Indigenous lac culture and local livelihood: a case study of Karbi community of Assam, North-Eastern India

The indigenous lac culture of Karbi community inhabiting West Karbi Anglong district of Assam is highlighted in this paper. A total of 114 knowledge holders were identified through chain referrals method from three representative villages of Ameri Block for the study. Karbis reared lac insects twice in a year on naturally growing host plants either in the forest areas or in homegardens. A total of eight unique host plants except Ziziphus mauritiana and Ficus religiosa were observed to be used by the community for rearing lac insect. They preferred bigger host plants such as, Ficus benghalensis, F. religiosa and Albizia lucidior due to higher lac yield and lesser labour requirement. An individual F. religiosa and F. benghalensis tree could produce about 120-200 kg of sticklac in a season. The average annual household production of sticklac ranged from 679 to 776 kg in the studied villages and contributed to about 25-30% of annual household income. Karbis traditionally use lac as natural dye, binding agent, polishing earthen pots and also as medicine for chest and joint pains. Factors like uncertain production, high fluctuation in market prices and unorganized nature of the venture have been identified as the major constraints for the sustainability and up-scaling the practice

RNase P Branches Out from RNP to Protein: Organelle-Triggered Diversification?

RNase P is the enzyme that removes 5′ leader sequences from precursor tRNAs. Remarkably, in most organisms, RNase P is a ribonucleoprotein particle where the RNA component is responsible for catalysis. In this issue of Genes \u26 Development, Gutmann and colleagues (pp. 1022–1027) report the first organism,Arabidopsis thaliana, to employ protein-only RNase P in both its nucleus and organelles. An intriguing possibility is that replacement of RNase P ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) by proteins may have been triggered by the acquisition of organelles

Reference Ranges for Serum Uric Acid among Healthy Assamese People

This study was designed to establish reference ranges for serum uric acid among healthy adult Assamese population. Samples from 1470 aged 35–86 years were used to establish age and sex related reference range by the centile method (central 95 percentile) for serum uric acid level. There were 51% (n=754) males and 49% (n=716) females; 75.9% (n=1115) of them were from urban area and the rest 24.1% (n=355) were from the rural area. Majority of the population were nonvegetarian (98.6%, n=1450) and only 1.4% (n=20) were vegetarian. The mean age, weight, height, and uric acid of the studied group were 53.6±11.3 years, 62.6±10.5 kg, 160±9.4 cm, and 5.5±1.4 mg/dL, respectively. There is a statistically significant difference in the mean value of the abovementioned parameters between male and female. The observed reference range of uric acid in the population is 2.6–8.2 mg/dL which is wider than the current reference range used in the laboratory. Except gender (P<0.0001), we did not find any significant relation of uric acid with other selected factors

Rhabdomyolysis with acute kidney injury after single episode of generalized seizure in a known case of epilepsy: a case report

Rhabdomyolysis is defined as breakdown of skeletal muscle fibers with subsequent release of its cellular components into the circulation. It is associated with variety of causes and status epilepticus is one of it. The excessive muscular activity associated with seizure is possible explanation for it. It is clinically evident by the new onset severe generalized bodyache, weakness and myalgia associated with dark coloured urine. Acute kidney injury is one of the most serious complications associted with rhabdomyolysis. Single episode of generalized seizure is not a frequent cause for rhabdomyolysis. Acute kidney injury due to rhabdomyolysis, following a single episode of seizure is a rare entity. Here we report a case of rhabdomyolysis with acute kidney injury following a single episode of generalized seizure. High index of suspicion is required to timely diagnose and treat such patients. Timely intervention with hemodialysis along with other supportive care can completely revert this potentially serious complication to normal

Behaviour of ɑ-carbethoxy radical generated from the ester of N-hydroxy-2-thiopyridone

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Barriers to childhood cataract services across India. A mixed methods study using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) of behaviour change

