Harnessing nature's arsenal: Ochrobactrum bacteria metabolites in the battle against root- knot nematode - Insights from in vitro and molecular docking studies.

Agricultural Productivity and plant health are threatened by the root-knot nematode. The use of biocontrol agents reduces the need for chemical nematicides and improves the general health of agricultural ecosystems by offering a more environmentally friendly and sustainable method of managing nematode infestations. Plant-parasitic nematodes can be efficiently managed with the use of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), which are widely used biocontrol agents. This study focused on the nematicidal activity of the secondary metabolites present in the bacteria Ochrobactrum sp. identified in the EPN, Heterorhabditisindica against Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita). Its effect on egg hatching and survival of juveniles of root- knot nematode (RKN) was examined. The ethyl acetate component of the cell-free culture (CFC) filtrate of the Ochrobactrum sp. bacteria was tested at four different concentrations (25 %, 50 %, 75 % and 100 %) along with broth and distilled water as control. The bioactive compounds of Ochrobactrum sp. bacteria showed the highest suppression of M. incognita egg hatching (100 %) and juvenile mortality (100 %) at 100 % concentration within 24 h of incubation. In this study, unique metabolite compounds were identified through the Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, which were found to have anti- nematicidal activity. In light of this, molecular docking studies were conducted to determine the impact of biomolecules from Ochrobactrum sp. using significant proteins of M. incognita, such as calreticulin, sterol carrier protein 2, flavin-containing monooxygenase, pectate lyase, candidate secreted effector, oesophageal gland cell secretory protein and venom allergen-like protein. The results also showed that the biomolecules from Ochrobactrum sp. had a significant inhibitory effect on the different protein targets of M. incognita. 3-Epimacronine and Heraclenin were found to inhibit most of the chosen target protein. Among the targets, the docking analysis revealed that Heraclenin exhibited the highest binding affinity of -8.6 Kcal/mol with the target flavin- containing monooxygenase. Further, the in vitro evaluation of 3- Epimacronine confirmed their nematicidal activity against M. incognita at different concentrations. In light of this, the present study has raised awareness of the unique biomolecules of the bacterial symbiont Ochrobactrum sp. isolated from H. indica that have nematicidal properties.

Sustainable power production from petrochemical industrial effluent using dual chambered microbial fuel cell.

Dual chambered microbial fuel cell (DMFC) is an advanced and effective treatment technology in wastewater treatment. The current work has made an effort to treat petrochemical industrial wastewater (PWW) as a DMFC substrate for power generation and organic substance removal. Investigating the impact of organic load (OL) on organic reduction and electricity generation is the main objective of this study. At the OL of 1.5 g COD/L, the highest total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal efficiency of 88%, soluble oxygen demand (SCOD) removal efficiency of 80% and total suspended solids (TSS) removal efficiency of 71% were seen, respectively. In the same optimum condition of 1.5 g COD/L, the highest current and power density of about 270 mW/m2 and 376 mA/m2 were also observed. According to the results of this study, using high-strength organic wastewater in DMFC can assist in addressing the issue of the petrochemical industries and minimize the energy demand.

Anatomical variations in the course of spinal accessory nerve in the neck triangles: A descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Spinal Accessory Nerve (SAN), which innervates the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and trapezius muscles, is closely related to the internal jugular vein (IJV) in the anterior triangle of the neck and passes superficially in the posterior triangle. Injury to SAN is a major complication of level II neck dissection, leading to shoulder syndrome. The present study aims to assess the course and its relation to the SCM muscle and IJV in the Tamil ethnolinguistic groups in South India. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The anterior and posterior triangles of the neck were dissected in 28 formalin-fixed adult cadavers. The course of the SAN and the entry and exit points of SAN along the SCM muscle were assessed using the mastoid process as the reference. Recorded data was analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: The SAN was anteriorly related to the IJV in 58.73%, posteriorly in 37.5%, and pierced through the IJV in 3.57% of the specimens. The entry and exit points of SAN from the mastoid process were 37.86±7.26mm and 48.55±8.22mm, respectively. In 86.67% of the cases, the SAN traversed through the SCM muscle, and in 13.33%, it was deep to the SCM. CONCLUSION: The present study reports that the SAN is variable in its course, and relation to SCM and IJV. Knowledge about the variant anatomy of the SAN in the triangles of the neck is important and it aids surgeons to prevent iatrogenic injuries to SAN or IJV and enhance surgical safety in neck procedures.

