Sexual health problems and health-seeking behavior of men who have sex with men in Agra City, Uttar Pradesh.

BACKGROUND: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk of acquiring sexually transmitted illnesses. The gross stigmatization of homosexuality and discrimination has always affected their health-seeking behavior. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess the magnitude of sexual health problems, factors associated, and their health-seeking behavior. METHODS: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Agra city, Uttar Pradesh during December 2017 and November 2019 among a sample of 52 MSM. The Snowball technique of sampling was used to recruit the eligible subjects. Data were collected by interview and analyzed using MS excel. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of any sexual health problem in past 1 year was 71.2%. Anal/perianal problems (26.9%) and genital/oral vesicles (26.9%) were the most commonly encountered illnesses MSM who had all their sexual encounters with men (completely homosexual), those MSM who used to play both insertive and receptive roles, had 5 or more sexual partners, used condom irregularly had significantly higher chances of having sexual health problems. Most (70.3%) MSM sought treatment for their sexual health problem from an Allopathic doctor; 29.4% took treatment from a government health facility. The majority (94.1%) of them were reportedly satisfied with the health care facility. Most (79.4%) respondents preferred not to disclose their sexual behavior during interaction with their sexual health care provider. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of sexual health problems was found among MSM who engage in high-risk sexual behavior. MSM requires access to STIs screening. Behavior change communication is needed to improve their health-seeking behavior.

Detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in human saliva using an ultra-sensitive nanocomposite of graphene nanoplatelets with diblock-co-polymers and Au electrodes.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a commonly used biomarker for the detection of prostate cancer (PCa) and there are numerous data available for its invasive detection in the serum and whole blood. In this work, an electrochemical sensing method was devised to detect traces of PSA in human saliva using a hybrid nanocomposite of graphene nanoplatelets with diblock co-polymers and Au electrodes (GRP-PS67-b-PAA27-Au). The pure graphitic composition on filter paper provides significantly high electrical and thermal conductivity while PS67-b-PAA27 makes an amphiphilic bridge between GRP units. The sensor utilizes the binding of an anti-PSA antibody with an antigen-PSA to act as a resistor in a circuit providing an impedance change that in turn allows for the detection and quantification of PSA in saliva samples. A miniaturized electrical impedance analyzer was interfaced with a sensor chip and the data were recorded in real-time using a Bluetooth-enabled module. This fully integrated and optimized sensing device exhibited a wide PSA range of detection from 0.1 pg mL-1 to 100 ng mL-1 (R2 = 0.963) with a lower limit of detection of 40 fg mL-1. The performance of the biosensor chip was validated with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique with a regression coefficient as high as 0.940. The advantages of the newly developed saliva-PSA electrical biosensor over previously reported serum-PSA electrochemical biosensors include a faster response time (3-5 min) to achieve a stable electrical signal for PSA detection, high selectivity, improved sensitivity, no additional requirement of a redox electrolyte for electron exchange and excellent shelf life. The presented sensor is aimed for clinical commercialization to detect PSA in human saliva.

Study of paramagnetic defect centers in as-grown and annealed TiO2 anatase and rutile nanoparticles by a variable-temperature X-band and high-frequency (236 GHz) EPR.

Detailed EPR investigations on as-grown and annealed TiO2 nanoparticles in the anatase and rutile phases were carried out at X-band (9.6 GHz) at 77, 120-300 K and at 236 GHz at 292 K. The analysis of EPR data for as-grown and annealed anatase and rutile samples revealed the presence of several paramagnetic centers: Ti3+, O-, adsorbed oxygen (O2-) and oxygen vacancies. On the other hand, in as-grown rutile samples, there were observed EPR lines due to adsorbed oxygen (O2-) and the Fe3+ ions in both Ti4+ substitutional positions, with and without coupling to an oxygen vacancy in the near neighborhood. Anatase nanoparticles were completely converted to rutile phase when annealed at 1000° C, exhibiting EPR spectra similar to those exhibited by the as-grown rutile nanoparticles. The high-frequency (236 GHz) EPR data on anatase and rutile samples, recorded in the region about g = 2.0 exhibit resolved EPR lines, due to O- and O2- ions enabling determination of their g-values with higher precision, as well as observation of hyperfine sextets due to Mn2+ and Mn4+ ions in anatase.

