bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Progressive Realisation of Muslim Family Law: The Case of Tunisia
Authors: Booley Ashraf
Published: October 2019

From the time when women's rights were not placed high on the agenda of any state to the time when women's rights are given top priority, Tunisia's gender-friendly legislation requires a fresher look. One would be forgiven for thinking that Tunisia's reforms started after they gained independence from France in the 1950's. In fact, it was during the French Protectorate that reformers started rumours of reform, arguing amongst other issues for affording women more rights than those they were granted under sharia law, which governed family law in Tunisia. After gaining its independence, Tunisia promulgated the Code of Personal Status, which was considered a radical departure from the sharia. It is considered to be the first women-friendly legislation promulgated in the country. It could be argued that Tunisian family law underwent, four waves of reform. The first wave started during the French Protectorate. The second wave started in the 1950's with the codification of Tunisia's family law, which introduced women-friendly legislation. The third wave started in the 1990's with changes to the Code of Personal Status, and the latest wave commenced in 2010. In this article, I analyse the initial, pioneering phases of the reforms resulting from the actions of a newly formed national state interested in building a free society at the end of colonial rule, as well as reforms that have taken place in the modern state since the Arab uprising in Tunisia. As a result of the various waves of reforms, I argue that Tunisia should be seen as the vanguard of women-friendly legislation in the Arab world.
Judicial Defence of Constitutionalism in the Assessment of South Africa's International Obligations
Authors: Venter Francois
Published: October 2019

The (sometimes fragile) balance between South Africa's constitutional obligations to protect and promote human rights in the international arena and the realities of political practice is the focus of this paper. The Constitution provides for solid dualist mechanisms and procedures for parliamentary oversight of the executive's conduct in the governance of international relations, including the conclusion of treaties. There is, however, a congenital constitutional flaw in the oversight instrumentation of the Constitution: the president is endowed with practically unfettered control over cabinet, and through the cabinet and the parliamentary caucus, he has indirect but firm control over parliament. Consequently, parliamentary oversight of international relations is severely challenged, effectively leaving it to the minority parties, civil society and the courts.
This paper assesses the effectiveness of the protection of international human rights in South Africa by constitutional means. It begins by setting out the constitutional foundations that were designed to provide the desired protection and the place of international law in the South African legal order. This is followed by a description of the impact of political reality on the implementation of the constitutional oversight mechanisms.
Due to the justiciability of government conduct under the Constitution, parliamentary oversight of executive conduct in the international sphere has largely taken the form of judicial review. In this, the courts have performed very well. This emerges from a concise overview of some key cases in which the courts developed sound principles and delivered strong judgments about the government's failures to maintain the required constitutional standards in its international relations. The cases show a sensitivity on the part of the courts to avoid judicial overreach, while taking up the responsibility to uphold constitutionalism.
While the courts' stabilising interventions must be applauded, the executive tendency to flout its constitutional responsibilities remains a cause for concern.
Harmonising Legal Values and uBuntu: The Quest for Social Justice in the South African Common Law of Contract
Authors: Du Plessis Hanri Magdalena
Published: October 2019

In this article, a comparison is drawn between the role of good faith in the development of the Roman law of contract and the emerging role of ubuntu in the South African common law of contract. Firstly, it is shown how the idea of good faith as an open norm in Roman law was inspired by Greek philosophy and it is argued that ubuntu as an underlying value of the customary law can infuse good faith in the common law of contract in similar fashion. Secondly, an important distinction between the two concepts is identified. Although both concepts promote contractual justice between the contracting parties, ubuntu entails a further duty to promote the social and economic well-being of the parties as well as that of the greater community. Hence, in contrast to good faith, ubuntu is concerned with the promotion of substantive equality in private dealings.
DNA clean-up and size selection for long-read sequencing v1
Authors: Jones Ashley , Purushotham Neeraj , Nasim Jamila , Schwessinger Benjamin
Published: October 2019

DNA extractions often contain impurities which limit the output of long-read sequencing technologies. Here a protocol is provided which removes impurities and size selects for longer fragments. To remove residual RNA and protein, an additional RNAse A and Proteinase K treatment is performed. A clean-up with chloroform: isoamyl alcohol (24:1) removes these proteins and other hydrophobic organics such as lipids. A low volume ethanol precipitation and wash is used to concentrate the DNA, hopefully also reducing polysaccharides. Finally, a Short Read Eliminator (SRE) kit by Circulomics is utilised for size selection, which also appears to clean the DNA. This has been trialled for the sorghum rot fungus Macrophomina phaseolina, providing highly promising results with an Oxford Nanopore MinION. One strain yielded 13.71 Gbases with an N50 of 21.75 kb, another strain yielded 9.72 Gbases with an N50 of 43.50 kb. Similar results are expected across many organisms, but have not been tested.
ePhageFISH protocol v1
Authors: Thomas Jahn Martin
Published: October 2019

