Pedagogical Strategies In Multicultural Counseling: Developing coherent assignments to promote competency

This article describes a set of assignments developed by the lead author that form the foundation of an introductory graduate course in multicultural counseling. This set of assignments draws on the vast research available on pedagogical approaches to teaching multicultural counseling and is explicitly linked to the knowledge-based multicultural counseling competencies (Arredondo et al., 1996). The overall philosophy, individual assignment objectives, student responses, and class context are described

Menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls in a resettlement colony of Delhi: a cross-sectional study

Background: Menarche is an important milestone in the life of a girl which signifies the onset of fertility in a woman. To understand the health consequences and importance of menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls, it is important to study the current practices about the same so that future interventions can be planned accordingly.Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional study design. A total of 85 adolescent girls (10-19 years old) were interviewed by the investigator over a period of 3 months (Jan-Mar 2015). Data were analyzed using the software SPSS version 17.Results: Out of 85 adolescent girls studied, the majority was between 15 to 19 years. In our study 71(83.5%) out of 85 adolescent girls had already started their menstruation. The mean (±SD) age of menarche in the study subjects was 11.4±5.3 years. Around 33 out of 71 (46.4%) girls practiced different restrictions during menstruation. Out of 71 (85.9%) girls used sanitary pads during menstruation. In cases of reused cloth, the place of its drying was observed, responses stated were; outside the house in sunlight in 1 (5.8%) girl, 14 (82.2%) dried them inside the house, and 2 (11.7%) girls dried them outside in a dark place.Conclusions: It is imperative to strengthen the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) programs of the country and have a greater outreach. Multiple strategies need to be used to address this such as education on reproductive health and menstruation provided in schools, media campaign’s and improving water and sanitation for improving school retention of adolescent girls and their overall health

EVALUASI KEANDALAN JARINGAN TEGANGAN MENENGAH 20 KV PENYULANG IMBON DI PT.PLN (PERSERO) ULP KOTA

Salah satu aspek yang sangat penting dalam pendistribusian energi listrik adalah keandalan sistem. Untuk mengetahui keandalan suatu penyulang maka ditetapkan indeks keandalan yaitu besaran untuk membandingkan penampilan suatu sistem distribusi. Indeks-indeks keandalan yang sering dipakai dalam suatu distribusi adalah SAIFI, SAIDI, CAIDI, ASAI dan ASUI. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah fokus untuk mencari nilai Waktu Rata-Rata Menuju Kegagalan (MTTF), Waktu Rata-Rata Menuju Perbaikan (MTTR), Waktu Antara Kegagalan Sistem (MTBF), dan memperoleh informasi tingat keandalan di jaringan tegangan menengah. Objek lokasi penelitian ini adalah Jaringan Tegangan Menengah Penyulang Imbon di PT.PLN (persero) ULP Kota. Perhitungan pada penyulang Imbon ini dilakukan selama 2 tahun yaitu pada tahun 2020 dan 2021. Hasil evaluasi keandalan terhadap jaringan tegangan menenngah penyulang Imbon di PT.PLN (persero) ULP Kota berdasarkan nilai indek keandalan SAIFI, SAIDI, CAIDI, ASAI dan ASUI. Pada tahun 2020 indek keandalan SAIFI = 1,75 kali/tahun, SAIDI = 0,703 jam/tahun, CAIDI = 0,402 jam/pelanggan, ASAI = 99,998 %, ASUI = 0,008 %. Sedangkan untuk tahun 2021 nilai indeks keandalan SAIFI = 1,83 kali/tahun, SAIDI = 0,187 jam/tahun, CAIDI = 0,102 jam/pelanggan, ASAI = 99,992 %, ASUI = 0,008 %. Berdasarkan hasil perhitugan yang didapat dinyatakan bahwa nilai SAIFI, SAIDI, CAIDI untuk tahun 2020 dan 2021 dibawah target SPLN 68-2 : 1998 dan SPLN IEEE 1366-1998

Qualitative lens to assessing the ground level implementation of conditional cash transfer scheme in India

Background: Conditional cash transfer scheme, known as Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY) is an innovative concept on the lines of behavioral economics. The study aimed to investigate factors associated with effective implementation of scheme at the community in Delhi, India.Methods: We did qualitative study to investigate the implementation factors related to JSY by conducting in depth interviews with 50 mothers in a span of three months. All the interviews were conducted in local language (Hindi) by the principle investigator. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which were later transcribed and recorded in Microsoft-Excel sheet. The themes were developed inductively, meaning that they were anticipated from the design of interview, during literature review and deductively meaning that they were not anticipated during design of the interview.Results: The mean (±SD) age of the women was 25(±3.5) years. More than three-forth of the mothers were not aware of the JSY scheme. Most of the women claimed limited support from accredited social health activist at the time of delivery. Provision of respectful maternity care was poor with women reporting episodes of verbal abuses, and arrogant attitude of the staff. Issues in utilization of the scheme encountered in study were untimely disbursement of money, problems in the process of BPL cards formation, lack of awareness on the scheme, banking illiteracy etc.Conclusions: Amidst the wider geographic reach and accessibility of the scheme by the poor, there exists some barriers to its effective implementation and practical challenges, which need immediate addressal by program managers

