Knowledge, attitude and practices of contraception among the married women of reproductive age group in urban slums of Lucknow

Background: Despite the availability of a wide range of contraceptive and mass media campaigns and information, education, and communication programs, population control remains a distant dream to achieve. The low use of spacing methods is reflected by early childbearing and short birth intervals. The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of different contraceptive methods among married women in the reproductive age group.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 230 married women in the reproductive age group (18-49 years) attending the outpatient department (OPD) of urban health training centre and came mainly from the neighboring slum locality.Results: We have included a total of 230 participants in the study analysis. Almost all (98.6%) of the study participants had knowledge about at least one method of contraception. If we see the use of contraceptive methods, 163 (70.8%) women ever used any of the contraceptive methods. Less than half (40.9%) had knowledge that contraceptive methods reduce the economic burden on the family. A negative attitude towards the practice of contraception was found among 11.7 percent of women in the study. When asking about present (last 1 year) practice of contraception, 29.1% not practiced any method of contraception, 25.6% used oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), and 27.8% used condoms.Conclusions: The study reveals good knowledge and favorable attitude of rural couples towards contraception. Contraceptive knowledge and practice were influenced by exposure to family planning messages. Women's education and counselling of couples can play an important role in adopting family planning methods

Geology of South and Southwest part of Uttar Pradesh and its Mineral Significance

The major part of Uttar Pradesh is covered by Gangatic alluvium in the north whereas the southern part is covered by peninsular terrain. This alluvium cover belongs to Holocene age and is mainly dominated by Varanasi older sediments exposed beyond the river basinal areas and Banda younger sediments exposed around the rivers flowing. The older alluvium comprises finer grained, well compacted and more mature sediments occupying extensive stretches at relatively higher elevations. The drainage pattern in region is subdendritic to dendritic type formed by hills and nalas flowing over the soil cover. The Peninsular part of Uttar Pradesh is covered by the rocks of Archean to Mesozoic age. The Bundelkhand craton nuclei mostly composed of Archean granitoids show heterogeneity in texture and composition, intruded by later phase of magmatic activity. The Mahrauni Group of the rocks exposed around Girar, Manpura and Rajaula areas in Madawara block of Lalitpur region. The Bijawar Group is exposed in Sonrai area district Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh. The rocks of Dudhi Gneissic Complex and Mahakoshal Group are exposed in Sonbhadra and Mirzapur district. Few exposures of Ajabgarh Group rocks are exposed in Mathura district. These Bijawar Group, Mahakoshal Group and Ajabgarh Group rocks are equivalent to Delhi Supergroup. The Bundelkhand craton is capped by the sedimentary units of Vindhyan Supergroup which is exposed mainly in the southern part of Uttar Pradesh and a few exposures are observed in Agra district. The Deccan Trap rocks are also traces in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh

Development of sunlight-driven eutectic phase change material nanocomposite for applications in solar water heating

Organic phase change materials (PCMs) have been utilized as latent heat energy storage medium for effective thermal management. In this work, a PCM nanocomposite, consisting of a mixture of two organic PCMs (referred to as eutectic gel PCM) and minimal amount (0.5 wt%) of nanographite (NG) as a supporting material, was prepared. Differential scanning calorimeter was used to determine the melting temperature and latent heat of pristine PCM, paraffin (61.5 °C and 161.5 J/g), eutectic gel PCM (54 °C and 158 J/g) and eutectic gel PCM nanocomposite (53.5 °C and 155 J/g). The prepared PCM nanocomposites exhibited enhanced thermal conductivity and ultrafast thermal charging characteristics. The nanocomposites were employed for two different applications: (i) providing hot water using an indigenously fabricated solar water heating (SWH) system and (ii) solar rechargeable glove that can be rapidly warmed and used. Experimental results on SWH system show that the use of PCM nanocomposites helps to increase the charging rate of PCM while reducing the discharging rate of heat by PCM to water, thus enhancing the maximum utilization of solar energy and hence improving the efficiency of the SWH system. The experimental results on solar rechargeable glove revealed that the glove has the ability to retain the temperature up to 3 hours

Histidylated lipid-modified sendai viral envelopes mediate enhanced membrane fusion and potentiate targeted gene delivery

