India's public health system - how well does it function at the National level?

India has relatively poor health outcomes, despite having a well-developed administrative system, good technical skills in many fields, and an extensive network of public health institutions for research, training, and diagnostics. This suggests that the health system may be misdirecting its efforts, or may be poorly designed. To explore this, the authors use instruments developed to assess the performance of public health systems in the United States and Latin America based on the framework of the Essential Public Health Functions, identified as the basic functions that an effective public health system must fulfill. The authors focus on the federal level in India, using data obtained from senior health officials in the central government. The data indicate that the reported strengths of the system lie in having the capacity to carry out most of the public health functions. Its reported weaknesses lie in three broad areas. First, it has overlooked some fundamental public health functions such as public health regulations and their enforcement. Second, deep management flaws hinder effective use of resources-including inadequate focus on evaluation, on assessing quality of services, on dissemination and use of information, and on openness to learning and innovation. Resources could also be much better usedwith small changes, such as the use of incentives and challenge funds, and greater flexibility to reassign resources as priorities and needs change. Third, the central government functions too much in isolation and needs to work more closely with other key actors, especially with sub-national governments, as well as with the private sector and with communities. The authors conclude that with some reassessment of priorities and better management practices, health outcomes could be substantially improved.Public Health Promotion,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Systems Development&Reform,Disease Control&Prevention,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Health Systems Development&Reform,Health Economics&Finance,Housing&Human Habitats,Health Monitoring&Evaluation

Lac, Kerria lacca rearing on Flemingia macrophylla with NPK fertilizer: impact on plant growth, lac yield, and lac parasitisation

Lac insect, Kerria lacca Kerr. is the only commercial lac producing insect in the world. This tiny insect reared commercially on many specific host plants. Lac product is a natural resin of outstanding properties which is utilized in many products worldwide. Lac insects get settled on the host tree and take their nutrition continuously from the same part. Hence, additional fertilizer application becomes most important component for sustainable host plant growth and lac cultivation. Therefore, to determine the effect of chemical fertilizers (NPK) on Flemingia macrophylla and lac productivity, present study has been conducted. The result revealed that chemical fertilizer combination N15:P5:K5 was found to be the best for Flemingia macrophylla growth which gives best lac yield and least pest infestation on Kerria lacca. The correlation study has also proved that NPK has positively influences on plant growth and lac productivity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.355158

SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF 2-(2'/3'/4'/6'-SUBSTITUTED PHENYL)-1H-INDOLES

Objective: Indole derivatives were reported to a wide range of biological activities. Thus it was our aim to synthesize a series of 2-(2'/3'/4'/6'-substituted phenyl) -1H-indoles using clayzic catalyst and screen for their in vitro anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.Methods: Various substituted acetophenones were reacted with phenylhydrazine in the presence of modified clayzic catalyst and obtained 2-(2'/3'/4'/6'-substituted phenyl)-1H-indoles in a one pot reaction. The cyclized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, NMR, UV-Vis and mass spectral analyses and screened for anti-inflammatory activity against cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by measuring cytokine production by performing sandwich ELISA model, antioxidant activity by DPPH assay method and antimicrobial activity by well-diffusion method.Results: An eco-friendly route with better yields for the synthesis of 2-(2'/3'/4'/6'-substituted phenyl)-1H-indoles in the presence of clayzic catalyst was achieved. The biological activity results suggested that compounds (2d, 2e and 2i) have excellent anti-inflammatory activity, compounds (2a-2d and 2j) possessing better antioxidant property and compounds (2b, 2i, 2k and 2m) have promising antibacterial and antifungal activities when compared to the standard drugs.Conclusion: Synthesis of 2-(2'/3'/4'/6'-substituted phenyl)-1H-indoles was successfully achieved in the presence of clayzic catalyst. Compounds bearing amino, methyl, methoxy, hydroxyl and fluoro groups have shown better anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities when compared to the other compounds and 1H-indole.Â

Quantitative assessment of atmospheric elements and their interaction with transplanted lichen Pyxine cocoes (Sw.) Nyl

A common foliose lichen Pyxine cocoes (Sw.) Nyl. was transplanted at 12 different sites of Dehradun City. The thalli of P. cocoes have been exposed for three months to monitor the accumulation of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn along with C and N and their impact on photosynthetic pigments (Chl a, Chl b, Total Chl) were also estimated. The results showed that thalli transplanted close to the city centre (0 km) exhibit early stress as revealed by decreasing photosynthetic pigments as compared to the control site. The qualitative and quantitative results of elements showed negative correlations with distance from the city centre. Among the metals analysed, Fe (3396.71µg g-1 DW) at Haridwar road followed by Zn (279.52µg g-1 DW) at Rajpur road found in maximum concentration. Similarly, the maximum carbon (C) concentration (52.05%) was observed at Haridwar road whereas the nitrogen (N) concentration (1.73%) was observed maximum at Rajpur road. The lichen P. cocoes possess good accumulation capacity for most of the atmospheric elements. It is well evident from this study that selected lichen species could be used to detect low to higher atmospheric elemental emissions from vehicular activity in the ambient air and the biomonitoring procedure could be further standardized and used as part of an environmental monitoring programme

