Chronopotentiometry with Programmed Current: Theoretical Study of an Electrode Process Complicated by a Catalytic Reaction

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Comparative study of clinical profile and presumptive stressful life events in patients of psychogenic non epileptic seizure and epileptic seizure: a cross sectional study

Background:Psychogenic Non Epileptic Seizure (PNES) is one of the most common conditions to be mistaken for epilepsy. No clinical feature is pathognomic of PNES, but some help in distinguishing it from epileptic seizure. Role of psychologically stressful events has been considered central to the pathogenesis of PNES and used in differentiating it from epileptic seizure. The purpose of present study was to compare the clinical profile and number of stressful life events in the two patient groups in Indian population.  Methods:50 new patients of epileptic seizure and PNES each, aged 16 to 60 visiting the psychiatric and neurology OPD were selected. Detailed history and physical examination was carried out to exclude any medical illness. Diagnosis was made based on clinical history given by an eye witness and EEG recording. Brain imaging (CT/MRI) was conducted, to rule out any secondary causes of seizure. General health questionnaire 12, and presumptive stressful life event scale was applied on all patients. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis. Chi square was used for categorical data and Man Whitney U test for continuous data.  Results:There were significantly more females in the PNES group (P = 0.001) and significantly more illiterate (P = 0.004) .There were no significant difference with regard to the age of onset, marital status. Also there was no statistically significant difference between the two group with regard to number of stressful life event (P = 0.330).  Conclusion:Stressful life event should not bias a clinician towards making a diagnosis of PNES.

Curse of the technology-computer related musculoskeletal disorders and vision syndrome: a study

Background: Computer Related Musculoskeletal disorders and Vision Syndrome (CRMSKVS) is defined as symptoms due to prolonged use of Visual Display Terminal (VDT).Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was done among office-workers working on computer terminal. A self-reported questionnaire was distributed and Musculoskeletal (MSK) and visual symptoms in the preceding 12 months (01 October 2017 to 30 September 2018) were taken as dependent variable. Multivariate analysis was done to identify the determinants of CRMSKVS.Results: Responses from 1193 subjects were included in the study. CRMSKVS was present in 489 cases (40.98%; males - 37.5%, females - 58.29%).  The main MSK symptoms were pain/stiffness in neck (40.98%), shoulder (38.99%), lower back (35.6%) and elbow/wrist/hand/fingers (23.1%). The ocular symptoms were excessive watering (39.6%), pain (24.99), irritation (18.6%), burning/itching sensation (29.8%), redness (40.7%), blurring of vision (13.2%) and headache (40.9%). Female gender (OR-1.498(1.262-1.778)), long duration of working hours (OR-2.77(2.399-3.214)), poor break duration (OR-2.59(2.172-3.089)), excessive smart phone use (OR-2.071(1.834-2.338)), poor posture (OR-3.883(3.282-4.592)), inappropriate distance of computer screen (OR-2.173(1.829-2.582)), low height of screen (OR-1.936(1.527-2.454)), distance of keyboard (OR-3.161(2.528-3.953)) and distance of mouse (OR-5.785(3.932-8.512)) were identified as significant determinants of CRMSKVS.Conclusions: CRMSKVS is an emerging pandemic which needs urgent attention by medical and administrative authorities. The device factors, personal factors, environmental and ergonomic factors are the modifiable risk factors for CRMSKVS