Effect of thermal-calcium peroxide mediated exopolymer release on disperser pre-treatment for efficient anaerobic digestion.

The present study aimed to improve the hydrolysis potential of paper mill sludge through a two-phase disintegration process. In Particular, attention was focused on removal of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) i.e. deflocculation of sludge in order to improve the efficiency of subsequent disperser disintegration. During deflocculation, carbohydrate, protein and deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) were used as assessment parameters. During disintegration, soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and suspended solids (SS) reduction were used as assessment index to evaluate the efficiency of disintegration. A greater EPS removal was attained while deflocculating the sludge at calcium peroxide dosage of 0.05 g/g suspended solids (SS) and at a temperature of 70 °C. When comparing the disintegrated samples, a clear variation was noted in deflocculated and disintegrated sludge (19.2%) than the disintegrated sludge alone (13.5%). This clearly shows the need for deflocculation prior to disintegration. Likewise, a higher biomethane production of 0.214 L/g COD was achieved in deflocculated and disintegrated sludge than the pretreated sludge alone. Deflocculation reduces sludge management cost from 170 USD (Disperser alone (D alone disintegration)) to 51 USD (Thermal calcium peroxide mediated-Disperser (TCaO2-D disintegration), indicating the efficiency of the proposed disintegration.

Microplastics as emergent contaminants in landfill leachate: Source, potential impact and remediation technologies.

A significant amount of plastic waste is generated each year on a global scale, in which the maximum quantity of plastic waste is typically dumped in landfills in various parts of the world. Moreover, dumping plastic waste in landfills cannot address the issue of proper disposal; it simply delays the process. Exploiting waste resources entails environmental hazards because plastic wastes buried in landfills gradually break down into Microplastics (MPs) due to physical, chemical, and biological effects. The possibility of landfill leachate as a source of MPs in the environment has not received much attention. Without systematic treatment, MPs in leachate increase the risk to human health and environmental health since they contain dangerous and toxic pollutants and antibiotic resistance genes transmitted by leachate vectors. Due to their severe environmental risks, MPs are now widely recognized as emerging pollutants. Therefore, the composition of MPs in landfill leachate and the interaction of MPs with other hazardous contaminants are summarised in this review. The available potential mitigation or treatment methods of MPs in landfill leachate as of now, along with the drawbacks and challenges of the present leachate treatment for eliminating MPs, are described in this review. Since it is unclear how MPs will be removed from the current leachate facilities, it is crucial to develop innovative treatment facilities as quickly as possible. Finally, the areas that require more research to provide complete solutions to the persistent problem of plastic debris are discussed.

Semi-continuous anaerobic co-digestion of thermal and thermal-alkali processed organic fraction of municipal solid waste: Methane yield, energy analysis, anaerobic microbiome.