PHYTOCHEMICALS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CLERODENDRUM PANICULATUM (L.) LEAF AND FLOWER EXTRACTS

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the phytochemicals present in the flower and leaf extracts of Clerodendrum paniculatum L., collected from Nelji village of Kodagu district . Methods: The healthy leaves and flowers of C. paniculatum were collected and the plant extracts were prepared using ethanol, hexane and distilled water separately. Phytochemical analysis was conducted using standard procedurs for the flower and leaf extracts of C. paniculatum. The antioxidant activity in leaf and flower extracts was determined by three assays, estimation of total phenolic content, reducing power assay and radical scavenging activity (DPPH) using standard procedures. Results: Phytochemical screening conducted for the flower and leaf extracts of C. paniculatum showed the presence of three phytochemicals, namely saponins, alkaloids and terpenoids. Terpenoids were commonly present in all the extracts of flower and leaf that is in both polar (aqueous and ethanol) solvent and in non-polar (hexane) solvents. The extracts tested for the antioxidant activity showed the presence of total phenolics in ethanol, aqueous and hexane extracts. The aqueous extract showed high redox potential followed by ethanol and hexane extracts. The aqueous leaf extract showed high radical scavenging activity when compared to the flower extracts of C. paniculatum. Conclusion:  The present study showes C. paniculatum to be an important medicinal plant, since the flower and leaves showed good antioxidant activity. Thus it may used in the treatment of diseases and may also used in the preparation of natural or herbal drugs due to the presence of antioxidants

Multiple insecticide resistance mechanisms involving metabolic changes and insensitive target sites selected in anopheline vectors of malaria in Sri Lanka

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current status of insecticide resistance and the underlying resistance mechanisms were studied in the major vector of malaria, <it>Anopheles culicifacies</it>, and the secondary vector, <it>Anopheles subpictus </it>in five districts (Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Moneragala, Puttalam and Trincomalee) of Sri Lanka. Eight other anophelines, <it>Anopheles annularis, Anopheles barbirostris, Anopheles jamesii, Anopheles nigerrimus, Anopheles peditaeniatus, Anopheles tessellatus, Anopheles vagus </it>and <it>Anopheles varuna </it>from Anuradhapura district were also tested.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Adult females were exposed to the WHO discriminating dosages of DDT, malathion, fenitrothion, propoxur, λ-cyhalothrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, permethrin and etofenprox. The presence of metabolic resistance by esterase, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and monooxygenase-based mechanisms, and the sensitivity of the acetylcholinesterase target site were assessed using synergists, and biochemical, and metabolic techniques.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All the anopheline species had high DDT resistance. All <it>An. culicifacies </it>and <it>An. subpictus </it>populations were resistant to malathion, except <it>An. culicifacies </it>from Kurunegala, where there was no malathion carboxylesterase activity. Kurunegala and Puttalam populations of <it>An. culicifacies </it>were susceptible to fenitrothion. All the <it>An. culicifacies </it>populations were susceptible to carbamates. Both species were susceptible to the discriminating dosages of cypermethrin and cyfluthrin, but had different levels of resistance to other pyrethroids. Of the 8 other anophelines, only <it>An. nigerrimus </it>and <it>An. peditaeniatus </it>were resistant to all the insecticides tested, probably due to their high exposure to the insecticides used in agriculture. <it>An. vagus </it>showed some resistance to permethrin.</p> <p>Esterases, GSTs and monooxygenases were elevated in both <it>An. culicifacies </it>and <it>An. subpictus</it>. AChE was most sensitive to insecticides in Kurunegala and Trincomalee <it>An. culicifacies </it>populations and highly insensitive in the Trincomalee <it>An. subpictus </it>population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The complexity of the resistance segregating in these field populations underlines the need for new molecular tools to identify the genomic diversity, differential upregulation and different binding specificities of resistance conferring genes, and the presence of different subspecies with different vectorial capacities.</p

Design, Docking, Synthesis of Certain Flavonoids and Evaluation of their Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Activity

