Cancer awareness among females of urban slums in their reproductive age group

Background: Cancer is major public health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. The prevalence of cancer is increasing in developing world due to increase in life expectancy, increased urbanization and adoption of western life styles. Thus, the present study was carried out to assess the extent of awareness towards cancer among women of urban slums in their reproductive age group. Methods:Community based cross sectional study was carried outby interviewing women of reproductive age group residing in urban slums using pre-designed and pre-tested proforma to assess awareness towards cancer. Descriptive statistics was applied to assess the awareness level and the association between two attributes was calculated bychi-square test. Results: A total of 182 women were interviewed. Out of which 39.56% were in 20-24 years age group. 46.15% were housewives and most of them belonged to middle class families. Though the knowledge regarding cancer, especially about modes of transmission, symptoms and laboratory diagnosis was found satisfactory but was accompanied by misconceptions. 71.43% women were aware about its prevention, mostly by changing life styles and by getting screening done at regular intervals. Conclusion: Thus, impetus has to be laid upon screening regarding cancer during reproductive age group and enlightenment of the women about cancer screening centres available at the hospitals, so as to heighten the knowledge of facilities for a better reproductive life

Prescribing pattern of ophthalmological medication in geriatric inpatients of a tertiary care hospital

Background: Older people are potentially at greater risk of medication error. Gaining insight into the prescribing pattern especially in eye diseases as they are a common problem in elderly, in order to identify prescribing related problems is the fundamental step in improving the quality of prescription and patient care.Methods: Prescriptions fulfilling inclusion criteria were collected from hospital Medical record department (MRD) and analyzed using the World Health Organization (WHO) core prescribing indicators for rationality of prescriptions.Results: Among 811 prescriptions analysed, 52.7% (428) were of male patients, those aged 60-70 years were 77.2% (626) and patients with only cataract constituted 77% (625). Prescriptions with oral antibiotics were 57.1% (334); topical antibiotics were 35.8% (429) and topical analgesics 46.2% (553). Out of 1182 FDCs noted, 59% (479) were found to be rational and 34.6% (281) were from Essential Medicines List 2014. Only 2% (61) drugs were prescribed using generic name while 64.06% (1606) of drugs were from the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (April 2015). Average number of drugs per encounter was 3.7. Percentage of encounters with antibiotics was found to be 43.8% and no prescriptions with injections were noted.Conclusions: Although usage of antibiotics and topical drugs was conforming to WHO recommended standards, there is a need to improve prescription pattern by using generic names and drugs from Essential Drug List

Dietary Salt Intake and Hypertension in An Urban South Indian Population – [CURES - 53]

Objective : The aim of the study was to determine the mean dietary salt intake in urban south India and to look at its association with hypertension. Methods : The Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES) is an ongoing population based study on a representative population of Chennai city in southern India. Phase 1 of CURES recruited 26,001 individuals aged ≥ 20 years, of whom every tenth subject (n=2600) was invited to participate in Phase 3 for detailed dietary studies and 2220 subjects participated in the present study (response rate : 84.5%). Participants with self-reported history of hypertension, diabetes or heart disease were excluded from the study (n=318) and thus the final study numbers were 1902 subjects. Dietary salt, energy, macronutrients and micronutrients intake were measured using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Diagnosis of hypertension was based on the National Cholesterol Education Programme (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Logistic regression analysis was used to look at the association of dietary salt with hypertension. Results : Mean dietary salt intake (8.5 g/d) in the population was higher than the recommended by the World Health Organization (<5g/d). Higher salt intake was associated with older age and higher income (p for trend<0.0001). Subjects in the highest quintile of salt intake had significantly higher prevalence of hypertension than did those in the lowest quintile (48.4 vs 16.6%, p<0.0001). Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly increased with increase in quintiles of total dietary salt both among hypertensive and normotensive subjects (p for trend p1 teaspoon/day at the dining table was associated with a higher prevalence for hypertension compared to zero added salt (38.5% vs 23.3%, Chi-square = 18.95; p<0.0001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that even after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, total energy intake and dietary fat, total dietary salt intake was positively associated with hypertension. [Odds ratio (OR): 1.161, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.115-1.209, p<0.0001]. Conclusion: Intake of dietary salt in urban south India is higher than currently recommended. Increasing salt intake is associated with increased risk for hypertension even after adjusting for potential confounders. This calls for urgent steps to decrease salt consumption of the population at high ris