Purpose : Early identification and presentation for childhood cataract surgery remains a major challenge in developing countries. The main aim of this study was to identify potential barriers to childhood cataract services from the perspective of parents’ and carers’, as a critical step towards achieving the timely uptake of cataract services. Methods : We used a mixed methods explanatory sequential study and interviewed 572 parents/carers attending tertiary hospitals in 8 states across India for their child's cataract surgery. We collected information on barriers to accessing services using a 12-item questionnaire and for each reported barrier, responses recorded on a 5 point scale ranging from “low to high importance”. Based on the quantitative data, in-depth interview questions were prepared and 35 interviews were conducted with randomly selected parents/ carers. Majority of these interviews were conducted at the hospital and /at home for those who did not undergo the surgery. Quantitative questionnaires were completed by the trained interviewer and responses were recorded in a pre-designed format. In-depth interviews were audio taped and transcribed for analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS 22 while qualitative data were organised with NVivo 11 and a thematic analysis was conducted utilising TDF, an integrative framework of theories. Results : From the 831 responses the 5 most important barriers were: economic (40%; n=222); child too young for surgery (17%; n=97); the problem was not felt as severe (16%; n=90); distance (14.5%; n=83) and no one to accompany to the hospital (9.5%; n=54). In addition, being advised by a local ophthalmologist to delay the surgery was also reported (n=16). Domains identified by the TDF included “Knowledge”, “Beliefs about consequences”, “Intentions”, “Goals”, “Decision processes”, “Environmental context and resources”, “Social influences and emotion”. This comprehensive TDF approach enabled us to understand the parents perceived barriers to access services for the children. Conclusions : Barriers to accessing childhood cataract services include both practical concerns relating to the family’s socio economic status as well as obstacles from the providers. Mapping out the barriers is necessary to design appropriate intervention for achieving positive behaviour change that can have potential social and economic impact

Mills hemiparetic or hemiplegic variant of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Mills hemiplegic variant of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a gradually progressive, spastic ascending or descending hemiparesis or hemiplegia without any sensory involvement. Authors presented a 47 years old female with history of gradually progressive left sided wasting of muscles including the tongue, left hemiparesis along with dysarthria and fasciculation’s of tongue and left sided muscles with left sided cortico-spinal tract signs of 2 years duration. There were no sensory as well as bowel bladder involvement. Her cognition was intact. Relevant blood and CSF examinations were within normal limit. MRI Brain and whole spine were unremarkable. Nerve conduction study was essentially normal. Electromyography(EMG) showed chronic denervation potentials which is in accordance to Revised El Escorial criteria, 2015 for the diagnosis of this extremely uncommon entity- Mills hemiplegic variant of ALS. The major challenge in diagnosis of this disease entity is to exclude other diseases/disorders that may mimic its symptomatology

Delay in presentation to hospital for childhood cataract surgery in India

Purpose Cataract is one of the major causes of avoidable visual disability in children and the aim of this study was to investigate the age at which children with cataract present for surgery at tertiary hospitals across India. Methods: A prospective multicenter study collected data from 9 eye hospitals in 8 states in India. All children admitted for cataract surgery between Nov 2015 and March 2016 were considered eligible. Parents were interviewed at the hospital by trained personnel and socio demographic information, age at diagnosis and at surgery and the relevant clinical data were obtained from the medical records. Mean age, age range at surgery were used and performed logistic regression analyses. Results Parents of 751 consecutive cases were interviewed, of which 469(63%) were boys and 548(73%) were from rural areas. Cataract was bilateral in 493 (66%) and unilateral in 258 (34%); of the unilateral cases, 179 (69%) were due to trauma. The mean age at surgery for ‘congenital’ and ‘developmental’ cataract was 48.2±50.9 and 99.7±46.42 months respectively and the mean age was lower in the southern region compared to other regions. Children with 2 or more siblings at home were five times more likely to undergo surgery within 12 months (OR, 4.69; 95% CI: 2.04 – 10.79; p = <0.001). Conclusions Late surgery for childhood cataract remains a major challenge and the factors determining this issue in India are pertinent also to several other countries and need to be addressed for every child with cataract to achieve full visual potential