Causes of the Great Recession of 2007-9: The Financial Crisis is the Symptom not the Disease!

Globalization has made it possible for labor in developing countries to augment labor in the developed world, without having to relocate, in ways not thought possible only a few decades ago. We argue that this large increase in the developed world’s effective labor supply, triggered by geo-political events and technological innovations, coupled with the inability of existing institutions in the US and developing nations themselves to cope with this shock set the stage for the great recession. The financial crisis in the US was but the first acute symptom.

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF NOVEL SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC METHODS FOR SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF PIOGLITAZONE AND METFORMIN IN BULK AND FIXED DOSAGE FORMS BY AREA UNDER CURVE AND DUAL WAVELENGTH MODE

Objective: Two simple, accurate and reproducible spectrophotometric methods have been developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of metformin (MET) and pioglitazone (PIO) in bulk and tablet dosage forms. Methods: (1) Area under curve method (Area calculation): The proposed area under the curve method involves measurement of area at selected wavelength ranges. Two wavelength ranges were selected 228-238 nm and 265-275 nm for estimation of MET and PIO respectively. (2) Dual wavelength method: In the dual-wavelength method, two wavelengths were selected for each drug in a way so that the difference in absorbance is zero for another drug. PIO shows equal absorbance at 235 and 266 nm, where the difference in absorbance was measured for determination of MET. Similarly, the difference in absorbance at 216 and 241.5 nm was measured for determination of MET. Results: Linearity range for MET and PIO is 2-10 μg/ml and 10-50 μg/ml at respective selected wavelengths. Accuracy and precision studies were carried out, and results were satisfactory. The proposed methods have been validated as per ICH guidelines and successfully applied to the estimation of MET and PIO in their combined tablet dosage form. Conclusion: The developed methods are simple, precise, rugged and economical. The utility of the methods has been demonstrated by analysis of commercially available formulations. Keywords: Metformin, Pioglitazone, Area under curve method, Dual wavelength metho

Exercising in India: An Exploratory Analysis Using The Time Use Survey, 2019

In this paper, we use the nationally representative Time Use Survey (TUS) data from India to estimate the proportion of people that spend any time of the day exercising. We found that overall, less than 7% of the adult population (age ≥18 Years) spent any time of the day exercising. Our estimates also revealed that the proportion of population exercising varied Across states, by rural and urban sectors, and by social and religious groups. We also estimated logistic regressions to Model the probability of people exercising. We found that males had three times higher odds of exercising than females. Relative to less educated people (primary school and below), those with educational level of graduate and above had almost 2.5 times higher odds of exercising. People in the higher strata of consumption class, the top 10%, had 1.7 times higher odds of exercising relative to the bottom 50%. From a public policy perspective, the low level of exercise across all geographies and social, economic, and demographic characteristics indicates the need for population-wide interventions in India to encourage exercise

Crop Fires and Cardiovascular Health : A Study from North India

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mean platelet volume as short-term follow-up biomarker in children with celiac disease

Objective: To assess the mean platelet volume (MPV) as a short-term follow-up biomarker in celiac disease (CD) and to compare it with anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (TTGA) assay in Indian children. Material and Methods: Newly diagnosed 35 children aged <12 years who were positive for TTGA and further confirmed by intestinal biopsy with histological Grade 2 and 3 based on modified Marsh Classification were enrolled. TTGA, MPV, and clinical parameters were assessed at enrollment and after 3 months of gluten free diet (GFD). Results: Short stature (94.3%) and diarrhea (80%) were the most common presenting features. 33 (94.3%) children were found to have anemia. MPV reduced significantly from 9.28±1.88 fl to 8.55±1.10 fl after 3 months of GFD, (p<0.001). The mean TTG level reduced from 166.80±59.23 U/ml to 86.45±39.67 U/ml (p<0.001) after 3 months of GFD. Conclusion: MPV is one of the biomarkers that can be used to monitor dietary transgressions in CD in short term

Trends of prevalence and pathological spectrum of head and neck cancers in North India

BACKGROUND: Head and neck neoplasia constitute one of the commonest cancers in India. Use of smokeless tobacco (Pan masala, Zarda etc.) is on the increase in North India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, and is responsible for the large majority of these tumours. AIM: To assess the patients\u2032 characteristics, yearly prevalence and histopathological subtypes of the head and neck neoplasia (excluding oral cavity) in Allahabad and surrounding regions. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A retrospective study of 11 years from 1990 to 2000 was designed. Data was collected year-wise using the tumor registry data. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All biopsies submitted for histopathology to the Pathology department were reviewed and analyzed for demographic data, site and diagnosis. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Two-Sample Test was utilized to determine whether two distributions are the same. RESULTS: A total of 40559 biopsies were examined in the department, of which, lesions of the head and neck region, excluding the oral cavity, constituted 694 biopsies (409 males and 285 females). One hundred and forty-four malignant lesions were reported, 114 being males and 30 females. A comparison of the age-specific prevalence rates of cancer during the study period showed that the prevalence was highest in patients belonging to the 50-59 years age group and squamous cell carcinoma Grade II was the most prevalent type. On an average, 58 new biopsies per annum were received. CONCLUSIONS: Properly structured site-specific data like this can augment the National Cancer Registry Programme and is an essential indicator for the magnitude and the pattern of the cancer problem in India

Isolation, identification and bioactive potential of bacterial endophytes from Coleus

Coleus (Lamiaceae) is a large and widespread genus comprising of species with diverse ethnobotanical uses. In the present study, bacterial endophytes were isolated from Coleus forskohlii and Coleus aromaticus. Endophytes are the microorganisms which reside within the plants without showing any harmful effect on its host. Diverse types of endophytes live symbiotically within almost all plants and in turn help the plant in a number of ways such as imparting resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses, producing compounds involved in attraction of pollinators, inducing the plant defense mechanisms, etc. The bacterial endophytes isolated in this study, were characterized by microscopic examination (using gram staining) and molecularly identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA. Extracts were prepared from endophytic biomass using solvents of different polarities (methanol, ethyl acetate and butanol) and were screened for their bioactive potential (in vitro cytotoxicity anti-microbial, and anti-oxidant activity). Scale-up of endophytes showing promising results is under process, which will help in isolation of pure compounds