Vocal repertoire of Microhyla nilphamariensis from Delhi and comparison with closely related M. ornata populations from the western coast of India and Sri Lanka.

Advertisement calls in frogs have evolved to be species-specific signals of recognition and are therefore considered an essential component of integrative taxonomic approaches to identify species and delineate their distribution range. The species rich genus Microhyla is a particularly challenging group for species identification, discovery and conservation management due to the small size, conserved morphology and wide distribution of its members, necessitating the need for a thorough description of their vocalization. In this study, we provide quantitative description of the vocal behaviour of Microhyla nilphamariensis, a widely distributed south Asian species, from Delhi, India, based on call recordings of 18 individuals and assessment of 21 call properties. Based on the properties measured acrossed 360 calls, we find that a typical advertisement call of M. nilphamariensis lasts for 393.5 ±  57.5 ms, has 17 pulses on average and produce pulses at rate of 39 pulses/s. The overall call dominant frequency was found to be 2.8 KHz and the call spectrum consisted of two dominant frequency peaks centered at 1.6 KHz and 3.6 KHz, ranging between 1.5-4.1 KHz. Apart from its typical advertisement call, our study also reveals the presence of three 'rare' call types, previously unreported in this species. We describe variability in call properties and discuss their relation to body size and temperature. We found that overall dominant frequency 1 (spectral property) was found to be correlated with body size, while first pulse period (temporal property) was found to be correlated with temperature. Further, we compare the vocal repertoire of M. nilphamariensis with that of the congener Microhyla ornata from the western coast of India and Sri Lanka and also compare the call properties of these two populations of M. ornata to investigate intra-specific call variation. We find statistically significant differentiation in their acoustic repertoire in both cases. Based on 18 call properties (out of 20), individuals of each locality clearly segregate on PCA factor plane forming separate groups. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) using PCA factors shows 100% classification success with individuals of each locality getting classified to a discrete group. This confirms significant acoustic differentiation between these species as well as between geographically distant conspecifics. The data generated in this study will be useful for comparative bioacoustic analysis of Microhyla species and can be utilized to monitor populations and devise conservation management plan for threatened species in this group.

Comparative study on menstrual disorders in post-tubal ligated and non-ligated women.

Background: The term post-tubal sterilization syndrome has been used variously to include abnormal menstrual bleeding, pre-menstrual dysmenorrhea distress, hysterectomy, and miscellaneous other conditions like the need for recanalization, the feeling of regret, and menopausal syndrome. Objectives: To compare the menstrual disorders in post-tubal ligated and non-ligated women and also to compare the histopathology of endometrium in both post-tubal ligated and non-ligated groups in order to compare the menstrual disorders. Materials and Methods: It is a comparative cross-sectional study on 200 women between 30 and 50 years, divided into two groups and further into two sub-groups in each group. Group 1 includes cases (post-tubal ligated), and group 2 includes controls (non-tubal ligated); sub-group I includes patients with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), and sub-group II includes patients without AUB. Data were recorded using standard performa along with investigations and detailed examination. Results: In the case group (post-tubal ligated), maximum patients of 39.22% were having polymenorrhea and 29.41% patients had menorrhagia, whereas in the control group (non-tubal ligated), maximum patients of 38.78% had polymenorrhea and 30.61% had menorrhagia, respectively. However, the difference is statistically non-significant (P value = 1.00). Conclusion: Our study suggests that the incidence of menstrual disorders did not differ significantly with tubal ligation. The patients worried about the effects of tubal ligation on their future life that must be counseled and that tubal ligation has no adverse effect on their life including their menstrual pattern. The findings of the study help family physicians in educating the clientele. We also recommend large studies with multiple centers so as to give statistically significant findings of associations.

Long umbilical cord and its mysterious demeanour: A case report.

True knots in the umbilical cord are rare, affecting approximately 1% of all pregnancies. The diagnosis may be missed antenatally during routine ultrasonography. Many known predisposing factors are associated with true knotting. In the majority of cases, it has no bearing on foetal outcome, but may rarely be linked to intra-uterine foetal death.

Knowledge and practices of bioethics - Need for periodic assessment and reinstatement for budding family physicians.