The semi-continuous anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) of thermal and thermal-alkali pretreated organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and sewage sludge (SS) was studied under varying hydraulic retention times (HRT) and organic loading rates (OLR Three semi-continuous digesters were operated under control (non-pre-treated), thermally pretreated (125 °C), and thermal-alkali pretreated (125°C-3g/L NaOH) conditions at variable OLRs at 2.5, 4.0, 5.1, and 7.6 kgVS/m3.d and corresponding HRTs of 30, 20, 15, and 10 days. The 10 and 43% higher methane yield (0.445 m3/kgVS) and 11 and 57% higher VS removal (52%) was achieved for thermal-alkali pretreated digester at 5.1 kgVS/m3.d OLR over thermally pretreated (0.408 m3/kgVS, 45% VS removal) and control digesters (0.310 m3/kgVS, 33% VS removal), respectively. Thermal and thermal-alkali digesters failed on increasing the OLR to 7.6 kgVS/m3.d, whereas the control digester becomes upset at 5.1 kgVS/m3.d OLR. The metagenomic study revealed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Euryarchaeota, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the predominant bacterial population, whereas Methanosarcina and Methanothrix dominated the archaeal community. Energy balance analysis revealed that thermal alkali pretreatment showed the highest positive energy balance of 114.6 MJ/ton with an energy ratio of 1.25 compared with thermally pretreated (81.5 MJ/ton) and control samples (-46.9 MJ/ton). This work pave the way for scaleup of both thermal and thermal-alkali pre-treatment at 125 °C to realize the techno-economic and energy potential of the process.

Novel framework of GIS based automated monitoring process on environmental biodegradability and risk analysis using Internet of Things.

A proper method on real-time monitoring of organic biomass degradation and its evaluation for safeguarding the ecosystem is the need of the hour. The work process designed in this study is to demarcate the anaerobic digestion potential using kinetic modelling and web GIS application methods. Wastewater source that causes pollution are identified through satellite maps such as solid earth, drain system, surface of earth structure, land filling and land use. The grabbed data are utilized for identifying the concentration of sludge availability. Based on literature resource multi influencing factor techniques are introduced along with overlay method to differentiate digestion potential of sludge source. This study optimizes the biodegradation potential of domestic sewage at different sludge concentrations in a pilot model operated with the samples identified through topographical drainage survey. The materialization of devices is using the Internet of Things (IoTs), that is pragmatic to be the promising tendency. Kinetic study, methanogenic assay test are performed with three different cation binding agents to find its solubilization potential and methane evolution, which is further subjected to digestion potential in anaerobic conditions for possible application in the field of environmental science. Risk analysis reveals that land filling method will have highest impact on maintaining sustainable environment. The results outcome on natural biodegradation may be used for individual house hold wastewater management for the locality.

Enhanced phytoextraction of multi-metal contaminated soils under increased atmospheric temperature by bioaugmentation with plant growth promoting Bacillus cereus.

The co-occurrence of environmental stresses such as heavy metals (HM) and increased atmospheric temperature (IAT) pose serious implications on plant growth and productivity. In this work, we evaluated the role of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) and its effectiveness on Zea mays growth, stress tolerance and phytoremediation potential in multi-metal (MM) contaminated soils under IAT stress conditions. The PGPB strain TCU11 was isolated from metal contaminated soils and identified as Bacillus cereus. TCU11 was able to resist abiotic stresses such as IAT (45 °C), MM (Pb, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Cd), antibiotics and induced in vitro plant growth promotion (PGP) by producing siderophores (catechol and hydroxymate) and indole 3-acetic acid even in the presence of MM under IAT. Inoculation of TCU11 significantly increased the biomass, chlorophyll, carotenoids, and protein content of Z. mays compared to the respective control under MM, IAT, and MM + IAT stress. A decrease of malondialdehyde and over-accumulation of total phenolics, proline along with the increased activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbic peroxidase were observed in TCU11 inoculated plants under stress conditions. These results suggested MM and/or IAT significantly reduced the maize growth, whereas TCU11 inoculation mitigated the combined stress effects on maize performance. Moreover, the inoculation of TCU11 under IAT stress increased the MM (Pb, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Cd) accumulation in plant tissues and also increased the translocation of HM from root to shoot except for Ni. The results of soil HM mobilization further indicates that IAT increased the HM mobilizing activity of TCU11, thus increasing the concentrations of bio-available HM in soil. These results suggested that TCU11 not only alleviates MM and IAT stresses but also enhances the biomass production and HM accumulation in plants. Therefore, TCU11 can be exploited as inoculums for improving the phytoremediation efficiency in MM polluted soils under IAT conditions.

Mechanical-biological treatment of municipal solid waste: Case study of 100 TPD Goa plant, India.

