Humanitarian Health Education Programming: Diffusion of Health Messages through Folk Media

For several decades, numerous health programs for the underserved have been launched in rural areas of developing countries. World organization, NGO\u27s and government agencies have been allocating a significant portion of their budgets for developing health education programs for underserved population in different parts of the world. The success rate of reaching the goals of these programs has been very slow. For example, in India experience in rural health development has clearly indicated that isolated urban health programs do not provide appropriate assistance to the underserved sections of society (Hedge, 1997)

Art in education in India’s ‘top’ schools

World over education policies almost always recognize the value of co-scholastic areas, such as arts and sports, in providing quality education to students. But what constitutes good education and a quality learning environment? One view focuses on the marks achieved in the core subjects and other immediately measurable outcomes. The other view is the ‘ability’ of the school to create a good educational experience

Molecular Insights Into the Relationship Between Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases and Breast Cancer: A Critical Perspective on Autoimmunity and ER Stress

The etiopathologies behind autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) unravel misbehavior of immune components leading to the corruption of immune homeostasis where thyroid autoantigens turn foe to the self. In AITDs lymphocytic infiltration in the thyroid shows up a deranged immune system charging the follicular cells of the thyroid gland (thyrocytes) leading to the condition of either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. The inflammation in AITDs consistently associate with ER function due to which disturbances in the ER protein homeostasis leads to unfolded protein response (UPR) that promotes pathogenesis of autoimmunity. The roles of ER stress in the instantaneous downregulation of MHC class I molecules on thyrocytes and the relevance of IFN γ in the pathogenesis of AITD has been well-documented. Thyroglobulin being the major target of autoantibodies in most of the AITDs is because of its unusual processing in the ER. Autoimmune disorders display a conglomeration of ER stress-induced UPR activated molecules. Several epidemiological data highlight the preponderance of AITDs in women as well as its concurrence with breast cancer. Both being an active glandular system displaying endocrine activity, thyroid as well as breast tissue show various commonalities in the expression pattern of heterogenous molecules that not only participate in the normal functioning but at the same time share the blame during disease establishment. Studies on the development and progression of breast carcinoma display a deranged and uncontrolled immune response, which is meticulously exploited during tumor metastasis. The molecular crosstalks between AITDs and breast tumor microenvironment rely on active participation of immune cells. The induction of ER stress by Tunicamycin advocates to provide a model for cancer therapy by intervening glycosylation. Therefore, this review attempts to showcase the molecules that are involved in feeding up the relationship between breast carcinoma and AITDs

Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of methanolic extract of Magnolia champaca leaves

Plants remain a vibrant source of diverse bioactive phytochemicals that are secondary metabolites protecting them from infections and predations. Magnolia champaca is reported to possess a multitude of phytochemicals. In the present study, the phytochemical constituents of the methanolic extract of Magnolia champaca leaves were analysed qualitatively and with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis was performed to identify the chemical nature of the extract and to find structurally similar compounds. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, glycosides, phenols, steroids, tannins and saponins. FTIR spectroscopic analysis revealed structurally related compounds. GC-MS/MS analysis revealed the presence of 99 diverse compounds with varied biological activities, among which 1,2,4-butanetriol, n-hexadecanoic acid, cis vaccenic acid, phytol, trans longipinocarveol and caryophyllene oxide were found predominantly. Thus, the identification and characterisation of the phytochemicals in the extract favour the development of novel therapeutic agents