Temporary and Permanent Migration in Six Villages in the Semi-Arid Tropics. Research Bulletin no. 22

This paper provides a descriptive introduction to changes in the magnitude and duration of migration in six Indian villages in the Semi-Arid Tropics between 1975 and 2005. Migration has been split into two components: temporary migration which consists of movements away from the villages for short-term periods of work and permanent migration consisting of individuals who are no longer considered residents of the villages. Since the onset of surveying in 1975, the study has registered a substantial movement of individuals and households into and out of the six villages. In the earlier period, migration flows consisted predominantly of permanent movements and were limited in size. Surveys conducted in 1992 and after 2002 indicate that temporary migration had become an occupational choice for some households in the villages. This paper describes the nature and scope of these migration flows and summarizes some basic socioeconomic features of these households

Bleeding cultures a cross-cultural exploration into the behavioral outcomes of tight and loose cultural contact zones

Data availability: The data that has been used is confidential.Copyright © 2023 The Authors. In the era of increasing global interconnectedness and decreasing cultural insularity, investigating how individuals navigate conflicting cultural norms and behavioral choices is increasingly important. This paper focuses on the impact of the contact between religiously tight cultures and industrialized, liberalized loose cultures on menstruation-related practices and traditions. In-depth interviews conducted in Jerusalem and Mumbai revealed that the nature of contact between these two conflicting ecologies impacted which traditions are adopted and how they are molded. Diffused contact, as was witnessed in Jerusalem, leads to more hybridized behaviors, and religious and non-religious practices are performed simultaneously. Whereas a more concentrated contact, as was seen in Mumbai, leads to the performance of religious norms only in situations where figures of authority can issue sanctions. Moreover, it was also found that individuals used considerable self-reflection to decide how and which practices to adopt. These findings imply that individuals are agentic operators, and that they exert considerable influence on their environment and how they adopt the cultural norms that surround them. This paper leaves scope for further research on the nature of cultural contact zones and the role of self-reflection in the collaborative co-construction of cultural norms. This paper also hopes to provide insight towards helping resolve intra-group conflict

Heroin versus cocaine: opposite choice as a function of context but not of drug history in the rat

Rationale Previous studies have shown that rats trained to self-administer heroin and cocaine exhibit opposite preferences, as a function of setting, when tested in a choice paradigm. Rats tested at home prefer heroin to cocaine whereas rats tested outside the home prefer cocaine to heroin. Here we investigated whether drug history would influence subsequent drug preference in distinct settings. Based on a theoretical model of drug-setting interaction, we predicted that regardless of drug history rats would prefer heroin at home and cocaine outside the home. Methods Rats with double-lumen catheters were first trained to self-administer either heroin (25 μg/kg) or cocaine (400 μg/kg) for 12 consecutive sessions. Twenty-six rats were housed in the self-administration chambers (thus, they were tested at home) whereas 30 rats lived in distinct home cages and were transferred to self-administration chambers only for the self-administration session (thus, they were tested outside the home). The rats were then allowed to choose repeatedly between heroin and cocaine within the same session for 7 sessions. Results Regardless of the training drug, the rats tested outside the home preferred cocaine to heroin whereas the rats tested at home preferred heroin to cocaine. There was no correlation between drug preference and drug intake during the training phase. Conclusion Drug preferences were powerfully influenced by the setting but, quite surprisingly, not by drug history. This suggests that, under certain conditions, associative learning processes and drug-induced neuroplastic adaptations play a minor role in shaping individual preferences for one drug or the other

Improving the quality of orthopaedic elective and trauma operative notes: A completed audit loop study