A long-term feasibility analysis of a 100 ton per day mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant for municipal solid waste (MSW) valorization and material and energy recovery was carried out. It involves the material recovery and segregation stage (MRSS), organic extraction (pulping), thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD), composting, effluent treatment plant (ETP), and biogas genset stages producing: 11.90% recyclables, 33% refused derived fuel (RDF), 5% compost of total waste received, 70 m3/day recyclable water and 0.435 MWh/day electricity. The biogas and methane yield were 0.535 and 0.350 m3/kg VSadded (avg.), respectively, with 40% VS removal (avg total solids (TS) 10%). Less than 3% (inert) of total waste received was subjected to landfill disposal. The MBT plant's revenue generation is 995 US$ per day/148 tons ($ 6.72/ton) waste processed. The gross OPEX is 24 US$/ton making the net OPEX of 17 US$/ton (minus revenue), which could be considered as the excellent OPEX for MSW based MBT plants as per global benchmarks. Further, local usage of RDF can significantly reduce the OPEX to 14 US$/ton, as almost 16% of the OPEX goes towards RDF disposal to cement companies located at a distance of 200-500 km from the MBT plant site. As per LCA study, the total GHG emissions have been calculated to be -25.68 tons CO2 eq./100 tons MSW. The negative emissions result from the export of electricity, compost, and RDF as well as recycling of paper and plastic products. Our study presents a cutting-edge scenario of all-inclusive recycling, recovery, and reuse loop of MSW direly required for accomplishing a circular economy.

A brief review of anaerobic membrane bioreactors emphasizing recent advancements, fouling issues and future perspectives.

This review summarizes the recent development and studies of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) to control fouling issues. AnMBR is an emerging waste water treatment technology mainly because of its low sludge residual, high volumetric organic removal rate, complete liquid-solid separation, better effluent quality, efficient resource recovery and the small footprint. This paper surveys the fundamental aspects of AnMBRs, including its applications, membrane configurations, and recent progress for enhanced reactor performance. Furthermore, the membrane fouling, a major restriction in the practical application of AnMBR, its mechanism and antifouling strategies like membrane cleaning, quorum quenching, ultrasonic treatment, membrane modifications, and antifouling agents are briefly discussed. Based on the review, the key issues that require urgent attention to facilitate large scale and integrated application of AnMBR technology are identified and future research perspectives relating to the prevalent issues are proposed.

Hydroxamic acid mediated heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts for the efficient removal of Acid Red 88, textile wastewater and their phytotoxicity studies.

Heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst and its industrial application are increasingly given importance for its non-selective mineralization of organic pollutants in broad pH range. Current study, utilized an aromatic hydroxamic acid derivative 2-hydroxypyridine-N-oxide (HpO), for the construction of iron-Hpo ligand catalyst supported on granular activated carbon (GAC). 8-Hydroxyquinoline and citric acid as non-hydroxamic aromatic and aliphatic Fenton-like catalysts were used for comparative evaluation of the efficiency with targeted catalyst (iron-HpO-GAC). This novel catalyst iron-HpO-GAC exhibits excellent efficiency in Acid Red 88 dye removal in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as oxidant at acidic, basic as well as at neutral conditions. Operational conditions for the catalytic oxidation including temperature, dye concentration, pH and catalyst dosage were systematically investigated and analyzed through kinetic studies. Thermodynamic analysis of the catalytic dye removal revealed that the system could oxidize pollutants faster with less activation energy requirement. Higher level of recyclability and stability of the catalyst with less iron leaching was achieved. Finally, the real time application of the catalyst was investigated through successful repeated treatment for actual industrial wastewater. The phytotoxicity assay (with respect to plant Phaseolus mungo) revealed that the degradation of Acid Red 88 and dye wastewater produced nontoxic metabolites which increases its potential application. This study emphasizes the viability of hydroxamate mediated efficient Fenton-like oxidation as a novel approach in designing economically viable pollutant removal technology.