This protocol walks you through the steps required to identify environmental eukaryote viruses and bacteriophages associated with host-tissues or biofilms using enhanced phage FISH (ePhageFISH). As an application of single molecule FISH (smFISH) it was successfuly tested to stain single virions and lysiogens. The method was a great advance for us as it combines high specificity, sensitivity and lateral resolution. To be widely reproducible the reagents are mainly based on the commercially available Affymetrix RNA-view kit. Overall, I would be glad if this approach would help the field to a better understanding of viruses in nature.
Miracle Prep for Plasmid Isolation v1
Authors: Flood Blake
Published: October 2019

Based on: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160509
Reporter titrations for transfection of Micromonas commoda CCMP2709 v2
Authors: Sudek Lisa , Worden Alexandra , Ares Manny
Published: October 2019

This protocol describes the method used to test various amounts (0, 0.3, 3, 10, 20 and 30 µg) of reporter (H3proMpo-LUC) DNA. The plasmid H3proMpo-LUC carries a codon optimized Nanoluc coding region, whose expression is driven by the histone H3 promoter and 3' mRNA end formation and termination sequences. Lumen per total number of cells (including transfected and non-transfected cells within a culture) is used as a proxy for relative transfection efficiencies. It is determined in each culture based on luminescence measurements performed 72 hrs after transfection using the Nano-Glo® Luciferase Assay System. We would like to thank H. Igel, C. Poirier, M. Hamilton, S. Sudek, K. Hoadley, C. Eckmann and especially C. Yung for their support in the lab.
Whitening Domestic Spaces: Enacting Female Roles in Anzia Yezierska's The Lost Beautifulness
Authors: Campos Ferreras Rebeca
Published: October 2019

The aim of this research is to give an accurate account of how female stereotypes around the concept of hygiene and domesticity in early 20thC North American context influenced newly arrived Eastern European immigrants. Located in New York’s Lower East Side ghetto and determined by their Jewish background, these immigrants’ arrival caused them a cultural shock to the point that they started shaping their identities according to the new standard of beauty and cleanliness related to the Americanness they were eager to perform. For this purpose, Anzia Yezierska’s short story The Lost Beautifulness serves as a referent because it demonstrates the failure of Americanization as the prospective means through which the American Dream could be experienced, a credo which, according to the author, would only reinforce classist policies instead of cancelling them. To this effect, Yezierska depicts the actual consequences for these Jewish female immigrants after attempting to Americanize their private household spaces and maintain, thus, the standard of cleanliness necessary to validate their accurate adaptation to the American culture from their ghettoized and marginalized context.

Keywords: Americanization, Anzia Yezierska, female stereotypes, whitening, domesticity, American Dream
Intellectuals, public opinion and democracy. On Ortega y Gasset's social education
Authors: Scotton Paolo
Published: October 2019

Democracy is usually conceived, both within public discourse and political debate, not only as a form of government but also as a positive value that deserves to be universally pursued. However, many criticisms to democratic models have contributed to question this assumption, calling into question a superficial notion of the term. Indeed, a lack of political awareness and social reflection in public opinion is evidently responsible for disruptive failures in advanced models of democracy, opening the way to populisms. Significantly, these inner pitfalls of democracy were patently evident to Ortega y Gasset who, from the end of 1920s, questioned the ways through which intellectuals could effectively contribute to forge opinions and habits of individuals and communities. To lead the beleaguered mayhem caused by an exceptional form of hyper-democracy, he unceasingly strove to define an original intellectual commitment to mass education. This paper offers a critical analysis in historical context of Ortega y Gasset’s political and educational project to reform humanities and promote an aware political participation.
Shortcomings of the ‘approaches to learning’ framework in the context of undergraduate mathematics
Authors: Darlington Ellie
Published: October 2019

Students’ approaches to learning are heavily researched in higher education, and are of particular concern in the field of mathematics where many students have been found to struggle with the transition to university mathematics. This article outlines a mixed methods study which sought to describe undergraduate mathematicians’ approaches to learning using the deep-surface-strategic ‘trichotomy’ using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students with 414 mathematics students and semi-structured interviews with a subset of 13 at a leading British university. Analysis found that neither the ‘approaches to learning’ framework nor the inventory can effectively describe students’ study practices, and conceal important elements of how students learn advanced mathematics for examinations. Therefore, it is important that educators do not try to oversimplify students’ methods using quantitative questionnaires but do seek to support those who would otherwise rely solely on memorisation as a means of passing high-stakes examinations.
Evaluating the Effects of Professional Development on Urban Mathematics Teachers TPACK Using Confidence Intervals
Authors: Young Jamaal Rashad , Young Jemimah , Hamilton Christina , Pratt Sarah Smitherman
Published: October 2019

