Low birth weight: an observational study of maternal and neonatal factors in a rural tertiary care hospital, Telangana, India

Background: Poor maternal health among Indian women is of global significance because India is home to 1/5th of the world’s births. 27% of these newborn babies in India are low birth weight (LBW), an important cause of high infant mortality. This study was conducted among puerperal women who delivered LBW babies in our hospital to know the various factors pertaining to socio-demographic, obstetric and anthropometric characteristics.Methods: this observational study was conducted in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Bhaskar medical college and hospital, Moinabad, Hyderabad from January 2016 to June 2017. The study sample were those who delivered LBW babies in our hospital and a set questionnaire was used to collect the relevant details.Results: 75% of these mothers were in the age group of 20-25 years, 73.5% had more than 10 years of schooling. About 64% of these women had their 1st antenatal visit in 1st trimester of pregnancy and 54% had their 1st ultrasound in 1st trimester. 36 babies had NICU admission, either at our hospital or at a level III NICU facility, and all had good neonatal outcome.Conclusions: The state must endeavor to make quality health free and easily accessible to pregnant women so that all can avail these services to better the maternal and neonatal outcomes. This will be helpful in improving the overall health of our population over the next few decades. 

Fertility problems in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age with high prevalence. It is a leading cause of infertility in women; this draws an attention to this issue. In this study we aimed to know the prevalence, clinical features, fertility problems and management of PCOS.  Methods: In this prospective observational study, women who consulted Obstetrics & Gynaecology department were screened to identify the PCOS problems through clinical histories, PCOS questionnaire and ultrasonography over a period of 6 months at Rajiv Gandhi institute of medical sciences (RIMS) in Kadapa, India. Patients diagnosed with PCOS were assessed for their clinical manifestations, severity, life style and treatment given, and were educated accordingly through patient counselling and leaflets.Results: We observed 6.39 % prevalence out of 970 women. 59 (95.1%) patients were complained irregular menstrual cycles. Infertility was significantly high in PCOS women i.e. 13.35%. 64.4% of PCOS patients had miscarriages.Conclusions: PCOS is a complex condition with high prevalence of fertility problems, needing due attention. There is need to create attentiveness towards this issue. Early diagnosis and proper management with appropriate medicines and lifestyle modifications will improve the condition and prevents complications.

Annual Risk of Tuberculosis infection in Chennai City

Aim: To study the proportion of children infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Chennai city. Methodology: A cluster sampling methodology was adopted to select an estimated sample size of 7000 children from five corporation zones selected systematically from ten zones of the city. A total of 7098 children aged 1-9 years were subjected to Mantoux and test read; 1897 (27%) from slum area and 5201 (73%) from non-slum area. Results: The prevalence of infection among children without BCG scar was estimated to be 10.5 % (ARTI of 2.0%) and was similar to that among children irrespective of scar status. The prevalence of infection was higher among children in slum areas (11.1%; ARTI 2.1%) compared to non-slum areas (8.9%; ARTI 1.7%); but the difference was not statistically different. Conclusion: The tuberculosis situation in Chennai as measured by risk of infection was higher in urban city area than rural areas and comparable to that found in other cities as reported from earlier studies. This information can be used as baseline information for monitoring the epidemiological trends in Chennai city in future

Seroprevalence of COVID antibodies in health-care population of tertiary care government hospital in South India

Background: The pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in a worldwide abrupt and significant rise in admissions for pneumonia with multiorgan diseases. Aims and Objective: To determine the positive prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in health-care professionals over 6 months. In addition, to make a subgroup analysis and estimate the age, gender, and workforce-based prevalence of SARS-CoV-2. Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 healthcare professionals during 6 months. After taking proper informed consent, the study was started. We included subjects aged ≥18 years in this study. Not receiving any other vaccine during the study, suspected or confirmed immunosuppressive condition, imaging confirmed COVID-19 or recent blood transfusions were excluded from the study. Results: Most patients were 26–30 years old. Out of 200 patients, 116 (58%) were males, and 84 (42%) were females. The total positivity of the titers amounts was 57%. In addition, the males had higher mean titers than the females, with 24.186 versus 13.304. Of the 116 males, 68 were positive (58.6%), and of the 84 females, 46 were positive (54.7%). The age-wise positivity of the titers was high among the 26–30 years of age group, of which, in the 53 people, 33 were seropositive, which is 62.2% of this age group and lowest in the 51–55 years age group, of which in the 23 participants 9 were positive (39.31%), and 14 were negative (60.85%). Conclusion: We concluded that male doctors and adults had a greater seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting that they are more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 through patient contact or surgical procedures