Feasibility analysis of homogenizer coupled solar photo Fenton process for waste activated sludge reduction.

In this study, an attempt has been made to reduce the sludge using novel homogenizer coupled solar photo Fenton (HPF) process. At an optimum pH of 3 and Fe2+ to H2O2 dosage of 1:6, PF process yielded 63.7% solids reduction at a time interval of 45 min. Coupling of homogenizers with photo Fenton (PF) process effectively enhanced treatment efficiency. When homogenizer (specific energy - 1150.694 kJ/kg TS) was coupled with PF, a sharp increase in solid reduction 73.5% and decrease in reaction time (20 min) were observed. Cost benefit analysis revealed the efficiency of HPF process and achieved a net cost of 15.59 USD whereas PF achieved a negative net cost of -82.69 USD. Based on the above study it can be concluded that coupling of homogenizers with PF not only increased its efficiency but also make it field applicable.

Enhancing biomethanation from dairy waste activated biomass using a novel EGTA mediated microwave disintegration.

A novel approach to explore the impact of calcium specific chelant - Ethylene glycol tetra acetic acid (EGTA) on deflocculation followed by biomass disintegration using microwave (MW) was investigated. In the first phase of the study, the EGTA dosage of 0.012 g/g suspended solids (SS) was found to be optimal for disassociating the biomass. Subsequent disintegration of biomass in microwave (EGTA-MW) yielded a biomass lysis and solids reduction of about 39.7% and 30.5%. EGTA-MW disintegration reduces the amount of specific energy required to disintegrate the biomass from 18,900 kJ/kg TS to 13,500 kJ/kg TS, when compared to control. The impact of EGTA-MW disintegration on anaerobic digestion was also evident from its methane yield (235.3 mL/g VS) which was 36.2% higher than control. An economic assessment of this study provides a net profit of 8.48 €/ton in EGTA-MW and highly endorsed for biomass disintegration.

Combinative treatment of phenol-rich retting-pond wastewater by a hybrid upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor and solar photofenton process.

In this study, recalcitrant rich retting-pond wastewater was treated primarily by anaerobic treatment and subsequently treated with a solar photofenton process to remove phenol and organics. The anaerobic treatment was carried out in a granulated laboratory scale hybrid upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (HUASBR) with a working volume of 5.9 L. It was operated at different hydraulic retention times (HRT) from 40 to 20 h over a period of 140 days. The optimum HRT of the anaerobic reactor was found to be 30 h, with corresponding chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phenol removal of 60% and 47%, respectively. Primary anaerobically treated wastewater was subjected to secondary solar photofenton treatment which was carried out at pH 3.5. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to design and optimize the performance of the solar photofenton process. Regression quadratic model describing COD removal efficiency of the solar photofenton process was developed and confirmed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Optimum parameters of the solar photofenton process were found to be: 4 g/L of fenton as catalysts, 25 mL of hydrogen peroxide, and 30 min of reaction time. After the primary anaerobic treatment, solar photofenton oxidation process removed 94% and 96.58% of COD and phenol, respectively. Integration of anaerobic and solar photofenton treatment resulted in 97.5% and 98.4% removal of COD and phenol, respectively, from retting-pond wastewater.

A hybrid constructed wetland for organic-material and nutrient removal from sewage: Process performance and multi-kinetic models.

A pilot-scale hybrid constructed wetland with vertical flow and horizontal flow in series was constructed and used to investigate organic material and nutrient removal rate constants for wastewater treatment and establish a practical predictive model for use. For this purpose, the performance of multiple parameters was statistically evaluated during the process and predictive models were suggested. The measurement of the kinetic rate constant was based on the use of the first-order derivation and Monod kinetic derivation (Monod) paired with a plug flow reactor (PFR) and a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Both the Lindeman, Merenda, and Gold (LMG) analysis and Bayesian model averaging (BMA) method were employed for identifying the relative importance of variables and their optimal multiple regression (MR). The results showed that the first-order-PFR (M2) model did not fit the data (P > 0.05, and R2 < 0.5), whereas the first-order-CSTR (M1) model for the chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) and Monod-CSTR (M3) model for the CODCr and ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) showed a high correlation with the experimental data (R2 > 0.5). The pollutant removal rates in the case of M1 were 0.19 m/d (CODCr) and those for M3 were 25.2 g/m2∙d for CODCr and 2.63 g/m2∙d for NH4-N. By applying a multi-variable linear regression method, the optimal empirical models were established for predicting the final effluent concentration of five days' biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and NH4-N. In general, the hydraulic loading rate was considered an important variable having a high value of relative importance, which appeared in all the optimal predictive models.

