Highly correlated structural, local structural, Raman spectroscopic and magnetic properties of Mn-substituted Cu2V2O7.

Low-dimensional quantum spin ½ system Cu2V2O7has been investigated in the framework of Mn-substitution at the Cu site, which is really un-investigated. The studied compounds Cu2 -xMnxV2O7(x= 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15) have been synthesized and characterized structurally, spectroscopically, local structurally and magnetically via x-ray diffraction, Raman, x-ray absorption and temperature, field dependent magnetization measurements respectively. Although Cu2V2O7can be found inα, ßandγ-phase, however all of the studied compounds are found in single orthorhombicα-phase which has crucial magneto-electric application potential. Temperature dependent Raman spectra indicated anharmonic phonon-phonon scattering but there is no spin-phonon coupling for VO4vibrational modes. The local structure probed via x-ray absorption near edge structure and extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy at 15 K, 300 K indicates Cu2+, V5+and mixed valent Mn2+and Mn3+ionic states and justified local structure for the probed ions. Magnetic measurements indicate long-range antiferromagnetic ordering with doping independent Neel temperature (32.5 K). Further observations are strong magnetic hysteresis at 5 K (due to canted spin structure), zero field exchange-bias and their noteworthy enhancement upon Mn-substitution. Interesting correlation between structural parameters and magnetic exchanges has been developed.

Mechanism of plant mediated methane emission in tropical lowland rice.

Methane (CH4) is predominantly produced in lowland rice soil, but its emission from soil to atmosphere primarily depends on passage/conduit or capillary pore spaces present in rice plants. The gas transport mechanism through aerenchyma pore spaces of rice cultivars was studied to explore the plant mediated CH4 emission. Seven rice cultivars, based on the life cycle duration (LCD), were tested in tropical eastern India. Three LCD groups were, (a) Kalinga 1 and CR Dhan 204 (LCD: 110-120 days); (b) Lalat, Pooja and CR 1014 (LCD: 130-150 days); and (c) Durga and Varshadhan (LCD: 160-170 days). Rate of CH4emission, root exudates, root oxidase activities and shoot aerenchyma pore spaces were analyzed to study the mechanism of plant mediated emission from rice. Aerenchyma pore space was quantified in the hypothesis that it regulates the CH4 transportation from soil to atmosphere. The ratio of pore space area to total space was lowest in Kalinga 1 cultivar (0.29) and highest was in Varshadhan (0.43). Significant variations in the methane emission were observed among the cultivars with an average emission rate ranged from 0.86 mg m-2 h-1 to 4.96 mg m-2 h-1. The CH4 emission rates were lowest in short duration cultivars followed by medium and long duration ones. The greenhouse gas intensity considering average CH4 emission rate per unit grain yield was also lowest (0.35) in Kalinga 1 and relatively less in short and medium duration cultivars. Root exudation was higher at panicle initiation (PI) than maximum tillering (MT) stage. Lowest exudation was noticed in (197.2 mg C plant-1 day-1) Kalinga 1 and highest in Varsadhan (231.7 mg C plant-1 day-1). So we can say, the rate of CH4 emission was controlled by aerenchyma orientation, root exudation and biomass production rate which are the key specific traits of a cultivar. Identified traits were closely associated with duration and adaptability to cultivars grown in specific ecology. Therefore, there is possibility to breed rice cultivars depending on ecology, duration and having less CH4 emission potential, which could be effectively used in greenhouse gas mitigation strategies.

State of newborn health in India.

About 0.75 million neonates die every year in India, the highest for any country in the world. The neonatal mortality rate (NMR) declined from 52 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 28 per 1000 live births in 2013, but the rate of decline has been slow and lags behind that of infant and under-five child mortality rates. The slower decline has led to increasing contribution of neonatal mortality to infant and under-five mortality. Among neonatal deaths, the rate of decline in early neonatal mortality rate (ENMR) is much lower than that of late NMR. The high level and slow decline in early NMR are also reflected in a high and stagnant perinatal mortality rate. The rate of decline in NMR, and to an extent ENMR, has accelerated with the introduction of National Rural Health Mission in mid-2005. Almost all states have witnessed this phenomenon, but there is still a huge disparity in NMR between and even within the states. The disparity is further compounded by rural-urban, poor-rich and gender differentials. There is an interplay of different demographic, educational, socioeconomic, biological and care-seeking factors, which are responsible for the differentials and the high burden of neonatal mortality. Addressing inequity in India is an important cross-cutting action that will reduce newborn mortality.

