Nursing students' perceptions of resilience, social support, and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-center study

Background: Resilience found to be an important factor in protecting the nursing students against the stress during coronavirus outbreak. Aim of the study was to evaluate the relationships between resilience and perceived social and organizational support and coping strategies among nursing students. Methods: This web-based survey carried out among nursing undergraduates (n=1017) across the country. Data was collected using self-reported questionnaires in May 2021. Results: Majority of the students had a normal level of resilience, perceived a high level of social and organizational support and used effective coping strategies. Also, the variables of resilience, social support, organization support and coping strategies were positively correlated (p<0.001). While ag e was positively correlated with resilience, younger (t=4.647, p<0.001) and females (t=-0.3620, p<0.001) perceived a higher level of social support than others. Conclusions: The results suggest that strengthening resilience and improving coping skills and social support may promote psychological wellbeing for nursing undergraduates during the coronavirus pandemic.

Appraisal of Magic Lines of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) for Genetic Variability, Character Association and Path Analysis Studies

An investigation was carried out to estimate genetic parameters, assess association and path coefficient analysis among growth, yield and yield attributes in Multiparent Advanced Generation Intercross (MAGIC) lines of Rice (Oryza sativa L.). A total of 100 MAGIC lines along with seven checks were evaluated in augmented design during summer 2022 at ZAHRS, KSNUAHS, Shivamogga. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the advanced lines for all the traits under study. The variability studies among the lines revealed a higher Genotypic Coefficient of Variation (GCV), Phenotypic Coefficient of Variation (PCV), heritability and Genetic Advance as Percent of Mean (GAM) for majority of traits. The correlation and path coefficient analysis revealed that traits tillers per plant, productive tillers per plant, panicle length, number of spikelets per panicle, number of filled grains per panicle, spikelet fertility, test weight and length/breadth ratio were positively associated with yield. Selection of lines with higher filled grains per panicle would be effective for yield improvement program along with the higher percentages of productive tillers per plant, panicle length and spikelet fertility.

Analysis of Genetic Variability and Correlation in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Recombinant Inbred Lines (F6) for Yield and Its Component Traits

grain yield and its component traits in 150 rice recombinant inbred lines, their parents and six checks at ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad and AHRS, Kathalagere in wet 2022. The experiments were laid out in an augmented block design with five blocks. Phenotypic coefficients of variance were higher than genotypic coefficients of variance for all the traits across the locations. A joint consideration of high heritability in broad sense (h2) and genetic advance as per cent mean estimates were obtained for plant height, number of tillers, number of productive tillers, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test weight, grain yield per plant suggesting that the traits were primarily under genetic control. Furthermore, high heritability (h2) and GAM recorded in these characters could be explained by additive gene action. However, high estimates (h2) combined with moderate GAM recorded for days to 50% flowering could be due to non-additive gene effect. Grain yield per plant recorded positive and significant correlation with the total number of grains per panicle (0.32***, 0.30***) and number of productive tillers per plant (0.21***, 0.26***) at both the locations. This result indicates that selection based on these two traits will be highly effective for yield improvement in rice.

New Bivoltine Hybrids of the Silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) Performance at Farmer’s Site

The rise in atmospheric temperature, due to global warming, offers a great challenge to make a successful cocoon harvest, as it not only affects the progression of the larvae but also leads to outbreak of diseases. Thus, silkworm breeds have potential to thrive well under such harsh fluctuating climatic conditions without sacrificing commercial traits of cocoon and silk are in-need. Towards this, new bivoltine breeds developed employing heat shock technology, for the first time, were used to develop four bivoltine double hybrids (NBH1 × FC1, NBH2 x FC1, FC1 x NBH1, and FC1 x NBH2) and two poly hybrids (PM x NBH1 and PM x NBH2) and subjected to evaluation for their performance at the farmer's site. Notably, all four double hybrids distributed to farmers performed very well with substantial cocoon yield. Among them, NBH1 x FC1 and NBH2 x FC1 were outperformed with their high fecundity (675 and 700 eggs/dfl) and cocoon yield of 549 and 228 kg, out of 579 and 225 dfls reared by the farmers respectively. On the other hand, 360 and 248 kg of cocoons were harvested as against a total of 325 dfls and 250 dfls of PM x NBH1 and PM x NBH2 distributed to farmers. Eventually, all the farmers were delighted to rear these new double hybrids and poly hybrids, as it fetched a good price to sell the cocoons. Thus, we suggest all these new double hybrids and poly hybrids shall be used for large-scale silkworm rearing in the field conquering the climate change threat to produce both qualitatively and quantitatively better cocoons and silk that shall protect the wealth of Seri-farmers and silk reelers

