Area Of Central India Research Articles

Detection of virulence genes in ESBL producing, quinolone resistant commensal Escherichia coli from rural Indian children.

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing commensal Escherichia coli are considered as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes that may be transmitted in the community. This study aimed to determine the genes coding for ESBLs, plasmid mediated quinolone resistance and virulence markers in commensal E. coli isolated from healthy school children. ESBL producing E. coli isolates (n = 47) were obtained from 529 fecal samples of healthy school children from a rural area in central India. Multiplex PCR was used to detect the genes coding for cephalosporin and quinolone resistance, for virulence fluA, fluB, stx1, stx2, eae, bfp, lt, stII, virF, ipaH, daaE, aafII and phylogenetic groups. Of the 47 ESBL producing E. coli, 41 were positive for CTXM-15, 23 for TEM-1, 8 for OXA-1and a single for SHV-12. For plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance, all the 47 isolates carried the aac(6')-ib-cr gene, and amongst them18 were qnrS positive. Virulence gene, fluA was detected in 32,whereas eae in 14, daaE in 7 and fluB in 1. In 10 isolates, fluA and eae and in 7, fluA and daaE co-existed. Of the 47 E. coli isolates, 18 were grouped into the phylogenetic group B2, 17 in D and 12 in A. The proportion of isolates positive for fluA gene in the phylogenetic group B2 (18/18), was significantly higher than in group A (7/12) and D (6/17). Commensal E. coli in healthy children in rural India may serve as reservoirs of resistance towards cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones and virulence coding genes for urinary tract and diarrheal infections.

Prevalence of stunting and wasting among Anganwadi school children of rural and urban area of Central India: A cross-sectional study

Background: Malnutrition is an important public health problem which involves infants and children. It is a self-perpetuating problem which affects the mental and physical development of the child. The basic tool to quantify this burden is growth assessment in the form of anthropometry which is done under a national program called Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Objectives: The present study was conducted to review and compare the prevalence of stunting and wasting, in rural and urban central India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on rural (n=100) and urban (n=100), Anganwadi children for two months. All Anganwadi children (3-6 years) who were available at the time of examination and children below three 3 years of age at house visit were included in the study. Children with congenital defects were excluded from the study. A pretested and predesigned questionnaire was used to collect the data. Height and weight were measured according to standard guidelines. Data was analyzed using Epi Info version 7. Results: In our study, the prevalence of stunting was found to be 37% and 22% in rural and urban areas respectively. The prevalence of wasting was found to be 33% and 20% in rural and urban areas respectively. There was a significant difference between grades of stunting (p=0.01) and wasting (p =0.05) among rural and urban children. Conclusion: In spite of the efforts taken by the government to cut down the rates of stunting and wasting through various programs, the effects of malnutrition still persists.

Factors Controlling the Deposition of Airborne Metals on Plant Leaves in a Subtropical Industrial Environment

This study was conducted in an industrial city (Bilaspur) representative of subtropical area in central India. In order to assess the metal deposition on plant, concentrations of six target metals (i.e., Fe, Mn, Pb, Cu, Cd, and Cr) in both plant leaf and dust (deposited on its surface) samples were measured from six different sites. Metal concentrations in dust samples were found on the order of Fe＞Mn＞Cr＞Pb＞Cu＞Cd. In contrast, the concentration of metals in plant leaves were seen on the order of Fe＞Mn＞Cr＞Cd＞Cu＞Pb. As such, Cd showed significantly high concentration in leaves relative to their corresponding dust samples. A high accumulation potential for Fe and Cd was seen from Butea monosperma, while Mn and Pb were accumulated noticeably in Pongamia pinnata and Butea monosperma. Likewise, Cr and Cu were enriched in Calotropis procera, Alstonia scholaris, and Butea monosperma. The overall results of our study suggest that the foliar uptake pattern should vary considerably by an interactive role between plant and metal types.

Prevalence of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcal Bioaerosols in and around Residential Houses in an Urban Area in Central India.

Methicillin resistant staphylococci (MRS) commonly found in clinical samples or associated environment pose a major health challenge globally. The carriage rate of MRS in human population is high, especially in India but research on airborne distribution of MRS is scanty. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of MRS in indoor and outdoor environment of residential houses. Air samples were collected using impactor air sampler. The total counts of viable bacteria, staphylococci, and MRS along with the particles of various sizes were determined from indoor and outdoor environment of 14 residential houses. MRS bacteria were identified as methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) or coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) employing biochemical and PCR assays. The average concentration of MRS inside and outside of the houses was 5.9% and 4.6% of the total bacteria, respectively. The maximum correlation of total indoor and outdoor bacteria with particulate matter was 10 μm (r = 0.74) and 5 μm (r = 0.84), respectively. Statistically, significant positive correlation of staphylococci and MRS was found with particles of 10–25 μm inside the houses. Molecular surveillance, antibiotic stewardship programme, and infection control policies can help to manage increasing MRS burden in developing countries.