Inpatient care of small and sick newborns in healthcare facilities.

Neonatal units in teaching and non-teaching hospitals both in public and private hospitals have been increasing in number in the country since the sixties. In 1994, a District Newborn Care Programme was introduced as a part of the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme (CSSM) in 26 districts. Inpatient care of small and sick newborns in the public health system got a boost under National Rural Health Mission with the launch of the national programme on facility-based newborn care (FBNC). This has led to a nationwide creation of Newborn Care Corners (NBCC) at every point of child birth, newborn stabilization units (NBSUs) at First Referral Units (FRUs) and special newborn care units (SNCUs) at district hospitals. Guidelines and toolkits for standardized infrastructure, human resources and services at each level have been developed and a system of reporting data on FBNC created. Till March 2015, there were 565 SNCUs, 1904 NBSUs and 14 163 NBCCs operating in the country. There has been considerable progress in operationalizing SNCUs at the district hospitals; however establishing a network of SNCUs, NBSUs and NBCCs as a composite functional unit of newborn care continuum at the district level has lagged behind. NBSUs, the first point of referral for the sick newborn, have not received the desired attention and have remained a weak link in most districts. Other challenges include shortage of physicians, and hospital beds and absence of mechanisms for timely repair of equipment. With admission protocols not being adequately followed and a weak NBSU system, SNCUs are faced with the problem of admission overload and poor quality of care. Applying best practices of care at SNCUs, creating more NBSU linkages and strengthening NBCCs are important steps toward improving quality of FBNC. This can be further improved with regular monitoring and mentoring from experienced pediatricians, and nurses drawn from medical colleges and the private sector. In addition there is a need to further increase such units to address the unmet need of facility-based care.

Newborn healthcare in urban India.

The rapid population growth in urban India has outpaced the municipal capacity to build essential infrastructures that make life in cities safe and healthy. Local and national governments alike are grappling with the challenges of urbanization with thousands migrating from villages to cities. Thus, urbanization in India has been accompanied by a concentration of poverty and urban public healthcare has emerged as one of the most pressing priorities facing our country. Newborn mortality rates in urban settings are lower than rural areas, early neonatal deaths account for greater proportion than late neonatal deaths. The available evidence suggests that socio-economic inequalities and poor environment pose major challenges for newborn health. Moreover, fragmented and weak public health system, multiplicity of actors and limited capacity of public health planning further constrain the delivery of quality and affordable health care service. Though healthcare is concentrated in urban areas, delay in deciding to seek health care, reaching a source of it and receiving appropriate care affects the health outcomes disproportionately. However, a few city initiatives and innovations piloted in different states and cities have brought forth the evidences of effectiveness of different strategies. Recently launched National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) provides an opportunity for strategic thinking and actions to improve newborn health outcomes in India. There is also an opportunity for coalescence of activities around National Health Mission (NHM) and Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health+Adolescent (RMNCH+A) strategy to develop feasible and workable models in different urban settings. Concomitant operational research needs to be carried out so that the obstacles, approaches and response to the program can be understood.

Health systems in India.

Health systems and polices have a critical role in determining the manner in which health services are delivered, utilized and affect health outcomes. 'Health' being a state subject, despite the issuance of the guidelines by the central government, the final prerogative on implementation of the initiatives on newborn care lies with the states. This article briefly describes the public health structure in the country and traces the evolution of the major health programs and initiatives with a particular focus on newborn health.

Care of newborn in the community and at home.