The purpose of this study was to use meta-analytic thinking to evaluate the results of a three-week professional development on mathematics teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The study aims to elucidate the necessity of technology professional development activities to support mathematics teaching and learning in urban schools. This study utilizes mean difference confidence intervals as measures of the effectiveness of a professional development intervention in an urban school district in the U.S. This article presents a practical application of meta-analytic thinking to better contextualize the results through direct comparisons to similar studies. The results of this study suggest that the professional development increased mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical knowledge, technological knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and technological content knowledge. The study results indicate that despite smaller overall effect sizes the results observed in this urban intervention were not statistically significantly different from most prior research in this area. Because of the chosen research approach, the research results have practical as well as empirical implications for the development and delivery of professional development in urban schools. This article contributes to the literature by providing a contextualized assessment of PD effects and by placing these effects in a broader scholarly context.
CAS Assisted Proofs in Upper Secondary School Mathematics Textbooks
Authors: Jankvist Uffe Thomas , Misfeldt Morten
Published: October 2019

This article addresses the didactical effects of CAS assisted proofs in Danish upper secondary mathematics textbooks as a result of the 2005 reform that introduced CAS as a part of the upper secondary level curriculum (and examinations). Based on a reading of 33 upper secondary school mathematics textbooks, 38 instances of CAS assisted proofs are identified in ten different textbooks. The CAS based proofs in these textbooks are of three types: complete outsourcing of the proof to CAS; partial outsourcing of the proof to CAS; and additional verification of the proof’ correctness by CAS. Analyses of examples of each of these types are provided. The analyses draw on theoretical constructs related to both proofs and proving (e.g. proof schemes) and to use of digital technologies in mathematics education (lever potential, blackboxing, instrumental genesis). In particular, the analyses make use of a distinction between epistemic, pragmatic and justificational mediations. Results suggest both potential problems with using CAS as an integrated part of deductive mathematical proofs in textbooks, since it appears to promote undesired proof schemes with the students, and difficulties with understanding these problems using the constructs of epistemic and pragmatic mediations that are often adopted in the literature regarding CAS use in mathematics teaching and learning.
Responsibility of Individuals Managing a Legal Entity
Authors: Meteleva Yu. A.
Published: October 2019

The problem of liability of persons managing a legal entity was raised in Russian civil law after the adoption of legislation on joint-stock companies. At the beginning, it was more theoretical in nature, since the civil legislation did not contain any mechanisms for the implementation of such liability. To date, due to the reform of the Civil Code and changing approaches in jurisprudence, disputes concerning property liability of directors have formed a considerable category of cases. The paper analyzes the elements of such civil wrongs as damage caused to a legal entity by persons who are members of the managerial boards and are able to exercise a significant impact on such boards. All elements of the civil wrong under consideration are being analyzed: the act, the consequences (damage), the causal link between the act and the consequences, and the fault of the wrong-doer. The paper also elucidates the participants involved in such disputes. Exploring specific court cases, the author shows which acts of directors are recognized by the courts as illegal, what restrictions are expressed in the legal standings of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation to qualify as illegal different acts of directors and other persons. In the vast majority of cases of this category, persons exercising the functions of the sole executive body are prosecuted. Sometimes they are also the participants at the same time. The scope of persons covered by the term “determining the acts of a legal entity” is not defined in the law, which also hampers judicial practice. Judicial proceedings bringing such persons to justice are exceptional. Therefore, the author proposes to define in the Civil Code all persons who can commit an act and thereby cause damage to a legal entity. In addition, it is proposed to establish criteria of unreasonableness and dishonesty of actions of directors and other persons.
Personal Reception of Citizens: Problems of Legal Regulation and Implementation
Authors: Savoskin A. V.
Published: October 2019

Personal reception represents a way of submitting citizens’ complaints and one of the forms of implementation of the constitutional right of citizens to appeal (complain). However, the legislative regulation of the issue under consideration seems insufficient, which has given rise to adverse law enforcement practice.

The article determines signs of personal reception that allow us to distinguish it from other types of citizen’s communication with officials. The paper makes a thorough analysis of the duty of officials to conduct personal reception. Two models of performing the reception are highlighted: 1) personal reception is carried out only by chairpersons (of the government agency as a whole, its deputies or heads of structural divisions); 2) personal reception is carried out not only by chairpersons, but also by other authorized officials or specialized units. Moreover, the paper focuses on the problem of delegation of the obligation to perform personal reception to other officials.

The paper investigates the procedure of personal reception that includes four stages: registration for personal reception (optional stage); arrival of a citizen at the place and time provided for personal reception, identification and determination of the order of personal reception; personal intercourse with the official, including a statement of the essence of the oral request or submission of a written application; registration of a personal reception card. Special attention is paid to the issue of registration of a personal reception, which allowed to formulate conclusions about the most relevant content of a personal reception card. The procedure of holding the all- Russian day of personal reception and experience of introduction of regional uniform days of personal reception in constituent entitities of the Russian Federation is analyzed.