Role Of Social & Psychological Factors In Drug Default In Patients Of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Research Problem: What is the influence of social and psychological factors on drug default in patients of pul­monary tuberculosis? Objective: To assess the role of social and psychological factors in drug default in patients of pulmonary tubercu­losis. Study Design: Hospital - based study by questionnaire method Setting and Participants: Patients of pulmonary tubercu­losis attending Out Patient Department of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, J.N. Medical College Hospital, A.M.U., Aligarh. Sample Size: 136 defaulters and 86 treated cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. Study Variables: Social factors, psychological factors, drug default and pulmonary tuberculosis. Outcome Variables: Association of social and psycho­logical factors with drug default in pulmonary tuberculo­sis patients. Statistical Analysis: By chi - square test and significance at 5% level. Result: Important social factors influencing drug default were joint family (74.27%), lack of money (22.06%) and uncooperative family (11.7%). Psychiatric morbidity among defaulters was significantly high (68.39%). Conclusion: Patient compliance depends on many psy­chological (e.g. psychiatric morbidity, type of personal­ity), and sociological,factors (including economic status of patient, nature of family, its environment, interaction between patient and doctor and patient's own attitude and idea about his disease). Age, sex, residence, religion and education did not show any significant contribution towards drug default

Parenting Adolescence

Adolescence is derived from Latin word “Adolescere” meaning to grow in maturity.[1] World Health Organization (WHO) defines “adolescence” as a period between 10 to 19 years of age.[2] It is a period in which a person is no longer a child and not yet an adult. It is a phase of growth and development from childhood to adulthood and onset of puberty to reproductive maturity. There are estimated 1.2 billion (120 crores) adolescents in the world [3] and in India these constitute nearly 21.4% of population i.e. 243 millions.[4]Adolescence is life’s fascinating and perhaps one of the most complex stages of life. It is the time when young people take on responsibilities and experiences experiments with independence. During adolescence there is a rapid physical growth and development of physical, mental, social, psychological and sexual aspects. In addition to these changes some behavioral changes also occur like independency, intimacy, identity, intellect, peer group dependence. The process of rapid and multifaceted changes makes them vulnerable to many problems. About 40% of global burden of diseases falls on them.[3] For majority of the problems of adolescents the root cause is the lack of proper guidance and support by parents; providing which is a challenge

Assessment of Vaccine Wastage during a Pulse Polio Immunization Programme in India

A study to assess the wastage factor of oral polio vaccine (OPV) in the Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) programme of the Government of India was undertaken by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at approximately 31,000 immunization booths all over the country. The study was conducted through the network of 31 Human Reproduction Research Centres (HRRCs) and other ICMR institutes. Wastage at the point of administration of OPV was estimated to be 14.5% with a wastage factor of 1.17 which is well below the assumed wastage of 33% and the corresponding wastage factor of 1.5 in the PPI programme. The wastage and wastage factor as estimated in the present study were also less than the wastage of 25% and the wastage factor of 1.33 recommended by the World Health Organization. Minimum wastage (6.3%) at Kanchipuram and maximum wastage (22.1%) at Kanpur were observed. Further, the wastage of unopened vials and vials during use was also observed following colour changes on the vaccine vial monitor (VVM), indicating poor coldchain maintenance at the immunization site. In total, 13 booths reported wastage of nine or more unopened vials, whereas 19 booths reported wastage of nine or more vials during use because of colour changes on VVM. Other reasons for wastage of vaccine were also observed from a sample of booths. The technology of introducing VVM on OPV vials for monitoring the cold-chain proved useful in situations in which mass vaccination programmes such as PPI are carried out

A comprehensive appraisal of mechanism of anti-CRISPR proteins: an advanced genome editor to amend the CRISPR gene editing

The development of precise and controlled CRISPR-Cas tools has been made possible by the discovery of protein inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas systems, called anti-CRISPRs (Acrs). The Acr protein has the ability to control off-targeted mutations and impede Cas protein–editing operations. Acr can help with selective breeding, which could help plants and animals improve their valuable features. In this review, the Acr protein–based inhibitory mechanisms that have been adopted by several Acrs, such as (a) the interruption of CRISPR-Cas complex assembly, (b) interference with target DNA binding, (c) blocking of target DNA/RNA cleavage, and (d) enzymatic modification or degradation of signalling molecules, were discussed. In addition, this review emphasizes the applications of Acr proteins in the plant research

