Determinants of maternal near miss events: a facility based case-control study

Background: Worldwide, approximately 830 women died every single day due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth in 2015. Many researchers revealed that the quality of health care delivery in a system can be identified by studies on maternal deaths. In recent years, women who survived the critical events during pregnancy and childbirth, called as maternal near miss cases, are explored as an adjunct to maternal death inquiries, as these cases occur more frequently than maternal deaths and can identify problems that had to be overcome for the provision of better healthcare services. This study aims at evaluating determinants of such maternal near miss events among postnatal women admitted in KIMS Hospital, Hubli. Methods: A case-control study was done on postnatal women admitted in the KIMS Hospital. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 82 participants (27 cases and 55 controls). Information about biodata, sociodemographic characteristics, medical illnesses, previous pregnancies and the current pregnancy with its outcomes and complications was collected. Results: Most women were satisfying the criterion for admission to ICU followed by hypertensive complications and severe anemia, to be considered as cases. The study showed height, type of family, religion, presence of danger signs during pregnancy as significant determinants of maternal near miss events. Conclusions: The factors showing significance in our study are non-modifiable risk factors of maternal near miss events. With early identification of such cases and appropriate antenatal care, such events can be prevented and reduced.

External pixe – A novel approach for determining trace elements in fermentation process.

External Particle Induced X-ray Emission technique was employed in the study of submerged fermentation of ethanol from Jaggery using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the organism. Effect of KNO3 as a nitrogen source was studied and the uptake of the supplement was monitored. A Proton beam of 3MeV from the 3MV Tandom type pelletron accelerator was used for the multi-elemental analysis. Apart from K, other elements like Cr, Fe, Cu and Zn were identified. The sensitivity of the technique was also determined by varying the sample size between 2mm and 10mm.

Trace elemental analysis of dental caries in human teeth by external pixe.

The elemental profiles of the dental caries in human teeth were analyzed by the external proton induced X-ray emission (External PIXE) studies. A total of ten elements including trace namely P, Ca, V, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Sr and Pb were estimated in the present study. P and Ca were found to be the major elements whereas all other elements were in trace level. It was observed that the concentration of elements Phosphorus and Calcium varied between the range 7.98% and 19.26% and 19.83% and 35.2% respectively in dental caries.

Optimization of fermentation medium for the production of ethanol from jaggery using box-behnken design.

The production of ethyl alcohol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCIM 3288 was found significant when jaggery is used as the carbon source. From the various physical parameters studied, the effect substrate concentration was found to play a key role, and the other two important chemical supplements tested, i.e., Nitrogen and phosphorus sources were also found to be significantly contributing to product concentration. A response surface analysis predicted a substrate concentration of 23.56 % (w/v), (NH4)2SO4- 2.612 g/l and KH2PO4- 3.407g/l as the optimal conditions keeping the rest of the rest of the physical parameters at their optimal conditions as obtained from the preliminary studies. A maximum ethanol concentration of 6.15%(w/v) was obtained at the end of third day of fermentation.

Marchiafava-Bignami disease.

Marchiafava- Bignami disease is the symmetrical demyelination of the middle portion of the corpus callosum observed in people with chronic alcoholism. We report two male patients who had history of chronic alcoholism, different clinical presentation and MRI findings consistent with the diagnosis of Marchiafava-Bignami disease.

Alkaptonuria and intramedullary calcification.

Alkaptonuria is a rare disorder of metabolism caused by deficiency of homogentisic acid oxidase enzyme and characterized by triad of homogentisic aciduria (dark urine), relentlessly progressive arthritis and ochronosis. We have documented a case with typical features of alkaptonuria along with intramedullary calcification which has not been reported in the literature before.