Valuing Visitor Access to Forested Areas and Exploring Willingness to Pay for Forest Conservation and Restoration Financethe Case of Small Island Developing State of Mauritius

Small island developing states share as common constraints their small size, geographical dispersion, greater vulnerability to rapid and drastic environmental change, and limited administrative and technical resources. Within these, they have to cater for urban and agricultural areas, as well as enough natural landscape for ecosystem services. Funding for conservation of forest ecosystems on these islands has received relatively less attention and national park systems are chronically underfunded. We used Mauritius as a case study to investigate the willingness to pay for conservation of state and privately owned forests. It is part of a biodiversity hotspot with highly threatened forest ecosystems, but has known some conservation successes. We designed and administered survey based contingent valuation approach to estimate the willingness to pay entry fees to visit forest areas across the island. Study results suggest international and domestic tourists have a mean willingness to pay of USD 7.73 and USD 3.74 respectively, for conservation. These values represent amounts visitors are willing to pay every time they visit a public or private forested site. Results show that mid-level supervisory roles positively influence willingness to pay values. Results also show that people aged 50 and above, not having any supervisory role, married with one child or less, tend to have lower willingness to pay for conservation

EXAGGERATION OF TYPE 2 DIABETES DUE TO CAFFEINE-NICOTINE CO-ADMINISTRATION: A STUDY IN RATS

Objective: This study evaluated the toxic effect of simultaneously injected normal doses of caffeine and nicotine in diabetic lab animals.Methods: A study was conducted for three weeks in seven rat groups (n=6); viz. first non-diabetic group treated with caffeine (20 mg/kg, ip) twice daily, second with nicotine (0.4 mg/kg, ip) twice daily and third with both treatments simultaneously; whereas other three groups treated in the same way but inducing diabetes; and employing the seventh group as diabetic control. Type 2 diabetes was induced by high fatty diet prior for two weeks and a single streptozotocin injection on 1th day of study in all diabetic groups. Blood and urine samples were collected weekly to estimate blood parameters. Animals were sacrificed, and organs were collected for histopathology analysis.Results: Most blood parameters showed a rapid increase in diabetes in co-addiction group compared with their single addiction or non-addiction control groups. Caffeine-nicotine co-addiction group showed about 60-80 mg/dl (p<0.05) rise in serum glucose, 15-20 U/l in AST (p<0.01), 80-100 U/l in ALT (p<0.01), 20-30 mg/dl in Urea (p<0.01), 02 mg/dl in creatinine (p<0.05), 12-15 mg/dl (p<0.01) in LDL-C, 6-9 mg/dl in VLDL-C (p<0.01) and 60-90 mg/dl in TC levels (p<0.01) when compared with non-addicted diabetic control. There was a significant reduction in HDL-C (p<0.01) while the less significant rise in triglycerides in the case of co-addiction as compared to non-addiction diabetic control group. Histopathology results exhibited moderate to severe tissue damage in agreement with clinical biochemistry results.Conclusion: Nicotine-caffeine co-addiction harms exceptionally more in type 2 diabetes greater than their single addiction or non-addiction

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN CASE REPORTS VARIANT ULNAR HEAD OF FLEXOR CARPI ULNARIS MUSCLE

ABSTRACT During routine dissection, of the right upper limb of 70 years old donated embalmed male cadaver in the Department of Anatomy, K.J. Somaiya Medical College, Sion, Mumbai, India, we observed a separate humeral and ulnar heads of flexor carpi ulnaris muscle. To recognise Anatomical variations it is necessary to know the normal Anatomy. Normally the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle arises by two heads, humeral and ulnar, connected by a tendinous arch. The humeral head arises from the medial epicondyle via the common flexor tendon. The ulnar head arises from the medial margin of the olecranon process and an aponeurosis attached to the posterior sub cutaneous border of the ulna. The tendon of flexor carpi ulnaris inserted into the hamate and the fifth metacarpal bone through pisohamate and pisometacarpal ligaments. In the present case the ulnar head of flexor carpi ulnaris muscle was more bulky. It separated ulnar nerve and artery. The humeral and ulnar heads were separated from each other by ulnar nerve. These two heads fused with each other just before their insertion, where the ulnar artery came in contact with ulnar nerve. The further course and distribution of ulnar artery and ulnar nerve were normal. The knowledge of such unusual ulnar head separating ulnar artery and ulnar nerve may be clinically important for plastic surgeons doing flap surgeries and for the surgeon dealing with cubital tunnel syndrome. INTRODUCTION Flexor carpi ulnaris muscle is the medial most muscle of the superficial flexor group. It arises by two heads, humeral and ulnar, connected by a tendinous arch. The small humeral head arises from the medial epicondyle via the common flexor tendon. The ulnar head has an extensive origin from the medial margin of the olecranon process and proximal two-thirds of the posterior border of the ulna, an aponeurosis (along with flexor digitorum profundus and extensor carpi ulnaris) and from the intermuscular septum between it and flexor digitorum superficialis. A thick tendon forms along its anterolateral border in its distal half. The tendon is attached to the pisiform, and thence prolonged to the hamate and the fifth metacarpal bone by pisohamate and pisometacarpal ligaments (pisiform is the sesamoid bone developing in the tendon of flexor carpi ulnaris). Acting with the flexor carp