Predicting, Validation of Frequency of Transgressive Recombinant Inbred Lines and Minimum Population Size Required to Recover them in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Background: Identification of transgressive recombinant inbred lines (RILs) that can be use as pure-line cultivars is the prime objective of a breeder in self-pollinated crops including groundnut.Aim: Thus, identification of such promising segregating generations assumes importance. This can be achieved by predicting the transgressive RILs that could be derived from advanced generations of segregating population.Materials and Methods: In our study we predicted and validated transgressive RILs derived from cross TMV 2 × GPBD 4 for five quantitative traits based on estimates of mid parental value [m], additive genetic effects [a] and additive genetic variance [?2A].Results: the frequency of transgressive RILs was higher for all the five traits. Primary branches per plant had highest frequency of predicted transgressive RILs with minimum population size of 6.95. Narrow difference between the predicted and realised frequency of RILs was seen.Conclusion: Our results indicate that this approach could be the efficient in selecting the best breeding population out of many number of crosses made.

Impact of Fertigation Regimes on Quality of Ginger (Rio-de-Janeiro and Himachal)

Ginger is used as one of the important ingredients in traditional as well as modern medicine besides as a spice. It boosts immunity and is a rich source of many biologically active substances and minerals. Although it is a medicinally important crop, its productivity is, however, affected due to poor nutrient management and therefore it requires an adequate supply of nutrients in the form of inorganic fertilizers or organic manuring, or a mixture of both. In this context, the present study was aimed to investigate the effect of fertigation regimes on quality of ginger (Rio-De-Jenereo and Himachal) at vegetable division in department of Horticulture, Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. The experiment comprised of eleven treatments, Sources of nutrients used were FYM (Farm Yard Manure), Azotobacter, PSB (Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria), AMF (Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi), KMB (Potassium Mobilizing Bio fertilizer), Inorganic sources (Urea, DAP, MOP, SSP, Ginger special, Neem cake). The results showed that the application of 200 % RDF (200:100:100 N: P2O5: K2O kg/ha) fertigation + FYM 30 t/ha, Neem cake 2 t/ha] was found effective for increment in essential oil (%), oleoresin content (%), gingerol (%) and crude fibre (%) in both varieties of ginger among the all treatments evaluated in this zone (Bangalore).

An MRA Based MLR Model for Forecasting Indian Annual Rainfall Using Large Scale Climate Indices

A novel method for rainfall forecasting has been proposed using Multi Resolution Analysis (MRA). This approach decomposes annual rainfall series and long-term climate indices into component sub-series at different temporal scales, allowing for a more detailed analysis of the factors influencing annual rainfall. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) is then used to predict annual rainfall, with climate indices sub-series as predictive variables, using a step-wise linear regression algorithm. The proposed model has been tested on Indian annual rainfall data and compared with the traditional MLR model. Results show that the MRA-based model outperforms the traditional model in terms of relative absolute error and correlation coefficient metrics. The proposed method offers several advantages over traditional methods as it can identify underlying factors affecting annual rainfall at different temporal scales, providing more accurate and reliable rainfall forecasts for better water resource management and agricultural planning. In conclusion, the MRA-based approach is a promising tool for improving the accuracy of annual rainfall predictions, and its implementation can lead to better water resource management and agricultural planning.

Mental Health Programme in India: Has the tide really turned?

Mental disorders in India form a major public health concern and the efforts to tackle these dates back to four decades, by way of the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and its operational arm, the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP). Although the progress of NMHP (and DMHP) was relatively slower till recently, the last 4-5 years have seen rapid strides with several initiatives, including (i) expansion of DMHPs to 90 per cent of the total districts of the country, (ii) the National Mental Health Policy and (iii) strengthening the Mental Health Legislation by way of providing explicit provisions for rights of persons with mental illnesses. Among others, factors responsible for this accelerated growth include the easily accessible digital technology as well as judicial activism. Federal and State cooperation is another notable feature of this expansion. In this review, the authors summarize the available information on the evolution of implementation and research aspects related to India’s NMHP over the years and provide a case for the positive turn of events witnessed in the recent years. However, the authors caution that these are still baby steps and much more remains to be done.