India has contributed immensely toward generating evidence on two key domains of newborn care: Home Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and community mobilization. In a model developed in Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) in the 1990s, a package of Interventions delivered by community health workers during home visits led to a marked decline in neonatal deaths. On the basis of this experience, the national HBNC program centered around Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) was introduced in 2011, and is now the main community-level program in newborn health. Earlier in 2004, the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) program was rolled out with inclusion of home visits by Anganwadi Worker as an integral component. IMNCI has been implemented in 505 districts in 27 states and 4 union territories. A mix of Anganwadi Workers, ASHAs, auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs) was trained. The rapid roll out of IMNCI program resulted in improving quality of newborn care at the ground field. However, since 2012 the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decided to limit the IMNCI program to ANMs only and leaving the Anganwadi component to the stewardship of the Integrated Child Development Services. ASHAs, the frontline workers for HBNC, receive four rounds of training using two modules. There are a total of over 900 000 ASHAs per link workers in the country, out of which, only 14% have completed the fourth round of training. The pace of uptake of the HBNC program has been slow. Of the annual rural birth cohort of over 17 million, about 4 million newborns have been visited by ASHA during the financial year 2013-2014 and out of this 120 000 neonates have been identified as sick and referred to health facilities for higher level of neonatal care. Supportive supervision remains a challenge, the role of ANMs in supervision needs more clarity and there are issues surrounding quality of training and the supply of HBNC kits. The program has low visibility in many states. Now is the time to tap the missed opportunity of miniscule coverage of HBNC; that at least half of the country's birth cohort should be covered by this program by 2016, coupled with rapid scale up of the community-based treatment of neonates with pneumonia or sepsis, where referral is not possible.

Soil respiration, labile carbon pools, and enzyme activities as affected by tillage practices in a tropical rice-maize-cowpea cropping system.

In order to identify the viable option of tillage practices in rice-maize-cowpea cropping system that could cut down soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, sustain grain yield, and maintain better soil quality in tropical low land rice ecology soil respiration in terms of CO2 emission, labile carbon (C) pools, water-stable aggregate C fractions, and enzymatic activities were investigated in a sandy clay loam soil. Soil respiration is the major pathway of gaseous C efflux from terrestrial systems and acts as an important index of ecosystem functioning. The CO2-C emissions were quantified in between plants and rows throughout the year in rice-maize-cowpea cropping sequence both under conventional tillage (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) practices along with soil moisture and temperature. The CO2-C emissions, as a whole, were 24 % higher in between plants than in rows, and were in the range of 23.4-78.1, 37.1-128.1, and 28.6-101.2 mg m(-2) h(-1) under CT and 10.7-60.3, 17.3-99.1, and 17.2-79.1 mg m(-2) h(-1) under MT in rice, maize, and cowpea, respectively. The CO2-C emission was found highest under maize (44 %) followed by rice (33 %) and cowpea (23 %) irrespective of CT and MT practices. In CT system, the CO2-C emission increased significantly by 37.1 % with respect to MT on cumulative annual basis including fallow. The CO2-C emission per unit yield was at par in rice and cowpea signifying the beneficial effect of MT in maintaining soil quality and reduction of CO2 emission. The microbial biomass C (MBC), readily mineralizable C (RMC), water-soluble C (WSC), and permanganate-oxidizable C (PMOC) were 19.4, 20.4, 39.5, and 15.1 % higher under MT than CT. The C contents in soil aggregate fraction were significantly higher in MT than CT. Soil enzymatic activities like, dehydrogenase, fluorescein diacetate, and ß-glucosidase were significantly higher by 13.8, 15.4, and 27.4 % under MT compared to CT. The soil labile C pools, enzymatic activities, and heterotrophic microbial populations were in the order of maize > cowpea > rice, irrespective of the tillage treatments. Environmental sustainability point of view, minimum tillage practices in rice-maize-cowpea cropping system in tropical low land soil could be adopted to minimize CO2-C emission, sustain yield, and maintain soil health.

A novel and simple mixture as point-of-use water treatment agent to produce safe drinking water.

BACKGROUND: People in rural Bangladesh have a poor understanding of the link between use of contaminated surface water and disease. An inexpensive point-of-use water treatment agent was developed to purify surface water. METHODS: Surface water was collected from various sources in Bangladesh from February 2007 to January 2008. Microbiological and physicochemical parameters of raw and treated surface water were analysed. Water was treated with a mixture of alum potash, bleaching powder and lime, or with each agent individually. RESULTS: Raw water was contaminated with bacteria, the counts for total coliforms, faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci being 26,431, 14,548 and 240 colony-forming units (cfu) 100 ml(-1), respectively. These counts fell to 0 cfu 100 ml(-1) after treatment with the mixture. The count of artificially introduced Vibrio cholerae was also reduced to 0 cfu 100 ml(-1) after treatment. Treatment of raw water altered the pH from 6.90 to 6.87, turbidity from 21.61 to 3.55 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), residual chlorine from 0 to 0.09 mg litre(-1), conductivity from 124.03 to 229.96 µS cm(-1), and total dissolved solids from 59.40 to 199.25 mg litre(-1). All these results of treatment were within the range recommended by the WHO as acceptable for drinking water. CONCLUSION: The mixture of alum potash, bleaching powder and lime described can be safely used to disinfect contaminated surface water to make it suitable for drinking and other household purposes in Bangladesh.

