A Study on Non-Participation of J&K Players at World and Olympic Level “A Descriptive Study”

This study was aimed at finding reasons for non- participation of J&K players at world & Olympic level it was carried out with a group of 90 national & 30 international players who were at peak performance level at their tenure. A self-made questionnaire was developed to measure the most important reasons for non-participation of J&K players at world & Olympic level. Among the reasons were cited were lack of sport facilities, political factors, Sports organizing authorities (J&K State sports Council, Directorate of Youth Services & Sports, Directorate of Physical Education & Sports University of J&K, and Associations & State Government) and player himself to some extent. Based on the results of the study, a number of recommendations were made for education managers and sport administrators & concern government. Contributions of the study were highlighted and suggestions for further research made. Results: The results of the study were that the sports organizing authorities, Sports facilities & associations were responsible for non-participation of J&K players at world & Olympic level

A RELATIVE STUDY OF THE FITNESS COMPONENTS OF MOTOR FITNESS AMONG FEMALE PHYSICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS OF HIGHER SECONDARY AND FEMALE BOXING PLAYERS

Motor abilities play important role in achieving proficiency in games and sports. Motor Fitness is an athlete’s ability to perform effectively during sports. Motor Fitness involves a mixture of speed, agility, power, coordination, strength and so on and is essential for competing at high levels. For this study, 20 female players each from Boxing (after 6 months of training) and Physical Education were selected from Sher-i-Kashmir Indoor Sports Complex Srinagar and Delhi Public School Budgam, J&K who had played at least at district level or state level. The age group of subjects was ranging between 17-19 years. Test by Barrow motor ability test was used to measure motor fitness components. To find out the significant differences between means of the Boxing and Physical Education Students, unpaired ‘t’ test was applied. From the study, differences were observed on leg- strength, speed and arm & shoulder strength variables between Boxing and Physical Education Students but these were insignificant. It was found that Boxing players are better in leg strength and arm & shoulder strength whereas Physical Education Students are superior to boxing player in speed.  Article visualizations

Antioxidative study of Cerium Oxide nanoparticle functionalised PCL-Gelatin electrospun fibers for wound healing application

Skin wound healing involves a coordinated cellular response to achieve complete reepithelialisation. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the wound environment often pose a hindrance in wound healing resulting in impaired wound healing process. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs) have the ability to protect the cells from oxidative damage by actively scavenging the ROS. Furthermore, matrices like nanofibers have also been explored for enhancing wound healing. In the current study CeNP functionalised polycaprolactone (PCL)-gelatin nanofiber (PGNPNF) mesh was fabricated by electrospinning and evaluated for its antioxidative potential. Wide angle XRD analysis of randomly oriented nanofibers revealed ∼2.6 times reduced crystallinity than pristine PCL which aided in rapid degradation of nanofibers and release of CeNP. However, bioactive composite made between nanoparticles and PCL-gelatin maintained the fibrous morphology of PGNPNF upto 14 days. The PGNPNF mesh exhibited a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic activity due to the incorporated CeNPs. The PGNPNF mesh enhanced proliferation of 3T3-L1 cells by ∼48% as confirmed by alamar blue assay and SEM micrographs of cells grown on the nanofibrous mesh. Furthermore, the PGNPNF mesh scavenged ROS, which was measured by relative DCF intensity and fluorescence microscopy; and subsequently increased the viability and proliferation of cells by three folds as it alleviated the oxidative stress. Overall, the results of this study suggest the potential of CeNP functionalised PCL-gelatin nanofibrous mesh for wound healing applications

Demography and clinical outcome of pulmonary tuberculosis in Kashmir; 2 year prospective study

