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Background: Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) during the gestation period is a major factor that predicts fetal weight and development. It is also positively associated with an increase in fetal head circumference and femur length. To assess the impact of pre-pregnancy BMI on neonatal anthropometryMethods: This multicenter observational study was conducted from July 2010-July 2011. A total of 1,000 mothers were enrolled, and their antenatal records were screened for pre-pregnancy weight, height, and other details. They were assigned to four categories as per their BMI: underweight: BMI

ABSTRACT Objective: Thyroid functions in the sick newborns may be altered in the first week of life. Transient hypothyroxinemia has been reported in these babies, which could be due to the immaturity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis or to acute illness. We conducted this study to estimate the incidence of hypothyroxinemia and determine its risk factors in sick term newborns. Materials and methods: We analyzed free T4 (FT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in sick term neonates (≤7 days of life) admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. FT4 and TSH levels were estimated in the first week of life in all the enrolled neonates (N = 98) and then repeated at 14-21 days of life in 46 babies. Risk analysis was conducted using univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and numerical data was compared using the Mann-Whitney U test and t-test. Results: Hypothyroxinemia was seen in 10 (10.2%) of the admitted term babies. Male gender, vaginal delivery, presence of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and need for mechanical ventilation (>24 hours) were identified as risk factors. There was a significant negative linear correlation between FT4 level in the first week of life and duration of hospital stay. Conclusion: Hypothyroxinemia is common in sick term neonates.

ABSTRACT Objective: Thyroid functions in preterm newborns may be altered in the first week of life. Hypothyroxinemia has been commonly reported in these babies, which could be due to the immaturity of the hypothalamic pituitary thyroid axis or acute illness. It could have a long-term impact on the developing brain of these babies. We conducted this study to estimate the incidence of transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity (THOP) and to determine its risk factors. Materials and methods: We analyzed thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free T4 levels of 64 preterm neonates admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit. TSH and free T4 levels were measured in the first week and then at 14-21 days of life to estimate the incidence of THOP and determine its risk factors. We also estimated the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) and delayed TSH elevation in CH. Risk analysis was conducted using simple and multiple logistic regression, and numerical data was compared using the Mann Whitney U test and t test. Results: THOP was seen in 25% of the preterm babies. Caesarean delivery, presence of one or more morbidities, mechanical ventilation, birth weight ≥ 1,500 g, and gestational age ≥ 32 weeks were identified as risk factors for THOP based on simple logistic regression. In multiple regression, mechanical ventilation and gestational age ≥ 32 weeks were significantly associated with THOP. CH was seen in 2 (3.1%) babies, and 1 of these cases had delayed TSH elevation. Conclusion: Thyroid abnormalities are common in preterm admitted neonates. Mechanical ventilation is an independent risk factor for development of THOP.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Dengue presents with a variable clinical course, ranging from mild illness to potentially fatal hemorrhage and shock. We aimed to evaluate the capabilities of various hematological parameters observed early in the course of illness for predicting the clinical outcomes of illness. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the records of children admitted in the pediatric inpatient services of the institute with dengue between 2017 and 2019. We determined the relationships between the hematological parameters observed during the first evaluation and the various clinical outcomes. RESULTS: We evaluated data from 613 patients (age range, 26 days to 17 years). Of these, 29.85% exhibited fever with warning signs, and 8.97% had severe dengue. Lower values of hemoglobin, platelet count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and mean platelet volume, and higher values of total leukocyte count (TLC), hematocrit, and red cell distribution width variably correlated with numerous clinical outcomes-duration of hospital stay, development of complications, requirement of blood component transfusion, inotropic support, and mortality. Among the parameters, TLC ≥20,000/mL and initial platelet count ≤20,000/mL significantly associated with mortality, with odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of 11.81 (4.21-33.80) and 5.53 (1.90-16.09), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Hematological parameters observed early during dengue infection may predict its clinical outcomes in infected children. Initial high TLC and low platelet count are potential predictors of fatal outcomes in the course of disease.

