Choosing a density functional for static molecular polarizabilities

Coupled-cluster calculations of static electronic dipole polarizabilities for 145 organic molecules are performed to create a reference data set. The molecules are composed from carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, sulfur, chlorine, and bromine atoms. They range in size from triatomics to 14 atoms. The Hartree-Fock and 2nd-order M{\o}ller-Plesset methods and 34 density functionals, including local functionals, global hybrid functionals, and range-separated functionals of the long-range-corrected and screened-exchange varieties, are tested against this data set. On the basis of the test results, detailed recommendations are made for selecting density functionals for polarizability computations on relatively small organic molecules

Sublingual misoprostol to reduce blood loss at caesarean delivery

Background: Caesarean section is the most common obstetrical procedure performed worldwide. Sometimes oxytocin alone is not sufficient to prevent postpartum haemorrhage and additional uterotonics may be required. We attempted an additional uterotonic misoprostol by sublingual route to evaluate the role of it to reduce blood loss at caesarean delivery.Methods: This prospective clinical study was done on patients of S. S. G. Hospital, Baroda; 138 patients who underwent lower segment caesarean section (elective or emergency). The primary outcome was less intra/peri operative blood loss, need for additional uterotonic agents and perioperative haemoglobin (Hb) fall. The secondary outcomes studied were incidence of shivering, pyrexia, nausea, vomiting, operating time, blood transfusion, endomyometritis and hospitalization period. Average blood loss after normal vaginal delivery is 500 ml and after caesarean delivery is around 1000 ml.Results: Mean postoperative Hb was high with misoprostol group and perioperative Hb fall was less. Perioperative Hb fall of 1 g or more was lesser in this group.Conclusions: Sublingual misoprostol reduces intraoperative blood loss, perioperative blood loss and the need for additional uterotonic agents and blood transfusions at caesarean delivery.

Bullying and victimization in schools in India

This dissertation focuses on the overall study, as well as the nuances, of bullying behaviours among school-going youth in India. A systematic review of past literature from India is presented by synthesizing 37 empirical studies examining psychometric properties of the instruments adopted, methodological characteristics, sample size and procedures, and characteristics of bullying behaviour. Results show that bullying is widely spread, and certain factors, like caste and religion, and their association with bullying behaviours are typical to the Indian culture. This dissertation also examines if dimensions of psychopathy, namely callous-unemotional traits, narcissism, and impulsivity, can differentiate between, bullies, victims, and bully-victims in a longitudinal capacity. Using a multi-informant approach and multinomial logistic regression analyses, it was found that psychopathy dimensions taken together provide a better fit in predicting bullying than the independent psychopathic subscales. The dissertation further investigates the structure and context of the relationship between victimization and Body Mass Index through a transactional model. Key results of structural equation modeling analyses yielded mainly concurrent relations between BMI and victimization, emphasizing that results from western countries may not generalize to India. Finally, bullying behaviours among youth as a function of their socio-economic status (SES) in classroom and self-perceptions of minority status are examined using a moderated-mediation growth model. Results show classroom level SES plays a significant role in predicting victimization cross-sectionally, and is mediated through perceptions of self. However, in the long run, being part of a minority, and perceiving self as such, leads to decreased victimization among youth in India. Development Psychopathology in context: clinical setting