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affecting lungs. One-third of the world’s population is currently infected with the TB bacillus. Tuberculosis is one of the three primary diseases of poverty. The risk of developing tuberculosis is higher in immunocompromised persons and is a chronic debilitating disease. Aims and objectives: To study the demographic features and clinical outcome of pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and methods: A prospective study involving 72 pulmonary tuberculosis patients above 18 years. Results: In our study 45 were below the age of 40 years with a mean age of 47 years ±12.39, with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1.61; patients were from rural areas and 18 were labourers. Two were HIV positive; fever was the main presenting complaint. Mean haemoglobin was 11.2 ± 2.48. Mean ESR was 45.2 ± 12.55. Bronchoscopy was done in 13 patients and 4 had bronchoalveolar lavage positive for AFB. All patients received a daily regimen of ATT. 4 were treated as Cat II, rest were treated as Cat I. 64 patients (88.8%) were cured, 8 (11.1%) are on follow up. No resistance was documented in any of the patients. Treatment related complications were seen in 43 (30.8%). Conclusion: Tuberculosis most commonly occurs in younger patients, especially from rural areas. Due to the low prevalence of HIV in Kashmir association with HIV was low. The Commonest presentation was fever. Most patients had a good response to daily regimen and the most common drug related side effect was hepatitis

Shoshin beriberi-thiamine responsive pulmonary hypertension in exclusively breastfed infants: A study from northern India

AbstractObjectiveTo study the effect of thiamine administration on the resolution of pulmonary hypertension in exclusively breastfed infants.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingHospital based study of a tertiary care hospital.PatientsA total of 29 infants with 17 males (58.6%) and 12 females (41.4%) were included in the study.InterventionIn addition to the management of shock, right heart failure and renal failure, patients received intravenous thiamine 100mg/kg IV followed by 10mg/day till introduction of supplementary feeds.Main outcomes measuresResolution of shock, metabolic complications and pulmonary hypertension.ResultsMean age at presentation was 78.45±30.7 days. All infants were exclusively breastfed. 86.2% of mothers were on customary dietary restrictions. Biventricular failure and tachycardia was commonly present. There were four deaths in our series. Acute metabolic acidosis was a universal feature with a mean pH of 7.21±0.15. Pulmonary hypertension was present in all patients on admission. Intravenous thiamine 100mg/kg IV stat was given immediately after documenting pulmonary hypertension. Repeat echocardiography showed complete resolution of pulmonary hypertension.ConclusionMany infants present to us with Shoshin beriberi with unusually high pulmonary pressures. These patients respond to thiamine challenge with prompt resolution of metabolic complications and reversal of pulmonary hypertension. We believe this is first of its kind from the region, which is reported

Fabrication of multifunctional cellulose/TiO2/Ag composite nanofibers scaffold with antibacterial and bioactivity properties for future tissue engineering applications

In the present work, a novel strategy was explored to fabricate nanofiber scaffolds consisting of cellulose assimilated with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs). The concentration of the TiO2 NPs in the composite was adjusted to 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt % with respect to polymer concentration used for the electrospinning of colloidal solutions. The fabricated composite scaffolds were dispensed to alkaline deacetylation using 0.05 M NaOH to remove the acetyl groups in order to generate pure cellulose nanofibers containing TiO2 NPs. Moreover, to augment our nanofiber scaffolds with antibacterial activity, the in situ deposition approach of using Ag NPs was utilized with varied molar concentrations of 0.14, 0.42, and 0.71 M. The physicochemical properties of the nanofibers were identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and contact angle meter studies. This demonstrated the presence of both TiO2 and Ag NPs and complete deacetylation of nanofibers. The antibacterial efficiency of the nanofibers was scrutinized against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, revealing proper in situ deposition of Ag NPs and confirming the nanofibers are antibacterial in nature. The biocompatibility of the scaffolds was accustomed using chicken embryo fibroblasts, which confirmed their potential role to be used as wound-healing materials. Furthermore, the fabricated scaffolds were subjected to analysis in simulated body fluid at 37 degrees C to induce mineralization for future osseous tissue integration. These results indicate that fabricated composite nanofiber scaffolds with multifunctional characteristics will have a highest potential as a future candidate for promoting new tissues artificially