High resolution mapping of QTLs for fruit color and firmness in Amrapali/Sensation mango hybrids

IntroductionMango (Mangifera indica L.), acclaimed as the ‘king of fruits’ in the tropical world, has historical, religious, and economic values. It is grown commercially in more than 100 countries, and fresh mango world trade accounts for ~3,200 million US dollars for the year 2020. Mango is widely cultivated in sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world, with India, China, and Thailand being the top three producers. Mango fruit is adored for its taste, color, flavor, and aroma. Fruit color and firmness are important fruit quality traits for consumer acceptance, but their genetics is poorly understood.MethodsFor mapping of fruit color and firmness, mango varieties Amrapali and Sensation, having contrasting fruit quality traits, were crossed for the development of a mapping population. Ninety-two bi-parental progenies obtained from this cross were used for the construction of a high-density linkage map and identification of QTLs. Genotyping was carried out using an 80K SNP chip array.Results and discussionInitially, we constructed two high-density linkage maps based on the segregation of female and male parents. A female map with 3,213 SNPs and male map with 1,781 SNPs were distributed on 20 linkages groups covering map lengths of 2,844.39 and 2,684.22cM, respectively. Finally, the integrated map was constructed comprised of 4,361 SNP markers distributed on 20 linkage groups, which consisted of the chromosome haploid number in Mangifera indica (n =20). The integrated genetic map covered the entire genome of Mangifera indica cv. Dashehari, with a total genetic distance of 2,982.75 cM and an average distance between markers of 0.68 cM. The length of LGs varied from 85.78 to 218.28 cM, with a mean size of 149.14 cM. Phenotyping for fruit color and firmness traits was done for two consecutive seasons. We identified important consistent QTLs for 12 out of 20 traits, with integrated genetic linkages having significant LOD scores in at least one season. Important consistent QTLs for fruit peel color are located at Chr 3 and 18, and firmness on Chr 11 and 20. The QTLs mapped in this study would be useful in the marker-assisted breeding of mango for improved efficiency

Bevacizumab Added to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND Bevacizumab and the antimetabolites capecitabine and gemcitabine have been shown to improve outcomes when added to taxanes in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The primary aims of this trial were to determine whether the addition of capecitabine or gemcitabine to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel, followed by doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide, would increase the rates of pathological complete response in the breast in women with operable, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–negative breast cancer and whether adding bevacizumab to these chemotherapy regimens would increase the rates of pathological complete response. METHODS We randomly assigned 1206 patients to receive neoadjuvant therapy consisting of docetaxel (100 mg per square meter of body-surface area on day 1), docetaxel (75 mg per square meter on day 1) plus capecitabine (825 mg per square meter twice a day on days 1 to 14), or docetaxel (75 mg per square meter on day 1) plus gemcitabine (1000 mg per square meter on days 1 and 8) for four cycles, with all regimens followed by treatment with doxorubicin–cyclophosphamide for four cycles. Patients were also randomly assigned to receive or not to receive bevacizumab (15 mg per kilogram of body weight) for the first six cycles of chemotherapy. RESULTS The addition of capecitabine or gemcitabine to docetaxel therapy, as compared with docetaxel therapy alone, did not significantly increase the rate of pathological complete response (29.7% and 31.8%, respectively, vs. 32.7%; P=0.69). Both capecitabine and gemcitabine were associated with increased toxic effects — specifically, the hand–foot syndrome, mucositis, and neutropenia. The addition of bevacizumab significantly increased the rate of pathological complete response (28.2% without bevacizumab vs. 34.5% with bevacizumab, P=0.02). The effect of bevacizumab on the rate of pathological complete response was not the same in the hormone-receptor–positive and hormone-receptor–negative subgroups. The addition of bevacizumab increased the rates of hypertension, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, the hand–foot syndrome, and mucositis. CONCLUSIONS The addition of bevacizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy significantly increased the rate of pathological complete response, which was the primary end point of this study. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00408408.