This paper proposes an efficient design of Hamming (11, 7) encoder utilising Full Swing-Gate Diffusion Input (FS-GDI) approach in 65 nm technology nano-size node. The proposed design of Hamming codes aims to improve the power and area efficiency through reducing of transistors count by employing power-efficient logic style. Encoding circuits of Hamming code (11, 7) and (7, 4) are designed using the various traditional and proposed approaches. The amount of consumed power, delay time, Power Delay Product (PDP) and hardware simplicity are employed as a metrics for evaluating the efficiency of the proposed designs of encoding circuits. The simulation experiments are executed utilising Cadence Virtuoso simulator package. These experiments revealed that the proposed designs of Hamming encoding circuits achieve delay time reduction by 50.91% and 20% for Hamming codes (7, 4) and (11, 7), respectively. Also, hardware (H/W) simplicity and area efficiency of the circuits are improved by 50% compared to CMOS-based circuits. From the results analysis, the proposed FS-GDI based Hamming encoding circuits achieve efficient power and delay optimising. Hence, the power consumption, delay and area in communications systems and DSP circuits due to encoding process are reduced. The whole performance of DSP circuits can be more power/area efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular Communication (MC) is a multidisciplinary branch that lies at the junction of nano, bio and communication technology. MC is evolving to serve almost every field of humanity, be it biomedical, be it environment or be it security against NBC attack. On the other hand, MC lags in technological demonstration and development level. However, like any communication system, Error Correction Code (EEC) play vital role in MC system, to improve the system performance. Recently, literatures have presented on VLSI implementation of Cyclic Reed–Muller (C-RM) and Hamming code. However, VLSI implementation and demonstrations of Self-Orthogonal Convolution Codes (SOCC) and Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, which outperform over others, are not available in the literatures. Therefore, this paper implements SOCC and LDPC codes in Tanner EDA Tool followed by presenting the power consumption and delay of respective codes. More specifically, this paper presents design and implementation of encoder and decoder of SOCC for MC system using Tanner EDA Tool and demonstrated the performance in terms of power consumption and delay. In addition, similar analysis is presented for LDPC code. It is important to mention that implemented decoder of each of the LDPC and SOCC codes is employing newly presented MLG circuit in is manuscript. Finally, power consumption and delay of SOCC and LDPC are compared with those of available ECCs in literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WD40 domain-containing proteins are one of the eukaryotes' most ancient and ubiquitous protein families. Little is known about the presence and function of these proteins in cyanobacteria in general and Anabaena in particular. In silico analysis confirmed the presence of WD40 repeats. Gene expression analysis indicated that the transcript levels of both the target proteins were up-regulated up to 4 fold in Cd and drought and 2–3 fold in heat, salt, and UV-B stress. Using a fluorescent oxidative stress indicator, we showed that the recombinant proteins were scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) (4–5 fold) more efficiently than empty vectors. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis (ChIP) and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) revealed that the target proteins function as transcription factors after binding to the promoter sequences. The presence of kinase activity (2–4 fold) in the selected proteins indicated that these proteins could modulate the functions of other cellular proteins under stress conditions by inducing phosphorylation of specific amino acids. The chosen proteins also demonstrated interaction with Zn, Cd, and Cu (1.4–2.5 fold), which might stabilize the proteins' structure and biophysical functions under multiple abiotic stresses. The functionally characterized Alr0671 and All2352 proteins act as transcription factors and offer tolerance to agriculturally relevant abiotic stresses. Key message: Alr0671 and All2352 are novel WD40 proteins of Anabaena capable of regulating biochemical functions and abiotic stress tolerance by acting as a transcription factor and mediating DNA-protein interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality assessment relies mostly on physico-chemical-based characterization; however, eutrophication and climate change advocate the abundance of toxic microcystins (MCs) producing cyanobacteria as emerging bio-indicator. In the present study, a spatial-temporal analysis was carried out at ten sampling sites of Prayagraj and Varanasi during June 2017 and March 2018 to determine the Ganga River water quality using physico-chemical parameters, cyanobacteria diversity, detection of MCs producing strains and MC-LR equivalence. Coliform bacteria, COD, NO3-N, and phosphate are the significant contaminated parameters favoring the growth of putative MCs producing cyanobacteria. National Sanitation Foundation WQI (NSFWQI) indicates water quality, either bad or medium category at sampling points. The morphological analysis confirms the occurrence of diverse cyanobacterial genera such as Microcystis, Anabaena, Oscillatoria, and Phormidium. PCR amplification affirmed the presence of toxic microcystin (mcy) genes in uncultured cyanobacteria at all the sampling sites. The concentration of MC-LR equivalence in water samples by protein phosphatase 1 inhibition assay (PPIA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods was observed in the range of 23.4–172 ng/L and 13.2–97.5 ng/L respectively which is lower than the harmful exposure limit by World Health Organization (WHO). Ganga isolate 1 was identified as Microcystis based on partial 16S rDNA sequence and its toxicity was confirmed due to presence of mcy genes and MCs production potential. These findings suggest the presence of MCs producers as new emerging parameter to monitor water quality index and identification up to species level will be valuable for restoration strategies of river Ganga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe an innovative interactive e-learning method to disseminate knowledge to larger group of participants over a wide geographical area. Methods: The course material included