Environment Friendly Car: A study of Consumer Awareness with special reference to Maharashtra State

The aim of the study is to understand the behaviour of the customer in the state of Maharashtra which is one of the most developed states of India. The study is being carried out to understand the customer awareness on environment friendly car (EFC). The objective of the study is to understand the awareness levels and create awareness of the EFC so that the efforts of the manufacturing the green car will be achieved. SPSS version 17.0 has been used for analysis of the data. 500 respondents have been asked to fill in a questionnaire. The study has been done keeping in mind age group and the geographical area of the respondents. With reference to the age group, it is observed that there is no significant difference in the awareness levels but with reference to the geography, it is observed that there is a significant difference in the awareness levels with reference to the EFC

Awareness and Attitude of Physicians in Academia towards Human Stem Cell Research (HSCR) and Related Policies in Rajasthan, India

Introduction: In India, several science agencies are promoting Stem Cell Research (SCR). There is paucity of studies which document the perception of doctors about SCR, especially physicians in academia. This study was carried out to assess perception of physicians in academia towards Human Stem Cell Research (HSCR) and related policies in India. Methods: We interviewed 200 doctors from three different government medical colleges of Rajasthan. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to discern their awareness, attitudes towards utilization of SCR and their knowledge of related international and ethical policy issues. Results: Though mostly 177 (96.2%) physicians acknowledged the public health benefits of promoting stem cell research in India, but 166 (66.2%) were not aware of the stem cell research policy of the Government of India and 111 (60.3%) were not aware of the ICMR guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research in India. There was a strong desire among academic physicians 152 (82.6%) to incorporate a course on SCR to the students in the near future. Discussion: Physicians in academia have views that SCR should be encouraged to treat clinical diseases and this technology should be brought into India in a big way. They seem to believe that one of the ways to promote the benefits of SCR would be to raise awareness by publishing success stories in widely read Indian Medical Journals, giving updated information regarding its uses in clinical practices and its inclusion as a part of the curricula for health professionals

Osteocrinology: Insights from the Great Indian Epics

Indian epics are a storehouse of knowledge and information, which offer an insight into various aspects of health and disease. In this paper, we surmise some of the legendary figures in the great Indian epics, who possibly could have disorders related to osteocrinology. Based on the detailed description provided in Vedic texts, these exemplars from Indian history provide an interesting framework for the study of osteocrinology. These may spark an interest in students and researchers to explore and understand this subject in greater depth

Decoherence and entropy generation in an open quantum scalar-fermion system with Yukawa interaction

We have studied the decoherence mechanism in a fermion and scalar quantum field theory with the Yukawa interaction in the Minkowski spacetime, using the non-equilibrium effective field theory formalism appropriate for open systems. The scalar field is treated as the system whereas the fermions as the environment. As the simplest realistic scenario, we assume that an observer measures only the Gaussian 2-point correlator for the scalar field. The cause of decoherence and the subsequent entropy generation is the ignorance of information stored in higher-order correlators, Gaussian and non-Gaussian, of the system and the surrounding. Using the 2-loop 2-particle irreducible effective action, we construct the renormalised Kadanoff-Baym equations, i.e., the equation of motion satisfied by the 2-point correlators in the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism. These equations contain the non-local self-energy corrections. We then compute the statistical propagator in terms of the 2-point functions. Using the relationship of the statistical propagator with the phase space area, we next compute the von Neumann entropy for the system. We have obtained the variation of the entropy with respect to various relevant parameters. We also discuss the qualitative similarities and differences of our results with the scenario when both the system and the environment are scalar fields.Comment: v2, 24pp, 7 figs; Added references and discussion, results unchanged; Accepted in EPJ

Resummation of local and non-local scalar self energies via the Schwinger-Dyson equation in de Sitter spacetime

