A Review of Vehicular Pollution in Urban India and Its Effects on Human Health

The rapid development in urban India has resulted in a tremendous increase in the number of motor vehicles. In some cities, this has doubled in the last decade. Rapid urbanization and growth of motor vehicles impose a serious effect on human life and the environment in recent years. Motor vehicles are a significant source of urban air pollution and are increasingly important contributors of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Transport sector contributes a major sector, contributing 90% of total emissions. Air pollution is a serious environmental health threat to humans. Adverse effects range from nausea, difficulty in breathing and skin irritations, birth defects, immunosuppression and cancer. All these situations indicate that air pollution becoming a major problem in Indian context and there is an essential need to build up healthy environment and increase the level of research around the world. The present study is a review of an increase in vehicular pollution in India and its effect on human due to increasing road transport

Diagnostic accuracy of chromohysteroscopy in women with unexplained infertility

Background: Chronic endometritis has been related to infertility but it is usually asymptomatic and the diagnosis is rarely suspected clinically. In cases of absence of any macroscopic abnormalities during conventional hysteroscopy, endometrial dyeing using methylene blue help identify abnormal areas and coupled with the histopathological examination gives a better diagnosis of endometritis.Methods: This study was conducted on 100 infertile women in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi over a period of one year. All women under- went hysteroscopy followed by chromohysteroscopy using 1% methylene blue dye. Biopsy was taken from light and dark stained areas. The histopathology results of these samples were compared and analyzed in relation with hysteroscopic and chromohysteroscopic findings and diagnostic accuracy calculated.Results: Out of 100 women who underwent dianostic hysteroscopy 68 cases had normal findings and 32 had abnormal finding and on chromohysteroscopy light staining pattern was seen in 56 cases and 44 cases had dark staining. Histopathology of biopsy tissue from these dark stained areas showed endometritis in 50% (22 out of 44 cases) and normal endometrium in 50% (22 out of 44) cases, and biopsy from light stained area showed chronic endometritis in 5.35% (3 out of 56) cases and remaining 94.65% had normal endometrium. Diagnostic accuracy of chromohysteroscopy were sensitivity=88%, specificity=70.66%, PPV=50%, NPV=94.6%.Conclusions: Chromohysteroscopy is a simple and effective technique for diagnosing endometrial pathology in cases of infertility

Connected Component Algorithm for Gestures Recognition

This paper presents head and hand gestures recognition system for Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Head and Hand gestures are an important modality for human computer interaction. Vision based recognition system can give computers the capability of understanding and responding to the hand and head gestures. The aim of this paper is the proposal of real time vision system for its application within a multimedia interaction environment. This recognition system consists of four modules, i.e. capturing the image, image extraction, pattern matching and command determination. If hand and head gestures are shown in front of the camera, hardware will perform respective action. Gestures are matched with the stored database of gestures using pattern matching. Corresponding to matched gesture, the hardware is moved in left, right, forward and backward directions. An algorithm for optimizing connected component in gesture recognition is proposed, which makes use of segmentation in two images. Connected component algorithm scans an image and group its pixels into component based on pixel connectivity i.e. all pixels in connected component share similar pixel intensity values and are in some way connected with each other. Once all groups have been determined, each pixel is labeled with a color according to component it was assigned to

Adaptation to a bacterial pathogen in Drosophila melanogaster is not aided by sexual selection.

Theory predicts that sexual selection should aid adaptation to novel environments, but empirical support for this idea is limited. Pathogens are a major driver of host evolution and, unlike abiotic selection pressures, undergo epidemiological and co-evolutionary cycles with the host involving adaptation and counteradaptation. Because of this, populations harbor ample genetic variation underlying immunity and the opportunity for sexual selection based on condition-dependent "good genes" is expected to be large. In this study, we evolved populations of Drosophila melanogaster in a 2-way factorial design manipulating sexual selection and pathogen presence, using a gram-negative insect pathogen Pseudomonas entomophila, for 14 generations. We then examined how the presence of sexual selection and the pathogen, as well as any potential interaction, affected the evolution of pathogen resistance. We found increased resistance to P. entomophila in populations that evolved under pathogen pressure, driven primarily by increased female survival after infection despite selection for resistance acting only on males over the course of experimental evolution. This result suggests that the genetic basis of resistance is in part shared between the sexes. We did not find any evidence of sexual selection aiding adaptation to pathogen, however, a finding contrary to the predictions of "good genes" theory. Our results therefore provide no support for a role for sexual selection in the evolution of immunity in this experimental system