Also, the author scrutinizes the experience of organizing personal receptions in various governmental bodies and authorities in order to generalize additional guarantees of the rights of citizens during personal reception, as well as to develop an approximate list of feasible constrains.
Positive Aspects of Modern Russian Bureaucracy
Authors: Glukhov E. A.
Published: October 2019

Despite the general dissatisfaction with the domestic bureaucracy, bureaucracy is a universal and most common apparatus of government in any developed state. In the paper the author tries to identify and analyze only the positive qualities of the bureaucratic management system in relation to modern conditions, deliberately not affecting the shortcomings of the bureaucratic organization. This approach is usually not used by researchers who seek to focus on the defects of bureaucracy. At the same time, it is necessary to know both the positive and negative sides of the modern bureaucratic apparatus in order to transfer them to the newly formed governing structures.

The author reveals the positive aspects of such qualities of the bureaucracy as strict regulation of activities, vertical hierarchy (with its inherent unity of command and centralization), the specification of the labor function of the official and structural units of the apparatus, the competence of officials, as well as the impersonality of relations between them. A rational bureaucracy resembles a well-programmed mechanism aimed at efficiently solving the problems that arise before it. Their implementation in the system of modern domestic bureaucracy is shown following the example of the norms of the current Russian legislation.

The author divides the concepts of «bureaucracy» and «bureaucratism», offering to be guided not by populist slogans about the elimination of bureaucracy at all, but by minimizing the defects of the managerial impact of the bureaucratic apparatus. The task of the political leadership of the country is to choose the structure that best meets the goals and objectives of the state, as well as the internal and external factors affecting it. It is important not to dwell on the search for the «only true» structure of the control apparatus, and learn to identify the positive and negative sides of the existing system and adjust them to meet the challenges.
Community-acquired pneumonia in patients with chronic heart failure: clinical manifestation and a diagnostic role of biomarkers
Authors: Bobylev A. A. , Rachina S. A. , Avdeev S. N. , Kozlov R. S.
Published: October 2019

The aims of this study were to evaluate clinical course of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and to assess the time course of serum biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), at baseline and after treatment in patients with CAP and CHF. Methods. This was a prospective observational study. Adult patients with CHF admitted to a hospital due to suspected CAP were recruited in the study. The diagnosis of CAP was confirmed by chest computed tomography (CT). Subsequently, patients were assigned to the group 1 (with confirmed CAP) or the group 2 (with respiratory infections other than CAP). Echocardiography was performed in all patients at baseline and in follow-up visits. In addition to the routine clinical examination and laboratory tests, serum biomarkers were measured in all patients at admission (Visit 1), at days 10 to 14 (Visit 2), and at days 28 to 42 (Visit 3). Standard statistical methods were used for data analysis. Results. Seventy patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study; of them, 35 patients had confirmed CAP and 35 patients had respiratory infections other than CAP. Both groups were similar for demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as for laboratory, echocardiographic and radiological findings. CAP did not affect the clinical course of CHF and echocardiographic parameters did not differ significantly between the groups. Clinical signs of both diseases improved after the treatment in majority of patients. Echocardiographic parameters also improved in both groups that indicates the improvement in cardiac dysfunction under the treatment. During the follow-up, the most prominent changes were seen in CRP level which was significantly higher at baseline in CAP patients compared to patients with other respiratory infections. CRP level decreased at Visit 2 in both groups and in Visit 3 in CAP group. CRP levels differed significantly between the groups both at Visits 1 and 2. Other biomarkers, such as PCT, IL-6, and BNP, were significantly higher at Visit 1 compares to Visit 2. TNF-α level did not change significantly neither in any group during the study nor between the groups at any study time. Conclusion. CAP did not affect the clinical course of CHF. Inflammatory biomarkers, such as CRP, PCT, and IL-6, could be used additionally to the routine diagnostic procedures to differentiate between CAP and other respiratory infections in patients with CHF. CRP is the most promising biomarker. Serum levels of the biomarkers decreased significantly under the standard hospital treatment of CAP and CHF; this could be considered to evaluate treatment success and prognosis.
Particle pollution as a risk factor for lung carcinoma
Authors: Kolpakova A. F. , Sharipov R. N. , Volkova O. A. , Kolpakov F. A.
Published: October 2019

Current view on a relationship between particle pollution, morbidity and mortality of lung carcinoma were discussed in the article. Published epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies suggest particle pollution, especially metal containing particulate matter (PM), to be a risk factor for lung carcinoma occurrence. PM-associated injury of epithelial cell genome and epigenetic lesions are an important part of pathogenesis of lung carcinoma. Systemic research findings and formalized reports could improve our knowledge on lung cancer pathogenesis and could be used in clinical practice for risk assessment, early detection and prognosis of lung cancer and improvement in treatment efficacy.
La atención a las necesidades educativas especiales en la Universidad de Huelva a través del Aprendizaje-Servicio y la Mentoría
Authors: Hervás Torres Mirian , Pardo Rojas Adnaloy
Published: October 2019