standard training tool "Best Practices in Preterm Care," hosted on Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging platform. The participants were enrolled in the group created on Telegram by the facilitators and included in-service nurses from India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and UAE. They were mentored by 62 facilitators over 10 wk. Content of each module was loaded every week on two specific days. Mentors specified for that week facilitated learning through discussions. There was a live session every week to address any additional queries and to summarize the key messages of the week. Each week ended with weekly assessments through quiz. Results: In this course, 4623 nursing professionals from India and Southeast Asian Region involved in providing neonatal care, participated. There were 9939 posts with an average of 126 posts per day. Majority of the participants felt that the topics were relevant (~95%) and they were comfortable in asking questions and could clarify their doubts (~90%). Majority rated their overall experience as very good to excellent (~98%). Conclusions: Interactive e-learning using the current approach if channelized optimally seems to be acceptable and feasible method to reach wide geographical area. This, however, needs local champions ready to mentor their own health professionals with context-specific guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dengue and malaria co-infection has been reported in several case reports. We aim to study effect of malaria co-infection on clinical outcomes of dengue infection.Methods: Records of 623 children with dengue infection, based on NS-1 antigen and IgM ELISA testing, were collected. Malaria co-infection was identified in 20 cases, based on peripheral blood smear examination. Clinical and hematological parameters were compared in two groups (malaria co-infection vs. dengue mono-infection).Results: Duration of hospitalization was significantly higher in co-infected group. Significantly higher proportion of malaria co-infection cases had hepatosplenomegaly, hemoglobin ≤8 g/dl, serum albumin ≤3 g/dl, serum bilirubin ≥1 mg/dl, serum aspartate aminotransferase ≥500 U/l and serum alanine aminotransferase ≥300 U/l. Number of transfusions (PRBC and platelets) required in malaria co-infection group was higher.Conclusion: Malaria co-infection in dengue impacts clinical presentation, hematological parameters, requirement of blood transfusion and morbidity. High index of suspicion is warranted while evaluating febrile patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the efficacy of double dose (20 μg) with standard dose (10 μg) of hepatitis B vaccine in HIV-infected children. Methods: Unvaccinated HIV-infected children were randomized to receive 3 doses of double dose ( N=27) or standard dose ( N=28) of recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine. Anti-HBs antibody titres were measured 3 mo after the last dose. An antibody titre ≥10 mIU/mL 12 weaks after the third dose was considered as serporotection. Result: Seroprotection was achieved by 17 (60.7%) children in standard dose group against 20 (74%) in the double dose group [RR (95%CI) 0.8 (0.17-1.7); P=0.29]. CD4 count < 500 cells/mm3 was significantly associated with lower rates of seroprotection. Conclusion: Double dose of hepatitis B vaccine does not seem to provide any advantage when compared to standard dose in HIV-infected children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study provides data on the insertion of an extra copy of phytochelatin synthase ( alr0975) in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. The recombinant strain (AnFPN- pcs) compared to wild type showed approximately 22.3% increase in growth rate under UV-B, NaCl, heat, CuCl, carbofuran, and CdCl. It also registered 2.25-fold enhanced nitrogenase activity and 5-fold higher phytochelatin production. A comparison of the protein profile of wild type with the recombinant strain revealed that recombinant strain accumulated proteins belonging to the following categories: (i) detoxification (nutrient stress induced DNA binding protein, Mn-SOD, Alr0946 (CalA)), (ii) protein folding and modification (molecular chaperone DnaK, FKBP-type peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase), (iii) nucleotide and amino acid biosynthesis (dihydroorotase and Ketol-acid reductoisomerase), (iv) photosynthesis and respiration (coproporphyrinogen III oxidase, phycocyanin alpha chain, ferredoxin-NADP reductase), and (v) transport (sugar transport ATP-binding protein). Thus, it can be concluded that, above category proteins with their respective role in scavenging reactive oxygen species, proper folding of unfolded proteins, and protection of protein from degradation, sustained carbon fixation and energy pool and active transport of sugar together conceivably help the recombinant cyanobacterium (AnFPN- pcs) to cope with abiotic stress employed in the present study. Such recombinant strains have potential for future use as biofertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aldo/keto reductases (AKRs) constitute a multitasking protein family that catalyzes diverse metabolic transformations including detoxification of stress generated reactive aldehydes. Yet this important protein family is poorly understood particularly in cyanobacteria, the ecologically most diverse and significant group of micro-organisms. Present study is an attempt to characterize all putative AKRs of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. In silico analysis, it revealed the presence of at least four putative AKRs in Anabaena PCC7120 genome. All four proteins share less than 40% sequence identity with each other and also with the identified members of AKR superfamily and hence deserve to be assigned in new families. Dissimilarity in sequences is also reflected through their substrate specificity. While reduction of trans-2-nonenal, a LPO-derived reactive aldehyde was common across the four proteins, these proteins were found to be activated during heat, salt, Cd, As, and butachlor treatments, and their ectopic expression in Escherichia coli conferred tolerance to the above abiotic stresses. These findings affirm the role of AKRs in providing a broad tolerance to environmental stresses conceivably by detoxifying the stress-generated reactive aldehydes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on efforts made by the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) for treating diabetes-related eye conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.