Impact of elevated CO2 and temperature on soil C and N dynamics in relation to CH4 and N2O emissions from tropical flooded rice (Oryza sativa L.).

A field experiment was carried out to investigate the impact of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) (CEC, 550 µmol mol(-1)) and elevated CO2+elevated air temperature (CECT, 550 µmol mol(-1) and 2°C more than control chamber (CC)) on soil labile carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools, microbial populations and enzymatic activities in relation to emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in a flooded alluvial soil planted with rice cv. Naveen in open top chambers (OTCs). The labile soil C pools, namely microbial biomass C, readily mineralizable C, water soluble carbohydrate C and potassium permanganate oxidizable C were increased by 27, 23, 38 and 37% respectively under CEC than CC (ambient CO2, 394 µmol mol(-1)). The total organic carbon (TOC) in root exudates was 28.9% higher under CEC than CC. The labile N fractions were also increased significantly (29%) in CEC than CC. Methanogens and denitrifier populations in rhizosphere were higher under CEC and CECT. As a result, CH4 and N2O-N emissions were enhanced by 26 and 24.6% respectively, under CEC in comparison to open field (UC, ambient CO2, 394 µmol mol(-1)) on seasonal basis. The global warming potential (GWP) was increased by 25% under CEC than CC. However, emissions per unit of grain yield under elevated CO2 and temperature were similar to those observed at ambient CO2. The stimulatory effect on CH4 and N2O emissions under CEC was linked with the increased amount of soil labile C, C rich root exudates, lowered Eh, higher Fe(+2) concentration and increased activities of methanogens and extracellular enzymes.

Influence of elevated carbon dioxide and temperature on belowground carbon allocation and enzyme activities in tropical flooded soil planted with rice.

Changes in the soil labile carbon fractions and soil biochemical properties to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature reflect the changes in the functional capacity of soil ecosystems. The belowground root system and root-derived carbon products are the key factors for the rhizospheric carbon dynamics under elevated CO2 condition. However, the relationship between interactive effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on belowground soil carbon accrual is not very clear. To address this issue, a field experiment was laid out to study the changes of carbon allocation in tropical rice soil (Aeric Endoaquept) under elevated CO2 and elevated CO2 + elevated temperature conditions in open top chambers (OTCs). There were significant increase of root biomass by 39 and 44 % under elevated CO2 and elevated CO2 + temperature compared to ambient condition, respectively. A significant increase (55 %) of total organic carbon in the root exudates under elevated CO2 + temperature was noticed. Carbon dioxide enrichment associated with elevated temperature significantly increased soil labile carbon, microbial biomass carbon, and activities of carbon-transforming enzyme like ß-glucosidase. Highly significant correlations were noticed among the different soil enzymes and soil labile carbon fractions.

Development of bio/blood compatible polypropylene through low pressure nitrogen plasma surface modification.

Surface modification of polypropylene by nitrogen containing plasma was performed in this work in order to improve the wettability which resulted in enhanced biocompatibility and blood compatibility. Various nitrogen containing functional groups as well as oxygen containing functional groups were found to be incorporated to the polymer surface during plasma treatment and post plasma reaction respectively. Wettability of the polymers was evaluated by static contact angle measurement to show the improvement in hydrophilicity of plasma treated polypropylene. Cross linking and surface modification were reported to be dominating in the case of nitrogen plasma treatment compared to degradation. The effect of various process variables namely power, pressure, flow rate and treatment time on surface energy and weight loss was studied at various levels according to the central composite design of response surface methodology (RSM). Except pressure the other variables resulted in increased weight loss due to etching whereas with increasing pressure weight loss was found to increase and then decrease. The effect of process variables on surface morphology of polymers was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Well spread fibroblast cells on nitrogen plasma treated polypropylene due to the presence of CO, NH2+ and NH+ was observed. Reduced platelet adhesion and increased partial thromboplastin time evidenced the increased blood compatibility.

