The Role of Status in Support for Punitive Policies

There exists strong evidence for the proposition that individual psychological dispositions, social attitudes and environmental conditions predict support for punitive \\textit{criminal} punishments. Less work has been done to examine which factors predict support for punitive punishments outside of the criminal context. I argue that when an individual's high or low within-group status is made salient, they will express greater support for punitive policies punishing a disfavored out-group. A test of this theory is conducted and findings are presented.Master of Art

Effectiveness of a Faith-placed Cardiovascular Health Promotion Intervention for Rural Adults

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the US. Further, rural US adults experience disproportionately high CVD prevalence and mortality compared to non-rural. Cardiovascular risk-reduction interventions for rural adults have shown short-term effectiveness, but long-term maintenance of outcomes remains a challenge. Faith organizations offer promise as collaborative partners for translating evidence-based interventions to reduce CVD. Methods: We adapted and implemented a collaborative, faith-placed, CVD risk-reduction intervention in rural Illinois. We used a quasi-experimental, pre-post design to compare changes in dietary and physical activity among participants. Intervention components included Heart Smart for Women (HSFW), an evidence-based program implemented weekly for 12 weeks followed by Heart Smart Maintenance (HSM), implemented monthly for two years. Participants engaged in HSFW only, HSM only, or both. We used regression and generalized estimating equations models to examine changes in outcomes after one year. Results: Among participants who completed both baseline and one-year surveys (n = 131), HSFW+HSM participants had significantly higher vegetable consumption (p = .007) and combined fruit/vegetable consumption (p = .01) compared to the HSM-only group at one year. We found no differences in physical activity. Conclusion: Improving and maintaining CVD-risk behaviors is a persistent challenge in rural populations. Advancing research to improve our understanding of effective translation of CVD risk-reduction interventions in rural populations is critical

Investigation of Structural Parameter Variation on Extended Gate TFET for Bio-Sensor Applications

Traditional Gate engineered Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) technology faced serious challenges in terms of greater sensitivity for target biomolecules and to be utilized as the state-of-the-art Nano-recognition tool. Research on a tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) started with the aim to achieve fast detection, low power consumption, and its potential for on-chip integration capability. Dielectric Modulated TFET (DMTFET) has established itself to be a primary candidate for sensing both charged and charge-neutral species with volumetric sensitivity. As extended gate DMTFET happens to be inferior to its short gate counterpart, we have devised ways to achieve superior performance only by making variations over structural electrostatics. With the incorporation of most possible ways of modulation, we present two orders of magnitude on-current increment and a considerable percentage of sensitivity improvement over the conventional one. Future scopes having noteworthy diversifications have also been analyzed with proper justification

Low-Cost National Media-Based Surveillance System for Public Health Events, Bangladesh.

We assessed a media-based public health surveillance system in Bangladesh during 2010-2011. The system is a highly effective, low-cost, locally appropriate, and sustainable outbreak detection tool that could be used in other low-income, resource-poor settings to meet the capacity for surveillance outlined in the International Health Regulations 2005

Lethal Factor Toxemia and Anti-Protective Antigen Antibody Activity in Naturally Acquired Cutaneous Anthrax

Cutaneous anthrax outbreaks occurred in Bangladesh from August to October 2009. As part of the epidemiological response and to confirm anthrax diagnoses, serum samples were collected from suspected case patients with observed cutaneous lesions. Anthrax lethal factor (LF), anti-protective antigen (anti-PA) immunoglobulin G (IgG), and anthrax lethal toxin neutralization activity (TNA) levels were determined in acute and convalescent serum of 26 case patients with suspected cutaneous anthrax from the first and largest of these outbreaks. LF (0.005–1.264 ng/mL) was detected in acute serum from 18 of 26 individuals. Anti-PA IgG and TNA were detected in sera from the same 18 individuals and ranged from 10.0 to 679.5 μg/mL and 27 to 593 units, respectively. Seroconversion to serum anti-PA and TNA was found only in case patients with measurable toxemia. This is the first report of quantitative analysis of serum LF in cutaneous anthrax and the first to associate acute stage toxemia with subsequent antitoxin antibody responses

Antiretroviral Medication Taking Behavior among HIV-Infected Patients in the US and India

Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a key factor to improve overall health, quality of life and survival among HIV infected patients. Optimum adherence and persistence to ART during the early months after initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial to ensure long-term immuno-virological success. Methods: We conducted retrospective cohort studies using IQVIA LRx™ de-identified patient-level longitudinal prescription database (2011-2016) to estimate the incidence and factors associated with adherence to ART (N=27,216) and to compare rate of discontinuation of ART between patients prescribed different initial ART regimens (N=52,494) among treatment naïve patients in the US. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using electronic databases to estimate pooled prevalence of ART adherence among adult HIV-infected patients in India (29 studies, N=11,298). Results: Overall, 42.9% were optimally adherent to ART. In multivariable analysis, adherence was significantly lower among patients prescribed protease inhibitor (PI) based regimens, women, blacks, Hispanics and patients in low income communities. In a subset analysis, there were stronger association between pill burden and adherence among patients on integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) based regimens, in comparison to those on non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) based regimens. There was a higher expected hazard of ART discontinuation among patients prescribed NNRTI-based single-tablet regimen (STR) compared to patients in INSTI-based STR. The overall pooled proportion of patients’ adherent to ART in India was 78% (95% CI, 73-82%, I2, 96.85%, p<0.01). Studies with percent of female participants below median had a significantly lower pooled prevalence of ART adherence than the studies with percent female participants above the median. Conclusion: The analyses using the nationally representative prescription fills database showed that while the incidence of adherence is low among treatment naïve HIV-infected adults in the US, adherence and persistence to ART are affected by the characteristics of the initial regimen. Future research should focus on using prescription fill databases in real time to identify patients at risk of being nonadherent or discontinuing ART and to study interventions targeting those patients to improve adherence and minimize risk of discontinuation of ART. Research should be conducted in India to identify and address the factors that drive the gender disparities on ART adherence

Mortality pattern in non human primates in Assam, India

Aim: The study was conducted to know the mortality pattern in non human primates in Assam. Materials and Methods: A total of 27 deaths were recorded in six different species of non human primates of Assam State Zoo and Department of Forest and Environment, Government of Assam during the period from August, 2009 to December, 2009. The cause of death was determined on the basis of gross and histopathological examinations conducted at Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam. Results: The causes of death attributed to specific diseases in non human primates were tuberculosis (22.22%), pneumonia (18.57%), enteritis (11.11%), encephalitis (11.11%), nephritis (11.11%), septicaemia (03.7%), malignant neoplasm (03.7%), zygomycotic gastritis (03.7%), traumatic injury (03.7%), poisoning (03.7%), stress (03.7%) and senility (03.7%). Conclusion: The study viewed that it is important to know the causes of death of non human primates for preservation and conservation of these endangered wild species. [Vet World 2013; 6(1.000): 39-41

Comparison Among the Qualities of Patties Prepared from Chicken Broiler, Spent Hen and Duck Meats

A study was being conducted to compare and assess the quality of chicken and duck patties prepared from broiler, spent hen and duck. The meat emulsions were analyzed for pH, moisture, protein, fat, total plate count (TPC), total psychrophilic count (TPSC) and emulsion stability and the cooked patties were analyzed for pH, moisture, protein, fat, cooking yield, total plate count (TPC), total psychrophilic count (TPSC), thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value and sensory qualities such as, appearance, flavour, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptability. The patties prepared from broiler meat showed significantly highest moisture content, emulsion stability and cooking yield and on the other hand, the fat content was significantly highest in duck patties. The TPC, TPSC, TBA values and sensory qualities of all the patties were within the acceptable level up to 14thday of refrigerated storage. There were no major drawbacks of the patties prepared from spent hen and duck in comparison to those of broilers. Therefore, as the values of the major parameters studied are within the range of standard values, the spent hen and duck meat can also be encouraged for preparing nutritionally sound and acceptable patties