Objective: The study has been designed to assess the knowledge of ethics amongst young students and professionals, and practices of health care ethics among medical professionals in a government teaching hospital in India. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out at one of the teaching hospitals in Southern India with a sample size of 84 among fresh medical graduates, post-graduate trainees, and young consultants with work experience of 6 months to 8 years. The data were collected by means of a structured and validated questionnaire, and the questionnaire was administered before and after a lecture/seminar on ethical principles, and results were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The maximum participants were in the age group of 20 to 24 years with 0-2 years of clinical experience. The basic awareness and practices before the workshop were quite less when compared to after the workshop which showed a very good improvement in the correct responses to the questions. The maximum change seen, reflected in curiosity to learn bioethics. The workshop was an eye-opener for many participants in terms of the Nuremberg Code and its origin. The ethics committee was an alien concept to many participants, and it was reflected in the response postworkshop. The students felt a strong need to discuss ethics and implement them postworkshop. The segment on attitudes in clinical practice showed an impact on autonomy and truth-telling (32% to 50%). The segment on ethical practices reflected a confused audience. The increase in sensitivity to police information, and the concept of error of judgment and negligence were positive. The fact that medical practitioners are legally bound to help accident victims showed a positive response. Conclusion: Based on the assessment of pre-and post-workshop, there is a strong need to stress the ethical principles and revision of these ideas from time to time. Workshops and interactive sessions are a good way for periodic assessment and reinstatement of these values in our research and clinical practice. Thus, these should be part of the curriculum across all educational institutions for budding primary care providers and family physicians.

Relationship between ABO blood group and Rh factor with oral potentially malignant disorder.

Introduction: Oral cancer is the most life threatening of all oral diseases. It has a prolonged natural history with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) as the precursor. Recognition and diagnosis of OPMD will help in early treatment, patient survival and in reducing morbidity related to treatment of oral cancer. OPMDs has multifactorial etiologies and is significantly associated with risk factors of the individual's lifestyle, particularly, chronic use of tobacco, spicy food, alcohol and smoking. Genetic factors also play an important role in the etiology of OPMDs. It is proven by many studies like Dermatoglyphics, Salivary miRNA, micronuclei in buccal mucosa etc., one of such kind is ABO blood group and Rh factor. OBJECTIVE: Aim of our study is to evaluate if any of the ABO blood group and Rh factor is associated with an increased risk for OPMDs. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted in Sri Rajiv Gandhi College of Dental Sciences included 55 patients with clinical and histopathologically proven OPMD's. Blood grouping was determined for all the patients using standardised agglutination method. Result: This study showed that people with blood group B+ are 1.46 times at a greater risk to develop OPMDs. Conclusion: Our study concludes that subjects with B+ blood group and habit of tobacco chewing and smoking are at higher risk to develop OPMDs than subjects with other blood groups.

Malignant melanoma of gingiva: Case report and review of the literature.

Mucosal malignant melanoma arising from the head and neck region is a rare entity, and it is more aggressive than cutaneous melanoma. Furthermore, the complexity of the oral cavity makes surgical excision more difficult. Oral malignant melanoma is a rare tumour of melanocytic origin, accounting for 20-30% of malignant melanomas at the mucosal surface and 16% intra-orally. Hard palate and maxillary gingiva are the most common involved sites. The age of reported patients ranges from 20 years to 80 years. Hence, we do hereby present a case of malignant melanoma of mandibular gingiva with review of the literature in a 42-year-old female patient.

Choriocarcinoma of the Ovary Masquerading as Ectopic Pregnancy.

Choriocarcinoma of ovary is a rare aggressive tumor of ovary. It may be gestational or nongestational tumor. High index of suspicion is required for diagnosis in reproductive age group females. Here, we present a case report of a 30-year-old female who was operated for ectopic pregnancy but was diagnosed as ovarian choriocarcinoma on histopathology. The patient had abnormally high beta-human chorionic gonadotropin levels with history of amenorrhea and negative urine pregnancy test. On laparotomy, a mass of 8 cm × 10 cm was found which was confirmed as choriocarcinoma on histopathological examination. The patient was managed with chemotherapy and responded well to treatment.

Ectopic pregnancy: Review of 80 cases.

BACKGROUND: Ectopic pregnancy or extrauterine pregnancy will invariably result in abortion or rupture. Though there are risk factors for ectopic pregnancy, but at times the condition can occur without any apparent predisposing factor. Cases admitted with provisional diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy were included in this prospective study. METHODS: Eighty suspected cases of ectopic pregnancy were incorporated in the study. The management was done based on standard practice. All the cases underwent urine pregnancy test, routine blood investigations including blood group, and transvaginal ultrasound. Serial ßhCG was measured in cases where the diagnosis was not clear initially. RESULTS: Incidence of ectopic was 2.46 per 100 deliveries; there was no apparent risk factor in 28.7% and many cases had more than one risk factor. 'Triad' of ectopic was present in only 21 cases. Sixteen cases were asymptomatic and two were admitted as emergency. Ultrasound findings were inconsistent and wide ranging. In 37 doubtful cases, ßhCG was measured serially.There was one case of suspected interstitial pregnancy confirmed on laparoscopy. Twenty-seven cases were managed medically, and 9 were managed expectantly. Forty-six cases were managed surgically either by laparoscopy or by laparotomy. Salpingectomy was performed in 37 cases, and salpingostomy in 7 cases either laparoscopically or by laparotomy. CONCLUSION: Ectopic pregnancy can be managed by laparotomy, operative laparoscopy, and medically and occasionally by observation alone. Management must be customized to the clinical condition and needs of future fertility of the patient.