Eosinophilic mastitis masquerading as breast carcinoma.

We report the sixth case of Eosinophilic Mastitis, presenting similarly enough to be confused with breast carcinoma. A 50 year old lady presented with a six month history of progressively enlarging asymptomatic breast lump, cough and breathlessness. Clinical examination, mammography and axillary lymphadenopathy suggested malignant disease. Ronchi were heard on chest auscultation. Needle cytology was twice inconclusive and Tru-cut biopsy showed acute on chronic inflammation. Blood investigations revealed significant peripheral eosinophilia. Open biopsy reported eosinophilic mastits, correlating with peripheral eosinophilia and pulmonary symptoms. The patient responded to conservative management. Eosinophilic infiltration of the breast is a rare manifestation of tissue involvement in peripheral eosinophilia. Asthma, Churgh-Strauss Syndrome and hyper-eosinophilic syndromes are associated. Importantly, if a clinically and radiologically malignant breast lump in asthmatic ladies with peripheral eosinophilia is not confirmed on cytology, this entity could be a diagnosis, potentially saving the patient from surgery.

Effect of 50 MeV Li3+ irradiation on structural and electrical properties of Mn-doped ZnO.

The present work aims to study the effect of ion irradiation on structural and electrical properties and their correlation with the defects in the Zn(1 - x)Mn(x)O-type system. Zn(1 - x)Mn(x)O (x = 0.02, 0.04) samples have been synthesized by the solid-state reaction method and have been irradiated with 50 MeV Li(3+) ions. The concomitant changes have been probed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-dependent electrical resistivity and positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectroscopy. The XRD result shows a single-phase wurtzite structure for Zn(0.98)Mn(0.02)O, whereas for the Zn(0.96)Mn(0.04)O sample an impurity phase has been found, apart from the usual peaks of ZnO. Ion irradiation removes this impurity peak. The grain size of the samples is found to be uniform. For Zn(0.98)Mn(0.02)O, the observed sharp decrease in room temperature resistivity (ρ(RT)) with irradiation is consistent with the lowering of the full width at half maximum of the XRD peaks. However, for Zn(0.96)Mn(0.04)O, ρ(RT) decreases for the initial fluence but increases for a further increase in fluence. All the irradiated Zn(0.98)Mn(0.02)O samples show a metal-semiconductor transition in temperature-dependent resistivity measurements at low temperature. But all the irradiated Zn(0.96)Mn(0.04)O samples show a semiconducting nature in the whole range of temperatures. Results of room temperature resistivity, XRD and PAL measurements are consistent with each other.

A highly sensitive and specific multiplex PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus.

AIMS: To develop an effective multiplex PCR for simultaneous and rapid detection of Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, the three most important Vibrio species that can cause devastating health hazards among human. METHODS AND RESULTS: Species-specific PCR primers were designed based on toxR gene for V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus, and vvhA gene for V. vulnificus. The multiplex PCR was validated with 488 Vibrio strains including 322 V. cholerae, 12 V. vulnificus, and 82 V. parahaemolyticus, 20 other Vibrio species and 17 other bacterial species associated with human diseases. It could detect the three target bacteria without any ambiguity even among closely related species. It showed good efficiency in detection of co-existing target species in the same sample. The detection limit of all the target species was ten cells per PCR tube. CONCLUSIONS: Specificity and sensitivity of the multiplex PCR is 100% each and sufficient for simultaneous detection of these potentially pathogenic Vibrio species in clinical and environmental samples. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This simple, rapid and cost-effective method can be applicable in a prediction system to prevent disease outbreak by these Vibrio species and can be considered as an effective tool for both epidemiologist and ecologist.

Development of simple and rapid PCR-fingerprinting methods for Vibrio cholerae on the basis of genetic diversity of the superintegron.

