Incorporating Robsons classification in analysis of caesarean section at rural territory centre for 18 months

Background: With the rise of caesarean sections (CS) over the last five decades, World Health Organization (WHO) proposed that health care facilities to use the Robsons 10 group classification system to audit their caesarean sections rates. This classification would help understand internal structure of the CS rates at individual health facilities identify population groups, indication in each group and formulate strategies to reduce these rates. Methods: This is a retrospective study for a period of 18 months at tertiary care hospital in rural area at department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Dr. PSIMS & RF, Chinnoutpalli, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Women who delivered during this period were analysed and classified into Robsons group 10 classification and percentages were calculated for the overall rate, the representation of groups, contribution of groups and caesarean percentage in each group in rural territory centre during the period of January 2021 to June 2022. Results: From January 2021 to June 2022 there were total of 547 deliveries. Out of which 224 had caesarean section accounting for a caesarean delivery rate of 40.9%. When data was analysed according to Robsons 10 group classification maximum contribution of caesarean section was with Robsons group 5.1 (36%), which comprised of patients with term cephalic multiparous with one previous scar. Followed by group 2A (21%), which comprised of patients with term cephalic nulliparous with labour induced. Breech pregnancies are completely undergoing caesarean section (groups 6 and 7). Conclusions: We identified the contribution of each group to the overall CS rate as well as the CS rate within each group. Women with previous caesarean delivery contribute to the increasing proportion of caesarean deliveries. Use of Robson criteria allows standardized comparisons of data and identifies clinical scenarios in caesarean rates. All institutes to audit themselves to evaluate quality of caesarean section rates and to rationalize caesarean rates. Impact of interventions to reduce caesarean rates should be studied and documented. Evaluation of existing management protocols and further studies into indications of CS and outcomes in our setting will helps us to design strategies and improve outcomes

Study of various predictors influencing success with artificial insemination husband

Background: Infertility effects more than 180 million people world-wide and couples should be evaluated to focus on the modifiable factors and various interventions to optimize the results before switching to costly treatments. Artificial insemination husband is one such treatment where various prognostic factors determine the success. Methods: The present study was done in department of reproductive medicine and surgery GSL medical college .All infertile couples attending the clinic and satisfying inclusion and exclusion criteria after proper consent were enrolled for study. Various relevant prognostic factors determining outcome were analysed statistically using the chi square test, the Fischer exact test, and the one way ANNOVA test. Results: In present study, the prevalence of positive pregnancy after IUI procedure was 14.7%. The total pregnancy rate per cycle was 10.6%. Among prognostic factors total motile sperm count, semen preparation technique and first AIH cycle showed positive correlation with the outcome. Conclusions: According to the results of the current study, intrauterine insemination (IUI) can provide many infertile couples with an opportunity of parenting. Before beginning this type of therapy, it is crucial to make the right selection of cases and conduct a thorough assessment of the couples

Hysterolaparoscopy as a comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic tool in modern art

Background: Infertility affects about 10-15% of reproductive age couple and is increasing globally. None of the laboratory findings alone are conclusive in diagnosing infertility. The ability to visualize and simultaneously treat the identified pathology makes hysterolaparoscopy an essential part of infertility management. Aim of the study was to evaluate hysterolaparoscopy as a comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic tool in female infertility management. Objective of the study was to evaluate various etiological factors in infertility and the therapeutic interventions done during hysterolaparoscopy. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 250 cases over one year from October 2021 to September 2022 at a teritiary care hospital. Women with primary or secondary infertility aged between 20-40 years were included. Patients with contraindications for general anaesthesia and active pelvic infection were excluded. Results: Out of 250 patients, 195(78%) had primary infertility and 55(22%) had secondary infertility. In primary infertility group 69% and in secondary infertility group 87.7% had abnormal laparoscopy findings. The most common laparoscopic abnormality is tubal factor both in primary infertility (58%) and secondary infertility (58%) group and on hysteroscopy, endometritis is the commonest abnormality in both. Conclusions: In experienced hands, hysterolaparoscopy is a very safe operation. The abnormalities of pelvic and uterus can be diagnosed and also resolved in hysterolaparoscopy at the same time. Also, the future plan of management can be taken in time after the evaluation

