Awareness of rural women of Punjab regarding pollution causing and environmentally safe waste disposal practices

Household waste disposal practices are main source of pollution. Rural folk dispose their waste in open areas due to lack of awareness about their consequences. Some practices were identified to check their awareness about these practices. The present study was conducted to find out the awareness regarding pollution causing and environmentally safe waste disposal practices in three regions of Punjab i.e. Majha, Malwa and Doaba. For this purpose, 240 rural women of district Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana were selected. Data were collected through interview schedule. The study findings revealed that large majority of respondents (91.67 per cent) were aware regarding open drainage of water is source of pollution followed by 87.33 per cent regarding burning of waste and plastic in open air causes pollution. Data regarding environmentally safe waste disposal practices showed that large majority of respondents were aware that selling of electrical waste (90%), disposal in closed container (87.08 %) and faecal matter disposal in pakka pits (80%) are safe disposal practices for environment. About eighty per cent of respondent had high level of awareness. Age, education, mass media exposure, family education and family size were significantly correlated with level of awareness. Although the women had awareness about pollution causing practices but they don’t know the alternatives and management strategies to control pollution

Correlation of Assertive Behavior with Communication Satisfaction among Nurses

Background: Assertive nurses are likely to impart effective patient care as they can stand up for their rights and refuse unreasonable requests but nurses show non-assertive and submissive behaviour which result in lack of communication satisfaction, stress and low self esteem. Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship of assertive behaviour and interpersonal communication satisfaction among nurses. Methods: In a descriptive, co-relational, cross sectional survey, 220 eligible nurses working in selected hospitals of Punjab were identified conveniently and data were gathered using Socio demographic Data Sheet, Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) and Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Inventory (Com-Sat). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation. Results: Assertive behavior has large positive correlation with interpersonal communication satisfaction at 0.01 level of significance (r= 0.505**). Older nurses who are on regular job, studied from Govt. nursing institutions and working in Govt. hospitals were more assertive. Nurses those are older (p<.002), studied from Govt. nursing colleges (p<.03) and with designation of nursing sister/ward in-charges had more score on communication satisfaction score as compared to staff nurses (p<.049). Conclusion: Study concluded that assertive behaviour of nurses results in high interpersonal communication satisfaction. Nurses should use assertive behaviour as it directly affects the interpersonal communication satisfaction ultimately results in high patient care. Policy makers can plan and organize assertiveness training or other intervention for non assertive nurses so that they can be trained for assertive behaviour and communication. Keywords: Assertive behaviour, Interpersonal communication satisfaction, Nurse

Curcumin, a diferuloylmethane, attenuates cyclosporine-induced renal dysfunction and oxidative stress in rat kidneys

BACKGROUND: In India, Curcumin (CMN) is popularly known as "Haldi", and has been well studied due to its economic importance. Traditional Indian medicine claims the use of its powder against biliary disorders, anorexia, coryza, cough, diabetic wounds, hepatic disorder, rheumatism and sinusitis. This study was designed to examine the possible beneficial effect of CMN in preventing the acute renal failure and related oxidative stress caused by chronic administration of cyclosporine (CsA) in rats. CMN was administered concurrently with CsA (20 mg/kg/day s.c) for 21 days. Oxidative stress in kidney tissue homogenates was estimated using thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), reduced glutathione (GSH) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and Catalase (CAT). Nitrite levels were estimated in serum and tissue homogenates. RESULTS: CsA administration for 21 days produced elevated levels of TBARS and marked depletion of renal endogenous antioxidant enzymes and deteriorated the renal function as assessed by increased serum creatinine, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) and decreased creatinine and urea clearance as compared to vehicle treated rats. CMN markedly reduced elevated levels of TBARS, significantly attenuated renal dysfunction increased the levels of antioxidant enzymes in CsA treated rats and normalized the altered renal morphology. CONCLUSION: In conclusion our study showed that CMN through its antioxidant activity effectively salvaged CsA nephrotoxicity

Seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and hepatitis C among blood donors at a tertiary care hospital in North India

Background: The prevalence of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs), in blood transfusion services are a major problem across blood banks and hospitals in the world. In, India, the effort to provide safe transfusion to patients is a heightened problem for various reasons. In this study, seroprevalence of Transfusion transmitted infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) was investigated in a pool of blood donors.Methods: The data collection was carried out for a period of two years from, January 2017 to December 2018, and total sample size of donors was 38,142. We studied the frequency, gender wise distribution, donor (first time vs repeat) wise distribution and yearly trend of seroprevalence of TTIs in blood units donated at our hospital.Results: A total of 37,457 (98.2%) males and 685 (1.79%) females donated blood during the study period. The results suggest that among the blood donors, the prevalence of HCV was highest (0.77%) followed by HBV (0.46%) and HIV (0.13%). Seropositivity was found to be more in first-time donors (0.83%) as compared to repeat-donors (0.52%). Seropositivity was found to be more among males (1.35%) than females (0.01%). The discussion suggests underlying reasons for the results along-with future direction of research.Conclusions: The need of the hour is to encourage repeat voluntary blood donors in order to maintain safe supply of blood and its components to donors. Efforts should be made to include females in the blood donor pool by increasing awareness and through dedicated efforts to improve female health and nutrition