AIMS: To develop simple and rapid PCR-fingerprinting methods for Vibrio cholerae O1 (El Tor and classical biotypes) and O139 serogroup strains which cause major cholera epidemics, on the basis of the diversity of superintegron (SI) carried by these strains. METHODS AND RESULTS: PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was developed targeting region between integrase gene in the SI and its nearby ORF, followed by BglI digestion. Besides, a V. cholerae repeat-amplified fragment length polymorphism (VCR-AFLP) assay was also developed. In the PCR-RFLP, 94 El Tor, 29 classical and 54 O139 strains produced nine, three and six different DNA fingerprints, respectively. On the other hand, VCR-AFLP distinguished these El Tor, classical and O139 strains into five, nine and two DNA fingerprints, respectively. Combining both assays the El Tor, classical and O139 strains could be differentiated into 11, 10 and seven different types, respectively. In a comparative study, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) showed similar differentiation for El Tor (11 types), but lower discrimination for O139 (two types) and classical strains (five types). CONCLUSIONS: The PCR assays based on SI diversity can be used as a useful typing tool for epidemiological studies of V. cholerae. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: This newly developed method is more discriminatory, simple, rapid and cost-effective in comparison with PFGE, and thus can be widely applicable.

Development of a haemolysin gene-based multiplex PCR for simultaneous detection of Vibrio campbellii, Vibrio harveyi and Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

AIM: To develop a haemolysin (hly) gene-based species-specific multiplex PCR for simple and rapid detection of Vibrio campbellii, V. harveyi and V. parahaemolyticus. METHODS AND RESULTS: The complete hly genes of three V. campbellii strains isolated from diseased shrimps were sequenced and species-specific PCR primers were designed based on these sequences and the registered hly gene sequences of Vibrio harveyi and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Specificity and sensitivity of the multiplex PCR was validated with 27 V. campbellii, 16 V. harveyi, and 69 V. parahaemolyticus, 18 other Vibrio species, one Photobacterium damselae and nine other bacterial species. The detection limits of all the three target species were in between 10 and 100 cells per PCR tube. CONCLUSIONS: Specificity and sensitivity of the multiplex PCR is 100% each and sufficient to be considered as an effective tool in a prediction system to prevent potential disease outbreak by these Vibrio species. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Because there is lack of simple, rapid and cost-effective method to differentiate these closely related V. campbellii, V. harveyi and V. parahaemolyticus species, the multiplex PCR developed in this study will be very effective in epidemiological, ecological and economical points of view.

Estimation of mortality due to AIDS--a review.

HIV/AIDS has emerged as a major public health problem since its recognition as an emerging disease a couple of decades ago. While detection of HIV/AIDS cases remains a problem, ascertainment of AIDS deaths has emerged as a bigger challenge and concern. Despite a plethora of literature focusing on the methods to estimate AIDS deaths, none seems to be fulfilling the requirements for universal acceptance. In this paper, we give a systematic review of various methods used by experts to have a reliable estimate of the number of deaths due to AIDS. Initial assessments were derived from morgue based estimates in Africa which showed that AIDS was a leading cause of death. Its impact on demography was noticed in some of the studies conducted wherein age and sex specific mortality rates, standardized mortality ratios, potential years of life lost and decrease in life expectancy were calculated. "Excess mortality factor" as observed in 1980s and 1990s also indicated the approximate number of AIDS deaths. Besides, orphan hood method and verbal autopsy technique too, emerged as reliable means to identify mortality due to AIDS. Some indirect methods like estimation of deaths due to opportunistic infections like tuberculosis could also be a good indicator. The paper reviews the merits and possible biases encountered with each of the methods.

Postoperative complications due to a retained surgical sponge.

Retained surgical sponge or glossypiboma is a relatively common occurrence; however, surgeons may not report these events for fear of litigation and adverse publicity. We report postoperative complications in three cases due to retained surgical sponges. The first case, a 26-year-old woman, presented with gastric outlet obstruction due to the sponge obstructing the pyloric canal three weeks following cholecystectomy, which was completely relieved following endoscopical removal of the sponge. The second case, a 32-year-old woman, presented with repeated attacks of intestinal obstruction following cholecystectomy and tubal ligation and was treated with surgical removal of the sponge. The third patient, a 40-year-old woman, presented with features of colonic obstruction following hysterectomy. Colonoscopy revealed a partial migration of the sponge through the colonic wall and on laparotomy, she was found to have multiple internal fistulae between the small and large intestines, all occurring around the inflammation caused by the retained sponge.