In silico derived properties on experimental validation revealed that hypothetical protein Alr2954 of Anabaena sp. PCC7120 is ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase, which belongs to nudix hydrolase superfamily. Presence of ADP-ribose binding site was attested by ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase activity ( K 44.71 ± 8.043 mM, V 7.128 ± 0.417 μmol min mg protein, and K / K 9.438 × 10 μM1 min). Besides ADP-ribose, the enzyme efficiently hydrolyzed various nucleoside phosphatases such as 8-oxo-dGDP, 8-oxo-dADP, 8-oxo-dGTP, 8-oxo-dATP, GDP-mannose, ADP-glucose, and NADH. qRT-PCR analysis of alr2954 showed significant expression under different abiotic stresses reconfirming its role in stress tolerance. Thus, Alr2954 qualifies to be a member of nudix hydrolase superfamily, which serves as ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase and assists in multiple abiotic stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This questionnaire study on 400 school children found that severe psychological distress using the K 10 scale was seen in 38 (9.5%), and 162 (40.5%) had less than 2 hours of leisure time daily. The prevalence of severe distress was lower in children who had daily time with parents and daily leisure time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 5-year-old child presented with the second episode of meningitis when we started investigating her to find a cause for recurrent episode of meningitis. During this she suffered from a third attack after which she was diagnosed as having isolated C3 deficiency. She was put on penicillin prophylaxis and vaccinated against encapsulated bacteria, after which she is now doing well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an 8 month-old infant with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAME) due to Naegleria fowleri. The child was treated with amphotericin B, chloramphenicol and rifampicin for 3 weeks. PAME is an almost universally fatal condition with very few survivors till date. Our patient was one of the rare survivors who recovered after treatment and was discharged without any residual neurological deficit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers suggestion for writing medical research paper. Topics discussed include use of both passive and active voice within the same section, purpose of an observational study along with its study design, and providing information on ethical clearance, clinical trial registry, and funding information.