Long-Term Bidirectional Neuron Interfaces for Robotic Control, and In Vitro Learning Studies

There are two fundamentally different goals for neural interfacing. On the biology side, to interface living neurons to external electronics allows the observation and manipulation of neural circuits to elucidate their fundamental mechanisms. On the engineering side, neural interfaces in animals, people, or in cell culture have the potential to restore missing functionality, or someday, to enhance existing functionality. At the Laboratory for NeuroEngineering at Georgia Tech, we are developing new technologies to help make both goals attainable. We culture dissociated mammalian neurons on multi-electrode arrays, and use them as the brain of a 'Hybrot', or hybrid neural-robotic system. Distributed neural activity patterns are used to control mobile robots. We have created the hardware and software necessary to feed the robots' sensory inputs back to the cultures in real time, as electrical stimuli. By embodying cultured networks, we study learning and memory at the cellular and network level, using 2-photon laser-scanning microscopy to image plasticity while it happens. We have observed a very rich dynamical landscape of activity patterns in networks of only a few thousand cells. We can alter this landscape via electrical stimuli, and use the hybrot system to study the emergent properties of networks in vitro

Linear models of activation cascades: analytical solutions and coarse-graining of delayed signal transduction

Cellular signal transduction usually involves activation cascades, the sequential activation of a series of proteins following the reception of an input signal. Here we study the classic model of weakly activated cascades and obtain analytical solutions for a variety of inputs. We show that in the special but important case of optimal-gain cascades (i.e., when the deactivation rates are identical) the downstream output of the cascade can be represented exactly as a lumped nonlinear module containing an incomplete gamma function with real parameters that depend on the rates and length of the cascade, as well as parameters of the input signal. The expressions obtained can be applied to the non-identical case when the deactivation rates are random to capture the variability in the cascade outputs. We also show that cascades can be rearranged so that blocks with similar rates can be lumped and represented through our nonlinear modules. Our results can be used both to represent cascades in computational models of differential equations and to fit data efficiently, by reducing the number of equations and parameters involved. In particular, the length of the cascade appears as a real-valued parameter and can thus be fitted in the same manner as Hill coefficients. Finally, we show how the obtained nonlinear modules can be used instead of delay differential equations to model delays in signal transduction.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Marking and Measuring Single Microtubules by PRC1 and Kinesin-4

SummaryError-free cell division depends on the assembly of the spindle midzone, a specialized array of overlapping microtubules that emerges between segregating chromosomes during anaphase. The molecular mechanisms by which a subset of dynamic microtubules from the metaphase spindle are selected and organized into a stable midzone array are poorly understood. Here, we show using in vitro reconstitution assays that PRC1 and kinesin-4, two microtubule-associated proteins required for midzone assembly, can tag microtubule plus ends. Remarkably, the size of these tags is proportional to filament length. We determine the crystal structure of the PRC1 homodimer and map the protein-protein interactions needed for tagging microtubule ends. Importantly, length-dependent microtubule plus-end-tagging by PRC1 is also observed in dividing cells. Our findings suggest how biochemically similar microtubules can be differentially marked, based on length, for selective regulation during the formation of specialized arrays, such as those required for cytokinesis

Rice GIs of Kerala: Gap in Desired and Achieved Outcomes

83-91Case studies on Geographical Indications (GIs) prove that that it is essential to include a quality assurance clause within the legal framework of GIs, if the benefits of registration are to be accrued to the farming community. The potential positive impact of the GI for stake holders can be initiated through a strong institutional context and well organised supply chain. Support from governmental agencies is essential in this regard to build up effective promotional strategies to promote the product and its intrinsic qualities across markets. The paper analyses the performance of rice GIs of Kerala, initiatives put after the registration, the gaps between desired and achieved outcomes of the policy initiatives and the bottlenecks of the implementation of the innovation. The studies analysed recommend that revival of the producer society is essential in order to take collective decisions on defining the production limits, agreeing up on code of conduct, identifying indicators of quality, and building up strategies for marketing and consumer orientation