Protein Interaction Network Analysis of ?-catenin to Map its Crucial Interacting Genes using Systems Biology Approach

?-catenin (CTNNB1), a scaffold protein plays a vital role in embryonic development, adult tissue homeostasis, neurodegenerative diseases, bone diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, wound healing, and pigment disorders. ?-catenin is the crucial component in the Wnt-signaling pathway. ?-catenin levels in the cytosol balances the Wnt-signaling pathway. The activated Wnt-signaling pathway allows the accumulation of ?-catenin in the nucleus and further act as a promoter to initiate transcription of several oncogenes responsible for carcinogenesis. In the present study, we have used systems biology approach to map ?-catenin interactors. Primary protein-protein interaction databases such as PubChem, CTD, and STITCH databases were used to collect all the experimentally valid ?-catenin interactors and their sub-cellular location was traced using UniProtKB database. The interactome was constructed and analyzed by utilizing STRING and Cytoscape tools. MCODE, Cytoscape tool was utilized to construct and analyze the sub-networks. Correlation between modular seed proteins and ?-catenin was studied using UALCAN database. Functional enrichment analysis was done using DAVID database. Cytohubba, a Cytoscape tool was utilized to identify the top gene interactors of ?-catenin. Further, expression and gene ontology of each ?-catenin gene interactors were analyzed using UALCAN and CleuGO tools. The analysis reveals ?-catenin interactors, TP53, EP300, RPS27A, UBC, HDAC1, SRC, AKT1, EGFR, HSP90AA1, and CREBBP as the first top gene interactors. This study uses systems biology driven approach and successful in identifying and understanding the biological roles of the top ?-catenin interactors.

SIGNIFICANCE OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA- A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ONLINE BUYING ACTIVITIES

E-Commerce stands for Electronic Commerce. E-Commerce is improving standard among the commercial community in worlds, about the opportunities offered by E-Commerce. E-Commerce as part of the information technology revolution became widely used in the world trade in general and Indian economy in particular. With advancements in technology, there is many changes has been occupied. In India, across more than 6,50,000 villages and approximately 40% living below poverty line. Literacy rate is 75.08% but rural literacy rate is 71 %. Whereas computer literacy rate is just 6.5% so that E-Commerce is facing many pros and cons. Nowadays in India government is promoting the DIGITAL INDIA campaign so that people can transact and aware of E-Commerce.In the backdrop of all these scenarios the present paper makes an attempt to highlights the favour of E-Commerce in India, and to understand the disfavours of e-commerce in India. There are many reasons for which, E-commerce is playing a vital role in India at the same time there are some fraudulent activities in other views. So this papers tries to explain about the positive and negative aspects of E-commerce in India.

Secular Trends in Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity over a Decade in Urban and Rural South Indian Children Integrated with Geographic Information System

Context: The globalization in the process most of the rural sectors are also upgrading technically with digitalization with more availability of smart phones and gaming along with the refined food influences on the present?day children is causing a trend of overweight among the children. Aims: To arrive at the prevalence of overweight and obesity considering the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) cut?offs for growth standards among children aged 12 years from the rural and urban areas of Mysuru District. Methods and Material: The present program was the third large scale community intervention project carried out including the 7 talukas of Mysuru District which focused on the measurement of the Body mass index (BMI). In this phase between the year 2019 and 2020 anthropometric measurements were undertaken in 1602 urban and rural children aged 12 years from government?funded and privately?funded schools of Mysuru District. Statistical Analysis Used: The results were analysed statistically using SPSS for Windows (version 23.0) and the t?test, Chi?square test and proportion tests, P value were reported. Results: As per the IAP reference ranges the prevalence of obesity was 5.5% and overweight was 7.1% among children of Mysuru District. Conclusions: We report that this increase was significantly higher in girls than boys. There was an increasing trend in rural sectors; however, the obese children were more predominantly distributed among the urban sectors. This calls for a precise preventive measure to fulfil the goal of the World Health Organization (WHO) to control prevalence of childhood obesity by the year 2022