The article describes various pediatric case studies including late decompensation after a prolonged lucid interval in chronic posterior fossa extradural hematoma, new mutation haplotypes in non-syndromic hearing loss, and maternal profile of children with severe acute malnutrition. In the first case, a 6-year-old boy introduced in an unconscious state with history of holocranial headache and vomiting of two days duration.

We report two cases which illustrate that enzyme assay results alone, may at times be equivocal and inconclusive in the prenatal diagnosis of storage disorders like Pompe disease and therefore, if the proband's mutation is known, targeted mutation analysis of fetal DNA is the most reliable method for fetal evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is paucity of knowledge about the immunogenicity of vaccines in infants who have been exposed to HIV in-utero but have remained uninfected. The authors studied the immunogenicity of 3 doses of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine at 6,10,14 wk of age in HIV exposed but uninfected (HEU) infants. After 3 mo of last dose of the vaccine, out of 26 infants, 23 (89.5 %) infants were found to be responders (Anti HBs IgG titres ≥ 10 mIU/ml) and 3 (11.5 %) babies remained non responders (Anti HBs IgG titres < 10 mIU/ml). The proportion of babies who were non responders were higher when compared to similar studies done on unexposed and uninfected infants, suggesting a poorer immunogenicity of hepatitis B vaccine in these infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors studied the outcome of 108 infants < 6 mo with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) admitted in the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRC) at a teaching hospital. The most common symptom that the children presented with, was acute diarrhoea (35.2 %) followed by failure to gain weight (26.9 %). Seventy five (69.4 %) infants were cured after nutritional rehabilitation and 29 (26.8 %) were non responders. Fifty two (48 %) infants showed good weight gain after proper counseling or supplementary suckling technique alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied 48 children receiving abacavir-based HAART regimen, over a period of one-year for side effects and failure rates. None of the children developed hypersensitivity reaction. The CD4 count significantly improved from the time of enrolment till 12 months of therapy while the failure rate was 14.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors retrospectively analyzed the case records of all the newborns admitted with the diagnosis of neonatal tetanus (NT) over a period of 36 mo. A total of 27 cases of neonatal tetanus were admitted over a period of 36 mo. Out of these 27 neonates, 17 died and thus the overall mortality was 63%. The mean age of onset of symptoms in those who survived was 8.1 ± 2.02 d whereas in those who died was 5.7 ± 1.39 d, which was statistically significant (p = 0.001). The babies with age of onset <7 d were almost 5 times more likely to die than those manifesting at 7 d or later. Thus, NT is still contributing to neonatal deaths especially in the backward areas of the country and onset of symptoms within a wk of birth is a very high risk factor for mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the journal's reviewers for 2014 which include Amit Goel, Mohan Gurjar, and Atul Gupta.

The article reports on the vital role played by healthy diet in eliminating the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and presents the views Emily Y. Chew, a of Doctor of Medicine (MD), on need for prior genetic testing in order to eliminate AMD.

The immediate and short term outcomes of term newborns with perinatal asphyxia were studied in relation to the nucleated red blood cell count at admission. The mean (SD) NRBC/100WBC (white blood cells) was significantly higher in sequelae group than normal [9.8 (98.9) vs. 2.9 (43); P = 0.001]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a young woman with myometrial necrosis due to preeclampsia and triggered by bilateral uterine artery ligation. It states that the patients was subjected to emergency caesarean section to prevent post partum hemorrhage (PPH). The article discusses the risk of PPH which is considered as the major cause of maternal death.

Dopamine and dobutamine have been widely used to treat shock with variable success in newborns. In this retrospective data analysis, we report on the use of adrenaline in 20 neonates with birth asphyxia and shock that was refractory to dopamine and dobutamine. We concluded that adrenaline is a safe and effective drug that can be used as an add-on therapy to dopamine and/or dobutamine in newborns with shock secondary to birth asphyxia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two photographs of an 11-year-old boy with generalized pustulosis in India are presented, including one showing superficial non-follicular pustules on an erythematous background on abdomen, chest, neck and upper limbs, and another one showing the diffuse non-follicular pustural lesions on an erythematous background.

A letter to the editor is presented about a case of congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP) in a three day-old male baby who was admitted with neonatal jaundice for phototherapy.

A letter to the editor is presented about a case of an eight-month-old infant whose feet were gangrenous due to hypernatremic dehydration.

Examines the cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection following blood component therapy in infants. Results of serological testing for CMV; Increase in the risk of transfusion-transmitted CMV with multiple donors and large transfusion volumes; Percentage of neonates with transplacentally-acquired CMV IgG antibodies.

We report on use of supplementary suckling technique in 62 infants [mean (SD) age 2.5 (1.3) mo] with severe acute malnutrition admitted at our Nutritional rehabilitation Center. It was successful in 34 (55.7%) infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of a 5-day-old boy who was brought to the hospital with vesiculobullous eruptions on both feet.

The article describes the case of a 12-year-old boy who was afflicted with focal acral hyperkeratosis.