Selective Glitch Reduction Technique for Minimizing Peak Dynamic IR Drop

Abstract This paper proposes a glitch co mpensation technique which involves reducing glitch power in selected combinational cells to reduce peak current which contributes to dynamic voltage or IR drop. The proposed methodology can be seamlessly integrated to existing physical design flo ws. A glitch is an undesired transition that occurs before intended value in dig ital circuits. A glitch occurs in CMOS circu its when d ifferential delay at the inputs of a gate is greater than inertial delay, which results into increased gate switching and hence notable amount of power consumption. When such large nu mber of logic gates switch close to the same t ime they will contribute to power integrity challenge called pe ak dynamic IR drop. The glitch power is becoming more pro minent in lower technology nodes. Introduction of buffers at the input of the Logic gate may reduce glitches, but it results into large area overhead and dynamic power. In the proposed methodology we are using transmission gate as a compensation circuit to reduce extra leakage and dynamic power. A flo w is proposed for charactering the pass transistor logic to cater different delay values. The proposed methodology has been validated on a plac e and routed Multiply Accumulate (MA C) layout imp lemented using Synopsys SAED 9 0n m Generic library. Experimental results show 12% to 50% reduction in top 10 peak transient IR drop numbers with just 12% g litch power reduction in selected combinational cell instances. When compared to traditional on-chip decoupling capacitor (Decap) cells insertion method the proposed technique could reduce the peak IR drop numbers by the same amount with just 5% increase in total core capacitance

Facile synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes over cordierite honeycomb coated with modified forms of zirconia under microwave irradiation condition

Zirconia (ZrO2), Mo(VI)/ZrO2, W(VI)/ZrO2 and SO42-/ZrO2 have been coated on honeycomb monoliths and used as catalytic material in the microwave-assisted synthesis of various bis(indolyl)methane derivatives via condensation. These catalytic materials have been characterized for their properties such as surface acidity, crystallinity, morphology and elemental analysis by suitable techniques. A correlation between the acidity, crystallinity and the catalytic activity of these catalytic materials is observed. The effect of conventional heating and microwave heating on the synthesis of these derivatives has been studied. Microwave-assisted synthesis of bis(indolyl)methane derivatives over zirconia and its modified forms is found to be a fast and facile catalytic route. Up to 98% yield of bis(indolyl)methanes is obtained in a very short reaction time of 4 min under microwave irradiation, whereas it requires 20 min to obtain 98% yield under conventional heating. The honeycomb monoliths coated with modified forms of zirconia as catalytic materials are efficient, easily reactivable and reusable for at least six reaction cycles.

Experience with an online prospective database on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: development and implementation

Considerable variability exists in the surgical treatment and outcomes of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). This is due to the lack of evidence-based treatment guidelines and outcome measures. Although clinical trials have been extolled as the highest form of evidence for evaluating treatment efficacy, the disadvantage of cost, time, lack of feasibility, and ethical considerations indicate a need for a new paradigm for evidence based research in this spinal deformity. High quality clinical databases offer an alternative approach for evidence-based research in medicine. So, we developed and established Scolisoft, an international, multidimensional and relational database designed to be a repository of surgical cases for AIS, and an active vehicle for standardized surgical information in a format that would permit qualitative and quantitative research and analysis. Here, we describe and discuss the utility of Scolisoft as a new paradigm for evidence-based research on AIS. Scolisoft was developed using dot.net platform and SQL server from Microsoft. All data is deidentified to protect patient privacy. Scolisoft can be accessed at www.scolisoft.org. Collection of high quality data on surgical cases of AIS is a priority and processes continue to improve the database quality. The database currently has 67 registered users from 21 countries. To date, Scolisoft has 200 detailed surgical cases with pre, post, and follow up data. Scolisoft provides a structured process and practical information for surgeons to benchmark their treatment methods against other like treatments. Scolisoft is multifaceted and its use extends to education of health care providers in training, patients, ability to mine important data to stimulate research and quality improvement initiatives of healthcare organizations

Targeted Deletion of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) Modulates Experimental Colitis

Neurogenic inflammation plays a major role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We examined the role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in modulating colitis.Colitis was induced by administration of dextran sodium sulphate (3% DSS) or streptomycin pre-treated Salmonella typhimurium (S.T.) in wild type (WT) and NPY (NPY(-/-)) knockout mice. Colitis was assessed by clinical score, histological score and myeloperoxidase activity. NPY and nNOS expression was assessed by immunostaining. Oxidative stress was assessed by measuring catalase activity, glutathione and nitrite levels. Colonic motility was assessed by isometric muscle recording in WT and DSS-treated mice.DSS/S.T. induced an increase in enteric neuronal NPY and nNOS expression in WT mice. WT mice were more susceptible to inflammation compared to NPY(-/-) as indicated by higher clinical & histological scores, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity (p<0.01). DSS-WT mice had increased nitrite, decreased glutathione (GSH) levels and increased catalase activity indicating more oxidative stress. The lower histological scores, MPO and chemokine KC in S.T.-treated nNOS(-/-) and NPY(-/-)/nNOS(-/-) mice supported the finding that loss of NPY-induced nNOS attenuated inflammation. The inflammation resulted in chronic impairment of colonic motility in DSS-WT mice. NPY -treated rat enteric neurons in vitro exhibited increased nitrite and TNF-alpha production.NPY mediated increase in nNOS is a determinant of oxidative stress and subsequent inflammation. Our study highlights the role of neuronal NPY and nNOS as mediators of inflammatory processes in IBD