Attitude of Doctors Towards Homosexuality at a Medical College, West Bengal, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Attitude towards homosexuality varies differently in different parts of the world. But, almost everywhere social stigma and marginalisation make them vulnerable to poor health and social outcomes. So, physicians should be made aware and sensitive about this issue in order to provide optimal care without any prejudices and discrimination. Aim: To assess the attitude of the doctors towards the homosexuality at a Medical College, West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted for three months from August 2021 and October 2021 at Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India. A predesigned, pretested, structured questionnaire was distributed to each of the faculty members of this medical college. The questionnaire was kept anonymous for name, religion, department or academic qualification and began with asking questions on age and sex. It consisted of 18 statements, nine substatements of relevant attitude along with additional specific comments on the subject. The faculty members were requested to put the filled up questionnaires in a drop box placed at a designated area in the Department of Psychiatry. In this way responses were finally obtained from 56 out of total 69 faculty members. All of them were postgraduate degree holders. The attitude scores were compared on the basis of age and sex using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. A p-value was calculated to find the association of attitude score with age and gender groups. Results: Among the study participants 21 (37.5%) were in ≥50 years age group, 18 (32.1%) in 40-49 years age group and 17 (30.4%) in ≤40 years age group. Males were 41 (73.2%) and females were 15 (26.8%). Forty six (82.2%) participants agreed that homosexuality is “constitutionally determined” (an inherent fundamental right as per Indian constitution). However 34 (60.7%) did not believe it to be a “sexual orientation”. Half of the participants are of the opinion that “homosexuals are easily recognizable”. Forty three (76.8%) respondents are of the opinion that “homosexuals should not be employed in school”. Also 41 (73.2%) believed that “homosexuals are danger to children”. Only 23 (41.1%) generally agreed that they “did not feel embarrassed while talking about homosexuality”. Just above half of the participants agreed that they “really did not understand homosexuality. The attitude scores did not however vary according to age (p-value=0.25) or sex (p-value=0.09) groups. Conclusion: Majority of the study participants had inadequate knowledge on the issues of homosexuality with a more or less neutral stance in their attitude

Syntheses, crystal structures, magnetic properties and ESI-MS studies of a series of trinuclear Cu^IIM^IICu^II compounds (M = Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Zn)

Six trinuclear Cu(II)M(II)Cu(II) compounds (M = Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Zn) derived from the Schiff base ligand, H(2)L (2 + 1 condensation product of salicylaldehyde and trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane) are reported in this investigation. The composition of the metal complexes are [{Cu(II)L(ClO(4))}(2)Cu(II)(H(2)O)]·2H(2)O (1), [{Cu(II)L(ClO(4))}{Ni(II)(H(2)O)(2)}{Cu(II)L}]ClO(4)·CH(3)COCH(3) (2), [{Cu(II)L(ClO(4))}{Co(II)(CH(3)COCH(3))(H(2)O)}{Cu(II)L(CH(3)COCH(3))}]ClO(4) (3) and isomorphic [{Cu(II)L(ClO(4))}(2)M(II)(CH(3)OH)(2)] (4, M = Fe; 5, M = Mn; 6, M = Zn). Two copper(ii) ions in 1–6 occupy N(2)O(2) compartments of two L(2−) ligands, while the second metal ion occupies the O(phenoxo)(4) site provided by the two ligands, i.e., the two metal ions in both Cu(II)M(II) pairs are diphenoxo-bridged. Positive ESI-MS of 1–6 reveals some interesting features. Variable-temperature and variable-field magnetic studies reveal moderate or weak antiferromagnetic interactions in 1–6 with the following values of magnetic exchange integrals (H = −2JS(1)S(2) type): J(1) = −136.50 cm(−1) and J = 0.00 for the Cu(II)Cu(II)Cu(II) compound 1; J(1) = −22.16 cm(−1) and J = −1.97 cm(−1) for the Cu(II)Ni(II)Cu(II) compound 2; J(1) = −14.78 cm(−1) and J = −1.86 cm(−1) for the Cu(II)Co(II)Cu(II) compound 3; J(1) = −6.35 cm(−1) and J = −1.17 cm(−1) for the Cu(II)Fe(II)Cu(II) compound 4; J(1) = −6.02 cm(−1) and J = −1.70 cm(−1) for the Cu(II)Mn(II)Cu(II) compound 5; J = −2.25 cm(−1) for the Cu(II)Zn(II)Cu(II) compound 6 (J is between two Cu(II) in the N(2)O(2) compartments; J(1) is between Cu(II) and M(II) through a diphenoxo bridge)

A Series of M^IICu^II₃ Stars (M = Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn) Exhibiting Unusual Magnetic Properties

The work in this report describes the syntheses, electrospray ionization mass spectromtery, structures, and experimental and density functional theoretical (DFT) magnetic properties of four tetrametallic stars of composition [M^II(Cu^IIL)₃]­(ClO₄)₂ (<b>1</b>, M = Mn; <b>2</b>, M = Ni; <b>3</b>, M = Cu; <b>4</b>, M = Zn) derived from a single-compartment Schiff base ligand, <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-bis­(salicylidene)-1,4-butanediamine (H₂L), which is the [2 + 1] condensation product of salicylaldehyde and 1,4-diaminobutane. The central metal ion (Mn^II, Ni^II, Cu^II, or Zn^II) is linked with two μ₂-phenoxo bridges of each of the three [Cu^IIL] moieties, and thus the central metal ion is encapsulated in between three [Cu^IIL] units. The title compounds are rare or sole examples of stars having these metal-ion combinations. In the cases of <b>1</b>, <b>3</b>, and <b>4</b>, the four metal ions form a centered isosceles triangle, while the four metal ions in <b>2</b> form a centered equilateral triangle. Both the variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility and variable-field magnetization (at 2–10 K) of <b>1</b>–<b>3</b> have been measured and simulated contemporaneously. While the Mn^IICu^II₃ compound <b>1</b> exhibits ferromagnetic interaction with <i>J</i> = 1.02 cm^–1, the Ni^IICu^II₃ compound <b>2</b> and Cu^IICu^II₃ compound <b>3</b> exhibit antiferromagnetic interaction with <i>J</i> = −3.53 and −35.5 cm^–1, respectively. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data of the Zn^IICu^II₃ compound <b>4</b> indicate very weak antiferromagnetic interaction of −1.4 cm^–1, as expected. On the basis of known correlations, the magnetic properties of <b>1</b>–<b>3</b> are unusual; it seems that ferromagnetic interaction in <b>1</b> and weak/moderate antiferromagnetic interaction in <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> are possibly related to the distorted coordination environment of the peripheral copper­(II) centers (intermediate between square-planar and tetrahedral). DFT calculations have been done to elucidate the magnetic properties. The DFT-computed <i>J</i> values are quantitatively (for <b>1</b>) or qualitatively (for <b>2</b> and <b>3</b>) matched well with the experimental values. Spin densities and magnetic orbitals (natural bond orbitals) correspond well with the trend of observed/computed magnetic exchange interactions