La presente investigación evaluativa, describe el proceso investigador que analiza una experiencia de intervención realizada en la Facultad de Educación, Psicología y Ciencias del Deporte, de la Universidad de Huelva, con la finalidad de dar una respuesta educativa a las necesidades que presenta el alumnado, diagnosticando sus necesidades, analizando, diseñando, organizando y ejecutando aquellas acciones que sean necesarias para facilitarles el acceso al currículo. Enmarcado en las metodologías alternativas Aprendizaje-Servicio y mentoría, alumnado con o sin diversidad funcional, tuvieron la opción de participar independientemente como mentores en el programa. Participaron 41 estudiantes, 5 lo hicieron en calidad de mentores y 36 eran alumnos que presentaban diversidad funcional. Mediante el cuaderno de mentores se evaluó el rendimiento académico, las habilidades sociales, motivación, y compromiso, mientras que la satisfacción fue evaluada por el cuestionario de satisfacción. La intervención consistió en la realización de un curso de formación para mentores y el desarrollo de 10 sesiones grupales de mentoría. Los resultados indican mejoras en rendimiento académico, habilidades y competencias del alumnado participante. Por tanto, se puede establecer que la participación ha tenido un efecto positivo, aportando una respuesta pedagógica a las necesidades del alumnado, y confirmando la eficacia de estas metodologías.Este trabajo tiene como finalidad dar respuesta educativa a las necesidades que presenta el alumnado de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, de la Universidad de Huelva, diagnosticando sus necesidades, analizando, diseñando, organizando y ejecutando aquellas acciones que sean necesarias para subsanarlas. Todo esto dentro de un enfoque de Aprendizaje-Servicio, una metodología didáctica alternativa, y junto a la mentoría donde los propios compañeros y compañeras apoyen al alumnado, a la vez que éstos aprenden haciéndolo. Finalizada la experiencia, los resultados observados indican mejoras en el rendimiento académico, habilidades y competencias del alumnado, lo cual aporta una respuesta pedagógica a las necesidades del alumnado.
El profesorado de la Universidad de La Rioja: ¿resistente al burnout?
Authors: Jiménez López Rosa Ana , Pérez de Albéniz Iturriaga Alicia , Lucas-Molina Beatriz , Fonseca-Pedrero Eduardo
Published: October 2019

El cansancio emocional, la despersonalización y la falta de realización personal son los tres rasgos característicos del burnout o Síndrome de Quemarse por el Trabajo (SQT), un síndrome conceptualizado como una respuesta emocional ante el estrés laboral crónico. El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue conocer la prevalencia del SQT en la Universidad de La Rioja. Se realizó un muestreo estratificado con afijación proporcional a los departamentos de esta universidad y 138 docentes respondieron al Maslach Burnout Inventory. Los resultados indicaron que un 9,4% de los docentes presenta niveles medios o altos de SQT, una cifra que indica, en congruencia con estudios de la misma naturaleza, una baja prevalencia de este síndrome. Asimismo, se sometió a la muestra a un análisis de clústeres que indicó la existencia de dos perfiles en función del riesgo al SQT (alto y bajo). Se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los perfiles de riesgo para estado civil, número de hijos y concordancia profesional (definida como la coincidencia entre la categoría profesional desempeñada y la acreditada). Estos resultados invitan a reflexionar sobre la influencia que los actuales cambios sociales, políticos y legislativos pueden tener sobre el riesgo al SQT.
Semen analysis and sperm function parameters in patients with infertility in Navi Mumbai and Panvel region
Authors: Bhalekar Surekha , Ganorkar Shweta , Bhalekar Hemant , Roplekar Prakash
Published: October 2019

Background: Although semen analysis is routinely used to evaluate male partner in infertile couples, infertility and problems of impaired fecundity have been a concern through ages and is also a significant clinical problem today, which affects 8-12% of couples worldwide. Aim of the study was to study different semen parameters in male factor infertility (MFI) and thus increasing the awareness regarding same.Methods: This is cross sectional study conducted between period of September 2016 to December 2018. Semen of 150 patients were studied and results were analysed as per recent WHO (2010) criteria.Results: The present study included 150 patients whose age ranged from 24 to 51 years. Patients were divided into different age groups and sperm count was studied in each group. Abnormal sperm morphology was studied with respect to sperm head, neck, tail defects and combined defects. Sperm deformity index (SDI) and Teratozoospermic index (TZI) were calculated. Other parameters including semen volume, pH, liquefaction time, sperm vitality and motility were also studied which showed significant variations. Conclusions: Although semen analysis is first and most informative investigation for evaluation of male factor infertility, studying individual semen parameters and sperm function and increasing its awareness in general population especially in developing countries is equally important. Besides, it is necessary to acknowledge its limitation with respect to collection, processing, evaluation and biological variation of samples. Also, a normal semen analysis may not prove successful fertility potential of an individual.
Factors associated with removal of postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device among acceptors in rural areas of Nadia district, West Bengal: a case-control study
Authors: Pal Jayita , Sharma Jitu , Satapathy Sankalpa
Published: October 2019

