Relationship between low birth weight and infant mortality: evidence from National Family Health Survey 2019-21, India.

BACKGROUND: Low birth weight (LBW) predisposes physical and mental growth failure and premature death among infants. Studies report that LBW predominately explains infant mortality. However, existing studies rarely demonstrate the phenomenon of both observed and unobserved factors, which may influence the likelihood of birth and mortality outcomes simultaneously. In this study, we identified the spatial clustering of the prevalence of LBW along with its determinants. Further, the relationship between of LBW and infant mortality, considering the unobserved factors, has been explored in the study. METHODS: Data for this study have been extracted from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) round 5, 2019-21. We used the directed acyclic graph model to identify the potential predictors of LBW and infant mortality. Moran's I statistics have been used to identify the high-risk areas of LBW. We applied conditional mixed process modelling in Stata software to account for the simultaneous nature of occurrences of the outcomes. The final model has been performed after imputing the missing data of LBW. RESULTS: Overall, in India, 53% of the mothers reported their babies' birth weight by seeing health card, 36% reported by recall, and about 10% of the LBW information was observed as missing. The state/union territory of Punjab and Delhi were observed to have the highest levels of LBW (about 22%) which is much higher than the national level (18%). The effect of LBW was more than four times larger compared to the effect in the analysis which does not account for the simultaneous occurrence of LBW and infant mortality (marginal effect; from 12 to 53%). Also, in a separate analysis, the imputation technique has been used to address the missing data. Covariates' effects showed that female children, higher order births, births that occur in Muslim and non-poor families and literate mothers were negatively associated with infant mortality. However, a significant difference was observed in the impact of LBW before and after imputing the missing values. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings showed the significant association of LBW with infant deaths, highlighting the importance of prioritising policies that help improve the birth weight of new-born children that may significantly reduce the infant mortality in India.

Spousal violence against women and its consequences on pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health of women in India.

BACKGROUND: Globally, one in three women experienced domestic violence. Alike the scenario observed in India, and a very few studies talk about violence and its consequences on women's health. Hence, the purpose of this study is to access the level of various types of spousal violence in India and to understand the association between physical, sexual and emotional violence against ever-married women by their husbands. The study further examines the consequences of spousal violence on women's health in terms of adverse pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health in India. METHODS: The study uses secondary data from National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4, 2015-16). The analysis was based on a sample of ever-married women aged 15-49 years. Bivariate descriptive analysis and multiple regression analyses have been carried out to understand the association between spousal violence and its consequences on women's health. RESULTS: The study finds that the physical, sexual and emotional violence experienced by ever-married women in India are 29.8%, 13.8% and 7.0%, respectively. Further, the physical and sexual violence experienced by women have a significant association with an unwanted pregnancy, abortion, miscarriages and ever had termination of pregnancies. The regression analysis shows that violence by sexual partners among battered women increased the likelihood of unwanted pregnancy. Similarly, abortion and ever had a termination of pregnancies are also adversely affected by partner violence. Further, the risk of sexually transmitted infection increases 77% by sexual violence and 44% by emotional violence among battered women. Also, Sexual violence substantially increases the risk of prolonged labour during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that one in three women experiencing violence by their husband and also it is evident that various forms of spousal violence adversely affect pregnancies outcomes and reproductive health among battered women compared to not battered.

Extent of awareness and attitudes on plagiarism among post-graduate resident doctors and junior medical faculty in India: a cross-sectional, multicentric study.

OBJECTIVES: Though dissertation is mandatory for postgraduates (PG), it is unknown if adequate knowledge on plagiarism exists at that level. Thus, we intended to study the knowledge and attitude towards plagiarism among junior doctors in India. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study SETTING: PG medical residents and Junior faculty from various teaching institutions across south India. PARTICIPANTS: A total of N=786 doctors filled the questionnaires of which approximately 42.7% were from government medical colleges (GMCs) and the rest from private institutions. METHODS: Participants were given a pretested semistructured questionnaire which contained: (1) demographic details; (2) a quiz developed by Indiana University, USA to assess knowledge and (3) Attitudes towards Plagiarism Questionnaire (ATPQ). OUTCOME MEASURES: The Primary outcome measure was knowledge about plagiarism. The secondary outcome measure was ATPQ scores. RESULTS: A total of N=786 resident doctors and junior faculty from across 11 institutions participated in this study. Of this, 42.7% were from GMCs and 60.6% were women. The mean (SD) knowledge score was 4.43 (1.99) out of 10. The factors (adjusted OR; 95% CI; p value) that emerged as significant predictors of knowledge were number of years in profession (-0.181; -0.299 to -0.062; 0.003), no previous publication (0.298; 0.099 to 0.498; 0.003) and working in a GMC (0.400; 0.106 to 0.694; 0.008). The overall mean (SD) scores of the three attitude components were: Permissive attitudes-37.33 (5.33), critical attitudes -20.32 (4.82) and subjective norms-31.05 (4.58), all of which corresponded to the moderate category. CONCLUSION: Participants lacked adequate knowledge on how to avoid plagiarism suggesting a need for a revamp in medical education curriculum in India by incorporating research and publication ethics.