Fungal Succession in Composite Soil on Staled Agar Disc at different Staling Periods

In the present study, the fungal colony interaction of composite soil was assessed under in vitro condition in virgin and staled agar discs after different staling periods i.e. 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours by using Warcup method to examine the tolerance potential of soil mycoflora present in the composite soil against the growth substances produced by the precolonized fungal colonies. It was observed that fungal growth pattern was different in each agar disc plate. It was also noticed that there was a successive decrease in the number of fungi colonizing on the reverse side of the staled agar discs. Only the most resistant microfungi i.e., Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. luchuensis, Aspergillus sulphureus, Penicillium citrinum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Trichoderma viride were able to persist on staled agar disc after 96 and 120 hours of long staling periods

(R2032) Modeling the Effect of Sanitation Effort on the Spread of Carrier-dependent Infectious Diseases due to Environmental Degradation

In this present study, an SIS model is proposed and analyzed to study the effect of sanitation effort in controlling the spread of carrier-dependent infectious disease in a human habitat due to environmental degradation. The dynamics of the model consist of six dependent variables, the susceptible population density, infective population density, carrier population density, cumulative density of environmental degradation and the density of sanitation effort applied on carrier population and degraded environment. In the modeling process, the carrier population density and sanitation effort are modeled logistically and the degradation of the environment is assumed to be directly proportional to the population in the habitat. The analysis of the model is performed by using the stability theory of differential equations and numerical simulations. The study of model shows that as the degradation of environment increases, the density of the carrier population increases which ultimately increases the infective population. Further, the result shows that by applying suitable sanitation effort on the carrier population density and on the cumulative density of environmental degradation, the carrier population density decreases and hence the infective population. Thus, it is very important to keep our environment clean by applying proper sanitation to prevent the spread of carrier-dependent infectious diseases

A STUDY TO ASSESS THE PREVALENCE OF WHATSAPP ADDICTION AMONG NURSING STUDENTS OF HIMALAYAN SCHOOL OF NURSING KALA-AMB DISTRICT SIRMAUR, HIMACHAL PRADESH.

Objective:To assess the prevalence of whatsapp addiction among nursing students of Himalayan school of nursing Kala-Amb Himachal Pradesh. Methodology:A cross sectional descriptive study was used, a sample size of 60 nursing students were selected by using Purposive sampling technique, Semi structured questionnaire were used to assess the prevalence of whatsapp addiction among nursing students of Himalayan school of nursing Kala-Amb Himachal Pradesh. Result: The study revealed that among 60 Nursing students, Benefits of using whatspp is easy way 57(95%), improve IPR 40(66.6%), building friendship 42(70%), fast and speedily 50(83.3%), and long distance communication 56(93.3%) . The Drawback of using whatspp is unwanted relations 32(53.3%), lack interaction without society 37(61.6%), no face to face interaction 48(80%) ignoring people around use 30(50%), and reduce attachment with parents 32(53.3%).When not using how you do feel are happy 39 (65%), calm 35(58.3), loneliness 27(45%), restlessness 23(38.3%)and stress 15(25%).Whatspp is mainly used for the group 51(85%),friends 60(100%), relatives 59(98.3%),(Education purpose 53(88.3%) and General purpose 46(76.6%)

Functional Uses of Peanut (<em>Arachis hypogaea</em> L.) Seed Storage Proteins

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important grain legume crop of tropics and subtropics. It is increasingly being accepted as a functional food and protein extender in developing countries. The seed contains 36% to 54% oil, 16% to 36% protein, and 10% to 20% carbohydrates with high amounts of P, Mg, Ca, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, vitamin E, resveratrol and amino acids. Seed contains 32 different proteins comprised of albumins and globulins. The two-globulin fractions, arachin and non-arachin, comprise approximately 87% of the peanut seed proteins. Peanut worldwide is mainly used for oil production, consumption as raw, roasted, baked products, peanut butter, peanut flour, extender in meat product formulations, confectionary and soups. Peanut proteins have many properties such as good solubility, foaming, water/oil binding, emulsification that make them useful in various food products. Very limited studies have been carried out in peanut functional properties, which has been reviewed in the present article. Adequate modifications can be done in protein functionality that are influenced by pH, temperature, pressure etc. However, some individuals develop severe IgE-mediated allergies to peanut seed proteins. Thus, methods to improve nutrition and reduce allergenicity have also been discussed. Within the last decade, manipulations have been done to alter peanut chemistry and improve nutritional quality of peanuts and peanut products. Hence, improved comprehensive understanding of functional properties and nutritional chemistry of peanut proteins can generate better source of food grain to meet nutritional requirement of growing population. In the present review, composition of peanut seed proteins, functional properties, nutritional components and nutraceutical value have been discussed with respect to beneficial aspects to health, reducing hunger and usage in food end products