Stagnant ice and age modelling in the Dome C region, Antarctica

The European Beyond EPICA project aims to extract a continuous ice core of up to 1.5 Ma, with a maximum age density of 20 kyr m-1 at Little Dome C (LDC). We present a 1D numerical model which calculates the age of the ice around Dome C. The model inverts for basal conditions and accounts either for melting or for a layer of stagnant ice above the bedrock. It is constrained by internal reflecting horizons traced in radargrams and dated using the EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core age profile. We used three different radar datasets ranging from a 10 000 km2 airborne survey down to 5 km long ground-based radar transects over LDC. We find that stagnant ice exists in many places, including above the LDC relief where the new Beyond EPICA drill site (BELDC) is located. The modelled thickness of this layer of stagnant ice roughly corresponds to the thickness of the basal unit observed in one of the radar surveys and in the autonomous phase-sensitive radio-echo sounder (ApRES) dataset. At BELDC, the modelled stagnant ice thickness is 198±44 m and the modelled oldest age of ice is 1.45±0.16 Ma at a depth of 2494±30 m. This is very similar to all sites situated on the LDC relief, including that of the Million Year Ice Core project being conducted by the Australian Antarctic Division. The model was also applied to radar data in the area 10-15 km north of EDC (North Patch), where we find either a thin layer of stagnant ice (generally <60 m) or a negligible melt rate (<0.1 mm yr-1). The modelled maximum age at North Patch is over 2 Ma in most places, with ice at 1.5 Ma having a resolution of 9-12 kyr m-1, making it an exciting prospect for a future Oldest Ice drill site

An effector-reduced anti-β-amyloid (Aβ) antibody with unique aβ binding properties promotes neuroprotection and glial engulfment of Aβ.

Passive immunization against β-amyloid (Aβ) has become an increasingly desirable strategy as a therapeutic treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, traditional passive immunization approaches carry the risk of Fcγ receptor-mediated overactivation of microglial cells, which may contribute to an inappropriate proinflammatory response leading to vasogenic edema and cerebral microhemorrhage. Here, we describe the generation of a humanized anti-Aβ monoclonal antibody of an IgG4 isotype, known as MABT5102A (MABT). An IgG4 subclass was selected to reduce the risk of Fcγ receptor-mediated overactivation of microglia. MABT bound with high affinity to multiple forms of Aβ, protected against Aβ1-42 oligomer-induced cytotoxicity, and increased uptake of neurotoxic Aβ oligomers by microglia. Furthermore, MABT-mediated amyloid plaque removal was demonstrated using in vivo live imaging in hAPP((V717I))/PS1 transgenic mice. When compared with a human IgG1 wild-type subclass, containing the same antigen-binding variable domains and with equal binding to Aβ, MABT showed reduced activation of stress-activated p38MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase) in microglia and induced less release of the proinflammatory cytokine TNFα. We propose that a humanized IgG4 anti-Aβ antibody that takes advantage of a unique Aβ binding profile, while also possessing reduced effector function, may provide a safer therapeutic alternative for passive immunotherapy for AD. Data from a phase I clinical trial testing MABT is consistent with this hypothesis, showing no signs of vasogenic edema, even in ApoE4 carriers

Sensing of minute airflow motions near walls using pappus-type nature-inspired sensors

This work describes the development and use of pappus-like structures as sensitive sensors to detect minute air-flow motions. We made such sensors from pappi taken from nature-grown seed, whose filiform hairs' length-scale is suitable for the study of large-scale turbulent convection flows. The stem with the pappus on top is fixated on an elastic membrane on the wall and tilts under wind-load proportional to the velocity magnitude in direction of the wind, similar as the biological sensory hairs found in spiders, however herein the sensory hair has multiple filiform protrusions at the tip. As the sensor response is proportional to the drag on the tip and a low mass ensures a larger bandwidth, lightweight pappus structures similar as those found in nature with documented large drag are useful to improve the response of artificial sensors. The pappus of a Dandelion represents such a structure which has evolved to maximize wind-driven dispersion, therefore it is used herein as the head of our sensor. Because of its multiple hairs arranged radially around the stem it generates uniform drag for all wind directions. While still being permeable to the flow, the hundreds of individual hairs on the tip of the sensor head maximize the drag and minimize influence of pressure gradients or shear-induced lift forces on the sensor response as they occur in non-permeable protrusions. In addition, the flow disturbance by the sensor itself is limited. The optical recording of the head-motion allows continuously remote-distance monitoring of the flow fluctuations in direction and magnitude. Application is shown for the measurement of a reference flow under isothermal conditions to detect the early occurrence of instabilities

