Popular Actions, State Reactions: The Moral and Political Economy of Food in India

Can popular mobilisation activate accountability for hunger? In 2012, a group of researchers set out to explore this question through field research in four countries: Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Mozambique. The research was framed in ideas about a contemporary ‘moral economy’ – which when breached, would lead people to mobilise – either in the form of riots, or as movements for the right to food, thus activating state responses. This preliminary report is organised as follows: Section 2 briefly lays out the political economy context of this time. Section 3 elaborates on the impacts and political economy of food price volatility (FPV) and inflation, drawing upon general Indian data and academic debates. Having set the stage, Section 4 elaborates on the methods used in the study and the adaptation of methods to the Indian context. In Section 5 we place popular mobilisation in India in the context of the new social movements literature, to highlight how such mobilisation has been directed at the state. In particular, the features and mobilisation strategies of the Right to Food campaign are drawn out, to set the stage for the next two empirical sections that follow; the first one on popular mobilisation in Madhya Pradesh (Section 6) and the next on ration riots in West Bengal (Section 7). In Section 8 we trace the impact that these mobilisations had at national and state levels, drawing upon interviews with policymakers and activists. Bringing these sections together in Section 9, we revisit the core themes of the research: food price inflation, moral economy, popular mobilisation and policy responses. In the final Section 10 we conclude with observations about what these findings imply for the potential of popular mobilisation to elicit accountability for hunger from the state

Age-related Hearing Loss and its Association with Reactive Oxygen Species and Mitochondrial DNA damage

Age-related hearing loss, known as presbyacusis, is characterized by the progressive deterioration of auditory sensitivity associated with the aging process and is the leading cause of adult auditory deficiency in the USA. Presbyacusis is described as a progressive, bilateral, high-frequency hearing loss that is manifested on audiometric assessment by a moderately sloping pure tone audiogram. Approximately 23% of the population between 65 and 75 years of age, and 40% of the population older than 75 years of age are affected by this condition. It was estimated in 1980 that 11% of the population was 76 years or older and this number is expected to almost double by the year 2030. When one considers that the population over 65 years of age is experiencing the most accelerated development of hearing loss, the potential socioeconomic ramifications are staggering. Curiously, the frequency of presbyacusis varies across different societies. This discrepancy has been attributed to many factors including genetics, diet, socioeconomic factors, and environmental variables. The purpose of this article is to review the various molecular mechanisms underlying presbyacusis and to offer insights into potential methods of mitigating the effects of aging on hearing impairment

Relations Among Psychopathology, Substance Use, and Physical Pain Experiences in Methadone-Maintained Patients

Objective: Differences in psychiatric distress and substance use (licit and illicit) were examined in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients with a variety of pain experiences. Method: Parametric and nonparametric statistical tests were performed on data obtained from 150 patients currently enrolled in MMT Assessments were carried out at the 3 opioid agonist treatment programs operated by the APT Foundation, New Haven, Connecticut. Participants were recruited between March 2007 and March 2008. Results: In comparison to MMT patients reporting no pain in the previous week, those with chronic severe pain (CSP) (ie, pain lasting at least 6 months with moderate to severe pain intensity or significant pain interference) exhibited significantly higher (P<.01) levels of depression, anxiety, somatization, overall psychiatric distress, and personality disorder criteria but reported comparable rates of substance use. A third group, ie, non-CSP MMT patients reporting some pain in the past week, differed significantly (P<.05) from the other 2 pain groups on somatization and global psychiatric distress but reported comparable rates of substance use. Conclusions: Pain-related differences in psychiatric problems exist in MMT patients and may have implications for program planning and outreach efforts. J Clin Psychiatry 2009;70(9):1213-1218 (C) Copyright 2009 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc

Exploring Relations Among Traumatic, Posttraumatic, and Physical Pain Experiences in Methadone-Maintained Patients

Differences in lifetime trauma exposure and screened symptoms of PTSD were examined in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients with a variety of pain experiences. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were performed on data obtained from 150 patients currently enrolled in MMT. In comparison to MMT patients reporting no pain in the previous week, those with chronic severe pain (CSP) (i.e., pain lasting at least 6 months with moderate to severe pain intensity or significant pain interference) exhibited comparable levels of trauma involving sexual assault, but reported significantly higher levels of trauma involving physical assault, number of traumatic events, and screened symptoms of PTSD. A third group, i.e., non-CSP MMT patients reporting some pain in the past week, differed significantly from the CSP group on number of traumatic events but reported comparable levels of sexual assault and physical assault. In comparison to men, women reported higher levels of sexual assault and were more likely to score above the cutoff on the PTSD screener, but reported comparable levels of physical assault and number of traumatic events. Pain-related differences in trauma and screened symptoms of PTSD exist in MMT patients and may have implications for program planning and outreach efforts

Allopathic, Complementary, and Alternative Medical Treatment Utilization for Pain among Methadone-Maintained Patients

We surveyed 150 methadone maintenance treatment program (MMTP) patients about pain, pain treatment utilization, perceived efficacy of prior pain treatment, and interest in pursuing pain treatment at the MMTP. Respondents with chronic severe pain (CSP) (ie, pain lasting at least six months with moderate to severe pain intensity or significant pain interference) and "some pain" (ie, pain reported in the previous week but not CSP) endorsed similar rates of past-week and lifetime allopathic or standard medical (with the exception of lifetime medical use of non-opiate medication) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) utilization for pain reduction. Prior pain treatments were perceived to be less effective by CSP than SP patients but both groups had equivalent high rates of interest in pain treatment associated with the MMTP. These findings may have implications for resource and program planning in MMTPs. (Am J Addict 2009; 18: 379-385