Vibrational spectroscopy and imaging for concurrent cellular trafficking of co-localized doxorubicin and deuterated phospholipid vesicles.

Simultaneous tracking of nanoparticles and encapsulated payload is of great importance and visualizing their activity is arduous. Here we use vibrational spectroscopy to study the in vitro tracking of co-localized lipid nanoparticles and encapsulated drug employing a model system derived from doxorubicin-encapsulated deuterated phospholipid (dodecyl phosphocholine-d38) single tailed phospholipid vesicles.

Combinatorial therapy for triple negative breast cancer using hyperstar polymer-based nanoparticles.

We report the ability of a novel combinatorial therapy obtained from nanoparticles of hyperstar polymers encompassing drugs to selectively target triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell proliferation through STAT3 and topoisomerase-II pathways. This nano-cocktail was at least two to four fold better than the individual drugs and 6-20 times more selective than the parent drugs.

Electrophoretic deposition of ZnO/alginate and ZnO-bioactive glass/alginate composite coatings for antimicrobial applications.

Two organic/inorganic composite coatings based on alginate, as organic matrix, and zinc oxide nanoparticles (n-ZnO) with and without bioactive glass (BG), as inorganic components, intended for biomedical applications, were developed by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Different n-ZnO (1-10 g/L) and BG (1-1.5 g/L) contents were studied for a fixed alginate concentration (2 g/L). The presence of n-ZnO was confirmed to impart antibacterial properties to the coatings against gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, while the BG induced the formation of hydroxyapatite on coating surfaces thereby imparting bioactivity, making the coating suitable for bone replacement applications. Coating composition was analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to study both the surface and the cross section morphology of the coatings. Polarization curves of the coated substrates made in cell culture media at 37 °C confirmed the corrosion protection function of the novel organic/inorganic composite coatings.

Ferromagnetism in annealed Ce0.95Co0.05O2 and Ce0.95Ni0.05O2 nanoparticles.

This paper reports an investigation on the role of transition-metal ions in producing ferromagnetism in CeO2 nanoparticles by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Several samples of CeO2 nanoparticles annealed at 200, 300, 400, and 500 degrees C, doped with 5% Ni and 5% Co ions, characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) and mass spectroscopy (MS), were investigated by X-band EPR at 4, 10 and 300 K, and by magnetometry at 300 K. Magnetic properties and EPR/FMR (Ferromagnetic Resonance) spectra of these nanoparticle samples were found to depend strongly on the annealing temperature (T(A)), oxygen stoichiometry, and dopant-ion species. Different behavior of saturation magnetization in the samples with the dopants, Co and Ni, is found to be due to different-inward and outward-surface diffusion of these impurity ions, respectively, during annealing. A detailed simulation of EPR/FMR spectra of isolated Co and Ni ions carried out here provides in-depth details on the role of the doped ions and oxygen (O-) defects played in the observed magnetic properties.

The role of reduced graphene oxide capping on defect induced ferromagnetism of ZnO nanorods.

In this study, the effect of different numbers of layers of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) on the ferromagnetic behavior of zinc oxide-reduced graphene oxide (ZnO-RGO) hybrid architectures has been investigated. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy along with x-ray diffraction of these hybrids confirm that ZnO nanorods are wrapped with different numbers of layers of RGO in a controlled way and their hexagonal phase is unaffected by these layers. Raman and photoelectron spectroscopy of these hybrids reveals that RGO does not alter the nonpolar optical phonon E(2) (high) mode and chemical state of Zn(2+) in ZnO. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra show that RGO passivates singly charged oxygen vacancies (VOS⁺) in ZnO. It correlates the passivation efficiency of VOS⁺ to the number of RGO layers and this has been achieved up to 90% by ∼31 layers of RGO. Due to passivation of VOS⁺ in ZnO by RGO, the ferromagnetic behavior (saturation magnetization and divergence between zero field cooled and field cooled) in ZnO-RGO hybrids is suppressed as compared to ZnO. Combining the EPR and magnetic behavior, a direct link between the passivation of the singly charged oxygen vacancies present on the surface of ZnO nanorods and the number of RGO layers is established.

