Study of changes in levels of salivary estriol and progesterone in preterm labor in comparison to normal pregnancy

Background: This prospective research was designed to evaluate changes in levels of salivary Estriol and Progesterone in preterm labor in comparison to normal pregnancy. Spontaneous onset of labor at term is produced by definite increase in estriol and fall in progesterone. This rise in free estrogen should precede the onset of labor according with the known effect of estrogen and progesterone on myometrial activity. Concentration of steroid in saliva reflect unbound unconjugated and biologically active fraction.Methods: The present study was carried for duration of one year enrolling 115 antenatal women between 28 and < 37 weeks of gestation with or without labour pains attending the antenatal clinic in KGMU, Lucknow and those admitted in Queen Mary’s Hospital Lucknow. 5 ml of saliva was collected in cryovials from each patient to estimate estriol and progesterone. The estimation of saliva progesterone and estriol was done by immunoenzymatic colorimetric method of the supernatant of sample.Results: In our study mean value of saliva progesterone levels of pregnant women with preterm delivery (study group IIA) was lower than the control group (Group l) but the difference was not significant (3814.46±751.14 pg/ml versus 3945.16±577.11 pg/ml, p = 0.351). Mean value of estriol study group who delivered preterm (3512.85±586.16 pg/ml) was higher as compared to the mean value of control group (2691.72±681.08 pg/ml) and difference was significant (p value < 0.001).Conclusions: Thus, there is significant rise in level of saliva estriol, it can be used as a predictor for detecting symptomatic and asymptomatic women at risk for preterm birth

Integration of ICT in Classroom: Some Reflections

Many studies have been conducted to investigate barriers to the integration of ICT in education.&nbsp; This paper provides a meta-analysis of this literature that aims to present the perceived barriers of technology integration in education and particularly teacher level barriers are highlighted here. This analysis aims to bring together the findings and key points from a review of a significant part of the available literature associated with teachers’ integration of ICT into their teaching. Studying the obstacles to the use of ICT in teaching and learning environments is crucial because this knowledge could provide guidance for ways to enhance technology integration and encourage greater use of ICT on the part of teachers themselves. Identifying the fundamental barriers may assists teachers and educators to overcome these barriers and become successful technology adapters

Knowledge, attitude, and practice study among healthcare workers, during COVID-19 pandemic in an aspiring district of Uttar Pradesh

Background: COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) declared pandemic by WHO on 30th January 2020. Till date there is no antiviral treatment or vaccine has been developed for COVID-19. Primary preventive measures include regular hand washing, social distancing and respiratory etiquettes are only proven methods till date.Methods: A type of questionnaire based cross sectional study was conducted among the healthcare workers (HCWs) of Maharaja Suheldev Autonomous State Medical College, Bahraich.Results: In this predominantly uneducated and socially backward area, majority of participants had knowledge about COVID-19 precautionary measures and most of them are confident of winning over the disease; 77.5% were confident of successfully controlling the disease, yet maximum healthcare workers took seriously the precautionary measures.Conclusions: Good COVID-19 knowledge is associated with optimistic attitudes and appropriate practices towards COVID-19, suggesting that health education programs aimed at improving COVID-19 knowledge are helpful for encouraging an optimistic attitude and maintaining safe practices

Evaluation of amniotic fluid volume and its relation to perinatal outcome

Background: In pregnancy amniotic fluid surrounds the foetus and plays an important role in the development of fetus. From the very beginning of the formation of the extracoelomic cavity amniotic fluid can be detected. To evaluate the predictive value of amniotic fluid index (AFI) (34 weeks. The women’s history, clinical examination recorded, and AFI were measured and the perinatal outcome was compared between two groups, i.e., AFI 5.Results: The cesarean section rate for fetal distress, low birth weight babies, <2.5 kg and meconium staining was higher in patients with oligohydramnios (p=0.012, 0.001, 0.00015 respectively). There was no significant difference in Apgar score at 5 min <7 (p=0.087) and NICU at birth between the two groups.Conclusions: Oligohydramnios has a significant correlation with cesarean section for fetal distress, low birth weight babies and NICU admission

