Study of clinical characteristics of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinal disorders of the reproductive age group causing anovulation, infertility incidence being 8.7-17.8%. It is associated with obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and metabolic syndrome. This study was aimed to study the different clinical characteristics of women diagnosed with PCOS, attending a tertiary care hospital outpatient department.Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional observational study of 200 patients with PCOS meeting the revised Rotterdam criteria from January 2018-June 2019 excluding pregnant and women with other systemic disorders. A detailed history and examination done, data collected regarding menstrual complaints, features of hyperandrogenism, hirsutism, acne, oily skin and Acanthosis Nigricans (AN) was documented. All data were statistically analyzed and compared using the chi-square or fissures’ exact test. p-value <0.05 considered significant.Results: A total of 200 patients with PCOS were included in the study, of which 41% were obese, 18% lean. The mean age was 24.44±5.62 years. Menstrual complaints were present in 88% -oligomenorrhea (49%) being the most common. 59% had hirsutism,38% of severe grade. Acanthosis nigricans was present in 33% of the patients. Correlation between hirsutism and alopecia, waist to hip ratio (WHR); acanthosis and WHR were statistically significant.Conclusions: PCOS is an ill-defined symptom complex where ethnicity plays a vital role, hence creating a greater need to know the characteristics of the syndrome in different populations and ethnicity. All women presenting with oligomenorrhea or other menstrual complaint should be investigated for PCOS and treated accordingly. The syndrome usually occurs with multiple characters. Though obesity is common in PCOS, non-obese are also at risk. The prevalence of AN and Hirsutism in PCOS were comparable. This mandates a need to increase awareness regarding the syndrome in the general population

Heavy Flavour Baryons in Hyper Central Model

Heavy flavor baryons containing single and double charm (beauty) quarks with light flavor combinations are studied using the hyper central description of the three-body problem. The confinement potential is assumed as hyper central coulomb plus power potential with power index $\upsilon$. The ground state masses of the heavy flavor, $J^P={1/2}^+$ and ${3/2}^+$ baryons are computed for different power index, $\nu$ starting from 0.5 to 2.0. The predicted masses are found to attain a saturated value in each case of quark combinations beyond the power index $\nu=1.0$.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Seismic Response Control Systems for Structures

Structures constructed in developing world are typically RC frames with masonry infill. These structures have little resistance for lateral loads caused by earthquake and wind. Even for  adequately designed structures also, due to permissible deformation beyond elastic limits, failure of masonry causes severe loss of life and property. In the case of structures designed to sustain excessive deformation such as of defence establishments, functioning and serviceability of machines and equipment installed therein are adversely affected. This co-lateral damage may be reduced by adopting another design philosophy of structure response control. In this methodology, a supplementary damping device is incorporated in the primary structure, which absorbs most of the seismic energy imparted to it, restricting the structural response within serviceable limits. These devices may be passive, active, semi-active or hybrid types. Other than passive all options are technology-intensive and dependent on external energy source, not a favourable proposition for developing nations. Among all the passive devices, tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) promise to be most suitable. Here, existing overhead water tanks (OHWT) may be used as TLD with slight adjustment and modification. This method will be able to control the structural response without putting any extra load on the existing or newly-designed buildings. This paper reviews various types of dampers and discusses evolution of tuned liquid dampers. A method has also been proposed for incorporating TLDs in existing and new structures. This methodology may be very useful for structures of defence establishment which are scattered and remotely placed by location, housing important equipments sensitive to vibrations, as it is free from external power dependence and regular maintenance.Defence Science Journal, 2009, 59(3), pp.239-251, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.59.151

Evaluation of hypolipidemic effect of Tinospora cordifolia in cholesterol diet induced hyperlipidemia in rats

Background: There is always a need for developing novel drugs with higher efficacy and fewer side effects. Though statins are generally well-tolerated drugs for hyperlipidemia with high efficacy they are not free from adverse effects. Herbal drugs are well known for their cost-effectiveness and minimal side effects. Tinospora cordifolia (T. cordifolia) is one such plant with known hypolipidemic activity and wide availability in India. Hence this study is an attempt to verify and evaluate the extent of efficacy of T. cordifolia as a hypolipidemic agent. The objective of the study is to compare the hypolipidemic activity of aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia with that of Rosuvastatin in cholesterol diet-induced hyperlipidemia in rats.Methods: Hyperlipidemia was induced in male albino rats of wistar strain in the first 30 days of feeding period and continued in the next 30 days of treatment period. Aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia (2.5 and 5g/kg, per oral) was administered as test drug in the treatment period. Rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg,      per oral) was used as the standard drug. Serum lipid profile, atherogenic index and body weights were estimated for all rats on the day before the start of the feeding period and on day 0, 15 and 30 of the treatment period. The results were analyzed statistically using student’s unpaired and paired t-test wherever applicable.Results: Serum lipid levels showed significant reduction (p <0.001) in TC,TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C with significant elevation (p <0.001) of HDL-C in both the rosuvastatin and test groups, but the percentage reduction in lipid levels, percentage elevation of HDL-C and percentage protection from atherosclerosis was higher in rosuvastatin group than in test groups.Conclusions: T.cordifolia has a definite hypolipidemic potential. Although its effectiveness is lesser than rosuvastatin its beneficial role as hypolipidemic agent may be tested in clinical studies

