Nexus between environmental, social and economic development in South Asia: evidence from econometric models

This study investigates the impact of various economic, social and environmental indicators on economic growth in South Asian countries. Using the data throughout 1990–2017, a panel data estimation method is adopted with sophisticated econometric approaches. The obtained results indicate a long-term positive effect of biological capacity, financial development, human development index, income inequality on economic growth while the effect of energy use is the opposite. The findings of the study suggest that governments and associated bodies must promote financial development, human development, and biocapacity to not only attain economic growth in the long-run and but dissuade ecological footprint, and income inequality at the same time while matching the energy consumption with the bio-capacity of each economy

Social Entrepreneurship as a Path for Social Change and Driver of Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Social entrepreneurship has been recognized as a tool to attain sustainable development. This paper highlights the role of social entrepreneurship in triggering social change and attaining sustainable development. The paper contributes significantly to the existing literature by conducting a systematic review of extant works. To this end, we analyzed and reviewed 173 research papers from the Web of Science database. The results are presented in the form of descriptive findings and thematic discussion. The paper concludes by setting up the agenda for future researchers in the field

Oral Autopsy, Facial Reconstruction and Virtopsy: an Update on Endeavors to Human Identification

The analysis of unidentified human remains and collected evidences in the forensics, necessitates the adoption of multidisciplinary approach. The involvement of forensic odontologist in the forensic examination is significant as examination of oral cavity requires an oriented and skilled approach. Oral autopsy, Facial reconstruction and Virtospy are added tools in forensic kit which if judiciously used could be helpful in human identification and criminal investigation. These techniques should be encouraged by enhancing the understanding of medical/ dental experts and law enforcement agencies. This review is an attempt to provide a glimpse of advancements in the forensic medical science

Outcome of four pretreatment regimes on hemodynamics during electroconvulsive therapy: A double-blind randomized controlled crossover trial

Context: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is associated with tachycardia and hypertension. Aims: The aim of this study was to compare two doses of dexmedetomidine, esmolol, and lignocaine with respect to hemodynamics, seizure duration, emergence agitation (EA), and recovery profile. Methodology: Thirty patients undergoing ECT were assigned to each of the following pretreatment regimes over the course of five ECT sessions in a randomized crossover design: Group D1 (dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg), Group D0.5 (dexmedetomidine0.5 μg/kg), Group E (esmolol 1 mg/kg), Group L (lignocaine 1 mg/kg), and Group C (saline as placebo) before induction. Heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), seizure duration, EA, and time to discharge were evaluated. Results: Groups D1, D0.5, and esmolol had significantly reduced response of HR, MAP compared to lignocaine and control groups at 1, 3, 5 min after ECT (P 0.05). Time to eye opening and time to discharge were comparable in all groups (P > 0.05) except Group D1 (P = 0.001). EA score was least in Group D1 (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg, 0.5 μg/kg, and esmolol produced significant amelioration of cardiovascular response to ECT without affecting seizure duration, results being best with dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg. However, the latter has the shortcoming of delayed recovery

Viral encephalitis: A mere evil doppelganger or a mini-me of glioblastoma

Background: Viral encephalitis and glioblastomas can have a very variable clinical and radiological presentation. Although they are both relatively rare, they are known to mimic each other. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analysed the radiology databank from 2010 to 2020 to find cases which were initially suspected to be viral encephalitis based on their imaging and clinical parameters but were later diagnosed with glioblastomas on final histopathology. The initial imaging at the time of presentation was reviewed by three radiologists having experience of 18, 15 and 6 years in neuroimaging, and the follow-up imaging data were also reviewed by the same set of radiologists, and the results were recorded. Age- and sex-matched controls of confirmed viral encephalitis were also extracted from the same database. Results: We found three such cases which were initially diagnosed with viral encephalitis but rapidly progressed to glioblastoma in the region of suspected encephalitis. The average age of these patients was 60 years and all of them were males. All these cases had a very short history and the cerebrospinal fluid examination of all of these patients had tested negative for herpes simplex virus at the time of initial presentation. Conclusions: The development of glioma exactly at the site of initial encephalitic abnormality suggests an association between these two entities, which needs further prospective studies for validation and correlation with post-mortem histopathology. Furthermore, the fact that these glioma patients showed initial clinical improvement with antiviral drugs suggests a strong point towards such an association

Gamma-Tocotrienol Protects the Intestine from Radiation Potentially by Accelerating Mesenchymal Immune Cell Recovery

Natural antioxidant gamma-tocotrienol (GT3), a vitamin E family member, provides intestinal radiation protection. We seek to understand whether this protection is mediated via mucosal epithelial stem cells or sub-mucosal mesenchymal immune cells. Vehicle- or GT3-treated male CD2F1 mice were exposed to total body irradiation (TBI). Cell death was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Villus height and crypt depth were measured with computer-assisted software in tissue sections. Functional activity was determined with an intestinal permeability assay. Immune cell recovery was measured with immunohistochemistry and Western blot, and the regeneration of intestinal crypts was assessed with ex vivo organoid culture. A single dose of GT3 (200 mg/kg body weight (bwt)) administered 24 h before TBI suppressed cell death, prevented a decrease in villus height, increased crypt depth, attenuated intestinal permeability, and upregulated occludin level in the intestine compared to the vehicle treated group. GT3 accelerated mesenchymal immune cell recovery after irradiation, but it did not promote ex vivo organoid formation and failed to enhance the expression of stem cell markers. Finally, GT3 significantly upregulated protein kinase B or AKT phosphorylation after TBI. Pretreatment with GT3 attenuates TBI-induced structural and functional damage to the intestine, potentially by facilitating intestinal immune cell recovery. Thus, GT3 could be used as an intestinal radioprotector