A magnetically separable and recyclable Ag-supported magnetic TiO2 composite catalyst: Fabrication, characterization, and photocatalytic activity.

In this study, a magnetically separable, highly active, and recyclable photocatalyst was synthesized by physico-chemical incorporation of Ag, TiO2, and Fe3O4 into one structure. The physical and chemical properties of the catalysts were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, field emission transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The Ag-supported magnetic TiO2 composite demonstrated desirable properties and features such as a narrow band gap of 1.163 eV, modifiable structure, and high degradation efficiency. The activity and durability of the synthesized photocatalyst in the degradation of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solutions under visible light irradiation and different experimental conditions were evaluated and compared to those of commercial TiO2 and Ag/TiO2 composites. It was found that the synthesized composite showed a much higher MO photodegradation efficiency than the other composites under visible light irradiation. Moreover, it exhibited a high photocatalytic activity and was recoverable and durable; its photocatalytic efficiency in MO removal was consistently higher than 93.1% after five reuses without any evident signs of deactivation. Thus, the developed photocatalyst is a very promising material for practical applications in environmental pollution remediation.

Treatment of seafood processing wastewater using upflow microbial fuel cell for power generation and identification of bacterial community in anodic biofilm.

Tubular upflow microbial fuel cell (MFC) utilizing sea food processing wastewater was evaluated for wastewater treatment efficiency and power generation. At an organic loading rate (OLR) of 0.6 g d(-1), the MFC accomplished total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 83 and 95%, respectively. A maximum power density of 105 mW m(-2) (2.21 W m(-3)) was achieved at an OLR of 2.57 g d(-1). The predominant bacterial communities of anode biofilm were identified as RB1A (LC035455), RB1B (LC035456), RB1C (LC035457) and RB1E (LC035458). All the four strains belonged to genera Stenotrophomonas. The results of the study reaffirms that the seafood processing wastewater can be treated in an upflow MFC for simultaneous power generation and wastewater treatment.

Quality and quantity of infertility care in Bangladesh.

Infertility is an important health issue which has been neglected in the developing countries. First test-tube babies (triplet) in Bangladesh were born on 30th May, 2001. Although there is no tertiary level infertility center in the public sector, several private centers have come up with the facilities. The objective of the study was to find i) the quality and quantity of infertility care in Bangladesh and ii) the cause of infertility in the attending patients iii) the treatment seeking behaviors iv) and the reasons for not taking treatment among the attending patients. There are now 10 tertiary level Infertility centers in Bangladesh. The information was collected in a preformed datasheet about the facilities and the profile of the patients and the treatment seeking behavior of the attending patients. Out of the ten centers two centers refused to respond and did not disclose their data. Around 16700 new patients are enrolled in a year in the responsive clinics. Five percent (5%) of the patients underwent ART, 7% of the patients gave only one visit, 84% of the patients completed their evaluation, 76% of the patients took treatment. Causes of infertility in the patients taking treatment were male factor in 36.4%, bilateral tubal block in 20.2%, PCOS and anovulation in 31.7%, endometriosis in 19.6%, unexplained in 10.95, combined in 3.5%, ovarian failure in 1.4%, testicular failure in 0.33%, congenital anomaly in 0.3%. The main reason for not taking treatment was financial constrainment. The quality and quantity of infertility care is dependent on the available resources and on the use of the resources by the patients. In developing countries the resources are merging and confined to specified areas which cannot meet the demand of their population. The study gives us the idea of the need and the demand of the services in the country.

