Anxiety and depression among couples undergoing treatment for infertility with assisted reproductive techniques at an Indian centre.

Background Infertility and its treatment are frequently associated with psychological distress. We assessed the prevalence of anxiety and depression in couples undergoing treatment for infertility with assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs). Methods We included 160 married couples undergoing treatment for infertility at an ART centre. The prevalence of anxiety and depression was assessed using the hospital anxiety and depression scale. Results The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 46.2% and 40.9%, respectively. Women had higher mean (SD) anxiety (10.76 [2.69]) and depression (9.86 [2.06]) scores; however, this gender difference was statistically significant only with respect to anxiety (p=0.02). The mean anxiety scores were highest among both genders when the cause of infertility was attributed to both partners and during the first year and 10 years after treatment. Men in the age groups of 20-24 years and 40-44 years and those with no prior treatment had a statistically significant association with the highest anxiety scores. The mean depression scores showed a statistically significant decline in both genders with increasing age. Among men, the mean depression scoreswere significantly higher in those with no prior treatment, male cause of infertility and during the first year and after 10 years of treatment. Conclusion The prevalence of anxiety and depression among infertile couples undergoing treatment with ART was almost twice as high as that in the general population. The mean anxiety scores were significantly associated with duration of treatment and gender-based attribution in both genders; however, age and prior treatment were associated with only men. The mean scores of depression were significantly associated with age in both genders, while duration of treatment, gender-based attribution and prior treatment were significantly associated only with men.

A case with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection from India.

A healthcare worker presented with fever, cough, headache and tested positive by SARS-CoV-2 real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). He got admitted to hospital and recovered after 14 days. After 2 months, as a screening protocol considering the high risk setup he got tested and again found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 by qRT-PCR. Our patient had detectable levels of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies during the reinfection but found negative for Neutralizing antibodies (NAb). Our findings suggest that the person after the initial infection might not develop the desired protective immunity to prevent the reinfection as demonstrated by absence of NAb.

An Effective Method to Collect Bone Dust for Mastoid Cavity Obliteration.

To compare the volume of cortical bone dust collected and the time taken for bone dust collection by using a self-devised bone dust collector and that by manual method using a metal scoop in patients undergoing modified radical mastoidectomy with mastoid cavity obliteration. A prospective study was done in 62 patients of cholesteatoma. They underwent canal wall down mastoidectomy. Mastoid cavity was obliteration was done using cortical bone dust collected after dividing the patients randomly into 2 groups: (1) using a collector device made using a mucous extractor fitted with a nylon mesh of size 1″ × 3″ attached to the suction tube, (2) collected manually by using a metal scoop. The time taken for the collection of bone dust was recorded and the volume of bone dust collected was measured and recorded. We found that the time taken for the collection of bone dust was significantly lower and the volume of bone dust collected was higher using a mucous extractor as compared to that by manual collection using a metal scoop. The suction based mucous extractor performed better in terms of both time taken for collection and also in the volume of cortical bone dust that was collected as compared to manual collection using a metal scoop. Therefore, we conclude from our study that using the suction based mucous extractor is a more effective method of cortical bone dust collection for mastoid cavity obliteration.

Comparative evaluation of gliadins from four extraction protocols using advanced analytical techniques.

Gliadin, a major component of gluten, is known to trigger celiac disease; therefore, its extraction is important to study its properties as well as its presence in gluten-free products. Four gliadin extraction procedures Osborne (1924), Weiss (1993), Wallace (1989) and DuPont (2005), were investigated on six wheat cultivars using advanced analytical techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Higher zeta potential of extracted gliadin was observed in DuPont (23.53-27), followed by Weiss (16.17-20.80), Osborne (16.17-20.13), and Wallace (14.60-19.47). Particle Z-average size (15.74-184.83 nm) was found to have an inverse relationship with the Polydispersity index (0.17-184.83). The surface morphological structure of TEM studies revealed the compact globular particle arrangement of gliadin, besides rod-shaped arrangement, was also found in DuPont and Wallace extracted gliadin. XRD pattern of gliadin exposed the crystalline domain at 44.1°, 37.8°, and 10.4° diffraction peaks. The d-spacing obtained from XRD and TEM-SAED analysis supports the presence of crystalline domains in gliadin apart from the amorphous domain. The insight obtained from this work will provide a better understanding of morphology and other properties of the same protein extracted with different extraction procedures.

Breast Lump: A Rare Presentation of Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis presenting as breast lump is a rare disease. This condition usually occurs in females who are in the reproductive age group. Diagnosis is quite difficult unless prompt investigations are meticulously done. They are often mistaken for malignancy. We report a 19-year-old girl with tubercular breast abscess. The abscess was incised and drained based on fine-needle aspiration cytology and ultrasonography revealed it as pyogenic abscess. Ziehl-Neelsen stain (ZN stain) of the pus sample showed acid-fast bacilli. Now, she has been started on antitubercular treatment.

Phenotypic study of virulence factors in Escherichia coli isolated from antenatal cases, catheterized patients, and faecal flora.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The bacterial strains that cause symptomatic urinary tract infections possess diverse distinctive properties that enable them to overcome the local host defenses. In Escherichia coli, virulence results from the cumulative impact of several virulence factors, which can vary according to the patient populations. Hence, a study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of the virulence factors in the E.coli isolates which were isolated from pregnant woman, catheterized patients and from the stool samples of healthy individuals. METHODS: A total of 93 E.coli isolates were obtained from symptomatic cases of urinary tract infections and 31 E.coli faecal isolates were obtained from apparently healthy individuals and they were tested for haemolysin production, mannose resistant haemagglutination to indicate P fimbriae, cell surface hydrophobicity, and the gelatinase enzyme. RESULTS: Among the 93 E.coli isolates from the cases group, 39(41.9%) were haemolytic, 38(40.9%) were MRHA positive, 29(31.2%) were hydrophobic and 18(19.4%) were positive for gelatinase. Among the 31 controls, 01(3.2%) were haemolytic, 02(6.5%) were MRHA positive and 03(9.7%) were hydrophobic and none of the isolates were positive for gelatinase. The difference between the cases and the control group was significant (P<0.001).Multiple virulence factors were observed in 10% of the isolates. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that the expression of the virulence factors was more in the urinary isolates of the antenatal cases and in the catheterized patients as compared to the faecal isolates.