Neoteric Design Power Sustained 3-Bit Asynchronous Counter Using CNFET Based MCML Topology

Leading digital circuits namely register, flipflops, state machines and counters drive operational aspects and potential applications in Integrated Circuit (IC) industry. MOS Current Mode Logic (MCML) based implementations with rapid response and simul- taneous generation of complemented output is all set to become indispensable in nano regime industry. This paper attempts to optimize and address performance- based analysis of digital circuits namely NAND, D flipflop and 3-bit asynchronous counter by practicing MCML based implementation. These circuits are con- templated on four design parameters namely delay (tp), power (pwr), Power Delay Product (PDP) and Energy Delay Product (EDP). This research focuses on rel- ative analysis and emanate a salient optimal appli- cation of Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) and Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor (CNFET) based 3-bit asynchronous counter. In ad- dition to this, the two configurations of the MCML counter are then compared against applied VDD at 16-nm technology nodes using HSPICE simulator. CNFET based 3-bit MCML counter is observed to be much faster (9.75×), significant improvement in gross power dissipation (11.93×), material refine- ment in PDP and EDP (116.39× and 1165×) re- spectively as compared to the conventional counter- part. Therefore, CNFET based implementations comes to the fore as resilient technology supporting high level integration in nano scale regime

Sexually transmitted infections or reproductive tract infections prevalence and treatment efficacy of syndromic approach in reproductive age group women attending gynaecological out-patient department

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STI) and reproductive tract infections (RTI) continue to be a major health, social and economic problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of STI and RTI among women of reproductive age (18-49 years) attending gynaecological consultations. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1006 women of reproductive age attending a hospital was conducted over a period of 1 year. Out of these 116 women were not followed up, so they were excluded from the study. Thus, 890 women between the ages of 18 and 49 who were fertile completed the study, whether or not they had symptoms. Results: According to a laboratory test, the overall prevalence of STDs and STIs in women of childbearing age was 24.62% in symptomatic individuals and 12% in asymptomatic individuals. Vaginal discharge (61.91%) was the most common symptom Conclusions: To reduce the prevalence of STIs, RTI /STI screening for women in all reproductive age groups is essential. Early detection and treatment can reduce the severity of long-term sequelae and prevent complications

Effect of anti-epileptic drugs on cognitive functions: a prospective study in individuals with newly diagnosed complex partial seizure and generalized tonic clonic seizure

Background: Epilepsy, the third most common neurologic disorder, deteriorates cognitive functions of the patients. Approximately 1% of the world’s population is suffering from epilepsy. Opinions regarding impact of anti-epileptic drugs on cognition are divided. So, this study was designed to assess the impact of anti-epileptic drugs on cognitive performance of patients with complex partial seizure and generalized tonic clonic seizure in Department of Medicine, at Government Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India.Methods: In present study, cognitive functions were assessed in 50 patients of newly diagnosed complex partial seizure and generalized tonic clonic seizure coming to the Department of Medicine, Surat. The cognitive functions were evaluated by Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE)-III, which assessed memory, attention, fluency, language and visuo-spatial abilities. Follow-up was done after six months of baseline.Results: Baseline and Follow-up data from 50 patients were analysed. Patient treated with anti-epileptic drugs showed significant improvement in memory, attention, language and visuo-spatial abilities whereas improvement in fluency was not significant. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test were used to analyse the data. For statistical analysis of data SPSS 19.0 software was used.Conclusions: The available data indicate that the anti-epileptic drugs on short-term administration do not adversely affect cognitive function in patients with newly diagnosed CPS and GTCS. Importantly, the data suggest that the effects exerted by AEDs could depend on factors linked to patient characteristics and individual susceptibility and to comment on those factors further studies are needed