DISCOVERY OF LIGNIN SULFATE AS A POTENT INHIBITOR OF HSV ENTRY INTO CELLS

The herpes virus family consists of more than hundred members that infect organisms, of which eight, differing markedly in the biology are known to infect humans. HSV- I is the most common one, causing oral lesions and sporadic encephalitis. These infections are highly prevalent affecting at least one in three individuals in the United States.The entry of the herpes virus into the cell is a two-step process. The initial step involves the cell surface heparan sulfate and glycoproteins in the viral envelope which enables the virus to penetrate into the cell. The second step is the fusion step. Depending on the nature of interaction and size of HS chain, a single chain may bind multiple viral ligands on a virion. There is substantial evidence showing that HS plays an important role in viral binding.HS is a heterogeneous, linear sulfated oligosaccharide composed of alternating glucosamine and uronic acid residues, which could specify distinct receptor for various viral ligands. HS, present on most exposed cell surfaces, make an ideal snare for the capture of most herpes viruses and may facilitate subsequent interactions with other co-receptors required for entry. Number of viruses, including HSV- I, HSV- II, HIV- I and dengue virus use sites of HS as receptors for binding to cells. Recently 2000 Liu et.al have characterized a HS based octasaccharide that binds to HSV-I gD. The distinguished feature in the composition of the octasaccharide is the presence of 3-O-sulfate glucosamine residue, which is an uncommon structural modification in HS. Its presence in the HSV-I gD binding sequence may confer specificity of interaction and assist HSV-I entry into the cell.Numerous sulfated molecules have been explored as mimics of HS in the inhibition of HSV-1 entry into cells. To date, most of the sulfated molecules screened for anti-viral activity have been carbohydrates. So, we reasoned that it should be possible to mimic critical interactions of HS with one or more viral glycoprotein using synthetic, non-polysaccharide, sulfated compounds. Further, it may be possible to mimic specific sequence(s) in HS, which play a role in HSV infection, with small synthetic, sulfated, non-carbohydrate molecules. In a search for synthetic mimics of HS as inhibitors of HSV-I infection, we screened a small, synthetic, sulfated flavonoids to discover a potent inhibitory activity arising from sulfation of a macromolecule present as an impurity in a crude natural product.The active principle was identified through an array of biophysical and chemical analyses as lignin sulfate, a heterogeneous; polydisperse network polymer composed of substituted phenylpropanoid monomers. Further, LC-MS with APCI in negative ionization mode, which have been reported in here for the first time for analysis of lignin, has been successfully used to deduce oligomeric structures present in the precursor of the active macromolecule based on the spectrum of the depolymerized lignin. This corroborates well with the structural information obtained using other analytical techniques. We hypothesize that the structural heterogeneity and polydispersity of lignin coupled with optimal combination of sulfate charge and hydrophobicity result in high potency. Given that the native lignin is inactive, lignin sulfate discovered here provides a variety of organic scaffolds that with the critical sulfate groups in space can mimic the HSV-I gD binding sequence

On the origin of the artesian groundwater and escaping gas at Narveri after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake

At Narveri, north of Khavada in the Great Rann of Kachchh, an outflow of groundwater continued even more than four months after the Bhuj earthquake of 26 January 2001, although at a considerably reduced rate compared to that immediately following the earthquake. Air or gas bubbling through the freshly oozing water has also been observed. We had collected a large number of samples from different parts of Gujarat, where post-earthquake groundwater outpourings were reported. Narveri, however, was the only site where the samples showed dissolved helium concentrations, significantly above the air equilibration value. Based on measurements of helium, radon, chloride, sulphate and sodium concentrations and temperature, we suggest that the flowing water and escaping gases at Narveri have a deep confined source with a reservoir age in excess of ~ 104 years

Exploring Empathic Space: Correlates of Perspective Transformation Ability and Biases in Spatial Attention

Separate lines of research have noted recruitment of parietal cortex during tasks involving visuo-spatial processes and empathy. To explore the relationship between these two functions, a self-other perspective transformation task and a task of spatial attention (line bisection) were administered to 40 healthy participants (19 women). Performance on these tasks was examined in relation to self-reported empathy. Rightward biases in line bisection correlated positively with trait-level self-reported empathic concern, suggesting a left hemisphere mediation of this prosocial personality trait. Unexpectedly, speed of perspective taking in the self-other transformation task correlated negatively with empathic concern, but only in women, which we interpret in light of gender differences in empathy and strategies for egocentric mental transformations. Together, the findings partially support the commonalities in visuo-spatial attention, perspective-taking and empathy. More broadly, they shed additional light on the relationship between basic cognitive functions and complex social constructs