Dual Clinical Collaborator: A Pragmatic Role of nurses from developing countries

Collaboration is crucial in Professional nursing practice. Nurses act as a liaison between physicians and patients and their family members. Thus, it is vital to define the collaborative role of nurses in developing countries. The authors discuss pragmatic nurses' role by adopting the Dual Clinical Collaborator model to ensure offering the quality of care to their clients. Nursing is a healthcare profession that focuses on the care of individuals and their families to help them recover from illness and maintain optimal health and quality of life.(1) Health Care Professionals (HCPs) work together to provide quality health care and accomplish common goals. As healthcare delivery is becoming more complex, collaboration among healthcare workers and the patient can be a path to improve the quality of healthcare services. According to Walker and Avant's method, the conceptual definition of collaboration in nursing is an intra professional or interprofessional process by which nurses come together and form a team to solve patient care or healthcare system problem with members of the team respectfully sharing knowledge and resources.(2) Thus, collaboration is crucial in everyday professional nursing practice and should be considered a core value of nursing.(3)

Wetland Inventory, Assessment and Monitoring

The destruction caused to natural resources by human activity to a certain extent is rectified by the wetland, but the pace of disappearing wetland created a situation to find requisite program and tool for Wetland Inventory, Assessment and Monitoring. Several organizations are working cumulatively designing methodologies and policies to restore and improve the biotic characteristic. Wetland inventory provide guidance for the systematic collection of resource data using both tradition manual and advanced remote sensing tools.Whereas Wetland assessment includes identification of ecological stature and extent threat caused. Wetland monitoring is collection of information of the assessment activities as a result of the management and conducting surveillance in the existing and reduced threat. This review discusses the various methodologies followed by different situations around the globe.

Interplay of Oxidative Stress and Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene Expression on Cardiovascular Responses in Preeclampsia / Interação do estresse oxidativo e da expressão dos genes das óxido nítrico sintases nas respostas cardiovasculares na pré-eclâmpsia

Abstract Objective To assess the influence of oxidative stress on the gene expression of nitric oxide synthases (NOS 3 and NOS 2) and, hence, the cardiovascular responses in preeclampsia. Methods This was a case control study in which patients with preeclampsia (PE group) and normal pregnancy controls (NP group) were included according to the guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity, and nitric oxide (NO) were estimated, and the heart rate andmean arterial pressure were recorded. The gene profiling of NOS3 and NOS2 was performed through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The statistical analysis was performed using the Student t-test, and values of p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results The serum levels of malondialdehyde were increased (p<0.0001), and the total antioxidant capacity was reduced in the PE group (p=0.034), indicating oxidative stress. In the PE group, themean arterial pressure was significantly higher (p<0.0001), but the serum levels of NO did not show a statistically significant reduction (p=0.20). The gene expression profiling of NOS3 and NOS2 revealed a down regulation in the PE group by 8.49 and 51.05 times respectively. Conclusion Oxidative stress may lead to endothelial dysfunction, which could result in increased mean arterial pressure. Nitric oxide may play a role in this mechanism, but interactions with other vasoactive /biological substances cannot be overlooked, as the gene expression of NOS3 and NOS2 has been reduced.

Resumo Objetivo Avaliar a influência do estresse oxidativo na expressão genética das óxido nítrico sintases (nitric oxide synthases, NOS, em inglês; NOS 3 e NOS 2) e, consequentemente, nas respostas cardiovasculares na pré-eclâmpsia. Métodos Este foi um estudo caso-controle no qual pacientes com pré-eclâmpsia (grupo PE) e controles comgravidez normal (grupo GN) foramincluídos de acordo com as diretrizes do American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Foram estimados os níveis séricos de malondialdeído (MDA) da capacidade antioxidante total, e de óxido nítrico (nitric oxide, NO, em inglês). A frequência cardíaca e a pressão arterial média foram registradas. O perfil genético da NOS3 e da NOS2 foi feito por reação em cadeia de polimerase em tempo real (real-time polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR, em inglês). A análise estatística foi feita utilizando-se o teste t de Student, e valores de p<0,05 foram considerados estatisticamente significativos. Resultados Os níveis séricos de malondialdeído sérico estavam aumentados (p<0,0001), e a capacidade antioxidante total, reduzida no grupo PE (p=0,034), o que indicava estresse oxidativo. No grupo PE, a pressão arterial média era significativamente maior (p<0,0001), mas os níveis séricos de NO não demostraram redução estatisticamente significativa (p=0,20). O perfil de expressão genética da NOS3 e da NOS2 revelou uma regulação negativa no grupo PE de 8,49 e 51,05 vezes, respectivamente. Conclusão O estresse oxidativo pode levar à disfunção endotelial, o que pode resultar em aumento da pressão arterialmédia. O NO pode desempenhar umpapel neste mecanismo, mas as interações com outras substâncias vasoativas/biológicas não podem ser negligenciadas, uma vez que a expressão genética da NOS3 e da NOS2 foi reduzida.

