8 research outputs found
Mechanistic insights into water adsorption and dissociation on amorphous TiO2-based catalysts
No full textDespite having defects, amorphous titanium dioxide ( ) have attracted significant scientific attention recently. Pristine, as well as various doped catalysts, have been proposed as the potential photocatalysts for hydrogen production. Taking one step further, in this work, the author investigated the molecular and dissociative adsorption of water on the surfaces of pristine and doped catalysts by using density functional theory with Hubbard energy correction (DFT+U). The adsorption energy calculations indicate that even though there is a relatively higher spatial distance between the adsorbed water molecule and the surface, pristine surface is capable of anchoring molecule more strongly than the doped as well as the rutile (1 1 0) surface. Further, it was found that unlike water dissociation on crystalline surfaces, water on pristine catalyst experience the dissociation barrier. However, this barrier reduces significantly when is doped with , providing an alternative route for the development of an inexpensive and more abundant catalyst for water splitting
Improving reproductive outcomes of intrauterine insemination: Does endometrial scratch injury help? A randomised controlled trial
No full textPregnancy outcome in isolated oligohydramnios diagnosed in third trimester
No full textBackground: The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of pregnancies complicated by isolated oligohydramnios with the low risk pregnancies with normal amniotic fluid volume.Methods: The present study is a retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies diagnosed with Isolated oligohydramnios (AFI≤5) in their third trimester (N=35). Pregnancy outcome was compared with a matched control group of low risk pregnancies with amniotic fluid volume >5 (N=30).Results: The overall incidence of Isolated oligohydramnios was 0.7-0.8%. In oligohydramnios group, significant association were found in null-parity (60% vs 23.33%, p-value<0.005), Fetal growth retardation (25.71% vs 0% p-value<0.02), preterm delivery (22.85% vs 3.33%, p-value 0.025), rate of Induction of labor (40% vs 10%) and cesarean rate for non-reassuring fetal heart rate (20% vs 3.33%, p-value<0.001). Likewise, the incidence of low birth weight was (54.28% vs 13.33%, p-value<0.001) and NICU admissions was (20% vs 0%, p-value<0.01), but there was no difference in Apgar score finding. NICU stay was of short duration and all babies discharged in stable condition, there were no stillbirth or early neonatal death in both groups.Conclusions: Isolated oligohydramnios has an adverse influence on pregnancy and neonatal outcome in the form of FGR, preterm delivery, increased rate of Induction and cesarean section. Despite the high incidence of low birth weight and NICU admissions, the overall early neonatal outcome was similar to the other low risk pregnancies
Explaining the Unexplained: Examining the Predictive Value of Semen Parameters, Sperm DNA Fragmentation and Metal Levels in Unexplained Infertility
No full textBackground:
There is ongoing research to find an optimum modality to predict male fertility potential.
Aims:
To compare the semen parameters, sperm DNA damage and seminal metal levels of Zinc, Lead and Aluminium among the male partners of couples with unexplained infertility and men with proven fertility.
Settings and Design:
Prospective case–control study at a tertiary level teaching hospital.
Materials and Methods:
One hundred male partners of couples with unexplained subfertility and 50 men with proven fertility were included in the study. Male partners of unexplained infertility couples and fertile men were compared for their semen parameters, sperm DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) and seminal metal levels in semen.
Statistical Analysis Used:
Chi-square test, Student’s t-test, sensitivity and specificity analysis, binomial logistic regression analysis.
Results:
Fertile men had statistically significantly higher mean progressive sperm motility than male partners of unexplained infertility (53.12 ± 9.89% vs. 44.81 ± 19.47%, P = 0.005). Semen volume and sperm concentration were comparable among the cases and control population. The mean sperm DFI was significantly lower among fertile men (10.83 ± 6.28 vs. 21.38 ± 10.28, P < 0.0001). Plotting the receiver-operating characteristic curve the threshold for discrimination was calculated to be 18% DFI. The sensitivity specificity and overall accuracy were 43%, 84% and 56.67%, respectively when the DFI cut-off was set at 18%. Zinc concentration in the semen had a strong positive correlation (Point Biserial correlation coefficient = 0.831) with fertility, whereas lead and aluminium had a moderate negative correlation.
Conclusion:
Conventional semen analysis had limited differentiating ability for unexplained infertility. The sperm DFI may be employed for explanatory purposes among couples with unexplained subfertility. A lower discriminatory threshold of DFI (18%) has better overall accuracy as opposed to a 30% cutpoint for unexplained subfertility. Among metals, Zinc was strongly correlated with fertility status
Reading the double diaspora: cultural representations of Gujarati East Africans in Britain
No full textThis thesis explores representations of culture amongst the prolific twice-displaced Gujarati East African diaspora in Britain. I argue that the paucity of fictional literatures written about, or by, this community demonstrate that the ‘double diaspora’ often favour forms of embodied narrative. Using the literary critical interpretive practices of close reading, I thus analyse a range of cultural ‘texts’. Through this approach of investigating both the written text alongside the nontextual
embodied narrative, the thesis broadens the remit of literary studies and subsequently addresses a lacuna in scholarship on cultural representations of the
‘double diaspora’. Whilst the thesis intervenes in contemporary literary postcolonial debate, interdisciplinary connections between diverse disciplines, such as performance, trauma and diaspora studies, are established.
Following my introduction, the thesis is divided into three main chapters: each considers a form of embodied cultural representation significant to the migrant who has been displaced from India to Britain, via East Africa. Beginning with Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s The Settler’s Cookbook – one of the few examples of a written representation of twice-migrant culture – I explore culinary practices as a
mode of individuated and collective identity articulation. In my third chapter, I develop my argument to read the Gujarati dances of dandiya-raas and garba, played
during the Hindu festival of Navratri. Finally, before concluding, the fourth chapter moves to explore visual materials gathered from personal kinship networks.
In identifying embodied narratives as significant to the double diaspora, my thesis uncovers the performance of complex and multiple selfhoods and collectivities
within this community. Whilst there are instances of a surprising convergence of modern and traditional identities, there is too the emergence of an Indian national
identity, which is complicated by regional Gujaratiness. In closing, I propose a Gujarati East African vernacular modernity, which demonstrates how this progressdriven
diaspora simultaneously looks in two directions
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
No full textAbstract
Background
Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres.
Methods
This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries.
Results
In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia.
Conclusion
This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
No full textBackground: Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods: This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low-middle-income countries. Results: In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of 'single-use' consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low-middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion: This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high- and low-middle-income countries