Genus Ramaria in the Eastern Himalaya: subgenus Laeticolora-I

In this paper an account of 11 taxa of the genus Ramaria (Fr.) Bonorden collected from different localities in the eastern Himalaya and adjoining hills is given. Of the taxa included, Ramaria conjunctipes, Ramaria araiospora var. rubella, Ramaria xanthosperma, Ramaria rubribrunnescens, Ramaria flavigelatinosa, Ramaria flavigelatinosa var.carnisalmonea and Ramaria gelatiniaurantia are new records for the Himalayas; while Ramaria rubrogelatinosa, Ramaria brevispora, Ramaria brevispora var. albida and Ramaria perbrunnea were not known earlier from the eastern Himalaya

Towards greater transparency in neurodevelopmental disorders research: use of a proposed workflow and propensity scores to facilitate selection of matched groups

Background Matching is one commonly utilized method in quasi-experimental designs involving individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). This method ensures two or more groups (e.g., individuals with an NDD versus neurotypical individuals) are balanced on pre-existing covariates (e.g., IQ), enabling researchers to interpret performance on outcome measures as being attributed to group membership. While much attention has been paid to the statistical criteria of how to assess whether groups are well-matched, relatively little attention has been given to a crucial prior step: the selection of the individuals that are included in matched groups. The selection of individuals is often an undocumented process, which can invite unintentional, arbitrary, and biased decision-making. Limited documentation can result in findings that have limited reproducibility and replicability and thereby have poor potential for generalization to the broader population. Especially given the heterogeneity of individuals with NDDs, interpretation of research findings depends on minimizing bias at all stages of data collection and analysis. Results In the spirit of open science, this tutorial demonstrates how a workflow can be used to provide a transparent, reproducible, and replicable process to select individuals for matched groups. Our workflow includes the following key steps: Assess data, Select covariates, Conduct matching, and Diagnose matching. Our sample dataset is from children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 25) and typically developing children (n = 43) but can be adapted to comparisons of any two groups in quasi-experimental designs. We work through this method to conduct and document matching using propensity scores implemented with the R package MatchIt. Data and code are publicly available, and a template for this workflow is provided in the Additional file 1 as well as on a public repository. Conclusions It is important to provide clear documentation regarding the selection process to establish matched groups. This documentation ensures better transparency in participant selection and data analysis in NDD research. We hope the adoption of such a workflow will ultimately advance our ability to replicate findings and help improve the lives of individuals with NDDs

Predator-induced maternal effects determine adaptive antipredator behaviors via egg composition.

In high-risk environments with frequent predator encounters, efficient antipredator behavior is key to survival. Parental effects are a powerful mechanism to prepare offspring for coping with such environments, yet clear evidence for adaptive parental effects on offspring antipredator behaviors is missing. Rapid escape reflexes, or "C-start reflexes," are a key adaptation in fish and amphibians to escape predator strikes. We hypothesized that mothers living in high-risk environments might induce faster C-start reflexes in offspring by modifying egg composition. Here, we show that offspring of the cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher developed faster C-start reflexes and were more risk averse if their parents had been exposed to cues of their most dangerous natural predator during egg production. This effect was mediated by differences in egg composition. Eggs of predator-exposed mothers were heavier with higher net protein content, and the resulting offspring were heavier and had lower igf-1 gene expression than control offspring shortly after hatching. Thus, changes in egg composition can relay multiple putative pathways by which mothers can influence adaptive antipredator behaviors such as faster escape reflexes