Resistance patterns among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients in greater metropolitan Mumbai: trends over time.

BACKGROUND:While the high burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) itself is a matter of great concern, the emergence and rise of advanced forms of drug-resistance such as extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) and extremely drug-resistant TB (XXDR-TB) is more troubling. The aim of this study was to investigate the trends over time of patterns of drug resistance in a sample of MDR-TB patients in greater metropolitan Mumbai, India. METHODS:This was a retrospective, observational study of drug susceptibility testing (DST) results among MDR-TB patients from eight health care facilities in greater Mumbai between 2005 and 2013. We classified resistance patterns into four categories: MDR-TB, pre-XDR-TB, XDR-TB and XXDR-TB. RESULTS:A total of 340 MDR-TB patients were included in the study. Pre-XDR-TB was the most common form of drug-resistant TB observed overall in this Mumbai population at 56.8% compared to 29.4% for MDR-TB. The proportion of patients with MDR-TB was 39.4% in the period 2005-2007 and 27.8% in 2011-2013, while the proportion of those with XDR-TB and XXDR-TB was changed from 6.1% and 0% respectively to 10.6% and 5.6% during the same time period. During the same periods, the proportions of patients with ofloxacin, moxifloxacin and ethionamide resistance significantly increased from 57.6% to 75.3%, from 60.0% to 69.5% and from 24.2% to 52.5% respectively (p<0.05). DISCUSSION:The observed trends in TB drug-resistance patterns in Mumbai highlight the need for individualized drug regimens, designed on the basis of DST results involving first- and second-line anti-TB drugs and treatment history of the patient. A drug-resistant TB case-finding strategy based on molecular techniques that identify only rifampicin resistance will lead to initiation of suboptimal treatment regimens for a significant number of patients, which may in turn contribute to amplification of resistance and transmission of strains with increasingly advanced resistance within the community

Encapsulation of water-insoluble drug by a cross-linking technique: Effect of process and formulation variables on encapsulation efficiency, particle size, and in vitro dissolution rate

Ibuprofen-gelatin micropellets were prepared by the cross-linking technique using formaldehyde. Spherical micropellets having an entrapment efficiency of 65% to 85% were obtained. The effect of core to coat ratio, speed of agitation, temperature, and volume of oil phase was studied with respect to entrapment efficiency, micropellet size, and surface characteristics. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetric analysis confirmed the absence of any drug-polymer interaction. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that there is a decrease in crystallinity of the drug. The micromeritic properties of micropellets were found to be slightly changed by changing various processing parameters to give micropellets of good flow property. The in vitro release profile could be altered significantly by changing various processing parameters to give a controlled release of drug from the micropellets. The stability studies of the drug-loaded micropellets showed that the drug was stable at storage conditions of room temperature, 37°C, 25°/60% relative humidity (RH) and 45°/60% RH, for 12 weeks

Resistance patterns among MDR-TB patients diagnosed among 8 facilities in greater metropolitan Mumbai, 2005–2013.

<p>Resistance patterns among MDR-TB patients diagnosed among 8 facilities in greater metropolitan Mumbai, 2005–2013.</p

Trends over time of resistance patterns among DR-TB patients diagnosed in 8 facilities in greater metropolitan Mumbai, 2005–2013

<p>Trends over time of resistance patterns among DR-TB patients diagnosed in 8 facilities in greater metropolitan Mumbai, 2005–2013</p