The rationale and guiding principles to design a psychiatry curriculum for primary care doctors of India

BACKGROUND Integrating psychiatric care into the general practice of primary care doctors (PCDs) is necessary to overcome the shortage of human resources to cater to the burgeoning public mental health needs of India. The traditional psychiatry curriculum is often top–down and specialist-based that contributes little in terms of skill quotient. We designed an innovative, digitally driven, distance education-based, part-time, modular-based Primary Care Psychiatry Programme (PCPP, skill-based). It is being implemented across many states of India to equip PCDs with skills to provide first-line psychiatry treatment. We discuss the rationale and guiding principles behind designing the curriculum of PCPP. DISCUSSION There are nine guiding principles behind designing and implementing PCPP to provide pragmatic, acceptable, feasible modules of higher translational quotient (TQ) that are essential to upskill PCDs. There is a shift in training the location of PCDs in their live brief general consultations utilizing innovative telemedicine-based ‘on-consultation training’ (OCT) augmented with collaborative video consultations. A monolithic treatment protocol-driven, trans-diagnostic approach is used to design a concise, all-inone, point-of-care manual containing a culturally sensitive, rapid, validated screener and taxonomy, called ‘Clinical Schedules for Primary Care Psychiatry’. This incorporates the PCDs’ style of clinical practice that helps in picking up the most commonly prevalent adult psychiatric disorders presenting to primary care. CONCLUSION This PCPP curriculum contains pragmatic modules with higher TQ. This curriculum is dynamic as the learning is bi-directional. This can be used by policy-makers, innovators and academia for integration with national health programmes such as those for non-communicable diseases and reproductive and child health.

The Long and Short of Summative Assessment in Competency Based Medical Education: Time to Raise the Bar?

Background: The Competency-based medical education (CBME) has been introduced for MBBS programme in India from 2019. Reorganization of the assessment system is required to meet the challenges imposed by this new framework. Objectives: An evaluation of the university summative assessments held prior to the introduction of CBME-based curriculum was carried out to analyze the pattern, relevance and distribution of questions. Methods: Five sets of annual and supplementary summative examination papers from three universities, State (SU), Private (PU) and Medical (MU) were evaluated. The analysis included format i.e. Structured and Modified Essay questions, Short notes, other formats; marks distribution; terminology-based level of cognitive domain; subject-based relevance and topic-based distribution of questions. Results: A total of 352 questions were analyzed. The maximum number of questions were from the state university (140, 39.7%).The contribution of short notes in the theory papers was 65.8% (PU), 87.1% (SU) and 88.9% (MU).Only the PU had Modified-Essay Questions (10.5%) and Modified short notes(4.7%). Terminology addressing higher cognitive domains was low as the questions assessed mainly the knowledge level (80-96.8%), comprehension 3.1%-6.4%. Only the PU had problem solving questions comprising 11.7% of total questions. Majority of questions had moderate or high relevance and only 2.1%-8.2% were of low-relevance. Inter-university differences in the topics were observed for dermatology, psychiatry, and infections. Conclusions: The present evaluation of high-stakes assessment in three universities indicates minor differences in the format of questions. Questions were predominantly in the form of short notes, structured essays and modified essays were a rarity; few questions targeted higher cognitive levels although majority had high-moderate relevance.

