The Bir Sunarwala: An Uncharted Dalit Land Movement of Haryana, India

Dalits are the lowest social group in the Indian caste hierarchy, formerly known as ‘untouchables’. They have been subjected to centuries of discrimination, violence and continue to face widespread social exclusion and economic deprivation. In rural areas, Dalits are often forced to live in segregated quarters and are denied access to common resources such as wells, temples, schools and land. They are often forced to do the most menial and degrading work, such as manual scavenging and cleaning toilets. This exclusion and humiliation are rooted in their lack of access to socio-economic capital, namely, land. As the world’s primary source of wealth, land plays a significant role in the life of rural communities, transforming into a socio-economic reality. Dalits are historically landless; in this outbreak, they participated in various land movements to access land. Landless Dalits and other agricultural labourers fought alongside peasants for better wages, land ownership and to end the practice of forced labour. However, Dalit struggles always remain subordinate to peasant struggles. In this context, this study examines Haryana’s rarely documented and majorly unknown Dalit land movement that took place in 1973 at Bir Sunarwala village of the Jhajjar district of Haryana. Additionally, this study seeks to highlight the significance of the Bir Sunarwala land movement within the broader framework of the Dalit movements in India

Computer and Video Games in Mental Health

Due to the breakthrough of new technological devices in the last decade, electronic media has now become an integral part of our lives. Among its various forms, playing video games is one screen-based recreational activity enjoyed across various age groups and genders. Although undoubtedly entertaining, there is a considerable debate over the relative impact of video gaming on an individual. Traditionally, the research has focused on the negative effects of playing video games, but recent studies show that they can be an effective tool to reduce stress caused by daily hassles, help connect with likeminded people, and enhance a wide range of cognitive skills. There is also a small pool of research on the use of commercial video games in a therapeutic capacity to help build rapport and provide social skill training. This manuscript is focused on reviewing the pertinent research of the last two decades and from various online sources of scientific information on the abovementioned aspects of electronic and video games, their therapeutic implications in mental health, and suggesting future research directions

Prevention of recurrent atrial fibrillation with chronic dual-site right atrial pacing

AbstractObjectives. We investigated 1) the feasibility, safety and efficacy of multisite right atrial pacing for prevention of atrial fibrillation (AF); and 2) the ability of atrial pacing in single- and dual-site modes to increase arrhythmia-free intervals in patients with drug-refractory AF.Background. We recently developed and applied a novel technique of dual-site right atrial pacing in an unselected group of consecutive patients with AF requiring demand pacing. A prospective crossover study design was used to evaluate single- and dual-site right atrial pacing modes.Methods. The frequency of AF during the 3 months before pacemaker implantation was analyzed. Consecutive consenting patients underwent insertion of two atrial leads and one ventricular lead with a DDDR pulse generator. Patients were placed in a dual-site pacing mode for the first 3 months and subsequently mode switched to single site pacing for 3 months. Mode switching was repeated at 6-month intervals thereafter.Results. Atrial pacing resulted in a marked decline in AF recurrences (p < 0.001). During dual-site pacing with an optimal drug regimen, there was no AF recurrence in any patient compared with five recurrences in 12 patients during single-site pacing (p = 0.03). The mean (±SD) arrhythmia-free interval before pacing (14 ± 14 days) was prolonged with dual- (89 ± 7 days, p < 0.0001) and single-site pacing (76 ± 27 days, p < 0.0001). Symptomatic AF episodes showed a declining trend during dual- and single-site pacing compared with those during the preimplantation period (p = 0.10). Mean antiarrhythmic drug use for all classes declined from 4 ± 1.9 drugs before implantation to 1.5 ± 0.5 (p < 0.01) drugs after implantation. Twelve (80%) of 15 patients remained in atrial paced rhythm at 13 ± 3 months.Conclusions. We conclude that multisite right atrial pacing is feasible, effective and safe for long-term application. Atrial pacing significantly prolongs arrhythmia-free intervals in patients with drug-refractory paroxysmal AF. Dual-site right atrial pacing may offer additional benefits and should be considered either as the primary mode or in patients unresponsive to single-site pacing

A non-interventional, prospective, multicentric real life Indian study to assess safety and effectiveness of un-denatured type 2 collagen in management of osteoarthritis