Congenital Malaria Mimicking Sepsis - A Case Report from Malaria Endemic Area in Central India

Congenital Malaria Mimicking Sepsis - A Case Report from Malaria Endemic Area in Central India

English

PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of blindness due to posterior segment disorders which include diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, age related macular degeneration in rural area in central India of Wardha District. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Multistage Cluster sampling method was used. Sample size was calculated to be 1400. Door to door examination of 100 people aged 40 years, in each cluster. Demographic information with relevant history, visual acuity, anterior segment examination including AC depth was seen by torch light. Intraocular pressure, and fundus examination for posterior segment patients was done using direct ophthalmoscope. OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS: Out of 2800 eyes of 1400 individuals, posterior segment disorders were diagnosed in 31 eyes which include Diabetic retinopathy, ARMD and retinal detachment. The Prevalence of Blindness due to Diabetic Retinopathy is 0.035% in 2800 eyes. The Prevalence of blindness due to ARMD in eyes was 0.07%. The prevalence of Blindness due to Retinal Detachment in eye was 0.035%. CONCLUSION: Population based data on the magnitude of disease is essential to plan for required services. This was a population based survey in which door to door examination was done. But Slit lamp biomicroscopy or indirect ophthalmoscopy were not done as they were not feasible in rural survey setup. Therefore, the total prevalence reported may be underestimated.

Factors Affecting the Acceptance of Abortion Services in Rural Area of Central India

Factors Affecting the Acceptance of Abortion Services in Rural Area of Central India

Profile of Medicolegal Cases Admitted at a Newly Established Rural Medical College Hospital of Central India

Profiling of the medicolegal cases is important to know the quality and quantity of caseload to be expected by the medicolegal workforce serving the area. A retrospective study was conducted at Index Medical College Hospital and Research Center Indore M.P. covering the first five years of its establishment as a teaching hospital in the rural area of central India.

Transport Pollution in India

Road dusts contribute a large fraction of air pollution in urban environment of India. In the present work, contamination assessment of ions and elements i.e. F﹣, Cl﹣, NO-3, SO2-4, NH+4, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, As, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hg in the road dusts of the most industrialized area of central India: Raipur (capital, Chhattisgarh state) is described during year: 2008-2013. In year 2008, the mean content of the element i.e. F﹣, Cl﹣, NO-3, SO2-4, NH+4, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, As, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Hgin the dust (n = 5) was found to be 292 ± 112, 5068 ± 2445, 927 ± 280, 3336 ± 1315, 155 ± 65, 4273 ± 1761, 1477 ± 626, 974 ± 243, 9809 ± 2370, 21.2 ± 2.4, 150 ± 30, 12,816 ± 12,522, 157,736 ± 61,542, 60 ± 7, 566 ± 608, 348 ± 154, 296 ± 163 and 0.10 ± 0.09 mg/kg, respectively. The enrichment, concentration variations and sources of the elements are discussed.

Strangers in the Dark: Neo-liberalism and Maoism in India

The Indian Maoists are a small but influential group in the neo-liberal era of class struggle. Declared as a terrorist party by the Indian state, they operate underground. Based in the densely forested areas of Central India they yet stick to the analysis of semi-feudal China of the 1930s. This essay is an analysis of Maoism in India from a Žižek inspired Freudo-Marxist philosophical perspective. It claims that the urge of the Maoists for violence is to be understood as a type of messianic violence that not only wants to blow open the continuum of history (as Walter Benjamin once put it), but also wants to blow up history itself. This essay reads Mao as an anti-dialectician who converted dialectics into sophistry, nihilism and cynicism. It is in this nihilism that the contemporary Indian Maoists re-play the theater of anarchism.

Fossil fruit of Cocos L. (Arecaceae) from Maastrichtian-Danian sediments of central India and its phytogeographical significance

ABSTRACT A fossilised palm fruit of Cocos L. (C. binoriensis sp. nov.) is reported from the Binori Reserve Forest, Ghansor, Seoni District, Madhya Pradesh, India. The fruit is a 3-dimensionally preserved drupe, ovoid with clearly visible longitudinal ridges. The husk is made up of a thin smooth exocarp and fibrous mesocarp, with vertical and horizontal fibres present on the inner surface of the endocarp. The fruit is Maastrichtian-Danian in age and is the world’s oldest fossil record of Cocos. The genus Cocos is now distributed in coastal areas of pantropical regions. The occurrence of Cocos along with coastal and mangrove remains such as Acrostichum, Barringtonia, Nypa, Sonneratia and marine algae Distichoplax and Peyssonellia previously recorded from Deccan Intertrappean beds further confirms the proximity of sea in the area in central India and indicates warm and humid conditions. The presence of Cocos and previously recorded palaeoflora supports the existence of tropical wet evergreen to semi-evergreen forests at the time of deposition in the area, in contrast to the dry to moist deciduous forests existing today in central India. The probable reasons for the change in climatic conditions are withdrawal of an arm of the sea from central India, the change in latitude, and a significant uplift of the Western Ghats during post-trappean times.