Background: The unmet need for contraception remains high in the postpartum period. Postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device (PPIUCD), despite being an effective and well-suited contraceptive method for this period, many women discontinue its use due to various reasons just after a few days or weeks. The study aimed to identify the factors associated with the removal of the same.Methods: A community-based case-control study had been conducted in Nadia district of West Bengal. A multi-stage sampling technique had been applied to identify and interview the cases and controls with the help of a predesigned pretested semi-structured schedule.Results: The overall removal and expulsion rates were found to be quite high (21.5% and 16.3% respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that acceptors belonging to joint family, educated only up to middle level, if place of delivery and insertion of PPIUCD was BPHC, the same had been inserted by nursing staff, experienced pain after insertion,  not given consent before insertion, not counselled ever on PPIUCD, not decided to accept PPIUCD before delivery, not satisfied with its use and undergone no follow up visit after its insertion, were having higher odds of removal of the same.Conclusions: Rigorous counselling during the antenatal period should be focused to achieve a declining trend regarding PPIUCD removal.
Fetal growth in low-risk Indian population at a tertiary centre and its comparison with INTERGROWTH-21 standards: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Ravi Anoosha K. , Agarwal Krishna , Ramji Siddarth , Vishnubhatla Sreenivas
Published: October 2019

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the fetal growth pattern in low risk Indian population with the INTERGROWTH-21 standards.Methods: Low risk women were enrolled at 10 to 20 weeks of gestation and followed up until delivery. An experienced operator performed abdominal ultrasound every 5±1 week and measured biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) of the fetus. Newborn anthropometric measurements were taken within 12 hours of childbirth.Results: A total of 126 healthy women, enrolled at mean gestation of 16.8±1.6 weeks, completed the follow up until delivery. None of the participants developed any major obstetric or medical morbidity. The study subjects showed lower mean z scores for BPD (-0.7±1.3), HC (-0.4±1.3) and AC (-0.4±1.3) but a higher mean z-score for FL (0.3±1.7) as compared to INTERGROWTH-21 standards. From 1st through 5th visit, the z scores for BPD and HC improved whereas declined for AC and FL.Conclusions: The fetal growth in non-affluent healthy Indian women had a lower fetal growth compared to INTERGROWTH-21 standards.
Pregnancy outcomes of normal versus abnormal cardiotocography in a tertiary centre in Nepal
Authors: Faruqi Mariyam , Shrestha Shailaja C. , Bhatta Rabindra D.
Published: October 2019

Background: Pregnancy and childbirth is normal physiological process with great pathological potential. The obstetricians are more concerned with the early recognition of fetal distress during labour and such an adverse outcome should be detected at the earliest point of time by an effective surveillance method. Cardiotocography as a part of biophysical profile has become an established diagnostic tool for fetal surveillance. To compare early perinatal outcome of normal and abnormal cardiotocography in terms of APGAR scores, need for neonatal resuscitation, NICU admission, perinatal death and mode of delivery.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study. 200 nulliparous/multiparous women with singleton pregnancy in cephalic presentation at gestational age 37-42 weeks in latent stage of labor were enrolled in the study and subjected to admission test in left lateral position using fetal monitor. Baseline FHR and contraction pattern were determined for 20 minutes and classification of patients was done into normal, and suspicious or abnormal according to the FIGO guidelines 2015.Results: Low APGAR scores, rate of LSCS, need for neonatal resuscitation, neonatal admission were more in the abnormal cardiotocography group. Cardiotocography in the current study has high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for detecting fetal distress.Conclusions: From the analysis of this study, it would be safe to conclude that an ominous cardiotocography should be managed appropriately without delay and obstetrician should be vigilant in suspicious as well as in normal admission test group for timely intervention for bettering the neonatal outcome.
Evaluation of endometrial polymerase chain reaction in diagnosis of female genital tuberculosis
Authors: Dua Manvi , Pandey Kiran , Arya Sangeeta , Verma Anil
Published: October 2019