Trend and causes of maternal mortality among women delivering in S. N. Medical College Hospital, Agra.

A retrospective data analysis from records of patients from medical record section of department of gynecology and obstetric, S. N. Medical College and Hospital, Agra was done to find out the trend and causes of maternal mortality occurred during 1999-2007. The maternal deaths in the context of different causes were analyzed. A total of 192 maternal deaths occurred on 6386 live-births during last 9 years which gives anoverall hospitalized Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) as 30.07 per 1000 live births during the period. Out of these total deaths more than half (51.04%) were due to indirect causes. Anaemia (47, 24.48%), hemorrhage (35,18.23%), toxemia (35,18.23%), septicemia (18, 19.23%) were the main causes.

Calcium ionophore-induced egg activation and apoptosis are associated with the generation of intracellular hydrogen peroxide.

The present study was designed to investigate whether calcium ionophore-induced activation and apoptosis are associated with the generation of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in rat eggs cultured in vitro. Culture of metaphase-II (M-II) arrested eggs in Ca(2+)/Mg(2+)-deficient medium did not induce egg activation, while a second polar body was observed in 20% of eggs when cultured in Ca(2+)/Mg(2+)-supplemented medium. In Ca(2+)/Mg(2+)-deficient medium, lower concentrations of calcium ionophore (0.2,0.4 and 0.8 microm) not only induced egg activation in a dose-dependent manner but also generation of intracellular H(2)O(2) (84.40+/-0.50 ng/egg) when compared to control eggs (80.46+/-1.34 ng/egg). The higher concentration of calcium ionophore (1.6 microm) induced apoptosis and pronounced generation of intracellular H(2)O(2) (92.43+/-0.93 ng/egg) in treated eggs. Conversely, cell-permeant antioxidant such as 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (BHA) reduced intracellular H(2)O(2) level (81.20+/-1.42 ng/egg) and protected against calcium ionophore-induced morphological changes characteristics of egg activation and apoptosis. These results clearly suggest that calcium ionophore-induced activation and apoptosis are associated with the generation of intracellular H(2)O(2) in rat eggs.

Large-scale production and efficient recovery of PHB with desirable material properties, from the newly characterised Bacillus cereus SPV.

A newly characterised Bacillus strain, Bacillus cereus SPV was found to produce PHB at a concentration of 38% of its dry cell weight in shaken flask cultures, using glucose as the main carbon source. Polymer production was then scaled up to 20 L batch fermentations where 29% dry cell weight of PHB was obtained within 48 h. Following this, a simple glucose feeding strategy was developed and the cells accumulated 38% dry cell weight of PHB, an increase in the overall volumetric yield by 31% compared to the batch fermentation. Sporulation is the cause of low PHB productivity from the genus Bacillus [Wu, Q., Huang, H., Hu, G.H., Chen, J., Ho, K.P., Chen, G.Q., 2001. Production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate by Bacillus sp. JMa5 cultivated in molasses media. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 80, 111-118]. However, in this study, acidic pH conditions (4.5-5.8) completely suppress sporulation, in accordance with Kominek and Halvorson [Kominek, L.A., Halvorson, H.O., 1965. Metabolism of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoin in Bacillus cereus. J. Bacteriol. 90, 1251-1259], and result in an increase in the yield of PHB production. This observation emphasises the potential of the use of Bacillus in the commercial production of PHB and other PHAs. The recovery of the PHB produced was optimised and the isolated polymer characterised to identify its material properties. The polymer extracted, was found to have similar molecular weight, polydispersity index and lower crystallinity index than others reported in literature. Also, the extracted polymer was found to have desirable material properties for potential tissue engineering applications.

Complementary feeding practices in rural area of district Agra.

The study was conducted to assess the prevailing complementary feeding practices. Strikingly 30.9 percent infants were not receiving complementary foods. 21.9 percent mothers initiated complementary feeding at the right age. This was significantly associated with the literacy status of the mothers (p<0.05). 87.1 percent infants were receiving family pot feeding. The complementary foods fed to the infants were mostly (88.6%) of semi-solid consistency. Demand feeding was being practiced by 66.7 percent mothers. The practice of cleaning hands before feeding was very poor with only 17.1%. Thus to conclude the complementary feeding practices were not satisfactory in the rural area of Agra and need to be improved.

