Awareness,Beliefs and Perspectives Regarding Weight Retention and Weight Gain among Postpartum Women in India: A Thematic Analysis of Focus Group Discussions and In-Depth Interviews

Background and AimsThe pregnancy weight is usually retained in the form of abdominal fat during the postpartum period. The willingness to lose weight is influenced by knowledge, attitude, beliefs and practices. This study aims to comprehend the awareness, beliefs and perspectives of postpartum women regarding their perceived factors, barriers and facilitators associated with post-pregnancy weight status.MethodsOverweight and obese postpartum women aged between 20 and 40 years and had delivered an infant in the last 2 years were recruited via convenience and purposive sampling techniques. The final sample comprised 27 participants with a mean age of 29.96 ± 4.50 years. Four focus group discussions and eight in-depth interviews carried out were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Codes, sub-themes and themes were generated using Atlas.ti 9 software.ResultsMajor themes identified were perceived factors causing postpartum weight retention/weight gain including social and cultural beliefs related to diet and exercise specifically associated with this period, perceived motivators and deterrents of weight loss including eagerness to lose weight and perceived facilitators and barriers to weight loss including intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as time, energy, evidence-based knowledge about diet and physical activity, family support and obligation to family’s advice.ConclusionThe unique challenges and barriers associated with postpartum weight loss efforts should be taken into consideration by healthcare professionals and public health policy-makers to design strategies specific to postpartum women.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13224-022-01644-9.     

Development and validation of analytical method for the estimation of nateglinide in rabbit plasma

Nateglinide has been widely used in the treatment of type-2 diabetics as an insulin secretogoga. A reliable, rapid, simple and sensitive reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for determination of nateglinide in rabbit plasma. The method was developed on Hypersil BDSC-18 column (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 mm) using a mobile phase of 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) and acetonitrile (35:65, v/v). The elute was monitored with the UV–vis detector at 210 nm with a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Calibration curve was linear over the concentration range of 25–2000 ng/mL. The retention times of nateglinide and internal standard (gliclazide) were 9.608 min and 11.821 min respectively. The developed RP-HPLC method can be successfully applied to the quantitative pharmacokinetic parameters determination of nateglinide in rabbit model.     

Oral myiasis caused by Musca domestica larvae in a child

Myiasis or infestation of living tissues by Diptera (two winged) fly larvae is primarily a problem of cattle and livestock in tropics. Human infestation is rare, occurs accidentally in persons at extremes of age, who are debilitated or not able to ensure basic hygiene and wound cleanliness. Necrotic tissue in wounds of whatever origin provides ideal substrate for the developing larvae. Depending upon the anatomic sites affected it presents clinically as cutaneous myiasis, myiasis of external orifices (oral, nasal, ocular, aural, anal, genital), and myiasis of internal organs (intestinal, urinary). Cutaneous myiasis is perhaps the most commonly reported entity. Species causing skin, subcutaneous and mucosal myiasis include Gastrophilus intestinalis (horse botfly), Hypoderma bovis (cattle botfly), and Dermatobia homonis (human botfly). Musca domestica, the common house fly, is a rare cause of myiasis despite its presence in abundance.This paper describes oral myiasis in a 16-year-old girl of hypotonic cerebral palsy. She had episodic fever, fetid breath, erythematous, tender and ulcerated swelling over anterior palate from which pus and maggots were coming out. She had lip incompetence and bad orodental hygiene. Radiologic and laboratory investigations revealed no abnormality. The maggots were removed manually and she was treated with orodental hygiene sessions, wound care, antibiotics and nutritional supplements. The larval specimens were identified as early instar of M. domestica. Prevention of human myiasis is important and involves control of fly population, general cleanliness, basic sanitation and health education with a special emphasis on oral health care in patients with special needs.     

Wounds due to a modified shot gun (home-made): A case report

In a case of firearm fatality, the autopsy surgeon is required to opine as to the range of fire in addition to the cause of death which will help in reconstruction of the events. Problems may arise in estimating the range of fire based on wound ballistics when there is an alteration or modification in the internal ballistics. We encountered such a case in the department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, which is discussed.     

Quantitative tissue oxygen measurement in multiple organs using 19F MRI in a rat model

Measurement of individual organ tissue oxygen levels can provide information to help evaluate and optimize medical interventions in many areas including wound healing, resuscitation strategies, and cancer therapeutics. Echo planar ¹⁹F MRI has previously focused on tumor oxygen measurement at low oxygen levels (pO₂) <30 mmHg. It uses the linear relationship between spin‐lattice relaxation rate (R₁) of hexafluorobenzene (HFB) and pO₂. The feasibility of this technique for a wider range of pO₂values and individual organ tissue pO₂ measurement was investigated in a rat model. Spin‐lattice relaxation times (T₁= 1/R₁) of hexafluorobenzene were measured using ¹⁹F saturation recovery echo planar imaging. Initial in vitro studies validated the linear relationship between R₁ and pO₂ from 0 to 760 mmHg oxygen partial pressure at 25, 37, and 41°C at 7 Tesla for hexafluorobenzene. In vivo experiments measured rat tissue oxygen (ptO2) levels of brain, kidney, liver, gut, muscle, and skin during inhalation of both 30 and 100% oxygen. All organ ptO₂ values significantly increased with hyperoxia (P < 0.001). This study demonstrates that ¹⁹F MRI of hexafluorobenzene offers a feasible tool to measure regional ptO2 in vivo, and that hyperoxia significantly increases ptO2 of multiple organs in a rat model. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.