Social Support Postpartum: Bengali Women from India on Their Coping Experiences following Childbirth.

Undertaken in Kolkata, India, our study aimed to explore the experiences of Bengali middle-class women on perceived stressful events, social support, and coping experiences following childbirth. Becoming a mother following childbirth is a shared phenomenon irrespective of culture, social strata, or country, while stress during the postpartum period or depression is not. Discrete medical intervention does not sufficiently address the complexities of postpartum experiences since influencing factors also include economic, political, cultural, and social backgrounds. Adopting a feminist and phenomenological approach, individual in-person interviews were conducted with twenty women recruited via snowball sampling. Our findings revealed that events experienced as stressful may lead to poor postpartum well-being. Underpinned by gendered discourse and biases, stressful events included familial imperatives for a male child, poor social and emotional support from the family, mostly partners and fathers, and systemic workplace barriers. The women in our study commonly resided with their mothers postpartum. They expressed feeling sheltered from these experiences, cared for, and supported. We discuss the women's experiences from a feminist pragmatic worldview, which advocates for a flexible feminism recognizant of the unique and nurturing relationship experiences between Bengali middle-class women and their mothers. In conclusion, we advocate for culturally sensitive, women-centered postpartum care practices that may entail the inclusion of intergenerational care during this critical phase of maternal well-being. These insights underscore the necessity of tailoring postpartum support systems to align with the cultural and familial contexts of the individuals they serve.

A Reusable Polymeric Film for the Alternating Colorimetric Detection of a Nerve Agent Mimic and Ammonia Vapor with Sub-Parts-per-Million Sensitivity.

Thin polymeric films were developed for the vapor-phase sequential colorimetric detection of a nerve agent mimic and ammonia with high sensitivity. N-(4-Benzoylphenyl)acrylamide (BPAm), N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA), and (E)-2-(methyl(4-(pyridine-4yldiazenyl)phenyl)amino)ethyl acrylate (MPDEA, M1) were copolymerized via free radical polymerization (FRP) to yield p(BPAm-co-DMA-co-MPDEA), hereafter referred to as P1. P1 exhibits selective sensing properties toward diethyl chlorophosphate (DCP), a nerve agent mimic, in pure aqueous media. Upon the addition of DCP, the pyridine groups of P1 were quaternized with DCP, accompanied by a color change from yellow to pink due to the enhancement of the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effect. In situ generated quaternized P1, hereafter referred to as P2, after DCP sensing was used to selectively detect ammonia via dequaternization in an aqueous medium. Ammonia detection was indicated by a color change in the solution from pink back to yellow. A surface-immobilized P1 film was prepared and employed for the vapor-phase detection of DCP, demonstrating that an amount of as low as 2 ppm was detectable. Ammonia vapor was also successfully detected by the P2 film via the ammonia-triggered removal of the quaternized phosphates. Alternating exposure of the film to DCP and ammonia resulted in the corresponding color changes, thereby demonstrating the reversibility of the system. The reusability of the polymeric film for detecting DCP and ammonia in the vapor phase was confirmed by performing four sequential colorimetric detection cycles.

Recyclable Polymeric Thin Films for the Selective Detection and Separation of Picric Acid.

Thin-film probes have been developed for the reversible detection and separation of picric acid (PA) with extreme sensitivity in aqueous media. The free radical copolymerization of dimethylacrylamide (DMA), benzophenone acrylamide (BPAM), and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with a feed ratio of 95:1:4 yielded [p(DMA- co-BPAM- co-GMA)] (P1). P1 was transformed to the final polymeric probe, P2, by a subsequent ring-opening reaction between N-(pyren-1-yl-methyl)propan-1-amine (Py-PA) with the epoxide unit of P1. P2 exhibited rapid and selective sensing properties toward PA in aqueous media via turn-off fluorescence emission. The detection sensitivity was tuned precisely by varying the pH of the solution. After the immobilization of P2 on a quartz slide by spin-coating, followed by exposure to UV light, the resulting film exhibited an attogram-level detection limit toward PA. The photoinduced electron transfer together with an energy-transfer process between PA and the pyrene units of P2 were maximized by the strong π-π stacking of pyrene units of P2, which, in turn, induced rapid exciton energy diffusion. Furthermore, the separation of PA from the mixture of the various nitroaromatic compounds by the P2 film was achieved. Whereas the detection process of PA was reversible and repeatable over multiple cycles, the P2 film could be recycled.

Identification and interaction of amino acids with leucine-anthracene reagent by TLC and spectrophotometry: experimental and theoretical studies.

A new reagent has been synthesized by coupling anthracene moiety to L-leucine. The reagent is characterized by different analytical techniques. It is capable for easy identification of various amino acids on thin-layer chromatography plates by developing distinguishable colors (detection limit between 0.1-0.5 µg at cold condition and 0.1-0.4 µg after heating). This reagent also binds with different amino acids very strongly in solution (methanol). Estimation of equilibrium binding constants of this new reagent with different amino acids has also been carried out. The values of the binding constants are lowest for L-Tyrosine (6.86 × 10³ dm³ mol(-1)) and highest for L-Arginine monohydrochloride (8.86 × 105 dm³ mol(-1)) at 25°C. A theoretical study (Hartree-Fock) has been performed to investigate the interaction of the reagent with a representative amino acid, glycine.

Hopane-type saponins from Glinus lotoides Linn.

Seven hopane-type saponins were isolated from the methanol extract of Glinus lotoides. Six of them were identified as novel compounds and designated as lotoideside A [3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1-->2)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-6 alpha-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-22-beta-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-16 beta-hydroxy hopane (1)], lotoideside B [3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1-->2)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-22-beta-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-6 alpha,16 beta-dihydroxyhopane (2)], lotoideside C [3-OD-xylopyranosyl-6 alpha-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-16 beta-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-22 beta-hydroxyhopane (3)], lotoideside D [3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-16 beta-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-6 alpha,22-beta-dihydroxyhopane (4)], lotoideside E [3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-6 alpha-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-16 beta,22-beta-dihydroxyhopane (5)], and lotoideside F [3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-22-beta-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-16 beta-hydroxyhopan-6-one (6)]. The known compound succulentoside B (7) was also encountered. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of one-and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic techniques, ESIMS and chemical evidences.

Glucosides from Curculigo orchioides.

From the rhizomes of Curculigo orchioides two phenolic glucosides named orchiosides A and B were isolated besides four known compounds and their structures were elucidated by the combination of 2D-NMR analysis, mass spectrometry and chemical evidences.