Personalised Travel Services: an Exploratory Study in Singapore Context

The aims of the study were to explore the demandfor personalised travel services within the affluent customersegment of the outbound travelers in Singapore. The studyuncovers the desired service attributes of same consumersegment. The paper begins with a general and broad overview ofthe travel and tourism industry worldwide and in the Asia Pacificregion specifically in Singapore. The international tourism andhospitality sector has grown rapidly over the last ten years andaccording to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation(UNWTO), international tourist arrivals in 2012 grew to 980million. Similarly, there has been an increase in outbound travelsin Singapore. This growth has been fuelled by the economicgrowth that Singapore has experienced over the years. The studysurveys the current literature to provide data to show the growthof outbound travel from Singapore and the increasing number ofaffluent Singapore travelers. The study considers an emailquestionnaire survey to gauge the travel patterns and desires ofthe affluent traveler market in Singapore. The exploratoryfindings identify a market for personalized travel services inSingapore and consider an inventory of service attributes desiredby the affluent customer segment in Singapore. More specifically,the findings indicate that almost 65% of respondents preferredpersonal travel services (PTS) with 70% who currently booktours through travel agents indicating their preference for PTS.What was particularly interesting was that over 60% of thosewho currently engage in self-booking found the idea of PTSappealing. The key draws of PTS are convenience,personalization of itinerary and tour package, experience ofconsultants and trust. Personalised travel services are targeted tothe high income market and the potential demand for PTSamong travelers who undertake two or more trips a year wasabout 72%. Travelers today are looking for more value-addedservices and interesting tour packages rather than the run of themill mass tours that many travel agents still provide. Growingaffluence and the desire for unique and unusual tours is creatinga niche market for travel agencies to exploit. The current andcommon business model of providing mass tours where customers are herded on a standard itinerary does not sit wellwith the well-heeled and sophisticated traveler of today. Today’saffluent travelers want to be treated not as mere customers butrather as valuable clients, partnering with the tour agency tocreate unparalleled and enriching tour experiences

An evaluation of cancer patients in cotton belt of Punjab

Hospitals play an instrumental role in the life of the individuals, and they are a crucial part of healthcare system. Healthy homes and communities are widely acknowledged as foundation stones for the progress of any nation. Basically, they ensure its economic growth as well as internal stability. World Health Organization stressed that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Good health and well-beings have always been a forefront agenda of national and international policy agendas. Goal 3 of Sustainable Development Goals, 2015 aims to “increase life expectancy, reduce maternal and child mortality and fight against communicable diseases”. In case of non-communicable disease, there are four major disease – cardiovascular, cancers, severe respiratory diseases and diabetes

Insider/outsider: Anita Desai as a social novelist

Bibliography: p. 126-135

Menstrual Hygiene, Management, and Waste Disposal: Practices and Challenges Faced by Girls/Women of Developing Countries

Menstruation and menstrual practices still face many social, cultural, and religious restrictions which are a big barrier in the path of menstrual hygiene management. In many parts of the country especially in rural areas girls are not prepared and aware about menstruation so they face many difficulties and challenges at home, schools, and work places. While reviewing literature, we found that little, inaccurate, or incomplete knowledge about menstruation is a great hindrance in the path of personal and menstrual hygiene management. Girls and women have very less or no knowledge about reproductive tract infections caused due to ignorance of personal hygiene during menstruation time. In rural areas, women do not have access to sanitary products or they know very little about the types and method of using them or are unable to afford such products due to high cost. So, they mostly rely on reusable cloth pads which they wash and use again. Needs and requirements of the adolescent girls and women are ignored despite the fact that there are major developments in the area of water and sanitation. Women manage menstruation differently when they are at home or outside; at homes, they dispose of menstrual products in domestic wastes and in public toilets and they flush them in the toilets without knowing the consequences of choking. So, there should be a need to educate and make them aware about the environmental pollution and health hazards associated with them. Implementation of modern techniques like incineration can help to reduce the waste. Also, awareness should be created to emphasize the use of reusable sanitary products or the natural sanitary products made from materials like banana fibre, bamboo fibre, sea sponges, water hyacinth, and so on