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal condition affecting the quality of life. Undenatured collagen type II has emerged as one of the promising treatment options in treatment of OA. Despite being available in India, clinical safety and efficacy have not been evaluated. We performed a non-interventional, real-life study to determine its safety and efficacy in Indian population.Methods: A non-interventional, real-life study was performed in patients with OA of knee by 18 orthopaedicians in India. Patients enrolled were followed-up at day 30 (visit 2), day 60 (visit 3) and day 90 (visit 4). Efficacy was assessed by Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and Visual Analogue scale (VAS) on each visit. Safety was assessed by incidence of suspected adverse events (AEs), and abnormal laboratory parameters.Results: Among 291 enrolled patients 226 patients completed the study. Mean age of the population was 56.2±8.7 years and 53.3% of them were females. In 291 patients included in safety analysis, at least one treatment emergent adverse event (TEAE) was seen in 4.47% patients. None of the AEs were serious or resulted in termination of patient from the study. Nausea (1.37%) and headache (1.03%) were the common AEs. Treatment with undenatured collagen type II was associated with significant reduction in WOMAC score (p&lt;0.0001) and VAS scores (p&lt;0.0001) from baseline to day 90.Conclusions: Undenatured collagen type II is safe and efficacious in Indian patients with OA. This can be considered early in the initial management of OA

Strategic hypocrisy: the British imperial scripting of Tibet's geopolitical identity

The protests in and around Tibet in 2008 show that Tibet's status within China remains unsettled. The West is not an outsider to the Tibet question, which is defined primarily in terms of the debate over the status of Tibet vis-à-vis China. Tibet's modern geopolitical identity has been scripted by British imperialism. The changing dynamics of British imperial interests in India affected the emergence of Tibet as a (non)modern geopolitical entity. The most significant aspect of the British imperialist policy practiced in the first half of the twentieth century was the formula of “Chinese suzerainty/Tibetan autonomy.” This strategic hypocrisy, while nurturing an ambiguity in Tibet's status, culminated in the victory of a Western idea of sovereignty. It was China, not Tibet, that found the sovereignty talk most useful. The paper emphasizes the world-constructing role of contesting representations and challenges the divide between the political and the cultural, the imperial and the imaginative

IRAK4 gene polymorphism and odontogenic maxillary sinusitis

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate whether a specific interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-4 (IRAK4) gene polymorphism had any influence on the development of changes in maxillary sinus, particularly in the presence of etiological factors of dental origin.Materials and methods The study population included 153 Portuguese Caucasians that were selected from a database of 504 retrospectively analysed computed tomography (CT) scans. A genetic test was performed, and a model was created through logistic analysis and regression coefficients. The statistical methodologies included were the independent Chi test, Fisher's exact test, binary logistic regression and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results The estimated prevalence of IRAK4 gene polymorphism found in a Portuguese Caucasian population was 26.8 % (CI 95 %) [20.1, 34.7 %]. A model to predict the inflammatory response in the maxillary sinus in the presence etiological factors of dental origin was constructed. This model had the following as variables: previously diagnosed sinusitis, sinus pressure symptoms, cortical bone loss observed on CT, positive genetic test result and radiographic examination that revealed the roots of the teeth communication with the maxillary sinus, which are interpreted as risk factors.Conclusions The constructed model should be considered an initial clinical tool. The area under the ROC curve found, AUC=0.91, revealed that the model correctly predicts the outcome in 91.1 % of cases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A comprehensive 1000 Genomes-based genome-wide association meta-analysis of coronary artery disease

Existing knowledge of genetic variants affecting risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) is largely based on genome-wide association studies (GWAS) analysis of common SNPs. Leveraging phased haplotypes from the 1000 Genomes Project, we report a GWAS meta-analysis of 185 thousand CAD cases and controls, interrogating 6.7 million common (MAF>0.05) as well as 2.7 million low frequency (0.005<MAF<0.05) variants. In addition to confirmation of most known CAD loci, we identified 10 novel loci, eight additive and two recessive, that contain candidate genes that newly implicate biological processes in vessel walls. We observed intra-locus allelic heterogeneity but little evidence of low frequency variants with larger effects and no evidence of synthetic association. Our analysis provides a comprehensive survey of the fine genetic architecture of CAD showing that genetic susceptibility to this common disease is largely determined by common SNPs of small effect siz

Diabetic gastroparesis: Therapeutic options

Gastroparesis is a condition characterized by delayed gastric emptying and the most common known underlying cause is diabetes mellitus. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal fullness, and early satiety, which impact to varying degrees on the patient’s quality of life. Symptoms and deficits do not necessarily relate to each other, hence despite significant abnormalities in gastric emptying, some individuals have only minimal symptoms and, conversely, severe symptoms do not always relate to measures of gastric emptying. Prokinetic agents such as metoclopramide, domperidone, and erythromycin enhance gastric motility and have remained the mainstay of treatment for several decades, despite unwanted side effects and numerous drug interactions. Mechanical therapies such as endoscopic pyloric botulinum toxin injection, gastric electrical stimulation, and gastrostomy or jejunostomy are used in intractable diabetic gastroparesis (DG), refractory to prokinetic therapies. Mitemcinal and TZP-101 are novel investigational motilin receptor and ghrelin agonists, respectively, and show promise in the treatment of DG. The aim of this review is to provide an update on prokinetic and mechanical therapies in the treatment of DG