Promoting traditional occupations in indigenous populations of Meghalaya, India

370-377Indigenous people have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation. A study was conducted in Meghalaya state on 2 traditional occupations, blacksmithy and manufacturing of bows and arrows. A representative sample of 15 families in blacksmithy and 10 families involved in the manufacture of bows and arrows were chosen. Observational and interview surveys were done by the first author through personal visits. The analysis of data shows many positive factors for promoting traditional occupations that are worth preserving such as creativity, traditional knowledge, uniqueness, identity, self-worth and contribution to the economic and social factors of the community. The agricultural implements are still traditional and perhaps can be improved to provide better mechanical advantage and higher incomes. Traditional occupations continue to play a major role in the social and economic lives of the people and must be encouraged to develop further to enhance rural economy and also capture the unique identity of the people. Educational institutions, NGOs, concerned government ministries and private organisations through social responsibilities schemes can help preserving and promoting this unique but rich and wonderful knowledge of the indigenous people

Promoting traditional occupations in indigenous populations of Meghalaya, India

Indigenous people have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation. A study was conducted in Meghalaya state on 2 traditional occupations, blacksmithy and manufacturing of bows and arrows. A representative sample of 15 families in blacksmithy and 10 families involved in the manufacture of bows and arrows were chosen. Observational and interview surveys were done by the first author through personal visits. The analysis of data shows many positive factors for promoting traditional occupations that are worth preserving such as creativity, traditional knowledge, uniqueness, identity, self-worth and contribution to the economic and social factors of the community. The agricultural implements are still traditional and perhaps can be improved to provide better mechanical advantage and higher incomes. Traditional occupations continue to play a major role in the social and economic lives of the people and must be encouraged to develop further to enhance rural economy and also capture the unique identity of the people. Educational institutions, NGOs, concerned government ministries and private organisations through social responsibilities schemes can help preserving and promoting this unique but rich and wonderful knowledge of the indigenous people

Outer Membrane Vesicles as a Candidate Vaccine against Edwardsiellosis

Infection with Edwardsiella tarda, a Gram-negative bacterium, causes high morbidity and mortality in both marine and freshwater fish. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) released from Gram-negative bacteria are known to play important roles in bacterial pathogenesis and host immune responses, but no such roles for E. tarda OMVs have yet been described. In the present study, we investigated the proteomic composition of OMVs and the immunostimulatory effect of OMVs in a natural host, as well as the efficacy of OMVs when used as a vaccine against E. tarda infection. A total of 74 proteins, from diverse subcellular fractions, were identified in OMVs. These included a variety of important virulence factors, such as hemolysin, OmpA, porin, GAPDH, EseB, EseC, EseD, EvpC, EvpP, lipoprotein, flagellin, and fimbrial protein. When OMVs were administrated to olive flounder, significant induction of mRNAs encoding IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, and IFNγ was observed, compared with the levels seen in fish injected with formalin-killed E. tarda. In a vaccine trial, olive flounder given OMVs were more effectively protected (p<0.0001) than were control fish. Investigation of OMVs may be useful not only for understanding the pathogenesis of E. tarda but also in development of an effective vaccine against edwardsiellosis

Perspectives on the impact of stigma in leprosy: strategies to improve access to health care

Pamidipani SS Sundar Rao LEPRA India, Secunderabad, India Abstract: Throughout its history, leprosy has been much feared and misunderstood. Today, we have the best knowledge, expertise, therapies, and surgical and physiotherapeutic skills to virtually cure and eradicate the disease, but the continuing high levels of stigma pose insurmountable obstacles in our efforts to remove the scourges of leprosy. In this review, the medical, social, and political aspects related to the impact of stigma on leprosy are elaborated, and strategies for providing access to equitable and effective care are described. Leprosy is a biosocial disease, and experience has shown that both the medical and social dimensions must be aggressively confronted. Stigma in leprosy is based on religious, sociocultural, psychological, and demographic experience over centuries of human existence. Therefore, any attempt to eradicate or reduce stigma will require strong multifaceted approaches that will permeate psychological, social, and mental layers of the human mind and result in necessary health-seeking behaviors. What then is needed is a social multidrug therapy similar to the medical multidrug therapy, where there would be one arm for curing the medical problems of leprosy, a second arm focusing on empowering the people, especially affected persons, through appropriate education, awareness, especially for early detection and treatment, encouraging positive attitudes and perceptions, and a third arm for advocacy, attacking derogatory and discriminatory laws, enabling opportunities for persons with leprosy disabilities to be profitably employed, and providing necessary rehabilitation facilities. Health can never be adequately protected by health services without the active understanding and involvement of communities whose health is at stake. The review cautions that without a social multidisciplinary approach using community-based participatory techniques, we cannot provide access to effective and acceptable health care to leprosy-affected persons. Keywords: leprosy, stigma, social, MDT, health acces