Disseminated tuberculosis presenting as chronic pancreatitis, a rare case report

Disseminated tuberculosis (TB) refers to concurrent involvement of at least two non-contiguous organ sites of the body, or involvement of the blood or bone marrow by tuberculosis process. Pancreatic TB is a rare manifestation of such a common disease possibly due to protective pancreatic enzymes. We described a case report of a patient who presented with chronic pancreatitis with pancreatic pseudocyst with empyema of left lung which intraoperatively was a psoas abscess which was managed by drainage of the abscess and Intercostal tube placement and thoracoscopic drainage of empyema and its adhesiolysis. Histopathology revealed tuberculous granulation tissue of psoas muscle biopsy and in thoracoscopic scrapings. Patient became symptomless since the surgery and initiation of anti-tubercular therapy

Study of ectopic pregnancy in a tertiary care centre

Background: Ectopic pregnancy is a life threatening emergency leading to maternal death. Incidence of ectopic pregnancies has been increasing in last two to three decades with reduction in mortality. The presenting symptoms include abdominal pain, amenorrhoea and/or irregular vaginal bleeding. The present study was undertaken to study the clinical features of ectopic pregnancies in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: The present study on ectopic pregnancies was carried out in Department of Pathology, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad, Maharashtra, India from January 2010 to June 2014. All the cases of ectopic pregnancy managed surgically were included in the study.Results: Total 102 cases of ectopic pregnancy were studied. Proportion of ectopic pregnancy in the present study is 1 in 205 deliveries. Majority of the cases (37) (36.27%) were noted between 21 to 25 years of age group followed by the age group 26 to 30 years. Ectopic pregnancy was most commonly noted in nulliparous women (44/102) (43.14%). Majority of the cases (50/102) (49.02%) had no risk factors. Abortion was the most common risk factor identified, alone as well as in conjunction with other factors. Ampulla was the most common site for ectopic pregnancy. 55% of the cases were on the right side where as 45% on the left side. We had 2 cases of heterotropic pregnancy with tubal ectopic in both the cases. The typical triad of amenorrhoea, pain in abdomen and bleeding was observed in 21.57% cases.Conclusions: The incidence of ectopic pregnancies is on rise as evident in this study. In order to reduce the morbidity and mortality due to ectopic pregnancies, there is need for early diagnosis especially in high risk cases

Mathematical Model for Impact of Media on Cleanliness Drive in India

A mathematical model on cleanliness drive in India is analysed for active cleaners and passive cleaners. Cleanliness and endemic equilibrium points are found. Local and global stability of these equilibrium points are discussed using Routh-Hurwitz criteria and Lyapunov function respectively. Impact of media (as a control) is studied on passive cleaners to become active. Numerical simulation of the model is carried out which indicates that with the help of media transfer rate to active cleaners from passive cleaners is higher

Factors associated with underutilization of antenatal care in India: Results from 2019–2021 National Family Health Survey

Introduction Despite progress in recent years, full antenatal care utilization in India continues to be relatively low and inequitable, particularly between states and districts. In 2015–2016, for example, only 51% of women aged 15–49 in India attended antenatal care at least four times during pregnancy. Using data from the fifth iteration of India’s National Family Health Survey, our study aims to explore factors related to the underutilization of antenatal care in India. Materials and methods Data from the most recent live birth in the past five years among women aged 15–49 years were included in our analysis (n = 172,702). Our outcome variable was “adequate antenatal care visits”, defined as four or more antenatal visits. Utilizing Andersen’s behavioral model, 14 factors were identified as possible explanatory variables. We used univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models to analyze the association between explanatory variables and adequate visits. Associations were considered statistically significant if p<0.05. Results Of the 172,702 women in our sample, 40.75% (95% CI: 40.31–41.18%) had an inadequate number of antenatal care visits. In multivariate analysis, women with less formal education, from poorer households and more rural areas had higher odds of inadequate visits. Regionally, women from Northeastern and Central states had higher odds of inadequate antenatal care utilization compared to those from Southern states. Caste, birth order, and pregnancy intention were also among the variables associated with utilization of antenatal care. Discussion Despite improvements in antenatal care utilization, there is cause for concern. Notably, the percentage of Indian women receiving adequate antenatal care visits is still below the global average. Our analysis also reveals a continuity in the groups of women at highest risk for inadequate visits, which may be due to structural drivers of inequality in healthcare access. To improve maternal health and access to antenatal care services, interventions aimed at poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, and education should be pursued