Poly(3- hydroxybutyrate)/Bioglass(®) composite films containing carbon nanotubes.

Poly(3hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB))/Bioglass(®) composites incorporating multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been successfully prepared by the solvent casting technique. The microstructure, electrical properties and bioactivity of the composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and current-voltage measurements. Different concentrations of MWCNTs were used to determine their effect on the electrical properties of the composites. MWCNTs and Bioglass(®) particles were found to be homogeneously dispersed throughout the P(3HB) matrix. The electrical resistance of the composite samples decreased on increasing the MWCNT concentration, as expected. An in vitro degradation study in simulated body fluid (SBF) was carried out on composite samples. The formation of hydroxyapatite on the surfaces of P(3HB)/Bioglass(®)/MWCNT composite films was confirmed after two months of immersion in SBF. This hydroxyapatite layer was not formed on the neat polymeric films and on composites containing MWCNTs only (without Bioglass(®)). It was found that the presence of MWCNTs did not hinder the bioactivity of the Bioglass(®) particles, as confirmed by SEM and XRD studies on composite samples.

Essentials of specifications for activated alumina in defluoridation technology.

Worldwide, fluoride occurs naturally in some aquifers at concentrations above the WHO guideline values or Bureau of Indian Standards or CPHEEO - MUD - GOI parametric values. Fluoride in excess of the permissible limits in drinking water causes a number of endemic conditions referred to collectively as "fluorosis". Endemic fluorosis remains a challenging national health problem in India and Rajasthan is one of the worst affected states in India though a wide range of chemical and physical defluoridation systems were evolved and tried. Still activated alumina is one of the most widely used and liked defluoridation material currently available. Boom in the advanced and versatile alumina technology has opened new vistas to avail the strong potential of selective alumina adsorbents which are application-specific. Non-regenerable and specialty alumina offer tremendous scope to defluoridate drinking water. Indian industries are manufacturing regenerable activated alumina for defluoridation of drinking water. In order to ensure application of an adsorbent, which caters the desired results with minimum interferences, health risks and long service life span, it is inevitable to draw out dimensions which define precisely the attributes of activated alumina. Specifications for activated alumina intended for defluoridation of drinking water, specific operating and performance requirements, and limitations expressed by critical analysis of cardinal characteristics pave way for adoption of acceptable specifications and code of practice at national level.

Reproductive tract infection in women of reproductive age group in Sitapur/Shahjahanpur District of Uttar Pradesh.

CARE India with its UP Office has initiated demand generation and acceptability of services for reproductive health and birth spacing services at community level in two districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A total of 3,49,000 women of reproductive age will benefit from participation in program activities over the next five years. Out of total surveyed population of 3662, 798 women of reproductive age group were identified of whom 272 were found to be symptomatically positive in relation of STDs/RTIs giving the overall prevalence rate of 34%. Clinical as well as the microbiological examination was carried out on 193 of these 272 women in field conditions. Those found clinically and/or microbiologically positive were provided treatment and preventive advice. Total of 150 (77.7%) women were diagnosed on the basis of symptoms (syndromic approach) and 151 (78.2%) were diagnosed on the basis of clinical examinations. However, 137 (70.9%) were confirmed microbiologically positive. A large extent was found in the age group of 15 to 24 years. Confirmed cases were comparatively less among nulliparous women (63.6%) than multipara (73.2%) cases. 64.1% women were having watery discharge while 29.1% were having complaint of curd discharge. The discharge was offensive in only 1.9% cases while 4.9% reported mixed discharge. 54.4% women complaining of vaginal discharge were suffering from PID. The discharge were either bacterial alone (26.1%) or bacterial mixed with candidiasis (16.5%) or trichomoniasis (8.7%). Compared to syndromic approach, an improvement in the sensitivity (81.8%) and predictive accuracy (74.1%) was noted when cases were detected with the help of clinical examination.