Original Article Nutritional status of leprosy patients in India

A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out at a Leprosy Referral Hospital in Delhi to assess the nutritional status of multibacillary leprosy patients in comparison to the general population using BMI. 150 people affected with multibacillary leprosy were included in the study, of whom 108 (72%) had WHO Grade 2 disability. 100 non leprosy patients were also included as a control group. Socio-demographic and clinical details as well as their height and weight were measured and the BMI computed. The findings clearly showed that under-nutrition (BMI &lt; 18.5) was more common in people affected by leprosy than in those without leprosy, regardless of age or sex. Presence of disability made the incidence of under-nutrition more likely. The duration of disease, number of lesions or bacterial index had no impact on the level of nutrition. There may be multiple factors working together to lead to this under-nutrition and these are discussed briefly. If, we aim to provide high quality services with a holistic approach, a mandatory BMI should be calculated for every patient and if under nourished, a qualitative diet summary should be done and suitable nutritional advice given. Further, studies are needed for a better understanding of the occurrence and progression of under-nutrition in leprosy to find efficient ways to combat this problem

Performance analysis and comparison of FXLMS and NFXLMS algorithms for active vibration control

Considerable attention has been devoted recently to active vibration control using intelligent materials as actuators. This paper present result on active control schemes for vibration suppression of flexible aluminium cantilever beam with bonded piezoelectric actuators. The PZT patches were surface bonded near the fixed end of flexible cantilever beam. The exciter and actuator are collocated to achieve a minimum phase. The aim of this work is to implement real time control to suppress vibration. To achieve this, the cantilever beam is taken as device under test, an anti-vibration signal is generated using Normalized Filtered-x Least Mean Square (NFXLMS) control algorithm for feedforward adaptive control is analyzed and compared with Filtered-x Least Mean Square (FXLMS) feed-forward control algorithm. Then the active vibration control experimental platform is established to verify the effectiveness of NFXLMS control scheme as well as FXLMS control scheme. The experimental results of FXLMS and NFXLMS are compared by implementing in Lab View 12

Design, development and ground testing of hingeless elevons for MAV using piezoelectric composite actuators

A design methodology is presented to develop the hingeless control surfaces for MAV using adhesively bonded Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) actuators. These actuators have got the capability to deflect the trailing edge surfaces of the wing to attain the required maneuverability, besides achieving the set aerodynamic trim condition. A scheme involving design, analysis, fabrication and testing procedure has been adopted to realize the trailing edge morphing mechanism. The stiffness distribution of the composite MAV wing is tailored such that the induced deflection by piezoelectric actuation is approximately optimized. Through ground testing, the proposed concept has been demonstrated on a typical MAV structure. Electromechanical analysis is performed to evaluate the actuator performance and subsequently aeroelastic and 2D CFD analyses are carried out to see the functional requirements of wing trailing edge surfaces to behave as elevons. Efforts have been made to obtain the performance comparison of conventional control surfaces (elevons) with morphing wing trailing edge surfaces. A significant improvement in lift to drag ratio is noticed with morphed wing configuration in comparison to conventional wing. Further, it has been shown that the morphed wing trailing edge surfaces can be deployed as elevons for aerodynamic trim applications

Does nerve examination improve diagnostic efficacy of the WHO classification of leprosy?

Background: In the year 1998 WHO proposed that the clinical criteria of counting skin lesions alone should decide whether a patient receives Multibacillary (MB) or Paucibacillary (PB) MDT. There is a concern that a significant number of patients may be incorrectly treated under these guidelines. Aims: This study aims to determine whether the sensitivity and the specificity of the latest WHO criteria, can be enhanced by the addition of nerve examination in the place of slit skin smears. Methods: 150 patients of untreated leprosy reporting at a TLM Hospital in Delhi from January to December 2006 were registered for the study. After physical examination, the number of skin lesions and nerves involved were counted and slit skin smears performed. Two groups were created, those with > 5 skin lesions, and those with 5 or less skin lesions. The diagnostic efficacy of the current WHO classification was calculated with and without the addition of nerve examination. Results: The sensitivity and the specificity of the current WHO operational classification are 76.6%, and 73.7% respectively, using slit skin smear as a standard. When the number of nerves was added to the diagnosis, the sensitivity increased to 94.4%, for more than 5 lesions and to 90.9%, for five or less than five lesions. Conclusions: Nerve examination can significantly improve the sensitivity of the WHO criterion in determination of MB versus PB leprosy

Investigational reverse transcriptase inhibitors for the treatment of HIV

INTRODUCTION: While considerable advances have been made in the development of antiretroviral agents, there is still work to be done. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors are important drugs for the treatment of HIV, and considerable research is currently ongoing to develop new agents and to modify currently existing agents. AREAS COVERED: Herein, the authors discuss both investigational nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), including agents that are in various stages of development. They also discuss novel formulations that are being investigated for currently available drugs, and discuss the advantages that these new formulations may provide. EXPERT OPINION: New formulations and co-formulations of currently existing antiretrovirals will represent an important area of development, as a means to improve adherence for HIV-positive individuals. New formulations will continue to be developed, with a focus on allowing for less-frequent administration, as well increasing drug concentrations at local sites such as vaginal tissue, rectal tissue and sites in the immune system