Elucidating microbial community adaptation to anaerobic co-digestion of fats, oils, and grease and food waste.

Despite growing interest in co-digestion and demonstrated process improvements (e.g., enhanced stability and biogas production), few studies have evaluated how co-digestion impacts the anaerobic digestion (AD) microbiome. Three sequential bench-scale respirometry experiments were conducted at thermophilic temperature (50 °C) with various combinations of primary sludge (PS); thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS); fats, oils, and grease (FOG); and food waste (FW). Two additional runs were then performed to evaluate microbial inhibition at higher organic fractions of FOG (30-60% volatile solids loading (VSL; v/v)). Co-digestion of PS, TWAS, FOG, and FW resulted in a 26% increase in methane production relative to digestion of PS and TWAS. A substantial lag time was observed in biogas production for vessels with FOG addition that decreased by more than half in later runs, likely due to adaptation of the microbial community. 30% FOG with 10% FW showed the highest increase in methane production, increasing 53% compared to digestion of PS and TWAS. FOG addition above 50% VSL was found to be inhibitory with and without FW addition and resulted in volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation. Methane production was linked with high relative activity and abundance of syntrophic fatty-acid oxidizers alongside hydrogenotrophic methanogens, signaling the importance of interspecies interactions in AD. Specifically, relative activity of Syntrophomonas was significantly correlated with methane production. Further, methane production increased over subsequent runs along with methyl coenzyme M reductase (mcrA) gene expression, a functional gene in methanogens, suggesting temporal adaptation of the microbial community to co-digestion substrate mixtures. The study demonstrated the benefits of co-digestion in terms of performance enhancement and enrichment of key active microbial populations.

Functional and Aesthetic Full Mouth Rehabilitation of a Severely Worn Dentition to Restore Vertical Dimension: A Case Report.

Deterioration or malfunction of any part should be viewed as an effect that has the direct or indirect result of one or more identifiable cause. The establishment of definitive goals is the foundation for the full mouth rehabilitation. Severe wear is common in prosthodontic patients whose teeth have been held in functional interference for long period of time. This case report presents a description of a patient's oral rehabilitation with metal ceramic restorations to increase vertical dimension while achieving canine guided occlusion.

Synovial sarcoma of the buccal mucosa: a rare case report.

Synovial sarcoma (SS) is a rare malignant neoplasm that arises most commonly in joint capsules and articular tendons, but its relationship to the synovium is not always obvious. Synovial sarcoma is a malignant soft tissue tumor representing 5.6% to 10% of all soft tissue sarcomas. They are termed SS because of their histologic resemblance to the synovium, but they rarely involve a synovial structure and are thought to arise from pluripotential mesenchymal cells. The tumor usually occurs in close association with tendon sheaths, bursae, and joint capsules, primarily in the para-articular regions of the extremities, with approximately 9% occurring in the head and neck region. Synovial sarcoma has been reported rarely in the oral cavity. We report a very rare case of Synovial sarcoma of the buccal mucosa in a 24-year-old male patient.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy coexistent with human immunodeficiency virus: a substantial obstetric jeopardy.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare cause of pregnancy-related heart failure, which affects a woman during the last months of pregnancy or first months of parturition. Its etiopathogenesis is still unclear. Coexistence of PPCM with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been scarcely analyzed. A low CD4 count is proposed to be one of the predictors of dilated cardiomyopathy in HIV. Here, a pregnant woman with HIV presented with signs of congestive heart failure for the first time during her last trimester. Echocardiography revealed a dilated cardiomyopathy with ejection fraction of 34% which proved the diagnosis of PPCM. She underwent cesarean section for impending previous scar rupture. Her status deteriorated subsequently in spite of all efforts and she succumbed due to ventricular tachycardia. This case necessitates an awareness regarding coexistence of HIV with PPCM and dreaded clinical sequences. Patients suffering from HIV should be treated well and their CD4 count should be improved before conception to avoid such complications in pregnancy.