Peri-operative management of patients for video assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy in myasthenia gravis.

Three patients of myasthenia gravis, who under went video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) were given general anaesthesia by propofol infusion and muscle relaxation by atracurium infusion. Isoflurane was added to control depth of anaesthesia on the basis of haemodynamic changes during surgery. One lung ventilation (OLV) was achieved by placement of Carlens left sided double lumen bronchocatheter. Right-sided surgical approach was used to perform thymectomy. Contrary to claimed short duration of surgery, in first patient, OLV lasted for 10 hours 30 minutes and patient developed re-expansion pulmonary oedema. OLV in second and third patient was for six hours thirty minutes and three hours 45 minutes respectively. Morning dose of pyridostigmine was omitted and atracurium (0.1 mg/kg) was found to be satisfactory for intubation and relaxation was maintained with atracurium infusion to get desired monitored effect. We could not extubate our patients due to longer duration of surgery and the sequelae there off. Post-operative elective ventilation and spontaneous weaning off the atracurium effect was thus preferred.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis with amyloid goiter: report of a case with review of the literature.

Clinically significant enlargement of the thyroid owing to amyloid deposition is a rare occurrence. A 23-yr-old female, a case of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, developed rapidly increasing thyromegaly during the course of her illness with complaints of dyspnea and dysphagia. Thyroid function tests were within normal limits. Fine-needle aspiration cytology proved inconclusive. Total thyroidectomy was done for symptomatic relief with a preoperative clinical impression of malignancy. Histopathologic findings were consistent with amyloid goiter. The findings of this case are presented, to emphasize the difficulties in making a definite preoperative diagnosis, along with a brief review of the literature.

A study of myasthenia gravis in patients with and without thymoma.

This study was undertaken to compare the clinical, neurophysiological, radiological and prognostic features of myasthenia gravis with and without thymoma. 37 patients with myasthenia gravis (27 males, 10 females), with age range of 4.5 to 72 (mean 39) years, were managed at a tertiary care centre in India. Four patients were below 15 years of age and 6 above 55 years. Most of the patients were in stage II (34). There were 2 patients in stage III and 1 in stage I. 27 patients underwent thymectomy. Thymoma was detected in 10 cases. The decrement in patients with thymoma ranged between 11 and 62% (mean 27.9%) and nonthymoma group 10-75% (mean 28%). CT scan of thorax revealed mediastinal mass in 5 out of 10 cases of thymoma and 2 out of 27 patients without thymoma. Outcome of myasthenia gravis with thymoma was worse than without thymoma at 1 year followup. Severity of illness, extent of decrement, lack of facilitation, duration of illness and age of the patients were not related to the outcome. It is concluded the clinical and neurophysiological changes in myasthenia gravis with and without thymoma do not differ. However, patients with thymoma have a worse outcome.

A rigorous evaluation of spin-Hamiltonian parameters and linewidth from a polycrystalline EPR spectrum.

Details are given of a procedure to evaluate the spin-Hamiltonian (SH) parameters and the linewidth from a polycrystalline EPR spectrum by using a least-squares fitting (LSF) technique in conjunction with numerical diagonalization of the SH matrix. The required resonance line positions are computed rather quickly using a homotopy technique, in which the position at an external magnetic field (B) orientation (theta, phi) is used as the initial value in a LSF procedure to estimate the position at an infinitesimally close B-orientation, (theta + deltatheta, phi + deltaphi). The resonance line positions are calculated successively in this procedure for all orientations of B over a grid of (theta, phi) values for the unit sphere. The eigenvectors of the SH matrix are used to calculate the intensities of the EPR lines exactly for each orientation of B. Details are given of how to compute rigorously the first and second derivatives of the chi(2)-function with respect to the SH parameters and the linewidth using the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the spin-Hamiltonian matrix for a polycrystalline spectrum required in the LSF procedure. It is explained how this technique is generalized to include two or more magnetically inequivalent paramagnetic species, as well as how it is used for the simulation of other EPR-related spectra. The procedure is illustrated by evaluation of the Mn(2+) SH parameters and Lorentzian linewidth from the 249.9-GHz EPR spectrum of Mn(gamma-picoline)(4)I(2).