Pregnancy outcome following myomectomy.

In developing countries, abdominal myomectomy is still a modality of treatment for large and symptomatic uterine fibroid in women who wish to retain their fertility and preserve uterus. In order to assess the outcome of pregnancies after myomectomy, a prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh, from July 1999 and June 2011. Study included 40 married women of reproductive age, suffering either from primary or secondary subfertility, and who had uterine fibroid and strongly wished to conceive shortly after myomectomy using microsurgical procedure with no existence of other male and female subfertility factor. These women were followed up at 3, 6, 12 and 24 month intervals over telephone and outdoor visits. Data were recorded on preformed questionnaires. Post myomectomy hysterosalpingography was done at about 16 weeks after myomectomy. Patients were advised to try for pregnancy after 16 weeks of operation. Maximum number of women belonged to age group 31-35 years (n=14, 35%); primary subfertility was 67.5% and secondary 32.5%; in maximum number of cases duration of subfertility was 2-5 years (n=22, 55%); type of fibroid were solitary (52.5%) and multiple (47.5%); type of myoma were intramural (75%), submucous (2.5%) and combined (22.5%); location of myoma were fundal (5%), anterior wall (25%), posterior wall (20%) and combined (50%); diameter of removed myoma were <5cm (2.5%), 5-8cm (67.5%), >8-10(20%) and >10cm (10%); uterine size before myomectomy were (in weeks) <12(22.5%), 12-14 (27.5%), 15-20 (32.5%), 21-25 (15%) and >25 (2.5%). Hysterosalpingography was done in 16(40%) cases, and the findings were both tube patent (62.5%), unilateral tubal block (31.2%) and bilateral tubal block (6.2%). Menorrhagia after myomectomy was present only in 5% cases. After uterine myomectomy, 14(35%) women conceived, common time interval between myomectomy and conception was 1-2 years (42.9%), conception was spontaneous in 71.4%. Out of 14 who conceived after myomectomy 12(85.7%) delivered live babies by LUCS, and most of the babies weighed >3kg (58.3%).

Hypothyroidism and its Effect on Menstrual Pattern and Fertility.

Hypothyroidism is one of the most common endocrine disorders encountered in clinical practice. Thyroid disorder is very common among the female. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of hypothyroidism on menstrual pattern and sub-fertility. This cross-sectional comparative study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with collaboration of endocrine department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) from July 2006 to June 2008, cases were collected from the thyroid clinic of this hospital. Total study subject were 139, among them hypothyroid cases were 79 and euthyroid were 60. Among the hypothyroidism group 62.0% (n=49) had normal menstrual cycle, 21.5% (n=16) had oligomenorrhoea, 10.1% (n=8) had polymenorrhoea and 6.3% (n=6) had amenorrhoea. On the contrary in euthyroid group 86.7% (n=52) had normal menstrual cycle, 6.7% (n=4) had oligomenorrhoea, 5.0% (n=3) had polymenorrhoea and 1.7% (n=1) had amenorrhoea. Proportion of abnormal menstrual history was found to high among hypothyroid group almost 34% (n=27) compared to euthyroid group 13.4% (n=8) and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). The proportion of primary subfertility in hypothyroid 11.4% (n=9) whereas in euthyroid cases 1.7% (n=1) and secondary subfertility in hypothyroid 7.6% (n=6) where as in euthyroid cases 5.0% (n=3). So, sub-fertility was higher among hypothyroid group compared to euthyroid group but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Overall sub-fertility was 13.7% (n=10) and it was 6.7% (n=4) among the euthyroid group. Among total hypothyroid group 60.7% (n=48) are the overt hypothyroid and 39.20% (n=31) are the sub-clinical hypothyroid group. The effect of hypothyroidism is significant on menstrual pattern and on fertility. Hypothyroid women had more menstrual disorders and also suffering from sub-fertility.