Video consultations from an Indian academic hospital: First 3 years of experience from telepsychiatric after-care clinic

BACKGROUND Continuity of care for psychiatric disorders by conventional in-person consultation by psychiatrists is associated with several challenges. There is a need to develop alternative models of specialist care. We studied our 3 years’ experience of live video consultations (VCs) from the tele after-care clinic to patients with psychiatric disorders at an Indian academic hospital. METHODS We did a file review of 669 VCs provided to 213 patients in the first 3 years (2017–2019) from the telemedicine centre of a tertiary care academic hospital. We analysed details of sociodemography, clinical profile, tele after-care consultations and outcome. RESULTS Two hundred and thirteen patients (55% men) were enrolled for the tele after-care clinic. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 42.2 (17.29) years and a majority were educated till high school and beyond. Patients with severe and common mental disorders constituted 60.1% and 40%, respectively. Among the total 669 appointments, 542 (81%) VCs were successfully provided; of the remaining, 125 were cancelled and 2 were aborted due to a medical emergency. Medication prescriptions were unchanged in 499 and modified/totally changed in 47 VCs. CONCLUSION Our large study shows that telepsychiatric after-care is a useful alternative method which can supplement in-person follow-up. Barriers such as distance, cost and medical illness can be overcome using tele after-care clinics for regular follow-ups in stabilized psychiatric patients. There is a need for prospective studies, preferably, randomized controlled trials comparing effectiveness of tele after-care with in-person consultations to assess treatment outcomes.

Children commute to schools in Bangalore urban and rural districts: travel pattern, behaviour and perceptions

Background: Children form vulnerable road users during their regular school commute. School children safety is not taken into consideration before construction of road network. The total number of persons injured in India during 2015 near schools or colleges or educational institutions due to road traffic accidents are 13,270 in urban areas according to National Crime Records Bureau which is quite alarming. Current study is the first attempt in both rural and urban Karnataka towards understanding travel pattern, behaviour and perceptions among school children during commute to schools. The objectives of the present study were to assess travel pattern, behaviour and perception of school children in Bangalore urban and rural districts and to assess factors associated with travel pattern.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted using a representative sample of schools selected by simple random sampling. Data was collected using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire which was analysed using SPSS version 20.Results: Nearly 86% of school children travelled less than 5 kms to reach their schools. Nearly 39% of school children travelled alone to school. Most common mode of travel to school was by walk. Nearly 27.4% did not cross the main roads safely. Adherence to road safety behaviour was insufficient. Vehicular traffic was perceived as a major apprehension by children during school commute.Conclusions: Commute of children to schools in both urban and rural part of Bangalore was unsafe with least adherence to safety measures, which might increase their vulnerability to road traffic injuries.

A study of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent school girls in rural and urban field practice area of RajaRajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore, India

Background: The word adolescent is derived from Latin word adolescence which means to grow into maturity. Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. WHO has defined adolescence as the age group 10-19 years. These are formative years when maximum amount of physical, psychological, developmental and behavioral changes take place. In India adolescent girls accounts for a little more than one- fifth of the population. The onset on menstruation is one of the most important changes occurring among the girls during the adolescent years. The event of menarche may be associated with taboos and myths existing in our traditional society which has a negative implication for women’s health, particularly their menstrual hygiene. Women having better knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene and safe practices are less vulnerable to reproductive tract infections.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample size of 184 is obtained in each group and rounded off to 190 (urban and rural schools). The duration of the study was for 5 months among adolescent high school girls in randomly selected schools.Results: The mean age of urban girls was 12.87±0.94 years whereas rural girls it was 12.85±0.86 years. Among 380 study subjects 43.4% were aware about menstruation before attaining menarche, 62.4% were aware that menstruation is a natural process. Majority of study subjects (58.9%) were using sanitary pads during menstruation and 46.8% of study subject’s changes absorbents twice a day.Conclusion: Knowledge and practice regarding menstrual hygiene among adolescent high school girls is better in rural area as compared to urban adolescent high school girls.

Malformed Teeth and Their Endodontic Implications

Increased dimension of a tooth indicates the presence of double tooth. Double tooth could be due to fusion or gemination. These are due to developmental disturbances of teeth.1 Gemination is an anomaly that occurs due to an attempt to form two teeth from a single tooth bud. This resulted in a large tooth without complete separation or alterations in the number of teeth.2 Fusion is caused by union of two discrete tooth germs, wherein they might be united by dental hard tissues. However they have separate pulp chambers. Developmental aberrations occur during morpho-differentiation of tooth bud. These occur due to local metabolic disturbances or due to pressure of crowding of tooth germs.3 Hereditary tendency has been reported for fusion between normal and supernumerary tooth.4