Comparative assessment of the role of state, third sector and combined intervention of state and third sector in intervening income inequalities through SHGS

Inequality reduction in general and income inequality reduction in particular has occupied huge efforts/resources of the state since independence in India.Given that more than 300 million people are under poverty line in India today and the sheer deprivation that they face, evaluation of inequality reduction methods in India assume greater significance.In the above context, the present paper is an attempt to understand the effectiveness of income inequality reduction methods by the state, third sector and the combined intervention of the state and third sector.For this purpose four villages in the Gulbarga district of Karnataka were chosen to assess the relative effectiveness of the interventions by state, third sector and the combined interventions of state and third sector. The results of the study show that, Combined intervention of the State and Third Sector on Income inequalities through SHGs is distinctly better in providing regular employment to employed people than other types of intervention.Combined intervention of State and Third Sector in Income inequalities is distinctly better both in empowering people with higher incomes and discouraging people from borrowing money from money lenders at very high interest rates.It could also be concluded that combined intervention of State and Third Sector provides better terms of borrowing than State intervention alone or Third Sector intervention alone.Earning and saving patters are much better in combined intervention of State and Third Sector than other interventions

Post-COVID-19 Invasive Fungal Sinusitis: A Case Series from Southern India

Acute Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis (AIFR) is a serious condition with aggressive course and high mortality rates. There is an upsurge in the incidence of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis in post COVID-19 patients. We have come across 20 AIFR cases in post COVID-19 patients. On retrospective exploration of the patient’s records, we found that 30% patients had received steroids and 90% had diabetes. All the patients were managed by administration of IV amphotericin B and local debridement of infected tissues. The mortality rate was as low as 15 %. We conclude that combined approach of Antifungal therapy with debridement of infected tissues improves the prognosis and survival of AIFR patients

Cirrhosis of liver: Interference of serpins in quantification of SERPINA4 – A preliminary study

Background: Cirrhosis of liver is a pathological condition, wherein functions of liver are impaired by chronic liver exploitations. Due to decrease in synthetic capacity, expressions of plasma proteins tend to decrease in blood stream. Serpins (Serine protease inhibitors) are class of plasma proteins expressed from liver with structural similarities and diverse functions. SERPINA4 (Kallistatin) is a multifunctional serpin clade A protein expressed from liver and concentration in serum is the reflection of extent of liver dysfunction. Objective: To identify interference of other serpins by immunological cross reactivity with SERPINA4 in cirrhotic liver and healthy subjects. Materials and methods: Blood samples were collected from 20 subjects (10 cirrhotic liver, 10 healthy) from R.L. Jalappa Hospital and Research Centre, Kolar, Karnataka, India. Separation of proteins was carried out by SDS-PAGE. Cross reactivity study was analyzed using western blot. Results: Proteins present in cirrhotic liver and healthy subject's serum were separated by SDS PAGE. There was no band detection on both (cirrhotic liver and healthy) PVDF (polyvinylidene diflouride) membranes. However, a significant band was observed with recombinant kallistatin. Conclusion: Structurally similar serpins with minor amino acid sequence similarities did not show any immunological cross reactivity with SERPINA4 due to non identical epitope in cirrhotic liver and healthy subjects. Present study revealed that there is no interference of serpins for immunological reactions in quantitative estimation of kallistatin which needs further validation