Recent studies have demonstrated that covalent grafting of a single histidine residue into a twin-chain aliphatic hydrocarbon compound enhances its endosome-disrupting properties and thereby generates an excellent DNA transfection system. Significant increase in gene delivery efficiencies has thus been obtained by using endosome-disrupting multiple histidine functionalities in the molecular architecture of various cationic polymers. To take advantage of this unique feature, we have incorporated L-histidine (N,N-di-n-hexadecylamine) ethylamide (L(H)) in the membrane of hepatocyte-specific Sendai virosomes containing only the fusion protein (F-virosomes (Process for Producing a Targeted Gene (Sarkar, D. P., Ramani, K., Bora, R. S., Kumar, M., and Tyagi, S. K. (November 4, 1997) U. S. Patent 5,683,866))). Such L(H)-modified virosomal envelopes were four times more (p <0.001) active in terms of fusion with its target cell membrane. On the other hand, the presence of L(H) in reconstituted influenza and vesicular stomatitis virus envelopes failed to enhance spike glycoprotein-induced membrane fusion with host cell membrane. Circular dichroism and limited proteolysis experiments with F-virosomes indicated that the presence of L(H) leads to conformational changes in the F protein. The molecular mechanism associated with the increased membrane fusion induced by L(H) has been addressed in the light of fusion-competent conformational change in F protein. Such enhancement of fusion resulted in a highly efficient gene delivery system specific for liver cells in culture and in whole animals

Genetic structure of Plasmodium falciparum field isolates in eastern and north-eastern India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Molecular techniques have facilitated the studies on genetic diversity of <it>Plasmodium </it>species particularly from field isolates collected directly from patients. The <it>msp-1 </it>and <it>msp-2 </it>are highly polymorphic markers and the large allelic polymorphism has been reported in the block 2 of the <it>msp-1 </it>gene and the central repetitive domain (block3) of the <it>msp-2 </it>gene. Families differing in nucleotide sequences and in number of repetitive sequences (length variation) were used for genotyping purposes. As limited reports are available on the genetic diversity existing among <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>population of India, this report evaluates the extent of genetic diversity in the field isolates of <it>P. falciparum </it>in eastern and north-eastern regions of India.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A study was designed to assess the diversity of <it>msp-1 </it>and <it>msp-2 </it>among the field isolates from India using allele specific nested PCR assays and sequence analysis. Field isolates were collected from five sites distributed in three states namely, Assam, West Bengal and Orissa.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>P. falciparum </it>isolates of the study sites are highly diverse in respect of length as well as sequence motifs with prevalence of all the reported allelic families of <it>msp-1 </it>and <it>msp-2</it>. Prevalence of identical allelic composition as well as high level of sequence identity of alleles suggest a considerable amount of gene flow between the <it>P. falciparum </it>populations of different states. A comparatively higher proportion of multiclonal isolates as well as multiplicity of infection (MOI) was observed among isolates of highly malarious districts Karbi Anglong (Assam) and Sundergarh (Orissa). In all the five sites, R033 family of <it>msp-1 </it>was observed to be monomorphic with an allele size of 150/160 bp. The observed 80–90% sequence identity of Indian isolates with data of other regions suggests that Indian <it>P. falciparum </it>population is a mixture of different strains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study shows that the field isolates of eastern and north-eastern regions of India are highly diverse in respect of <it>msp-1 </it>(block 2) and <it>msp-2 </it>(central repeat region, block 3). As expected Indian isolates present a picture of diversity closer to southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea and Latin American countries, regions with low to meso-endemicity of malaria in comparison to African regions of hyper- to holo-endemicity.</p

Identification of priority health conditions for field-based screening in urban slums in Bangalore, India

