Demographic and Socio-economic Determinants of Birth Interval Dynamics in Manipur: A Survival Analysis

The birth interval is a major determinant of levels of fertility in high fertility populations. A house-to-house survey of 1225 women in Manipur, a tiny state in North Eastern India was carried out to investigate birth interval patterns and its determinants. Using survival analysis, among the nine explanatory variables of interest, only three factors – infant mortality, Lactation and use of contraceptive devices have highly significant effect (P<0.01) on the duration of birth interval and only three factors – age at marriage of wife, parity and sex of child are found to be significant (P<0.05) on the duration variable

Tuhar pulse flowers corroding by corrosive pollutants

Tuhar (Arhar) pulse is a very important crop of Indian farmers. It is one of the most proteinous foods of the public. It is a common food for Indian people. It is cultivated mostly in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharastra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Recently, in these states, industrialization and infrastructure development works are going very fast causing huge amounts of pollutants and particulate entering into the atmosphere. Pollutants are oxide of carbon, oxide of nitrogen, oxide of sulphur, oxide of chlorine, chloride ions, ammonia, organic acids and aldehydes; whereas particulates are dust, smoke, mist and fog. Particulates are deposited on the surface of arhar pulse flower. Some of these particulates are hydroscopic in nature. They absorb pollutants and form acids. These acids in turn develop micro electrochemical cell with flower of Tuhar pulse which destroy flowering of arhar pulse. Other factors are acid rain, global warming and depletion of ozone layer affecting the production of arhar pulse.Key words: Tuhar (Arhar) pulse flowers, pollutants, particulates, micro electrochemical cell, acid rain, global warming, ozone depletion

Rating of Sweetness by Molar Refractivity and Ionization Potential: QSAR Study of Sucrose and Guanidine Derivatives

A quantitative structure activity relationship study of 31 sucrose derivatives and 30 guanidine derivatives has been undertaken. Their sweetness values, relative to sucrose (RS), have been taken from literature.  The study has been made with the help of CAChe Pro software by using eight descriptors, viz. electron  affinity, ionization potential, electrophilicity index, total energy, heat of formation, steric energy, molar refractivity and solvent accessible surface area. Multi-linear regression (MLR) analysis has been  performed with different combinations of descriptors and the quality of regression has been adjudged by the correlation coefficient, cross-validation coefficient and other statistical parameters like the standard error, standard error of the estimate, degrees of freedom, etc. The study indicates that ionization potential appears an important descriptor for sucrose derivatives, whereas molar refractivity appears an important descriptor for guanidine derivatives. The ionization potential alone and in combination with the electrophilicity index, molar refractivity and solvent accessibility surface area provide dependable QSARmodels for sucrose derivatives. Molar refractivity alone and in combination with solvent  accessibility surface area, ionization potential and heat of formation provide dependable QSAR models for guanidine derivatives. The predicted sweetness values obtained by these QSAR models are close to observed sweetness.KEYWORDS: Sweetness, sucrose, guanidine, DFT, PM3

Apoptotic and chemotherapeutic properties of iron(III)-salophene in an ovarian cancer animal model

The cytotoxicity of organometallic compounds iron(III)-, cobalt(III)-, manganese(II)-, and copper(II)-salophene (-SP) on platinum-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines was compared. Fe-SP displayed selective cytotoxicity (IC 50 at ∼1 μM) against SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 cell lines while Co-SP caused cytotoxic effects only at higher concentrations (IC50 at 60 ?M) and Cu-SP effects were negligible. High cytotoxicity of Mn-SP (30-60 μM) appeared to be nonspecific because the Mn-chloride salt reduced cell viability similarly. The effect of Fe-SP at 1 μM proved to be ovarian cancer cell selective when compared to a panel of cell lines derived from different tumors. The first irreversible step in the induction of cell death by Fe-SP occurred after 3 hrs as indicated by the mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) and was mainly linked to apoptotic, not necrotic events. To evaluate the toxicity of Fe-SP in vivo we conducted an acute toxicity study in rats. The LD 50 of Fe-SP is >2000 mg/kg orally and >5.5 mg/kg body weight by intraperitoneal injection. An ovarian cancer animal model showed that the chemotherapeutic relevant dose of Fe-SP in rats is 0.5-1 mg/kg body weight. The present report suggests that Fe-SP is a potential therapeutic drug to treat ovarian cancer. © 2009 Lange et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd

A Rare Case of Peritonitis Following Spontaneous Rupture of Pyometra

Pyometra is the accumulation of pus in the uterine cavity. The reported incidence varies from 0.5% in young patients to 13.6% in elderly patients attending gynecological clinic. It is a common complication of malignancy of cervix and uterine body. The cause of pyometra is the occlusion of cervical canal by benign or malignant growth, stenosis following age‑related atrophy, radiation treatment, or surgery on the cervix. A spontaneous rupture of pyometra causing diffuse peritonitis is very rare, with reported incidence of 0.01% to 0.5% in elderly women. Unless recognized in time, it can be a life‑threatening condition. We present a case of 65‑year‑old woman who presented with this rare and life‑threatening complication. She was treated by emergency exploratory laparotomy. Total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo ophorectomy was performed. Patient had uneventful postoperative period.Keywords: Peritonitis, postmenopausal woman, rupture of pyometr