Effect of water saturation on rock thermal conductivity measurements

Abstract We studied the effect of water saturation on rock thermal conductivity measurements using a set of 67 samples covering igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The samples were collected from both fresh outcrops and borehole cores, and belong to different geologic provinces of the Indian shield. Effective porosity computed from measurements of sample weights under dry and saturated conditions reveal that the samples fall in the low-to-moderate porosity range, from near-zero to 8%. Thermal conductivity was measured both in dry as well as water-saturated states. The salient findings of the study are as follows. (i) Thermal conductivity measurements on porous rocks confirm many previous studies that the water saturated thermal conductivity is greater than dry thermal conductivity. (ii) The effect of water saturation on thermal conductivity of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks increases as the porosity of the rock samples increases, which indicate that the effect primarily depends on porosity. (iii) The observations are consistent with theoretically computed effect obtained using a geometric mixing law prediction model for two phase system, i.e. pore fluid and solid rock. The study shows clearly and dramatically both theoretical and experimental evidence that ignoring a 5% porosity incurs a systematic thermal conductivity error of about 15%, which directly reflects into a similar error in heat flow determinations. (iv) Application of water-saturated thermal conductivity values of low-to-moderate porosity sandstones from Shivpuri area in central India to a recent heat flow determination from the same area shows that the reported heat flow was under-estimated by up to 12% due to the use of dry-state thermal conductivity measurements. This paper reinforces the importance of current practice always to measure thermal conductivity in the water-saturated state.

Placental and neonatal outcome in maternal malaria.

Primary: To determine the incidence of congenital malaria in a cohort of pregnant women in a hyper-endemic area of central India. Secondary: (1) To find out the placental weight and placental malaria positivity, and to assess fetal and neonatal outcome in terms of survival, mean hemoglobin and mean birth weight. Prospective observational study. Maternity and neonatal ward of a tertiary level hospital attached to a medical college located in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India. Near term and term pregnant women admitted in the maternity ward with a singleton pregnancy, whose neonates were available for examination till at least 6 hours after birth. Thick and thin blood smear were examined for malarial parasites from mothers prior to delivery. Based on the results of peripheral smear they were divided into 'exposed group' (peripheral smear positive for malaria parasite) and unexposed group' (smear negative for malaria parasite). These groups were then followed prospectively till delivery and subsequently till the mother and the neonates were discharged from the hospital. Primary: Presence of asexual parasite in neonate. Secondary: Placental weight, presence of asexual malarial parasite in placenta, still births, early neonatal deaths, mean birth weight and mean hemoglobin. Seventy-two (35.5%) of 203 blood smears of near term and term pregnant women were found positive for malaria parasite (60 P. vivax and 12 P. falciparum); rest 131 comprised the unexposed group. Six (2.95%) neonates had parasitemia (4 P. vivax and 2 P. falciparum). Of the 203 smears made from placental blood, 24 (11.8%) were positive for malaria parasite. The mean (SD) birth weight [2300 (472) g vs 2430 (322) g; P=0.98], proportion of preterm babies (6.9% vs 8.4%, P=0.71), incidence of still birth (4.2% vs 3.0%, P=1.0) and early neonatal death (2.8% vs 3.0%, P=1.0) were not significantly different between the exposed and unexposed group. The incidence of congenital malaria is low despite high maternal smear positivity for malaria.

Intercropping Systems in Mango Orchard for Rainfed Area of Central India

The experiment was conducted to assess the effect of intercrops on growth characters (plant height, girth and canopy area) and yield of main crop mango and vise-versa. The intercrops influenced the growth of main plants and increase in plant height and canopy area of the mango and it was found maximum with paddy followed by black gram intercrops. However, the canopy of the base crop also affects the growth and yield of intercrops and it is observed that the under canopy intercrops performed poor compared to open field. Fruit yield and return out of sold fruits of mango were found maximum with intercrops blakgram. Maximum number of fruits was observed with intercrop blackgram whereas, maximum average fruit weight was found in pigeon pea. The maximum net return, paddy equivalent yield and B:C ratio were obtained from intercrop ginger. The nutrient status of orchard soil also found improved after intercropping.