Towards defining heterotic gene pools using SSR markers in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]

Pearl millet is a climate resilient crop and the most widely grown millet worldwide. In a maiden attempt to identify potential heterotic groups for grain yield in pearl millet, a total of 88 polymorphic SSR markers were used to genotype 343 hybrid parental lines of pearl millet. The SSR markers generated a total of 532 alleles with a mean value of 6.05 alleles per locus, mean gene diversity of 0.55, and an average PIC of 0.50. Out of 532 alleles, 443 (83.27%) alleles were contributed by B- lines with a mean of 5.03 alleles per locus. R- lines contributed 476 alleles (89.47%) with a mean of 5.41, while 441 (82.89%) alleles were shared commonly between B- and R- lines. The gene diversity and PIC were high among R- lines (0.55 and 0.50) than B- lines (0.49 and 0.44) revealed that R- lines were more diverse than B- lines. The unweighted neighbor-joining tree based on simple matching dissimilarity matrix obtained from SSR data clearly differentiated B- lines into 10 sub-clusters (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9 and B10), and Rlines into 11 sub-clusters (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10 and R11). The parents, three checks and 99 hybrids generated by crossing between representative lines of each of the B- cluster with that of each of the R- cluster were evaluated in line ? tester design over three environments. Based on pooled mean performance, the cross combinations generated between clusters B1 and R3, B2 and R4, B3 and R5, B4 and undetermined cluster, B5 and 11R, B6 and R3, B8 and R4, B9 and R7 and B10 and R5 had shown higher grain yield per plant compared to their counterparts. Based on per se performance, high sca effects and standard heterosis over superior check, F1s generated from crosses between representatives of groups B3 and B10 with representative of group R5 resulted in best heterotic combinations for grain yield. These represent putative heterotic gene pools in pearl millet.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Combined DC-Link Fed Parallel-VSI-Based DSTATCOM for Power Quality Improvement of a Solar DG Integrated System

In present day power systems, Power Quality (PQ) issues are causing great concern owing to the increased use of power electronic controlled drives and fluctuating and other non-linear loads. This problem is further aggravated by a steady increase in the integration of renewable energy-based Distribution Generation (DG), employing power electronic converters to distribution systems. Custom power devices with suitable control strategies provide an effective solution to these power quality issues. In this work, a typical three-phase distribution system supplying non-linear load and with DG integration is considered. A shunt connected DSTATCOM at PCC of the system is employed to mitigate power quality concerns. Initially, a parallel-VSI based DSTATCOM configuration, employing individual DC-Link and working basically on the principle of current sharing, has been proposed. The analysis is carried out for variable load conditions for PQ enhancement making use of a more effective control theory viz. Instantaneous Real-Reactive Power (IRP) theory for the generation of suitable switching patterns to the individual VSIs of the parallel DSTATCOM. Further, an improvement over the above configuration viz. combined/common DC-Link-fed parallel DSTATCOM is proposed. This configuration has the advantages of minimized sensing elements, reliable operation and low-cost compensation. A similar analysis is carried out for PQ improvement, making use of the same IRP theory with some modifications (known as MIRP theory). The effectiveness of this configuration is established from the simulation results. In all the above cases, the analyses are carried out using MATLAB/Simulink platform and the simulation results are presented in detail. Thus, the proposed parallel VSIs-based DSTATCOM configurations employing suitable control strategies provide effective solutions for power quality issues under varying load conditions in conventional distribution systems

Classical Many-particle Clusters in Two Dimensions

We report on a study of a classical, finite system of confined particles in two dimensions with a two-body repulsive interaction. We first develop a simple analytical method to obtain equilibrium configurations and energies for few particles. When the confinement is harmonic, we prove that the first transition from a single shell occurs when the number of particles changes from five to six. The shell structure in the case of an arbitrary number of particles is shown to be independent of the strength of the interaction but dependent only on its functional form. It is also independent of the magnetic field strength when included. We further study the effect of the functional form of the confinement potential on the shell structure. Finally we report some interesting results when a three-body interaction is included, albeit in a particular model.Comment: Minor corrections, a few references added. To appear in J. Phys: Condensed Matte