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To compare the efficacy of using a combination of transcervical Foley catheter and sublingual misoprostol with sublingual misoprostol alone for induction of labor (IOL) in women with pre-eclampsia between 28 and 34 weeks of pregnancy.This randomized controlled trial was conducted on women with pre-eclampsia at 28-34 weeks of pregnancy, with unfavorable cervix, admitted to a tertiary hospital in south India. They were randomized to receive either a combination of transcervical Foley catheter and sublingual misoprostol, or sublingual misoprostol alone. Vaginal birth within 24 h of induction, induction to delivery interval, and neonatal morbidity/mortality were the main outcome measures.Vaginal birth within 24 h was higher with the combination of Foley catheter and sublingual misoprostol compared with sublingual misoprostol alone (60% versus 41.4%, P = 0.028). Overall vaginal delivery rates were comparable between the groups (90% versus 80%, P = 0.051). There was no difference in number of doses of misoprostol, and induction to delivery interval between groups. After excluding those with lower likelihood of neonatal survival, live birth rates, mean birth weight, and neonatal intensive care unit admission rates were similar in both groups.Combination of transcervical Foley catheter and sublingual misoprostol was found to be more effective in achieving vaginal birth within 24 h compared with sublingual misoprostol for IOL in pre-eclampsia between 28 and 34 weeks of pregnancy.CTRI/2018/09/015766; http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pmaindet2.php?trialid=27984.

Microbial eukaryotes (nematodes, protists, fungi, etc., loosely referred to as meiofauna) are ubiquitous in marine sediments and probably play pivotal roles in maintaining ecosystem function. Although the deep-sea benthos represents one of the world's largest habitats, we lack a firm understanding of the biodiversity and community interactions amongst meiobenthic organisms in this ecosystem. Within this vast environment, key questions concerning the historical genetic structure of species remain a mystery, yet have profound implications for our understanding of global biodiversity and how we perceive and mitigate the impact of environmental change and anthropogenic disturbance. Using a metagenetic approach, we present an assessment of microbial eukaryote communities across depth (shallow water to abyssal) and ocean basins (deep-sea Pacific and Atlantic). Within the 12 sites examined, our results suggest that some taxa can maintain eurybathic ranges and cosmopolitan deep-sea distributions, but the majority of species appear to be regionally restricted. For Operationally Clustered Taxonomic Units (OCTUs) reporting wide distributions, there appears to be a taxonomic bias towards a small subset of taxa in most phyla; such bias may be driven by specific life history traits amongst these organisms. In addition, low genetic divergence between geographically disparate deep-sea sites suggests either a shorter coalescence time between deep-sea regions or slower rates of evolution across this vast oceanic ecosystem. While high-throughput studies allow for broad assessment of genetic patterns across microbial eukaryote communities, intragenomic variation in rRNA gene copies and the patchy coverage of reference databases currently present substantial challenges for robust taxonomic interpretations of eukaryotic data sets.

Benzoquinone (BQ) in solution catalyses the electrochemical oxidation of ascorbic acid (AH2) at basal plane graphite (BPG) electrode. The overpotential for AH2 decreases by 120 mV at pH 7.3 in presence of BQ as compared to the potential without BQ. A simultaneous increase in anodic current in the cyclic voltammogram of BQ as a function of AH2 forms the basis of a sensor for AH2. The kinetics for the reaction between AH2 and BQ have been determined by cyclic voltammetric data.

The use of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) to recover bitumen from Athabasca deposits in Alberta has been growing. Butler [Butler, J. Can. Pet. Tech. 1985;24:42–51] derived a simple theory to calculate the production rate of oil during SAGD in an ideal reservoir. This simple and useful theory made several assumptions about the properties of the reservoir and operating conditions of the process. The theory also assumed that the highest mobility oil is at the edge of the steam chamber and that the oil phase velocity is highest at the chamber edge and reduces with distance into the oil sand. This research examines flow conditions at the edge of the steam chamber. Specifically, a new theory is derived that takes into account the impact of oil saturation and relative permeability on the oil mobility profile at the edge of a steam chamber. It is shown that the flow behaviour at the edge of a steam chamber is more complex and is not fully represented by Butler's theory. Contrary to Butler's theory, the oil mobility has its maximum some distance away from the edge of the steam chamber. The results reveal that the higher the thermal diffusivity of the oil sand, the deeper the location where the oil phase velocity is maximum. The developed model has been validated against published experimental and field data.

A historical review of the systematics of Paracanthonchus caecus (Bastian, 1865) and a comparison of specimens from different localities show that this “species” in fact comprises four distinct species. Paracanthonchus caecus Micoletzky, 1924 nec P. caecus (Bastian, 1865) is designated as the valid type species of the genus Paracanthonchus. P. heterodontus (Schulz, 1932) and P. thaumasius (Schulz, 1932) are re-established. P. caecm sensu Gerlach 1965 is considered as a distinct species: P. gerlachi sp.n. P. canadensis sp.n. is described and is very close to P. caecus Micoletzky, 1924. The subspecies P. caecus opthalmophorus (Steiner, 1921), different from the typical caecus by the presence of ocelli, is considered as a different species; we therefore propose P.ophthalmophorus (Steiner, 1921) stat.n. The genus Paracanthonchus is redefined.