Pregnancy, Birthing, Breastfeeding and Mothering: Hindu Perspectives from Scriptures and Practices

This article looks at the regulations of pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding in Ayurvedic treatises, and at representations of mothering in Vedic and Puranic texts related to childrearing. Ayurvedic garbha sanskar (educating the mind of the foetus) regulates the pregnancy of women to ensure the safe birthing of superior babies. Breastfeeding is both glorified and strictly regulated in Ayurvedic texts. Several Vedic texts describe a range of rituals to benefit a caste Hindu child’s life from before birth to the beginning of manhood. These rituals are formally conducted by the father, whereas the mother’s role is marginalized. Although these texts scrutinize and discipline maternal bodies, yet there are several interstices where female and/or maternal agency can be performed. Ayurvedic obstetric practices often incorporate the indigenous knowledges of midwives (dais). The scripturally-mandated practice of wet-nursing shifts and complicates biological motherhood roles. The domestic tradition of performing vratas to secure the offspring’s longevity allows mothers to have a more central role in childrearing rituals. I will compare the regulatory texts and the potentially resistant practices from a maternal feminist perspective in order to interrogate the multiple ways in which the Hindu childbearing and childrearing framework is a site of surveillance as well as assertion for mothers

Sinonasal Polyps: A Diagnostic Challenge

Introduction Sinonasal polyps, presenting as mass lesion of nose and paranasal sinuses ranges pathologic entity including infective diseases to malignant lesions. 80% are non-neoplastic lesions and less than 1% are malignant. They all present with symptoms of nasal stuffiness or obstruction and mass lesion, producing significant diagnostic challenges as they possess extremely varied clinical behaviour, etiopathogenesis, treatment protocol as well as prognosis.   Case Series During period of one year (March 2017 to February 2018), we had six patients presenting with nasal polyp having special features that need attention. After proper investigation each case was operated and gross examination followed by histopathology was done. They   revealed six different diagnoses e.g., Olfactory neuroblastoma, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, Basal Cell Adenocarcinoma, Sinonasal Mucosal Melanoma, Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumour (PNET) and Aspergilloma. Discussion Clinicians’ attention is drawn to the fact that, similar presentation may have varied differential diagnoses, some of which may be very rare and histopathology is essential for coming to definitive diagnosis

Leydig cell tumor of testis in a child: An uncommon presentation

Leydig cell tumors (LCTs) are rare testicular tumors. Incidence is 1%–3% of all testicular neoplasms, bilateral in 10%. They are frequently hormonally active, leading to feminizing or virilizing syndromes. LCTs can be either pure or mixed with germ cell tumors or other sex cord-stromal tumors. Here, we are reporting a benign pure LCT in a 6-year-old boy presented with pseudopuberty

Binuclear Mixed Valence Oxovanadium(IV/V) Complexes Containing a [OViv(μ−Ooxo)(μ−Ophen)VvO]2+[OV{^{iv}}(\mu-O{_{oxo}})(\mu-O{_{phen} })V{^v}O]{^2{^+}} Core:Synthesis,EPR Spectra, Molecular and Electronic Structure

Binuclear mixed valence oxovanadium(IV/V) complexes of general formula [V2O3L] containing a [OVIV(mu-O-oxo)-(mu-O-phen)(VO)-O-V](2+) core have been synthesised using conformationally labile N4O3-coordinating heptadentate ligands (H3L). The X-ray structure of one complex has been examined. Solution EPR spectra revealed that the impaired electron of the complexes is delocalised between the two vanadium centres. The simulated EPR spectrum of one complex confirms this experimental observation. DFT studies have been performed using crystallographic coordinates in order to obtain further insight into the electronic structure of this type of molecule

Evidence for increasing anthropogenic Pb concentrations in Indian shelf sediments during the last century

Highlights • India is industrializing rapidly with significant releases of Pb. • Increase in anthropogenic Pb input to Indian shelf occurred over last 40 years. • Sediment leachate Pb isotopes used to assess anthropogenic Pb inputs • Sources of Pb in eastern and western shelves of India were different. • Inland coal combustion and heavy industries are major sources of Pb. India is industrializing rapidly and with this there comes higher releases of contaminants into the environment. Change in Pb deposition over the last century on the eastern (off Andhra Pradesh) and western (off Karnataka) shelves of India was investigated based on the data extracted from two sediment cores covering the past ~114 and ~145 yrs. The variations of the total Pb content, its enrichment factor, and concentrations of non-residual Pb in both the sediment cores document that there was a gradual increase in anthropogenic Pb input into the coastal sediments of India over the last century. Sediment leachates were used to monitor the increase in anthropogenic Pb input and its Pb isotope composition. The anthropogenic end member composition of the western shelf sediment location (206Pb/207Pb: 1.105; 206Pb/208Pb: 2.149) was significantly less radiogenic than the eastern shelf isotopic composition (206Pb/207Pb: 1.145; 206Pb/208Pb:2.120). A binary mixing model suggests that Pb emitted from the heavy industries (e.g., ore mining, Pb processing and smelting plants) of India has been the major source of anthropogenic Pb to the sediments of western continental shelf. In contrast, the isotopic signatures suggest that coal combustion is responsible for elevated anthropogenic Pb levels in the sediments from the eastern shelf of India

Attachment Chemistry of 4‑Fluorophenylboronic Acid on TiO₂ and Al₂O₃ Nanoparticles

Surface modification of nanoparticulate TiO2 and Al2O3 materials with 4-fluorophenylboronic acid is investigated in order to both evaluate the novel surface modification schemes and develop spectroscopic labels for surface characterization. The chemistry of the modification is followed on all these surfaces using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, multinuclear (11B, 19F, and 13C) solid-state and solution NMR, and infrared spectroscopy to determine the binding modes of this compound using boron and fluorine as probe atoms. Density functional theory model calculations are utilized to visualize predicted surface species and to interpret the results of spectroscopic measurements. A comparison is made among TiO2 rutile, TiO2 anatase, and γ-Al2O3. On all three materials, the modification proceeds via the boronic functional groups, with metal oxide-controlled surface chemistry. The bonding configuration depends on the material and is dominated by a monodentate species for titania and by bidentate species for alumina. The surface structures determined to form on all the oxide semiconductors investigated suggest that sensitization or monolayer doping approaches with a well-defined chemical interaction via a boronic functionality can be developed

¹⁹F Magic Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory Calculations of Fluorosubstituted Tryptophans: Integrating Experiment and Theory for Accurate Determination of Chemical Shift Tensors

The ¹⁹F chemical shift is a sensitive NMR probe of structure and electronic environment in organic and biological molecules. In this report, we examine chemical shift parameters of 4F-, 5F-, 6F-, and 7F-substituted crystalline tryptophan by magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory. Significant narrowing of the ¹⁹F lines was observed under fast MAS conditions, at spinning frequencies above 50 kHz. The parameters characterizing the ¹⁹F chemical shift tensor are sensitive to the position of the fluorine in the aromatic ring and, to a lesser extent, the chirality of the molecule. Accurate calculations of ¹⁹F magnetic shielding tensors require the PBE0 functional with a 50% admixture of a Hartree–Fock exchange term, as well as taking account of the local crystal symmetry. The methodology developed will be beneficial for ¹⁹F-based MAS NMR structural analysis of proteins and protein assemblies