Sexual health needs of people living with HIV in a rural area of central India

Sexual health needs of people living with HIV in a rural area of central India

Landscape approach for quantifying land use land cover change (1972–2006) and habitat diversity in a mining area in Central India (Bokaro, Jharkhand)

The rate and intensity of land use land cover (LULC) change has increased considerably during the past couple of decades. Mining brings significant alterations in LULC specifically due to its impact on forests. Parts of Central India are well endowed with both forests and minerals. Here, the conflict between human interests and nature has intensified over time. Monitoring and assessment of such conflicts are important for land management and policy making. Remote sensing and Geographical Information System have the potential to serve as accurate tools for environmental monitoring. Understanding the importance of landscape metrics in land use planning is challenging but important. These metrics calculated at landscape, class, and patch level provide an insight into changing spatiotemporal distribution of LULC and ecological connectedness. In the present study, geospatial tools in conjunction with landscape metrics have been used to assess the impact of coal mining on habitat diversity. LULC maps, change detection analysis, and landscape metrics have been computed for the four time periods (1972, 1992, 2001, and 2006). There has been a significant decline in forest cover especially of the Sal-mixed forests, both in area as well as quality, due to flouted mining regulations. Reclamation of mined lands has also been observed in some of the areas since 2001.

Characterization of Vibrio cholerae from deep ground water in a cholera endemic area in Central India

A total of 8 out of 11 deep ground water samples collected from different villages in Central India were found contaminated with Vibrio cholerae non O1, non O139. In a multiplex PCR, isolates were found positive for ompW gene but negative for ctxAB and rfbO1 genes. However, isolates from two places were positive for tcp and zot genes, indicating their intestinal colonization and toxigenic potential. Antibiotic susceptibility studies revealed that all isolates were multidrug resistant. Although, none of the isolates was found PCR positive for the mobile genetic elements, class 1 integrons and SXT constins. The results of this study corroborated that deep ground water can also be an important reservoir of V. cholerae in plane endemic areas, suggesting a continuous monitoring of water samples for timely prevention of the disease.

Prevalence of diabetes in a rural area of central India

Nine hundred twenty-four subjects aged ≥30 years were selected by systematic random sampling of houses. All subjects were interviewed using a standardized pro forma, and all were screened by 75 gm ‚oral glucose tolerance™ test based on WHO criteria. SpeciÞ c prevalence rates for various factors were determined. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.

Primary volcanic structures from a type section of Deccan Trap flows around Narsingpur-Harrai-Amarwara, central India: Implications for cooling history

Field investigations of the Deccan Trap lava sequence along a 70 km traverse in the Narsingpur-Harrai-Amarwara area of central India indicate twenty lava flows comprising a total thickness of around 480 m. Primary volcanic structures like vesicles and cooling joints are conspicuous in this volcanic succession and are used to divide individual flows into three well-defined zones namely the lower colonnade zone, entablature zone, and the upper colonnade zone. The variable nature of these structural zones is used for identification and correlation of lava flows in the field. For twenty lava flows, the thicknesses of upper colonnade zones of eight flows are ∼5 m while those of eight other flows are ∼8 m each. The thicknesses of upper colonnade zones of remaining four flows could not be measured in the field. Using the thicknesses of these upper colonnade zones and standard temperature-flow thickness-cooling time profiles for lava pile, the total cooling time of these sixteen Deccan Trap lava flows has been estimated at 12 to 15 years.

Feeding ecology of sloth bears in a disturbed area in central India

In Central India, the North Bilaspur Forest Division (NBFD) harbors a large number of sloth bears (Melursus ursinus). The managed forests of the division are mostly patchy, fragmented, degraded, and interspersed with crop fields and villages with high human and cattle population. The feeding ecology of sloth bears was studied by analyzing 568 scats; 21 species of plants, termites, ants, and bees, as well as unidentified animal matter (bone, hairs and tissue) were found in bear scats. Year-round frequencies of occurrence of animal and plant matter were similar. Animal matter constituted 87% of scats during monsoon and 82% during winter seasons, but dropped to 65% during summer. On percent dry-weight basis, plant matter was greater than animal matter in scats in all seasons. Frequency of occurrence of insects was high during monsoon (87%) and winter (82%), whereas Ficus species were more common (68%) during summer season. Ficus species were high in percent weight in all seasons. Ficus species appear to be important to bears, especially when fields lack crops, few other species are fruiting, and soil is hard, making it difficult to dig for ants and termites. The presence of groundnut and corn (maize) in diets during the monsoon suggests crop damage by bears, thereby increasing chances of human–bear conflict.