Background: Genital tuberculosis also known as tuberculous pelvic inflammatory disease can affect any age group, most common being reproductive women of 20-40 years. Clinical diagnosis of genital tuberculosis is a big challenge as the disease is either asymptomatic or has varied presentations. Conventional methods for diagnosis including AFB smear, endometrial histopathology and culture have limitations of low detection rate because of paucibacillary nature of disease. Laparoscopy generally detects macroscopic changes such as peritubal adhesions, tubercles and tubo-ovarian mass but it fails to diagnose disease at early stage. The objective of this study was to evaluate efficacy of TB DNA PCR in diagnosis of genital tuberculosis.Methods: A total of 127 patients (between 2013-2016) who presented in gynecologic OPD with symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis were included in the study. All patients were subjected to endometrial histopathology and TB DNA PCR of endometrial tissue and peritoneal fluid. Since there is no gold standard test available for diagnosis of genital tuberculosis, a diagnostic criteria was adopted in the study based on laparoscopic findings, clinical history and other investigations. Patients were divided in two groups. Group A included patients positive of tuberculosis based on diagnostic criteria. Group B included patients negative for tuberculosis based on diagnostic criteria.Results: In our study sensitivity of endometrial PCR, peritoneal PCR and endometrial histopathology were 73.8%,17.8% and 10.7% respectively. Endometrial histopathology and peritoneal fluid PCR was found to be highly specific (100%) while endometrial PCR was found to be 93% specific. Endometrial PCR although has highest sensitivity and specificity amongst the groups evaluated but high false negative rate was its major limitation.Conclusions: No single test fulfills all criteria to emerge as sole diagnostic test, hence a high degree of suspicion with a detailed history and investigating with a variety of tests is all that is required to diagnose geniatal tuberculosis.
Twin pregnancy, the study of maternal and perinatal outcome: what being a twin is like?
Authors: K. Smitha , M. H. Jasiya Afreen
Published: October 2019

Background: Twin pregnancy is considered as a high-risk pregnancy due to associated high maternal and perinatal morbidity mortality in comparison with singleton pregnancy. The objectives of this study were to study the maternal and perinatal complications in twin pregnancies. To find out various factors that contribute to adverse perinatal outcome.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, Bengaluru. 92 women with twin pregnancies admitted in KIMS Hospital from September 2014 to September 2018, both booked and referred patients were studied. Individual patient parameters like age, parity, gestational age, mode of delivery, maternal complications were tabulated. Neonatal morbidity and mortality were noted, data thus obtained was analysed and results studied.Results: In the study the incidence of twin pregnancies was more in second gravida (53%). 72% of the patients were admitted between 28-36 weeks of gestation with preterm labour (23%) as the main cause for admission. Anaemia (8.69%), hypertensive disorders of pregnancies (17.39%), PPROM (21%), single foetal demise (5%) and IUGR (5.4%) were the antenatal complications observed. Out of the 92 patients, 29 (35.4%) patients delivered by vaginal route whereas 53 (64.6%) had to undergo C-section. DCDA twin constituted 66% of twins in the study and mal presentation was the commonest indication for caesarean section (50%). Among the 164 babies out of 92 twin pregnancies 8 babies were still born and 12 babies died by the end of one week due to complications related to prematurity like hyaline membrane disease, IVH.Conclusions: Early detection of twin pregnancies and proper antenatal care reduces both maternal and perinatal complication thereby improving maternal and perinatal outcome.
Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis among reproductive age group women in a tertiary care centre
Authors: Nair Rema V. , Preethi Raja , Vijayalekshmi M.
Published: October 2019

Background: Vaginal discharge in reproductive age poses a serious problem in the developing countries. Bacterial vaginosis also known as non-specific vaginitis is the most common cause of vaginal infections, detecting the organism at an early stage and initiating a proper treatment is very difficult in our country due to lack of awareness and proper follow-up. The disease manifests in the form of vaginal discharge with or without itching. It has a strong association with preterm labor, preterm premature rupture of membranes and low birth weight in pregnancy. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis among the reproductive age group women, in a tertiary care centre.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 150 women of the reproductive age group in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences over a period of one month October 2018 the diagnosis was made with history and nugents scoring system.Results: Out of the total 150 women enrolled in the study 74 had positive results, 50% of them were of the age group 26-30.Conclusions: The study shows us the high prevalence of bacterial vaginosis.
Assessment of risk factors for surgical site infection following caesarean section
Authors: Sangwan Aditi , Malhotra Vani
Published: October 2019