BACKGROUND: Urban slums are characterised by unique challenging living conditions, which increase their inhabitants' vulnerability to specific health conditions. The identification and prioritization of the key health issues occurring in these settings is essential for the development of programmes that aim to enhance the health of local slum communities effectively. As such, the present study sought to identify and prioritise the key health issues occurring in urban slums, with a focus on the perceptions of health professionals and community workers, in the rapidly growing city of Bangalore, India. METHODS: The study followed a two-phased mixed methods design. During Phase I of the study, a total of 60 health conditions belonging to four major categories: - 1) non-communicable diseases; 2) infectious diseases; 3) maternal and women's reproductive health; and 4) child health - were identified through a systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews conducted with health professionals and other relevant stakeholders with experience working with urban slum communities in Bangalore. In Phase II, the health issues were prioritised based on four criteria through a consensus workshop conducted in Bangalore. RESULTS: The top health issues prioritized during the workshop were: diabetes and hypertension (non-communicable diseases category), dengue fever (infectious diseases category), malnutrition and anaemia (child health, and maternal and women's reproductive health categories). Diarrhoea was also selected as a top priority in children. These health issues were in line with national and international reports that listed them as top causes of mortality and major contributors to the burden of diseases in India. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study will be used to inform the development of technologies and the design of interventions to improve the health outcomes of local communities. Identification of priority health issues in the slums of other regions of India, and in other low and lower middle-income countries, is recommended

Diabetes mortality and trends before 25 years of age: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes, at younger ages can be a largely preventable cause of death with the correct health care and services. We aimed to evaluate diabetes mortality and trends at ages younger than 25 years globally using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. Methods We used estimates of GBD 2019 to calculate international diabetes mortality at ages younger than 25 years in 1990 and 2019. Data sources for causes of death were obtained from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and other surveillance systems for 1990–2019. We estimated death rates for each location using the GBD Cause of Death Ensemble model. We analysed the association of age-standardised death rates per 100 000 population with the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and a measure of universal health coverage (UHC) and described the variability within SDI quintiles. We present estimates with their 95% uncertainty intervals. Findings In 2019, 16 300 (95% uncertainty interval 14 200 to 18 900) global deaths due to diabetes (type 1 and 2 combined) occurred in people younger than 25 years and 73·7% (68·3 to 77·4) were classified as due to type 1 diabetes. The age-standardised death rate was 0·50 (0·44 to 0·58) per 100 000 population, and 15 900 (97·5%) of these deaths occurred in low to high-middle SDI countries. The rate was 0·13 (0·12 to 0·14) per 100 000 population in the high SDI quintile, 0·60 (0·51 to 0·70) per 100 000 population in the low-middle SDI quintile, and 0·71 (0·60 to 0·86) per 100 000 population in the low SDI quintile. Within SDI quintiles, we observed large variability in rates across countries, in part explained by the extent of UHC (r2=0·62). From 1990 to 2019, age-standardised death rates decreased globally by 17·0% (−28·4 to −2·9) for all diabetes, and by 21·0% (–33·0 to −5·9) when considering only type 1 diabetes. However, the low SDI quintile had the lowest decline for both all diabetes (−13·6% [–28·4 to 3·4]) and for type 1 diabetes (−13·6% [–29·3 to 8·9]). Interpretation Decreasing diabetes mortality at ages younger than 25 years remains an important challenge, especially in low and low-middle SDI countries. Inadequate diagnosis and treatment of diabetes is likely to be major contributor to these early deaths, highlighting the urgent need to provide better access to insulin and basic diabetes education and care. This mortality metric, derived from readily available and frequently updated GBD data, can help to monitor preventable diabetes-related deaths over time globally, aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Targets, and serve as an indicator of the adequacy of basic diabetes care for type 1 and type 2 diabetes across nations.publishedVersio

Federated learning enables big data for rare cancer boundary detection.

Although machine learning (ML) has shown promise across disciplines, out-of-sample generalizability is concerning. This is currently addressed by sharing multi-site data, but such centralization is challenging/infeasible to scale due to various limitations. Federated ML (FL) provides an alternative paradigm for accurate and generalizable ML, by only sharing numerical model updates. Here we present the largest FL study to-date, involving data from 71 sites across 6 continents, to generate an automatic tumor boundary detector for the rare disease of glioblastoma, reporting the largest such dataset in the literature (n = 6, 314). We demonstrate a 33% delineation improvement for the surgically targetable tumor, and 23% for the complete tumor extent, over a publicly trained model. We anticipate our study to: 1) enable more healthcare studies informed by large diverse data, ensuring meaningful results for rare diseases and underrepresented populations, 2) facilitate further analyses for glioblastoma by releasing our consensus model, and 3) demonstrate the FL effectiveness at such scale and task-complexity as a paradigm shift for multi-site collaborations, alleviating the need for data-sharing

Author Correction: Federated learning enables big data for rare cancer boundary detection.

10.1038/s41467-023-36188-7NATURE COMMUNICATIONS14