Genetic gains with rapid-cycle genomic selection for combined drought and waterlogging tolerance in tropical maize (Zea mays L.).

Rapid cycle genomic selection (RC-GS) helps to shorten the breeding cycle and reduce the costs of phenotyping, thereby increasing genetic gains in terms of both cost and time. We implemented RC-GS on two multi-parent yellow synthetic (MYS) populations constituted by intermating ten elite lines involved in each population, including four each of drought and waterlogging tolerant donors and two commercial lines, with proven commercial value. Cycle 1 (C1 ) was constituted based on phenotypic selection and intermating of the top 5% of 500 S2 families derived from each MYS population, test-crossed and evaluated across moisture regimes. C1 was advanced to the next two cycles (C2 and C3 ) by intermating the top 5% selected individuals with high genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) for grain yield under drought and waterlogging stress. To estimate genetic gains, population bulks from each cycle were test-crossed and evaluated across locations under different moisture regimes. Results indicated that the realised genetic gain under drought stress was 0.110 t ha-1 yr-1 and 0.135 t ha-1 yr-1 , respectively, for MYS-1 and MYS-2. The gain was less under waterlogging stress, where MYS-1 showed 0.038 t ha-1 yr-1 and MYS-2 reached 0.113 t ha-1 yr-1 . Genomic selection for drought and waterlogging tolerance resulted in no yield penalty under optimal moisture conditions. The genetic diversity of the two populations did not change significantly after two cycles of GS, suggesting that RC-GS can be an effective breeding strategy to achieve high genetic gains without losing genetic diversity.

Denitrification rates in estuarine sediments of Ashtamudi, Kerala, India.

Estuarine sediments are important sites for denitrification, which is microbially mediated reduction of nitrate to dinitrogen that also influences global climate change by co-production of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Physicochemical properties and nutrients of sediment samples that influence denitrification rate were studied in Ashtamudi estuarine sediments. They were pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N), exchangeable ammonia (NH3--N), total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and organic carbon (Corg). Sediment samples were collected from six stations during summer, monsoon of 2013 and 13 stations from monsoon 2014 and summer 2015. The sedimentary denitrification potential ranged from 0.49 ± 0.05 to 4.85 ± 0.782 mmol N2O m-2 h-1. Maximum denitrification was observed in S4, which is attributed to a local anthropogenic source coupled with intense rainfall episode preceding the sampling season of monsoon 2013. However, this trend was not repeated in the subsequent monsoon samples. This shows that in Ashtamudi, monsoonal effects do not influence sedimentary denitrification. Among the various environmental variables, NO3--N, Corg and NH3-N were the key factors that influence denitrification in the Ashtamudi estuarine sediments. Among these key factors, NO3--N was the limiting factor for denitrification, and hence, it is of prime importance to understand the source of NO3--N that fuel denitrification in the sediments. In Ashtamudi, the concentration of NO3--N in overlying water was very less, which suggests reduced nitrogen yield in the estuary from the fluvial input of Kallada River and agricultural runoff. Sedimentary NO3--N correlated with denitrification which reveals that denitrification is coupled with nitrification in the sediments. This is further explained by the fact that NH3-N positively correlated with denitrification. The anoxic sediments were the source of ammonia for nitrous oxide production by nitrogen mineralisation. Also, the Corg in sediment samples were sufficient to support denitrification and Corg was an important factor favouring but not limiting denitrification. The results of sediment denitrification in Ashtamudi can be a model for tropical estuaries experiencing unpredictable rainfall as well as high temperature than temperate systems.

Observation of Room Temperature Photoluminescence from Asymmetric CuGaO2/ZnO/ZnMgO Multiple Quantum Well Structures.

