Prevalence and risk factors of postpartum depression at a tertiary care institute

Background: Up to 85% of the women experience some type of mood disturbance in the postnatal period. Postpartum depression affects bonding with infant which may lead to malnutrition and other complications in the infant. This article focuses on the prevalence of depression among postnatal women attending a tertiary care institute in Chennai and to identify the risk factors that affect postpartum depression.Methods: This study was a cross sectional study, performed over a period of three months from January 2019 to March 2019. 200 postnatal mothers were recruited for the study, who were in postpartum period from 1 to 6 weeks after delivery. Specially designed proforma was used to record various determinants to assess the risk factors which could contribute to postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to detect the depressive symptoms in postnatal mother.Results: A total of 200 cases were studied. Prevalence of postpartum depression was found to be 25%. Primi gravida, history of miscarriage and unplanned pregnancy were associated with increased risk of developing depression in the postnatal period. Fear regarding gender of the child and failure of lactation were not contributing risk factors to postpartum depression. Spacious house and partner support were found to be protective factors to combat depression in postnatal women.Conclusions: Prevalence of postpartum depression was 25%. Significant association was found between primi gravida, history of miscarriage, unplanned pregnancy and postpartum depression. Early screening of the women will reduce the adverse outcomes among both mother and the child

Natural enemies for the cabbage webworm, Hellula undalis (Fabr.)(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Malaysia

Four species of larval parasitoids were reared from larvae of the cabbage webworm (CWW), Hellula undalis (Fabr.) (Pyralidae: Glaphyriinae) collected from various cruciferous plants and a capparidaceous weed, Cleome rutidosperma (DC). On cabbage, only two species were record­ ed, viz, Bassus sp. (Braconidae) and Trathala flavoorbitalis (Cam.) (Ichneumonidae). The other parasitoids were braconids, Che/onus sp. and Phanerotoma sp. Egg or pupal parasitoids were not recorded. The parasitoids were not an important mortality factor of CWW on cabbage because they were usually present at the end of the crop season and their numbers were generally low. On the other hand, predator-exclusion experiments indicated that predators were important in determining the density of CWW on cabbage and the within-generation survival in the field. The major predator was the fire-ant, Solenopsis geminata (F.), which foraged on the prepupae and pupae

Preference for sites within plant by larvae of the cabbage webworm, Hellula undalis (Fabr.)(Lep., Pyralidae)

A comparative study on the cabbage webworm (CWW), Hellula undalis, with respect to larvae feeding either on the shoot or leaf of cabbage was carried out both in the laboratory and in the field. For the first 2 days after eclosion from the egg, a CWW larva would tend to remain within the mine in the leaf where the egg was deposited. The Lloyd patchiness index (x*/x) suggested that the larval distribution was contagious, although the degree of contagiousness tended to decrease as the larvae grew due to their dispersal movement. This was indicated by the inter-plant larval movement study, in which most of these larvae were found in the shoot: 84.6% on the source plant and 40% on the neighbouring plants by the ninth day of experiment. For the larvae that fed on the shoot, the duration of the larval and pupal stages were significantly shorter and adult longevity was significantly longer, although the females laid a significantly lower number of eggs than those from larvae that fed on the leaves. However, there were no differences in the size of adults reared either on the shoot or the leaves (body lengths were 7.96 ± 0.12 and 7.82 ± 0.08 mm, respectively), and in the survivorship patterns of the adults. The moths emerging from larvae collected from the cabbage shoot in the field also lived slightly longer but laid fewer eggs than those from the leaves, with the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) of 0.11 and 0.07, respectively. The results indicated that the CWW larvae preferred the cabbage shoot (to the leaves) which provides a natural refuge and protection for the CWW larva under field conditions, although it is relatively a poorer food type (3.47 ± 0.17% nitrogen) than the leaf (4.31 ± 0.30% nitrogen) (P < 0.05). The higher fertility of CWW bred from the leaves could possibly be related to the relatively higher percentage nitrogen in the leaves. After eclosion from the eggs, there was initial grouping of larvae in the shoot, and then an eventual decrease which could be due to the limited carrying capacity of the shoot to accommodate more than one larva

The impact of climate change on crop pests and diseases, and adaptation strategies for the Greater Mekong Sub-Region

The workshop report provided evidences from numerous single factorial laboratory studies and modelling exercises that crop pests and diseases were affected by the vagaries of climate change viz., temperature, rainfall and wind patterns. There was also adequate support for the notion on the innate ability of crop pests and diseases to adapt to changing environmental conditions. It was revealed that organisms respond in different ways to various ecosystem templates thus lending credence to the fundamental need for one to be cognitive of organisms’ ecology and that of the nexus with ecosystem services. In contrast, it was recognized that there were conflicting messages on impacts of climate change on crop pests and diseases that were sent out to policy makers and farmers. Several key aspects were identified and the following needs for refinement were recognised: (i) Research designs that span across spatial and temporal landscapes; (ii) Effective modalities of communicating impacts to influence policies and changes and (iii) Re-designing policies and national agricultural frameworks to enhance resilience to climate changes (e.g. ecological engineering). The workshop highlighted several issues pertinent to climate impact on pests and diseases. The issues focused on the following questions: (i) The specific needs (viz. ecological and implementation) in the development of climate change adaptation strategies for P&D management, (ii) New policies or infrastructure that need to be designed to enhance sustainable agriculture, (iii) Policy change activities that could be initiated, and (iv) the key imperatives that need to be addressed to improve farmer livelihoods, learning and motivation. Overall, the workshop provided a valuable opportunity to take stock of the current state of affairs pertaining to the impact of climate change on crop pests and diseases and the adaptation strategies needed to plan and prepare the best set of collective actions in the face of climate change. The output list of recommendations and next steps will enable us to forge ahead with the directions and plans to diagnose and identify optimum efforts that will benefit the rural poor who are chronically vulnerable to the threats of climate change