Background: Assessment of surgical site infection is an important factor to determine the functioning of the health care system. Objectives of this study was to estimate the incidence of surgical site infection among caesarean section cases and to determine the risk factors associated with surgical site infection and comparison with patients having healthy wounds.Methods: One thousand pregnant women who underwent caesarean section were divided into two groups: Group 1 (cases): Those who had SSI within 30 days of caesarean section and Group 2 (controls): Those who didn’t have SSI.Results: Mean age of group I was 25.35±4.40 and 21.12±3.60 years in group II (p >0.05). Mean gestational age of group I cases was 38.07±1.88 weeks and in group II, it was 38.17±2.06 weeks (p >0.05). A total of 37 (82.5%) women in group I and 931 (96.98%) women in group II underwent emergency caesarean section (p <0.05). In group I, mean duration of surgery was 1.0±0.13 hours and 1.02±0.21 hours in group II (p <0.05). Maximum number of patients i.e. 22 (55%) had wound discharge between 4-7 days followed by 11 (27.5%) between 8-10 days. Mean wound discharge was 7.32±3.45 days in group I. Majority of women, i.e. 27 (67%) found to be sterile in the present study followed by 7 (17.5%) women were found to have staphylococcus aureus.      Mean duration of resuturing was 17.42±6.98 days.  Mean baby weight in group I was 2.72±0.53 kg and in group II it was 2.95±0.53 kg (p <0.001).Conclusions: Risk of developing SSI after caesarean section is multi-factorial and found to be influenced by emergency surgery, PROM, pre-operative anaemia, multiple vaginal examinations, interrupted skin suturing, raised BMI, nulliparity, emergency caesarean, duration of surgery.
Atypical proliferative Brenner tumour of the ovary with liver metastases: a case report
Authors: Vali Saaliha , Oumar Mohamed , Chavhan Shefali , Wise Olga , Sayasneh Ahmed
Published: October 2019

Brenners tumours constitute up to 2% of ovarian neoplasms. Most are benign with a gross fibroma like appearance. Here we present the case of a 45 year old woman who underwent a full staging laparotomy for a suspicious left ovarian mass. A 30 cm left ovarian cyst was found with no enlarged lymph nodes. Histologically this was a proliferative Brenner tumour. Postoperatively, a mild increase in the Ca125 prompted an MRI scan which revealed a 3 cm liver cyst. This was resected and histologically found to be a transitional cell carcinoma. Successful treatment with secondary excision and adjuvant chemotherapy has ensured disease free remission to date.
A rare case of endometriosis to clear cell ovarian carcinoma: a case report
Authors: T. Anaswara , Venugopalan Prasanna , Nair Vidhu V. , George Alfy Ann , Praseeda I.
Published: October 2019

Clear cell carcinoma of ovary is a rare tumour with a very low incidence in pregnancy. It is attributed to develop from an existing background of endometriosis. There are very few case reports of the above combination tumours in pregnancy. It is a very aggressive tumour with a worse prognosis and low survival rate because of its peculiar chemo resistant nature. Early detection and effective treatment are the best approach. The treatment options for advanced stages are still under research.
Conservative management of ovarian torsion in pregnancy
Authors: Garg Rama , Rani Sangeeta , Garg Sambli
Published: October 2019

Adnexal torsion or other cyst accidents encountered during pregnancy carries a risk to intrauterine foetus. Delays or misdiagnosis can result in the loss of the affected ovary and subsequent reduced reproductive capacity. In this report, a 23-year-old second gravida with viable 9 weeks pregnancy with acute pain abdomen; presented in OPD and sent to labor room. Emergency laprotomy was done with provisional diagnosis of left adnexal torsion. We did detorsion and cystectomy followed by ovarian reconstruction. Repeat scan shows continuing intrauterine pregnancy. So, timely diagnosis and intervention reduces risk to ovary; along with some risk of the antepartum surgical intervention. Also, in place of oophorectomy; de-torsion is more conservative surgical approach that should be considered in all young women with ovarian torsion.
Neonatal jaundice: assessing the knowledge and intending practice of clinical medical students of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos Nigeria
Authors: Shehu Maryam , Shehu Hassan , Onuwe Adenoyi A.
Published: October 2019

Background: Neonatal jaundice is one of the major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. There is the need therefore to equip our young upcoming doctors about the disease. Aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of clinical medical students of Bingham University Teaching hospital on Neonatal Jaundice (NNJ).Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried on clinical medical students of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical committee of the Hospital. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from 400-600L students using convenience sampling method for all those that consented to the study.Results: A total of 181 students were assessed with a M: F ratio of 1:1.2, age ranged of 18-30 years. About 98% of the students got the definition of jaundice correctly. There was no significant correlation between the definition of NNJ with age, sex educational level and tribe of the students. The major source of information was from their lectures and seminars accounting for 80% of sources. The assessment of the knowledge on the cause of NNJ was good with 145(80%) knowing that hematological/hereditary disease is a cause, 4(2.2%) did not know the cause of NNJ. The highest score for danger signs of NNJ was 98(54%) which was high pitch cry. About 60% of the students knew that blue light is the best colour of light for effective phototherapy, while 42(23%) did not know the answer. There was correlation between the intending practice and the educational level of the students p=0.016.Conclusions: The knowledge of some of the causes and the treatment of NNJ among the BHUTH was good and others were poor, therefore, more teachings and exposures need to be done.