Extensive Thrombophlebitis in a patient with Behçet's disease

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis of unknown origin. It is wellestablished that Behçet’s disease predisposes strongly to venous and arterial thrombosis and recurrent superficial and deep thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities. There are different considerations about the pathogenesis of the vascular complications and the tendency for thrombosis in BD. We came across a patient of Behçet’s disease in whom extensive thrombophlebitis and erythema nodosum, which was precipitated by a needle prick, responded to corticosteroids. This case highlights the importance of suspicion of thisdisease in patients presenting with extensive thrombophlebitis

Genetic analysis of japonica x indica recombinant inbred lines and characterization of major fragrance gene by microsatellite markers

Traditional basmati rice varieties are very low yielding due to their tendency to lodging and increasing susceptibility to diseases. To improve the characters of basmati rice variety and study the inheritance of various physio-morphological and quality characters, F5 population comprising of 204 lines from the cross between NPT II (non-aromatic, japonica) and Taraori Basmati or HBC19 (aromatic, indica), were evaluated. Ample amount of genetic variability was observed for the characters plant height, tillers per plant, kernel length, kernel breath and L/B ratio. The grain yield/plant showed positive correlation with productive tiller/plant and test weight. Path coefficient analysis showed that the productive tiller/plant and test weight contribute to grain yield/ plant through direct effect. The parent off-spring regression was high for all the characters under study suggesting improvement of these characters by mere selection. Based on divergence study, 204 lines were categorized in seven clusters whereas parents were grouped in different clusters. Molecular restricted selection using specific SSR markers with depicting high correlation with aroma could offer great promise to select high yielding rice among high aroma lines. A total of 54 randomly selected F5 plants were subjected to SSR marker analysis using SSR markers. The F5 plants had an allele from either of the two parental lines (homozygous condition) or alleles from both the parental rice varieties (heterozygous condition). At some SSR loci, new/recombinant alleles were observed, which indicate the active recombination between genomes of two rice varieties and can be used for linkage mapping once complete homozygosity is achieved. SSR allelic profile based on two dimensional principal component analysis demonstrated high level of diversity among parents and F5 plants spread between them.Keywords: Oryza sativa L., basmati, microsatellite, phenotyping, rice, recombinant inbred lines (RILs)African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(32), pp. 5022-502

Possible inundation map of coastal areas of gujarat with a tsunamigenic earthquake

The western Indian peninsula experienced the most destructive tsunami ever recorded in the Arabian Sea by the 28th November 1945 earthquake (Mw 8.1) in Makran region. The run-up height during the tsunami was of 17m at Makran coast and 11 to 11.5m in Gulf of Kachchh region. Seismic gap area along the subduction zone of Makran is possible site of future great earthquake, which could generate tsunamigenic condition along western Indian coast. Determination of run-up elevation is important aspect to study the inundation in any region, which get affected by offshore and on-shore geomorphological conditions i.e. bathymetry and near-shore topography. Inundation maps are prepared using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) data and ETOPOv2v to show the possible areas of inundation due to different wave heights along coastal parts of Gujarat state. Results shows that more than 2 m run-up elevation is showing possibility of inundation in Jakhau and Kandla areas of Gulf of Kachchh region whereas, the Saurashtra region shows less possibility of inundation. As the state has important installations like ports, jetties, industries along the coast and also other socio-economical perspective which can be affected by such an event, hence the demarcation of possible inundation areas is important for determination of future tsunami hazard demanding more detailed work

A comparative evaluation of Losartan/Hydrochlorothiazide (fixed combination) versus Amlodipine monotherapy in patients with hypertension in Rohilkhand region

The aim of this prospective randomized study is to comparatively evaluatethe antihypertensive efficacy of combination therapy   (losartan/hydrochlorothiazide) with monotherapy (amlodipine). This prospective randomized clinical study was carried out for twelve months (July 2012 – June 2013) and enrolled 250 newly diagnosed stage-I hypertensive patients (as per JNC-7 criteria), who attended medicine outdoor department of Rohilkhand Medical College &amp; Hospital, Bareilly. Hypertensive patients between 18 - 70 years of age were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. The Losartan / Hydrochlorothiazide (LST/HCTZ) group included 128 patients and amlodipine group (AMLO) included 122 patients. A total of 40 patients, 14 patients of LST/HCTZ group and 26 patients of AMLO group dropped out during the study. M/F ratio was 0.92:1, and urban/rural ratio was 1.06:1. Majority of patients were in the 41-50 years age group. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were comparable between both groups, being 152.97 mm Hg and 95.05mm Hg for LST/HCTZ group and 153.27mm Hg and 95.27 mm Hg for AMLO group. Both mean SBP and mean DBP blood were statistically significantly reduced in each of the six follow ups in both the groups (p&lt;0.001). The mean SBP was reduced from 152.97±0.45 to 121.65±0.81 and mean DBP was reduced from 95.05±0.17 to 76.28±0.51(in the sixth follow-up) in  LST/HCTZ group. Similarly mean baseline SBP 153.270±64 was reduced to120.65±0.93 and mean baseline DBP was reduced from 95.270±38 to 75.54±0.67 after six months of therapy in AMLO group. The comparative evaluation of the two regimens revealed no statistically significant  difference (p&gt;0.05) in both SBP and DBP reduction. Both LST/HCTZ and AMLO regimen were equally effective and well tolerated in lowering blood pressure.KEY WORDS: Anti-hypertensive efficacy, Losartan/ hydrochlorothiazide combination, Amlodipine; Hypertensive patient