Asymmetric (CuGaO2/ZnO/ZnMgO) and symmetric (ZnMgO/ZnO/ZnMgO) multiple quantum well (MQW) structures were successfully fabricated using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and their comparison were made. Efficient room temperature photoluminescent (PL) emission was observed from these MQWs and temperature dependent luminescence of asymmetric and symmetric MQWs can be explained using the existing theories. A systematic blue shift was observed in both MQWs with decrease in the confinement layer thickness which could be attributed to the quantum confinement effects. The PL emission from asymmetric and symmetric MQW structures were blue shifted compared to 150 nm thick ZnO thin film grown by PLD due to quantum confinement effects.

Photoluminescence of nanocrystalline ZnS thin film grown by sol-gel method.

Nano and polycrystalline ZnS thin films play a crucial role in photovoltaic technology and optoelectronic devices. In this work, we report the photoluminescence (PL) characterization of nanocrystalline ZnS thin films synthesized by dip coating method. The PL spectra exhibit broad nature with multiple emission peaks which are due to the different defect levels in the prepared film.

Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of the antioxidant potential of vanadium encapsulated guar gum nanoparticles.

The present study investigated the antioxidant potential of guar gum macroparticles (GGMs), vanadium oxide sulphate (VS) encapsulated guar gum macroparticles (GVMs), guar gum nanoparticles (GGNs), VS encapsulated guar gum nanoparticles (GVNs) and VS. GGNs and GVNs prepared by nanoprecipitation were characterized by SEM (scanning electron microscopy), TEM (transmission electron microscopy) and particle size analysis to confirm the nanostructure of the particles. Particle size analysis revealed that GVNs possess a size of 239 nm, about 148 nm larger than that of GGNs. TEM imaging and EDAX data also confirmed the formation of fine spherical nanoparticles with vanadium incorporation. In addition the larger size of GVNs also confirmed the vanadium incorporation. MTT assay showed that concentrations up to 100 nM of GVNs for 24 h exposure did not induce significant toxicity when VS was toxic (16%) at 100 nM. Various in vitro antioxidant assays (total reducing power, total antioxidant capacity, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), hydroxyl radical and superoxide anion radical scavenging assays) revealed significantly high antioxidant potential of GVNs compared to GGNs, VS, GGMs and GVMs. The IC50 of GVNs was 23.21 ± 2.1 µg mL(-1), 33.0 ± 2.93 µg mL(-1), 21 ± 1.98 µg mL(-1) and 22.79 ± 2.12 µg mL(-1) for DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl, superoxide anion scavenging activity assays respectively. The cell line based assay also proved that the GVN was more effective in reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging than VS against tertiary butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP) induced oxidative stress in H9c2 cell lines. The overall results indicated that vanadium in combination with nano guar gum exhibits significantly high antioxidant potential.

Polycrystalline coating of hydroxyapatite on TiAl6V4 implant material grown at lower substrate temperatures by hydrothermal annealing after pulsed laser deposition.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a bioactive ceramic material that mimics the mineral composition of natural bone. This material does not possess acceptable mechanical properties for use as a bulk biomaterial; however, it does demonstrate significant potential for use as a coating on metallic orthopaedic and dental prostheses. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of thin films of HA on TiAl6V4 have shown crystalline coatings to be obtained at temperatures of the order of 350-500 degrees C. This condition of high substrate temperature promoted the oxidation of the substrate surface prior to the growth of the HA layer and the oxidation layer degraded the adhesion of the coating to the substrate. In this study, thin films of HA were deposited on TiAl6V4 alloy at a lower temperature of 200 degrees C by PLD and crystallized by a hydrothermal treatment at 100 degrees C. The film was subjected to mechanical as well as cell viability tests in vitro. The thickness, roughness, crystallanity, composition ratio, adhesive strength, and cell adhesion of the film suggest the application of this technique for producing bioactive implants.

Organoiodine (III)-mediated synthesis of 3-aryl/heteroaryl-5,7-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-c]pyrimidines as antibacterial agents.

Synthesis of 12 new 3-aryl/heteroaryl-5,7-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-c]pyrimidines (3a-l) has been accomplished by the oxidation of pyrimidinylhydrazones (2a-l) of various aryl/heteroaryl aldehydes using 1.1equiv. of iodobenzene diacetate (IBD) in dichloromethane. All the compounds 3a-l tested in vitro for their antibacterial activity against two Gram-positive bacteria namely, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus stearothermophilus and two Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas putida, Escherichia coli. Two compounds, namely 3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-5,7-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazolo [4,3-c]pyrimidine (3j) and 3-(4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)-5,7-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-c]pyrimidine (3l) were found to be equipotent or more potent than the commercially available antibiotics (chloramphenicol and streptomycin).