Meconium stained liquor in labour and mode of delivery: a time for reappraisal

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the significance of meconium staining of the amniotic fluid and find out an appropriate mode of delivery in women with MSL.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out in Lady Hardinge Medical College and Smt Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, a tertiary government hospital, New Delhi over a time period of 1 year between 2009 to 2010 on 1425 consecutive women of which 142 women were diagnosed as having meconium staining of the amniotic fluid during labour.  All cases were critically analysed and maternal and fetal outcomes were studied in these women.Results: The incidence of MSL was 10% (142/1425), 45% had thin MSL and 55% had thick MSL. In women with thick MSL, 85% had early thick MSL and 15% had late thick MSL. In women who had early thick MSL (n=66), 55 (83.3%) delivered by LSCS and 11 (16.7%) delivered vaginally. On correlating the perinatal outcome with mode of delivery irrespective of fetal heart rate abnormality in early thick MSL, it was seen that the perinatal outcome was significantly affected by mode of delivery. The rates of respiratory distress and MAS was significantly higher in babies who delivered vaginally compared to those by LSCS (18% & 100% vs 9% & 40%, p=0.012, RR- 5.2 [95% CI: 1.8-3.42]. There were no perinatal mortality in early thick MSL.Conclusions: In distinguishing between thick and thin meconium, it was noted that finding of thick meconium in the latent phase of labour (i.e. early thick MSL) is ominous and demands an urgent caesarean delivery.

Origins of the coronary arteries and their significance

OBJECTIVE: To describe the normal and variant anatomy of the coronary artery ostia in Indian subjects. INTRODUCTION: Anomalous coronary origins may cause potentially dangerous symptoms, and even sudden death during strenuous activity. A cadaveric study in an unsuspected population provides a basis for understanding the normal variants, which may facilitate determination of the prevalence of anomalies and evaluation of the value of screening for such anomalies. METHODS: One hundred and five heart specimens were dissected. The number of ostia and their positions within the respective sinuses were observed. Vertical and circumferential deviations of the ostia were observed. The heights of the cusps and the ostia from the bottom of the sinus were measured. RESULTS: No openings were present in the pulmonary artery or the non-coronary sinus. The number of openings in the aortic sinuses varied from 2-5 in the present series; multiple ostia were mostly seen in the anterior sinus. The majority of the ostia lay below the sinutubular ridge (89%) and at or above the level of the upper margin of the cusps (84%). Left ostial openings were mainly centrally located (80%), whereas the right coronary ostia were often shifted towards the right posterior aortic sinus (59%). DISCUSSION: The preferential location of the ostia was within the sinus and above the cusps, but below the sinutubular ridge. On occasion, normal variants like multiple ostia, vertical or circumferential shift in the position, and slit-like ostia may create confusion in interpreting the images and pose a difficulty during procedures like angiography, angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass grafting

Development and evaluation of an automated spray patternator using digital liquid level sensors

Citation: Luck, J. D., Schaardt, W. A., Forney, S. H., & Sharda, A. (2016). Development and evaluation of an automated spray patternator using digital liquid level sensors. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 32(1), 47-52. doi:10.13031/aea.32.11381The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an automated spray pattern measurement system which utilized digital liquid level sensors to quantify the coefficient of variation (CV) for different nozzle configurations. The overall system was designed to measure nozzle effluent in 25 mm divisions from 38.1 to 76.2 cm in width for multiple nozzle configurations with a total patternator surface width of 3.05 m. The patternator surface and data collection system were designed and developed to achieve three primary goals: patternator surface division accuracy, data collection system accuracy, and data collection system repeatability. Patternator surface measurements indicated an average standard deviation of approximately 0.1 mm (0.4%) which would not contribute significantly to spray pattern CV estimates. To quantify the measurement accuracy, the automated system was compared to manual data collection using weights collected from graduated cylinders. Statistical analysis revealed no difference (p > 0.05) between CV estimates from the manual and automated data collection methods. The average difference in CV between the two methods was 0.15% which considered 12 tests per method. Repeatability was also a primary concern, the standard deviation among CV values for tests conducted with the automated system was only 0.35%. The evaluation of the system provided confidence that suitable results would be acquired for different nozzle configurations consisting of acceptable or relatively poor spray patterns. © 2016 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers