A STUDY ON ASHA –A CHANGE AGENT OF THE SOCIETY

Background: National Rural Health Mission started in the state of Uttarakhand with the objective to address the health needs of rural population, especially the vulnerable section of the society. Under this scheme, ASHA has been identified as one of the key strategy for wider coverage of services, considering her the first port of call for any health related demands, especially women and children. Objective: To find out the biosocial profile of ASHA and services provided by them. Material & Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in Imlikhera Block of Haridwar district in 2008 participated by all (150) ASHA. Data was collected by trained investigators of Rural Development Institute which is also a State ASHA resource Centre. Results: Maximum (42%) ASHA were in 26-30 Years of age group. However, 23% ASHA were in less than 25 years of age which is below than the stipulated selection criteria. About 6.3% ASHAs were not fulfilling the educational criteria of selection (education upto 8th class). Study reported that majority of ASHA consider care of pregnant women, vaccination and family planning as their prime services. 42% ASHA reported that they think this work can pave their ways for future employment. Conclusion: Supervisory body should see that selection of ASHA should be as per stipulated criteria and they should be sensitized about their major role of motivator & activist, for creating awareness and demand generation in the society

Seaweeds A Potential Source for Functional Foods

Seaweeds are microalgae growing in coastal regions and resistant to salinity. Seaweeds are rich resources of natural nutrients some of which cannot be obtained from terrestrial plants. Bioactive compounds of seaweeds such as sulphated polysaccharides, peptides, minerals, phlorotannins, carotenoids and sulfolipids have proven health benefits against various diseases. Traditionally, seaweeds are used as folk medicine for treating diseases like goiter, wounds, burns, rashes, inflammation, diabetes and also gaining attention of pharmaceutical industries due to their anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-angiogenesis, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and antioxidant properties. Seaweeds polysaccharides have wide applications in foods as well as in pharmaceutical industry due to their bio-chemical properties such as stabilizer, emulsifier and gelling property. In food industry, seaweed polysaccharides are used as a functional ingredient in many products such as frozen foods, ice-cream, jam, jelly, beverages etc. Several commercial food preparations from seaweeds are also available in the market such as sea salt, nori snack wasabi, pink rock salt, seaweed thins toasted coconuts, crunchy seaweed chips, raw unroasted seaweed under different brand names. The present review is a compilation of nutritional, pharmacological and food properties of seaweeds along with its potential towards development of functional foods

Meanders Geometry of Alaknanda River in Srinagar Valley (Garhwal Himalaya)

The Alaknanda River is a most significant parental river of Ganga and forms an 11.5km long and 2.5 km wide valley locally known as the Srinagar Valley. The main purpose of the present study is to examine the planimetric geometry and hydraulic properties such as depth, width gradient, shape, size, sinuosity index etc in meanders as constructed with straight reach and to examine correlation between different parameters. The entire study has been carried out by remote sensing and GIS techniques on Arc GIS 9.3 software. For the analysis of meander geometry, the Alaknanda River in Srinagar valley is divided into 8 segments of three reaches from Supana to Kirtinagar. Each segment consists of a channel meander. Plan metric geometry and hydraulic properties of each meander bend have been examined and analyzed. Sinuosity index of the Alaknanda River is 1.34 in the study area which indicates that the river is sinuous to meander. The average entrenchment ratio of the channel is 3.27 which shows slightly entrenchment channel. The average wave length of the River is 1.4km. The tectonic control clearly reflects on the pattern, shape and size of the meanders. All the meanders are controlled by transverse fault pattern along the NAT. A strong correlation ship exists between amplitude and sinuosity index (R- 0.94) and width and length ratio (R- 0.96). Finally, it may be concluded that meander amplitude has played a major role in increasing the sinuosity ratio in selected segments in Alaknanda river course

Design and Development of Modular Customised Ration Storage System Silo for Service Specific Applications during Peak Winters at High Altitude Area