INTRODUCTION:Drug discovery and development is a research process that identifies a new chemical entity and brings out its capabilities by designing and screening proper biochemical targets. It is an innovative science in which both knowledge and technologies are incorporated to convert a chemical moiety into useful therapeutic drugs. The discovery and development process of novel drugs generally takes a long time and it is recognized to be, risky and costly. It takes approximately 14 years to fulfil the typical drug discovery process and development cycle from concept to market and the cost ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 billion USD. Rapid developments in combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening technologies have provided an environment to expedite the drug discovery process by enabling huge libraries of compounds to be screened and synthesized in short time. Although the investment in new drug development has grown significantly in the past decades, the output is not directly proportional to the investment because of the low efficacy and high failure rate in drug discovery. Consequently, various approaches have been developed to shorten the research cycle and reduce the expense and risk of failure for drug discovery. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) is one of the most effective methods for reaching these goals.OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:High blood pressure or hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality because of its association with coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and renal disease. The extent of target organ involvement (i.e. heart, brain and kidneys) determines outcome. Worldwide, hypertension is estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths, about 12.8% of the total of all deaths and this also accounts for 57 million disability adjusted life years (DALYS) or 3.7% of total DALYS. The increasing prevalence of the condition is blamed on lifestyle and dietary factors such as physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco use and a diet high in sodium. Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE), the central component of the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) controls the blood pressure by regulating the volume of fluids in the body. It converts the hormone angiotensin 1 to the angiotensin ll. Therefore ACE indirectly increases blood pressure by causing blood vessels to constrict. The inhibition of ACE is considered as one of the most effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Hypertension. Enzyme inhibitors are used as potent therapeutic agents for the treatment of various diseases. More than 100 drugs used worldwide are enzyme inhibitors. ACE inhibitors such as captopril, enalapril, fosinopril and ramepril currently available in the market; exert antihypertensive effect by competitively binding to the active site of ACE. Flavonoids are fairly versatile compounds and are easy to synthesize. They are associated with a wide range of pharmacological properties including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory activities. In addition, literature review also revealed that flavonoids possess ACE inhibitory activity.SUMMARY:The present study is focussed on the designing and synthesis of some novel flavonoid derivatives and evaluation of their possible Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity. For this the following approaches has been adopted. Phase 1: Literature review Literature review provides a solid background to the back one’s investigation. It plays a critical role in analysing the existing literature. Literatures reported flavonoids as a good lead for ACE inhibition. Phase 2: Drug design approach It involves the following steps 1) Identification of drug target ACE was selected as the target enzyme for the antihypertensive activity. 2) Lead identification The lead molecule flavonoid was selected based on literature reviews. Various naturally occurring flavonoids were reported to have Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibiting activity. 3) Lead optimization Lead optimization is an operationally diverse stage in which the chemical structure of compounds is modified to improve the specificity and selectivity. Lead optimization was done by observing the computational drug likeness properties. All the 10 compounds possessed good drug likeness score and good oral bioavailability. Hence were eligible for further study.4) Molecular docking studies Molecular docking study was done by using Autodock4.2. The target enzyme ACE was downloaded from RCSB protein data bank (pdb ID: 1o86). The ligands were subjected to docking and most of the compounds showed binding energy to the enzyme higher than that of standard drug (Lisinopril) used. The ligands SB2, SB4, SB3, SB1, BF5, BF3 were showing best docked to1o86. Phase 3: Synthesis In this work, 10 new compounds were synthesized. Two schemes were developed for the synthesis of compounds. Resacetophenone was used as the starting material for both schemes. In the first scheme resacetophenone reacted with nitro substituted vanillin to form chalcone in presence of ethanol and sodium hydroxide. This formed chalcone was subjected to cyclisation in presence of iodine and DMSO. The product formed was nitro substituted flavonoid and was further reduced to convert the nitro group into amino group. Finally Schiff bases were prepared from this amino flavonoid by reaction with various substituted benzaldehydes. In the second scheme various substituted benzoyl chlorides were prepared from corresponding benzoic acids and treated with resacetophenone which was refluxed for 24 hours to obtain desired products (substituted benzoyl flavones). Phase 4: Physical characterisation Melting points and Rf value of all the compounds are found out. Phase 5: Spectral characterisation The structures of the synthesized compounds are established based on the UV, IR, 1HNMR and Mass spectral data.CONCLUSION: The basic aim of the present work is to identify the correct conformation of ligands in the active site of enzyme and also to predict their affinity towards the enzyme. Computational drug designing approach helps in minimizing the wearisome process of drug discovery and delivers a new drug candidate more rapidly. The drug likeness proved the compounds to be orally bioactive Docking results established the possibility of flavonoid moiety to possess Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity. The 10 derivatives were synthesized based on the schemes which are previously fixed and it led to good yields. Physical characteristics of the compounds were confirmed by melting point and Rf value. Structure of the compounds were finally confirmed by UV, IR 1HNMR and Mass spectral studies. The synthesized compounds were subjected to the in vitro ACE inhibitory activity. Derivatives of the flavonoids exhibited moderate activity against ACE. These leads to the inference that all the 10 newly synthesized compounds possess angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity. Novel structure based drug designing methods helped to screen various compounds for a specific activity within a short period of time. Further in vivo studies with these tested synthetic flavonoids have to be carried out to corroborate the result of in vitro activity. The present work could be considered as a propitious step for finding the prominence of flavonoid moiety in the treatment of hypertension by inhibiting the key enzyme ACE