A broad spectral, interdisciplinary investigation of the electromagnetic properties of sea ice

This paper highlights the interrelationship of research completed by a team of investigators and presented in the several individual papers comprising this Special Section on the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Arlington, VA, Sponsored Sea Ice Electromagnetics Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI). The objectives of the initiative were the following: 1) understand the mechanisms and processes that link the morphological and physical properties of sea ice to its electromagnetic (EM) characteristics; 2) develop and verify predictive models for the interaction of visible, infrared, and microwave radiation with sea ice; 3) develop and verify inverse scattering techniques applicable to problems involving the interaction of EM radiation with sea ice. Guiding principles for the program were that all EM data be taken with concurrent physical property data (salinity, density, roughness, etc.) and that broad spectral data be acquired in as nearly a simultaneous fashion as possible. Over 30 investigators participated in laboratory, field, and modeling studies that spanned the EM spectrum from radio to ultraviolet wavelengths. An interdisciplinary approach that brought together sea ice physicists, remote-sensing experts tin EM measurements), and forward and inverse modelers (primarily mathematicians and EM theorists) was a hallmark of the program. Along with describing results from experiments and modeling efforts, possible paradigms for using broad spectral data in developing algorithms for analyzing remote-sensing data in terms of ice concentration, age, type, and possibly thickness are briefly discussed

Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica

We present Bedmap2, a new suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of the Antarctic south of 60° S. We derived these products using data from a variety of sources, including many substantial surveys completed since the original Bedmap compilation (Bedmap1) in 2001. In particular, the Bedmap2 ice thickness grid is made from 25 million measurements, over two orders of magnitude more than were used in Bedmap1. In most parts of Antarctica the subglacial landscape is visible in much greater detail than was previously available and the improved data-coverage has in many areas revealed the full scale of mountain ranges, valleys, basins and troughs, only fragments of which were previously indicated in local surveys. The derived statistics for Bedmap2 show that the volume of ice contained in the Antarctic ice sheet (27 million km3) and its potential contribution to sea-level rise (58 m) are similar to those of Bedmap1, but the mean thickness of the ice sheet is 4.6% greater, the mean depth of the bed beneath the grounded ice sheet is 72 m lower and the area of ice sheet grounded on bed below sea level is increased by 10%. The Bedmap2 compilation highlights several areas beneath the ice sheet where the bed elevation is substantially lower than the deepest bed indicated by Bedmap1. These products, along with grids of data coverage and uncertainty, provide new opportunities for detailed modelling of the past and future evolution of the Antarctic ice sheets

Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica

We present Bedmap2, a new suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of the Antarctic south of 60 S. We derived these products using data from a variety of sources, including many substantial surveys completed since the original Bedmap compilation (Bedmap1) in 2001. In particular, the Bedmap2 ice thickness grid is made from 25 million measurements, over two orders of magnitude more than were used in Bedmap1. In most parts of Antarctica the subglacial landscape is visible in much greater detail than was previously available and the improved datacoverage has in many areas revealed the full scale of mountain ranges, valleys, basins and troughs, only fragments of which were previously indicated in local surveys. The derived statistics for Bedmap2 show that the volume of ice contained in the Antarctic ice sheet (27 million km3) and its potential contribution to sea-level rise (58 m) are similar to those of Bedmap1, but the mean thickness of the ice sheet is 4.6% greater, the mean depth of the bed beneath the grounded ice sheet is 72m lower and the area of ice sheet grounded on bed below sea level is increased by 10 %. The Bedmap2 compilation highlights several areas beneath the ice sheet where the bed elevation is substantially lower than the deepest bed indicated by Bedmap1. These products, along with grids of data coverage and uncertainty, provide new opportunities for detailed modelling of the past and future evolution of the Antarctic ice sheets

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data