Conceptualisation of design and development of modular and customised ration storage system for Army rations sustainable up to -40°C was carried out. The Indian Armed Forces operate under various climatic conditions, which are inhospitable for cooking, storing fresh/perishable food products and carrying rations for their survival during an emergency. Hence, there was an ever-existent demand for a customised, user-friendly ration storage system. Considering a number of user-friendly features, a system has been designed comprising modular unit structures with insulated wall panels containing Polyurethane foam (PUF) sandwiched between metallic and composite material claddings. An insulated structure is required to maintain the temperature at high altitudes during extreme low-temperature conditions. The temperature and humidity are regulated and maintained using solar panels and humidly modulators. The modular structure with individual temperature and humidity control is suitable for the safe storage and preservation of fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, and milk and animal products. In case of perishable commodities of Defense supplies inclusive of leafy and tender vegetables, juicy fresh fruits, egg, chocolates, meat carcasses stored in silo are safe as its insulated structure ensures no freezing even upto -25° Celsius hence protects them from quality damage due to subzero temperature exposure and abuse. Therefore, the normal convention of the expected shelf life for each such commodity was extended approximately double the normal shelf life expected. An extensive design process involving CAD modelling followed by mechanical load simulation and analysis resulted in a robust and capable system. Each compartmentalised segment caters for an average one-ton material depending on the nature of the material. The system is suitable to store 3 tons of ration at a time to address the requirement of 100 individuals for 60 days in monsoon cut off and peak winter cut-off posts. Total energy consumption under fully load condition is approx. 2KW to maintain peak temperature gradient of 45-50°C.The outer surface of the structure can be camouflaged. The well-insulated structure ensures zero leakage and is sturdy to withstand a wind velocity of 60 km per hour and a standing snow load of 2 meters above it

Optimisation and Evaluation of Ricebean (Vigna Umbellata) Extrusion Process for Downstream Food Processability

Ricebean(Vigna umbellata), a native bean of North-Eastern part of India has not been explored fully for development of convenience foods although it is loaded with various vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, phytochemicals and bioactive compounds. The effect of extrusion parameters namely moisture content, barrel temperature and screw speed on expansion ratio, extrudate density, and breaking strength was investigated by using response surface methodology. It was observed that moisture content of flour had significant (p<0.05) affect on expansion ratio, extrudate density, and breaking strength of extrudates. The optimal combination of process parameters which resulted in extrudates with maximum expansion ratio but minimum extrudate density and breaking strength were 15 per cent moisture content, 110°C barrel temperature and 350 rpm screw speed. The value of water absorption index, water solubility index, swelling power, oil absorption index, bulk density, true density and colour for optimally extruded ricebean flour (OEF) was found significantly different (p<0.05) whereas value of proximate parameters were insignificant (P>0.05) than the native flour. The OEF was used for different downstream processings such as papadability, friability, steamability, cakeability, gravyability and porridgability and compared with that of native flour for their process quality parameters. The cake prepared with OEF had significantly (p<0.05) less baking time (25 min) than the cake of native ricebean flour (35 min). However, consistency and over all acceptability (OAA) of porridge from OEF was found significantly (p<0.05) higher than porridge of native ricebean flour. Hierarchical cluster analysis on OAA showed that porridgability and cakeability were most influential downstream processe

Effect of Packaging Material on Moisture Migration and Textural Attributes of Bread During Storage

Bread as a commodity is included in the special inventory of Defence Forces, particularly as a morning or evening snack item. The present investigation pertains to the studies on the effect of various packaging materials, e.g. metalized polyester (MP-99.8 µm), low-density polyethylene with lower thickness (LDPE-1-78.33 µm), multi-layer flexible pouches (MLFP-106.2 µm), low-density polyethylene with higher thickness (LDPE-2-125.12 µm), and paper foil polyethylene (PFP-124.6 µm) on textural attributes of bread. Textural properties were significantly influenced by the change in moisture content which was clearly shifted from crumb to crust to the extent varying from -25.89% to +24.90% in LDPE-2; -29.11% to +29.77% in MP; -22.22% to +21.11%; in MLFP; -19.46% to +19.67% in PFP; -20.42% to +20.55% in LDPE-1 at the end of its expected shelf-life i.e. five days. Though overall bread moisture content was not much affected in PFP and MP, the marked difference was primarily observed in the case of bread packed in LDPE-2, LDPE-1, and MLFP. This difference may be attributed to the thickness and permeable properties of the packaging material used for the study. The hardness and resilience of samples depicted opposite trends, respectively, during their storage. The current study gives insight into physicochemical changes occurring in the bread system when  variety commonly practiced packaging materials is used and a perspective strategy for its extended life during varied field conditions.

