Pattern and features of menstruation among adolescent girls in Haldwani: a cross-sectional study

Background: Menstruation becomes an important aspect in life of an adolescent girl once she attains puberty and is often associated with variable characteristics. Being a development process and a reported significant source of morbidity too, it becomes important to study its pattern and characteristics. The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern of menstruation among adolescent girls.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 574 adolescent girls of 10-19 years age of 6th to 12th grades in four selected government and private schools of Haldwani. Data was collected using a predesigned semi-structured questionnaire with brief interview and examination. Analysis of data was done with help of SPSS version 21.Results: Mean age of the girls was 14.95±1.41 years. Mean age at menarche was 12.94±1.01 years. Majority of girls 441 (76.82%) had cycle length of 21-35 days and it was found that 95 (16.55%) girls had irregular menstrual periods. Rural and urban differences in regularity of menstruation were statistically significant. Duration of flow in majority 300 (52.26%) of girls was 2-4 days followed by 5-7 days in 222 (38.68%). Dysmenorrhoea was reported by 422 (73.52%) of adolescent girls and of them 259 (61.37%) have never used analgesics while 66 (15.63%) have always used analgesics. Girls with absence of pallor were 1.2 (0.8-1.9) times more likely to have regular menstruation as compared to those showing pallor.Conclusions: Irregular menstruation was common among girls and significant association was found with place of residence. Dysmenorrhoea was present in three-fourth of adolescent girls still majority of them have never used analgesics. Daily routine was affected in more than 80% of girls during menstruation.

Optimal Placement of Capacitors in Radial Distribution System to Minimizes the Losses at Variable Load Levels

This paper presents an efficient approach for optimal placement of capacitor in radial distribution system, with an objective of improving the voltage profile and reduction of power loss. Distribution system is a link between high voltage transmission system and the low voltage end users, so it’s very essential to keep the system healthy and with minimum losses. The present work is devoted to determine the optimal locations and sizes of capacitors with different load levels using a genetic algorithm. Implementation of the Genetic Algorithm for its multifunction capability is one of the distinguished characteristics for optimal capacitor placement in distribution system. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, it is tested on IEEE 33-bus radial distribution networks

A comparative study of morbidity pattern among rural and urban postmenopausal women of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Menopause is an inevitable reproductive phase during midlife when various physical and mental changes may impair the quality of life of women. Middle-aged women may experience a wide range of physical and psychological symptoms. Decrease in the production of estrogen leads to the premenopausal symptoms of hot flushes, insomnia and mood changes, as well as post-menopausal osteoporosis and vaginal atrophy, leading to decrease in quality of life.Methods: Community based cross-sectional study. Door to door survey was conducted among women who had attained menopause for more than 1 year, in rural and urban area of Allahabad. Multistage random sampling was done. 400 postmenopausal women, 200 each from rural and urban area were selected. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used for data collection.Results: Majority were in the age group of 50-60 years followed by 60-70 years. Majority of women were having a parity of 3. Vasomotor symptoms were experienced by 34.5% and 39.5% rural and urban women respectively. Out of total post-menopausal women who reported genitourinary complaints, the most commonly reported complaint was stress incontinence i.e. 10.5% and 8.5% respectively in rural and urban communities followed by increased urinary frequency i.e. 9% and 7.5% respectively in rural and urban areas. Vaginal dryness was reported by 2.5% of rural women and 6% of urban women. Vaginal discharge was reported by 7% of rural and 4% of urban women. Uterine Prolapse was reported by 6% of rural women and 3.5% of urban women.Conclusions: The study shows that postmenopausal women in India suffer from various vasomotor, physical as well as psychiatric problems related to menopausal hormonal changes with varied frequencies. There is a need to address their problem and establish health care centers for them. Postmenopausal women should be sensitized for availing the health facilities for their health problems by information education and communication (IEC) and behaviour change communication (BCC). Family support should be ensured by creating awareness in community. Awareness regarding menopause and problems among women related to it need to be improved. Health workers, ASHA, Aanganwadi workers can help women to understand about the menopausal symptoms, if they are given adequate training

A study of anaemia and its correlates among adolescent girls in schools of Haldwani, India