Introduction: Good medical practice dictates that comprehensive documentation of all surgical procedures is paramount in maintaining a high standard of patient care. This study audited the quality of operative note keeping for elective and trauma procedures against the standards set by the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) and The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSE) guidelines. Patients and methods: A retrospective assessment of the operative notes of every patient undergoing a total knee and hip replacement (elective cases) was carried out over a period of 2 months. Data recorded were compared against BOA guidelines. Within this time a randomised selection of trauma operative notes were also assessed, and the recorded data were compared against RCSE guidelines. Change in practice was implemented and the audit cycle completed. A total of 173 operative notes were evaluated. Results: There was a significant improvement (p-value < 0.05) in the quality of total knee replacement notes, with an increase in the percentage of data points from 68.6% to 93%. Similarly the quality of total hip replacement notes showed significant improvement (p-value < 0.01) with an increase in the percentage of data points from 67.5% to 86%. However trauma operative notes showed minimal improvement. Discussion: This study showed that the quality of elective operative notes was improved through surgeon education and the circulation of a guideline based electronic operative note. We have further plans to implement procedure specific notes for the most common types of trauma cases to help improve the quality of trauma operative notes

Changes in Living Standards in Villages in India 1975-2004: Revisiting the ICRISAT Village Level Studies

This paper examines changes in living conditions in the six villages in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, initially surveyed during 1975-84. We link the original Village Level Survey (VLS) households to a new survey in the villages conducted during 2001-04 and further extensive survey work in 2005-06, including tracking survey of all individuals ever interviewed in the original VLS. Despite issues related to attrition and changes in the survey instruments, we find that monetary welfare indicators (such as incomes, assets, consumption and poverty), and non monetary indicators of well-being (such as basic literacy, education and health outcomes) have improved considerably. We find the considerable attrition rates observed can be linked to within-household relational variables such as gender, relationship to the head and birth order. Migrants have experienced faster welfare improvements than non-migrants, but more analysis is needed to confirm whether this is due to their initial characteristics or due to their migration. Finally, we explore the correlates of consumption and income growth, and changes in poverty. We find that consumption growth is linked to initial households characteristics, in particular the presence of high literacy in the household, and of young children, especially boys, in the baseline year (1983) is strongly correlated with growth. Other assets, such as land, have a negligible impact, suggesting that labour and human capital have been instrumental for growth. Poverty declined in all villages, but especially in the Mahbubnagar villages in Andhra Pradesh. Labour endowments and literacy appear to have been crucial. Surprisingly, lower caste groups have experienced faster poverty declines, although this effect is largely confined to Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh

Sex Dimorphism in the Myocardial Response to Aortic Stenosis

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to explore sex differences in myocardial remodeling in aortic stenosis (AS) by using echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), and biomarkers. BACKGROUND: AS is a disease of both valve and left ventricle (LV). Sex differences in LV remodeling are reported in AS and may play a role in disease phenotyping. METHODS: This study was a prospective assessment of patients awaiting surgical valve replacement for severe AS using echocardiography, the 6-min walking test, biomarkers (high-sensitivity troponin T and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide), and CMR with late gadolinium enhancement and extracellular volume fraction, which dichotomizes the myocardium into matrix and cell volumes. LV remodeling was categorized into normal geometry, concentric remodeling, concentric hypertrophy, and eccentric hypertrophy. RESULTS: In 168 patients (age 70 ± 10 years, 55% male, indexed aortic valve area 0.40 ± 0.13 cm2/m2, mean gradient 47 ± 4 mm Hg), no sex or age differences in AS severity or functional capacity (6-min walking test) were found. CMR captured sex dimorphism in LV remodeling not apparent by using 2-dimensional echocardiography. Normal geometry (82% female) and concentric remodeling (60% female) dominated in women; concentric hypertrophy (71% male) and eccentric hypertrophy (76% male) dominated in men. Men also had more evidence of LV decompensation (pleural effusions), lower left ventricular ejection fraction (67 ± 16% vs. 74 ± 13%; p < 0.001), and higher levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (p = 0.04) and high-sensitivity troponin T (p = 0.01). Myocardial fibrosis was higher in men, with higher focal fibrosis (late gadolinium enhancement 16.5 ± 11.2 g vs. 10.5 ± 8.9 g; p < 0.001) and extracellular expansion (matrix volume 28.5 ± 8.8 ml/m2 vs. 21.4 ± 6.3 ml/m2; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: CMR revealed sex differences in associations between AS and myocardial remodeling not evident from echocardiography. Given equal valve severity, the myocardial response to AS seems more maladaptive in men than previously reported. (Regression of Myocardial Fibrosis After Aortic Valve Replacement [RELIEF-AS]; NCT02174471.)