We consider a massless and minimally coupled self interacting quantum scalar field in the inflationary de Sitter spacetime. The scalar potential is taken to be a hybrid of cubic and quartic self interactions, $V(\phi)= \lambda \phi^4/4!+\beta \phi^3/3!$ ($\lambda >0$). Compared to the earlier well studied $\beta=0$ case, the present potential has a rolling down effect due to the $\phi^3$ term, along with the usual bounding effect due to the $\phi^4$ term. $V(\phi)$ has shapewise qualitative similarity with the standard slow roll single field inflationary potentials. We begin by constructing the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the scalar Feynman propagator up to two loop, at ${\cal O}(\lambda)$, ${\cal O}(\beta^2)$, ${\cal O}(\lambda^2)$ and ${\cal O}(\lambda \beta^2)$. Using this equation, we consider first the local part of the scalar self energy and compute the mass of the scalar field, dynamically generated via the late time non-perturbative secular logarithms, by resumming the daisy-like graphs. We also argue that unlike the quartic case, considering merely the one loop results for the purpose of resummation does not give us any sensible result here. We next construct the non-perturbative two particle irreducible effective action up to three loop and derive from it the Schwinger-Dyson equation once again. This equation is satisfied by the non-perturbative Feynman propagator. By series expanding this propagator, the resummed local part of the self energy is shown to yield the same dynamical mass as that of the above. We next use this equation to resum the effect of the non-local part of the scalar self energy in the Feynman propagator, and show that even though the perturbatively corrected propagator shows secular growth at late times, there exists a resummed solution which is vanishing for large spacelike separations.Comment: v1; 26pp, 10 fig

Non-communicable diseases risk factors among government school teachers in Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are considered as life-style diseases. School teachers' behavior in this context could be transmitted to students that may act as determining factor of prevention for NCDs at primordial level. Aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of risk factors among teachers and their practices with respect to common NCDs. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jodhpur among 394 government school teachers. Questionnaire was adopted from WHO STEPS tool and responses were documented which included socio-demographic details, anthropometric measurements and risk factors including diet, hours of physical activity, smoking and alcohol intake. Mean age of participants was 43 years out of which 23% were found to be having blood pressure more than 140/90 mm of Hg at the time of interview. 4.8% consumed alcohol and 1.5% was smokers. Mean body mass index (BMI) was found to be 25.4 while only 13% had their cholesterol checked post 35 years of age. The 23.6% had knowledge of reducing fat by using the right type of cooking oil, 35.7% were engaged in any daily physical activity and 76% knew that excess salt was not good for health. This survey assessed baseline levels by identifying the overall prevalence and associated risk factors that provided first step towards initiating surveillance for NCDs among school teachers in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, whilst delivering the necessary information concerning with developing a suitable framework for determining priorities over intervention

Association of Epstein Barr Virus Infection (EBV) with Breast Cancer in Rural Indian Women

INTRODUCTION:Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting females worldwide but conventional risk factors are able to explain only a small proportion of these cases. A possible viral etiology for breast cancer has been proposed and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a widely researched candidate virus. The aim of the present study, first one of its kind from India, was to determine if there is a greater association of EBV infection with breast cancer patients as compared to patients with benign breast diseases. METHODS:We looked for expression of Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen-1 (EBNA-1) in breast cancer tissue specimens by employing immunohistochemistry (IHC). We also measured levels of anti-EBNA-1 Immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies in stored sera of these patients using commercial Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit. Patients with benign breast diseases were used as a comparison group for both immunohistochemical and serological analysis. RESULTS:58 cases of malignant breast disease and 63 of benign breast disease (controls) were included in the study. Using manufacturer determined cut-off of 3 IU/ml, 50/55 tested (90.9%) cases and 27/33 tested (81.8%) controls were seropositive for anti-EBNA-1 IgG. Mean antibody levels were significantly higher for cases (54.22 IU/ml) as compared to controls (18.68 IU/ml). IHC for EBNA-1 was positive in 28/51 cases (54.9%). No IHC positivity was noted in the tested 30 controls. Our results show that EBNA-1 expression is seen in a significant proportion of breast cancer tissue specimens from rural India and as compared to patients with benign breast diseases these patients also have a higher immunological response against EBNA-1

Cesarean scar pregnancy: scope for hysteroscopy

Scar ectopic pregnancy also known as cesarean scar pregnancy is a rare form of an extrauterine pregnancy. The blastocyst is implanted at the site of the previous cesarean scar. Most patients remain asymptomatic and are detected on routine ultrasonography imaging. The diagnosis and management of this condition is hence challenging and difficult. A timely ultrasonography in the early weeks of gestation is the key to preventing catastrophic events like uterine perforation and excessive hemorrhage. There is a wide armamentarium of treatment modalities to choose from, however each case must be individualised. Medical management has its own limitations and often patients are required to have a long-term follow-up. We present a case of a cesarean scar pregnancy managed conservatively with systemic methotrexate but subsequently requiring surgical intervention done successfully via hysteroscopy. A repeat ultrasonography done a fortnight later revealed no retained products of conception