Background: Anaemia, a manifestation of under nutrition and poor dietary intake of iron is a public health problem, not only among pregnant women, infants and young children but also among adolescents. Anaemia among adolescent girls can result in impaired physical growth, poor cognition, reduced physical fitness and work performance and lower concentration on daily tasks.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in schools of Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India with the objective studying various socio-demographic characteristics in relation to anaemia among adolescent girls. Multistage random sampling was used to select adolescent girls of 10 to 19 years of age who were interviewed and examined. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test and Odds ratios calculated with SPSS v21.Results: Around 371 girls in present study had varying severity of anaemia and majority had mild to moderate anaemia. Place of residence, type of school, birth order, type of family and mother occupation were significantly associated with presence of anaemia. Girls taking mixed diet were 1.23 times more likely to be non-anaemic as compared to girls taking vegetarian diet. Study showed adolescent girls consuming IFA tablets were less likely anaemic compared to those not consuming (OR=0.09, p<0.001).Conclusions: Among school going adolescent girls nearly half are still suffering from anaemia in India, despite the efforts of government and it is still a challenging public health problem

PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA (PMJDY) - A CONCEPTUAL STUDY

A successful development is marked with the establishment of a stable and useful financial system for the entire population. Indian government implemented many initiatives since independence for financial inclusion and recently launched Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) to overcome the loopholes of previous initiatives. PMJDY is major financial plan with the objective of covering all households in the country with banking facilities along with inbuilt insurance coverage. With this background, the study has been conducted and tries to find out the success rate of inclusion process in rural areas of Jaipur district. For the purpose of the study, both primary data and secondary data have been collected. Correlation (r) test is used to find out the relationship between the socio economic backgrounds and the financial inclusion process. Findings show that Income, financial information from various channels and awareness of PMJDY are influential factors leading to inclusion. Nearness to banks increases the likelihood of inclusion

Weak ferromagnetism in non-centrosymmetric BiPd 4K superconductor

We report synthesis of non-centrosymmetric BiPd single crystal by self flux method. The BiPd single crystal is crystallized in monoclinic structure with the P21 space group. Detailed SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) results show that the crystals are formed in slab like morphology with homogenous distribution of Bi and Pd. The magnetic susceptibility measurement confirmed that the BiPd compound is superconducting below 4K. Further, BiPd exhibits weak ferromagnetism near the superconducting transition temperature in isothermal magnetization (MH) measurements. The temperature dependent electrical resistivity also confirmed that the BiPd single crystal is superconducting at Tc=4K. Magneto transport measurements showed that the estimated Hc2(0) value is around 7.0kOe. We also obtained a sharp peak in heat capacity Cp(T) measurements at below 4K due to superconducting ordering. The normalized specific-heat jump, DC/{\gamma}Tc, is 1.52, suggesting the BiPd to be an intermediate BCS coupled superconductor. The pressure dependent electrical resistivity shows the Tc decreases with increasing applied pressure and the obtained dTc/dP is -0.62K/Gpa.Comment: 11 pages Text+Fig

Hydatid cyst of ovary: an unusual site

Discovering a hydatid cyst in pelvic region, especially as primary localization, is a rare event; as a matter of fact according to data provided by literature the incidence is between 0.2 and 2.25%. The ovarian involvement is often secondary to a cyst's dissemination localized in a different site. When possible the optimal treatment is represented by radical laparotomic cystectomy. We report a case of an old postmenopausal woman presented with intermittent dull aching pain with 16 weeks cystic pelvic mass which mimicked the ovarian malignancy even after imaging techniques. We treated the case with laprotomic cystectom

Primary ovarian pregnancy: rare site of ectopic gestation

Ovarian pregnancy is one of the rarest varieties of ectopic gestation. Intrauterine devices have evolved as probable risk factor. It is often difficult to distinguish it from tubal ectopic clinically. Diagnosis is generally retrospective during surgery with confirmation by histopathological examination. Hereby we are presenting a case of primary ovarian pregnancy in a multiparous female of reproductive age group using cu-t as contraception presented with acute abdomen managed by conservative surgery and diagnosis confirmed by histopathological examination