Bacterial susceptibility and resistance to modelin-5

Modelin-5 (M5-NH2) killed Pseudomonas aeruginosa with a minimum lethal concentration (MLC) of 5.86 μM and strongly bound its cytoplasmic membrane (CM) with a Kd of 23.5 μM. The peptide adopted high levels of amphiphilic α-helical structure (75.0%) and penetrated the CM hydrophobic core (8.0 mN m−1). This insertion destabilised CM structure via increased lipid packing and decreased fluidity (ΔGmix 0) and promoted only low levels of lysis (24.3%). The insertion and lysis of the S. aureus CM by M5-NH2 showed a strong negative correlation with its lysyl phosphatidylglycerol (Lys-PG) content (R2 > 0.98). In combination, these data suggested that Lys-PG mediated mechanisms inhibited the membranolytic action of M5-NH2 against S. aureus, thereby rendering the organism resistant to the peptide. These results are discussed in relation to structure/function relationships of M5-NH2 and CM lipids that underpin bacterial susceptibility and resistance to the peptide

Sex dimorphism in the myocardial response to aortic stenosis

Objectives: The goal of this study was to explore sex differences in myocardial remodeling in aortic stenosis (AS) by using echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), and biomarkers. Background: AS is a disease of both valve and left ventricle (LV). Sex differences in LV remodeling are reported in AS and may play a role in disease phenotyping. Methods: This study was a prospective assessment of patients awaiting surgical valve replacement for severe AS using echocardiography, the 6-min walking test, biomarkers (high-sensitivity troponin T and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide), and CMR with late gadolinium enhancement and extracellular volume fraction, which dichotomizes the myocardium into matrix and cell volumes. LV remodeling was categorized into normal geometry, concentric remodeling, concentric hypertrophy, and eccentric hypertrophy

The induction of behavioural sensitization is associated with cocaine-induced structural plasticity in the core (but not shell) of the nucleus accumbens

Repeated exposure to cocaine increases the density of dendritic spines on medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens (Acb) and pyramidal cells in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). To determine if this is associated with the development of psychomotor sensitization, rats were given daily i.p. injections of 15 mg/kg of cocaine (or saline) for 8 days, either in their home cage (which failed to induce significant psychomotor sensitization) or in a distinct and relatively novel test cage (which induced robust psychomotor sensitization). Their brains were obtained 2 weeks after the last injection and processed for Golgi–Cox staining. In the Acb core (AcbC) cocaine treatment increased spine density only in the group that developed psychomotor sensitization (i.e. in the Novel but not Home group), and there was a significant positive correlation between the degree of psychomotor sensitization and spine density. In the Acb shell (AcbS) cocaine increased spine density to the same extent in both groups; i.e. independent of psychomotor sensitization. In the mPFC cocaine increased spine density in both groups, but to a significantly greater extent in the Novel group. Furthermore, when rats were treated at Home with a higher dose of cocaine (30 mg/kg), cocaine now induced psychomotor sensitization in this context, and also increased spine density in the AcbC. Thus, the context in which cocaine is experienced influences its ability to reorganize patterns of synaptic connectivity in the Acb and mPFC, and the induction of psychomotor sensitization is associated with structural plasticity in the AcbC and mPFC, but not the AcbS.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73532/1/j.1460-9568.2004.03612.x.pd