the most dangerous stages of infection. Growth in blood serum depends on the ability of a pathogen to adjust metabolism to match the availability of nutrients. Although certain nutrients are scarce in blood and need to be de novo synthesized by proliferating bacteria, it is unclear which metabolic pathways are critical for bacterial growth in blood. In this study, we identified metabolic functions that are essential specifically for bacterial growth in the bloodstream. We used two principally different but complementing techniques to comprehensively identify genes that are required for the growth of Escherichia coli in human serum. A microarray-based and a dye-based mutant screening approach were independently used to screen a library of 3,985 single-gene deletion mutants in all non-essential genes of E. coli (Keio collection). A majority of the mutants identified consistently by both approaches carried a deletion of a gene involved in either the purine or pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthetic pathway and showed a 20- to 1,000-fold drop in viable cell counts as compared to wild-type E. coli after 24 h of growth in human serum. This suggests that the scarcity of nucleotide precursors, but not other nutrients, is the key limitation for bacterial growth in serum. Inactivation of nucleotide biosynthesis genes in another Gram-negative pathogen, Salmonella enterica, and in the Gram-positive pathogen Bacillus anthracis, prevented their growth in human serum. The growth of the mutants could be rescued by genetic complementation or by addition of appropriate nucleotide bases to human serum. Furthermore, the virulence of the B. anthracis purE mutant, defective in purine biosynthesis, was dramatically attenuated in a murine model of bacteremia. Our data indicate that de novo nucleotide biosynthesis represents the single most critical metabolic function for bacterial growth in blood and reveal the corresponding enzymes as putative antibiotic targets for the treatment of bloodstream infections