Evaluation of hypolipidemic effect of Tinospora cordifolia in cholesterol diet induced hyperlipidemia in rats

Background: There is always a need for developing novel drugs with higher efficacy and fewer side effects. Though statins are generally well-tolerated drugs for hyperlipidemia with high efficacy they are not free from adverse effects. Herbal drugs are well known for their cost-effectiveness and minimal side effects. Tinospora cordifolia (T. cordifolia) is one such plant with known hypolipidemic activity and wide availability in India. Hence this study is an attempt to verify and evaluate the extent of efficacy of T. cordifolia as a hypolipidemic agent. The objective of the study is to compare the hypolipidemic activity of aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia with that of Rosuvastatin in cholesterol diet-induced hyperlipidemia in rats.Methods: Hyperlipidemia was induced in male albino rats of wistar strain in the first 30 days of feeding period and continued in the next 30 days of treatment period. Aqueous root extract of T. cordifolia (2.5 and 5g/kg, per oral) was administered as test drug in the treatment period. Rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg,      per oral) was used as the standard drug. Serum lipid profile, atherogenic index and body weights were estimated for all rats on the day before the start of the feeding period and on day 0, 15 and 30 of the treatment period. The results were analyzed statistically using student’s unpaired and paired t-test wherever applicable.Results: Serum lipid levels showed significant reduction (p <0.001) in TC,TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C with significant elevation (p <0.001) of HDL-C in both the rosuvastatin and test groups, but the percentage reduction in lipid levels, percentage elevation of HDL-C and percentage protection from atherosclerosis was higher in rosuvastatin group than in test groups.Conclusions: T.cordifolia has a definite hypolipidemic potential. Although its effectiveness is lesser than rosuvastatin its beneficial role as hypolipidemic agent may be tested in clinical studies

Response of sorghum to foliar sprays and seed inoculation with Azotobacter

Occurrence of non-symbiotic dinitrogen fixers in phyllosphere has been reported by Ruinen, 1956, Bond 1959, Meiklejohn, 1962, Vasantrajan and Bhat, 1968, Bhat et al. 1971 and Sen 1975. Wani, et al have reported the presence of Azotobacter spp. in the phyllosphere of sorghum and other crops. They also studied efficacy fixing nitrogen in vitro. This report deals with the effect of spraying of A. chroococcum and A. vinelandii isolated from sorghu

CORRELATION BETWEEN BODY MASS INDEX AND MICROALBUMINURIA IN ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSIVE ADULTS

Objective: This study aimed to find the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and microalbuminuria (MA) in essential hypertensive adults. Methods: This study included 35 essential hypertensive patients in the 18–65 years of age group, who satisfied the inclusion criteria. Arterial blood pressure was measured by a sphygmomanometer and the first voided early morning urine sample was collected for the estimation of microalbumin. Results: The mean age of the population studied was 49±11.08 in essential hypertensive patients and 46.89±11.10 in the control group. The mean value of BMI in the hypertensive group was found to be 27.59±5.45. In the present study, the mean value of microalbumin in essential hypertensive patients was 20.95±16.96. A significant positive correlation between BMI and MA was observed in the study with p&lt;0.001. Conclusion: Our study shows a positive correlation between BMI and MA. Therefore, this study will help in the early detection of renal injury and prevents its progression to renal failure by lifestyle and diet modifications

Diarrhea, CD4 counts and enteric infections in a hospital - based cohort of HIV-infected patients around Varanasi, India

Background: As most of the studies in HIV patients with diarrhea were cross sectional, focusing on the etiological agents, we are reporting data on the rate of diarrhea, associations between diarrhea and CD4 counts and variation in frequency of identifying a pathogen with consistency of diarrhea and duration in a prospective hospital based study. Methods: Stool specimens were obtained between Jan 2001 and April 2003 from HIV infected adults with diarrhea presenting to Infectious Disease clinic, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. In all patients with diarrhea, specimens were examined by microscopy and cultures to identify pathogens. Results: During the study, 630 person years of observations with diarrhea were analyzed. 140 stool samples were collected representing 43% of episodes of reported diarrhea. Positivity of finding a pathogen from watery stools and formed stools were 40%&amp;24% respectively (p &lt; 0.01) probably due to associated inflammation is more in watery diarrhea. Patients having chronic diarrhea are 2.25 (95%CI 1.52-2.81) times at more risk of developing other opportunistic infections compared to those who don't have. However this is not true with the acute diarrhea where risk of harboring the opportunistic infections remain same. Conclusion: Diarrhea was most strongly associated with low CD4 counts. Over two-thirds of diarrheal episodes were undiagnosed, suggesting that unidentified agents or primary HIV enteropathy are important causes of diarrhea in this population. There is a strong negative association between duration of diarrhea and CD4 levels