Digitization of collecting mission data to enhance plant genetic resource management in maize (Zea mays) in India

The data gathered on germplasm collection of maize evidently showed is a preliminary attempt on digitization of collecting mission data of maize genetic resources to enhance its use in plant genetic resource management in maize in India through quality passport data, eco-geographic location, availability of germplasm site description, geographic coordinates for crop improvement programme. Identification of collection sites located in distribution maps would allow: pinpointing of directed collection plans in under represented and identified sites that are rich in landraces/ trait-specific diversity. Since these sites are highly vulnerable to genetic erosion due to spread of hybrids/ genetically modified crops (GM), such areas need to be given special attention in genetic resource management. Broadly all maize growing areas have been surveyed in the past and diversity augmented from different parts of the country. However, based on gaps identified in the genebank holdings of trait specific germplasm and unique material needs to be augmented. Grouping of local cultivars/ landraces of maize based on geographical distribution, morphology, field and molecular characterization is a major challenge that needs special address by the maize breeders and users

WALKING A MILE IN PATIENTS’ MOCCASINS: MEASURING EMPATHY AMONG INDIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS

Introduction: Empathy is the ability to understand others’ experiences and emotional states from their perspective. It is considered as a part and parcel of healthy doctor-patient relationship. The assessment of empathy among undergraduate medical students is an important step towards yielding a better fruitage from medical education in the form of empathetic doctors. Objectives of the study were to assess the empathy level and its determinants among undergraduate medical students. Methodology: This study was conducted among 351 undergraduate medical students studying at Dehradun by using the “Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version (JSPE-S)” and analyzed by SPSS-22. Results: The arithmetic mean (±SD) of empathy scores was 98.89±12.9. Compared with male students, empathy scores were significantly higher in female students (p<0.05 by Independent sample t test). One way ANOVA followed by Post Hoc test revealed a peculiar finding that empathy is more on initial clinical exposure but decreases as the clinical experience increases. The variation in empathy scores according to the future specialty plans was inconclusive. Conclusion: This study showed a slightly low mean empathy score as compared to similar studies. Gender and clinical experience were found to be associated with empathy. Further studies are recommended to explore other determinants of empathy

Exercise/physical activity and health outcomes: an overview of Cochrane systematic reviews.

BACKGROUND: Sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. It has been estimated that approximately 3.2 million deaths each year are attributable to insufficient levels of physical activity. We evaluated the available evidence from Cochrane systematic reviews (CSRs) on the effectiveness of exercise/physical activity for various health outcomes. METHODS: Overview and meta-analysis. The Cochrane Library was searched from 01.01.2000 to issue 1, 2019. No language restrictions were imposed. Only CSRs of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Both healthy individuals, those at risk of a disease, and medically compromised patients of any age and gender were eligible. We evaluated any type of exercise or physical activity interventions; against any types of controls; and measuring any type of health-related outcome measures. The AMSTAR-2 tool for assessing the methodological quality of the included studies was utilised. RESULTS: Hundred and fifty CSRs met the inclusion criteria. There were 54 different conditions. Majority of CSRs were of high methodological quality. Hundred and thirty CSRs employed meta-analytic techniques and 20 did not. Limitations for studies were the most common reasons for downgrading the quality of the evidence. Based on 10 CSRs and 187 RCTs with 27,671 participants, there was a 13% reduction in mortality rates risk ratio (RR) 0.87 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.78 to 0.96]; I2 = 26.6%, [prediction interval (PI) 0.70, 1.07], median effect size (MES) = 0.93 [interquartile range (IQR) 0.81, 1.00]. Data from 15 CSRs and 408 RCTs with 32,984 participants showed a small improvement in quality of life (QOL) standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.18 [95% CI 0.08, 0.28]; I2 = 74.3%; PI -0.18, 0.53], MES = 0.20 [IQR 0.07, 0.39]. Subgroup analyses by the type of condition showed that the magnitude of effect size was the largest among patients with mental health conditions. CONCLUSION: There is a plethora of CSRs evaluating the effectiveness of physical activity/exercise. The evidence suggests that physical activity/exercise reduces mortality rates and improves QOL with minimal or no safety concerns. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered in PROSPERO ( CRD42019120295 ) on 10th January 2019