Modelling the elements of flash flood hydrograph using genetic programming

1031-1038A novel approach is proposed in this work on constructing the flash flood hydrograph by modelling the elements of the hydrograph namely the time to start of the initial flood (ti), the time to peak discharge (tp), the peak discharge (Qp) and the base time (tb) using Genetic Programming (GP). The proposed method is applied to the Kickapoo River catchment in Wisconsin, USA. It is demonstrated that even under limited data scenario, for a poorly gauged station, GP is able to model the elements of hydrograph with reasonably high accuracy thereby offering considerable lead time to predict the flash flood. The mathematical models developed by GP also offer some understanding of the influence of rainfall events and the stream discharge in producing the flash floods

Chemical composition of Moringa oleifera ethyl acetate fraction and its biological activity in diabetic human dermal fibroblasts

Background: Moringa oleifera (MO), commonly known as the drumstick tree, is used in folklore medicine for the treatment of skin disease. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction of MO leaves for in vitro antibacterial, antioxidant, and wound healing activities and conduct gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Materials and Methods: Antibacterial activity was evaluated against six Gram-positive bacteria and 10 Gram-negative bacteria by disc diffusion method. Free radical scavenging activity was assessed by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical hydrogen peroxide scavenging and total phenolic content (TPC). Wound healing efficiency was studied using cell viability, proliferation, and scratch assays in diabetic human dermal fibroblast (HDF-D) cells. Results: The EtOAc fraction showed moderate activity against all bacterial strains tested, and the maximum inhibition zone was observed against Streptococcus pyogenes (30 mm in diameter). The fraction showed higher sensitivity to Gram-positive strains than Gram-negative strains. In the quantitative analysis of antioxidant content, the EtOAc fraction was found to have a TPC of 65.81 ± 0.01. The DPPH scavenging activity and the hydrogen peroxide assay were correlated with the TPC value, with IC50values of 18.21 ± 0.06 and 59.22 ± 0.04, respectively. The wound healing experiment revealed a significant enhancement of cell proliferation and migration of HDF-D cells. GC-MS analysis confirmed the presence of 17 bioactive constituents that may be the principal factors in the significant antibacterial, antioxidant, and wound healing activity. Conclusion: The EtOAc fraction of MO leaves possesses remarkable wound healing properties, which can be attributed to the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the fraction.Summary: Moringa oleifera (MO) leaf ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction possesses antibacterial activities toward Gram-positive bacteria such as Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram-negative bacteria such as Proteus mirabilis and Salmonella typhimuriumMO leaf EtOAc fraction contained the phenolic content of 65.81 ± 0.01 and flavonoid content of 37.1 ± 0.03, respectively. In addition, the fraction contained 17 bioactive constituents associated with the antibacterial, antioxidant, and wound healing properties that were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysisMO leaf EtOAc fraction supports wound closure rate about 80% for treatments when compared with control group

Systematic Investigation of Expression of G2/M Transition Genes Reveals CDC25 Alteration in Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas

Hungarian Resarch Fund (OTKA PD100648) National Development Agency (KTIA_AIK-2-2012-0010)

The effects of daily gratitude writing and self-paced high intensity interval training on regulating emotional distress, sustained attention and hedonic perception among students in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus

A 2017’s cross-sectional study found that more than 80% of 287 Malaysian adolescents were either, depressed, stressed or experiencing anxiety with university students have being identified as the higher risk group for developing those mental health challenges. Due to the transitional phase adolescents face, there has been inadequate coping strategies towards stress. However, positive psychology has highlighted the potential impact that physical activities and the act of expressing gratitude has towards managing psychological challenges. Hence, this study aims to determine the effects of daily gratitude writing and self-paced high intensity interval (HIIT) training towards regulating emotional distress, sustained attention and hedonic perception among 46 students in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus. The selfdetermination theory and the ‘Broaden-and-Build’ theory of positive emotions contributed significantly to the development of this study. The RESET app – a mobile application was introduced as a gratitude journaling tool while quantitative data was obtained through the administration of a pre-post-Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Questionnaire (DASS-21), Borg’s Scale for Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), Feeling Scale, and the Digital Vigilance Test (DVT). Upon completing the 8-week study, the results showed that there were differences between the pre-post intervention for DASS-21 and RPE scores within the 4 experimental groups but the results were not significant (p > .050). However, there was a significant decrease in errors made in the DVT (F (1,42) = 17.057, p = .000) while there was a significant increase in the Feeling Scale scores for gratitude journaling within participants (F (2,40) = 3.879, p = .029). Due to the study’s novelty, the results serve as a launch pad for future works in the efforts of integrating physical activities and positive psychology interventions towards effective psychological management and nurturing among the Malaysian youth