National Rural Employment Guarantee as Social Protection

This article is an attempt to highlight issues around the implementation of NREGA with a focus on its institutions, governance and innovations. The main proposition considered is that institutions and governance play an important role in determining the functioning of NREGA, and the trajectory of its success. The attempt is to identify the conditions for success (or failure) in the process, to draw lessons for mid?course corrections to the programme. This includes examining political, administrative and bureaucratic dynamics that may ensure better realisation of the ‘right to work’. Based on a field study in three Indian states, it was found that differential impacts and achievements of the NREGA are related to variations in the commitment of local leadership, levels of institutional preparedness and governance capacities. The experience of these states offers certain insights which may help improve implementation policy of the NREGA

Identification of novel pathways involved in the pathogenesis of human adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma

Activating mutations in the gene encoding β-catenin have been identified in the paediatric form of human craniopharyngioma (adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma, ACP), a histologically benign but aggressive pituitary tumour accounting for up to 10% of paediatric intracranial tumours. Recently, we generated an ACP mouse model and revealed that, as in human ACP, nucleocytoplasmic accumulation of β-catenin (β-catnc) and over-activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway occurs only in a very small proportion of cells, which form clusters. Here, combining mouse genetics, fluorescence labelling and flow-sorting techniques, we have isolated these cells from tumorigenic mouse pituitaries and shown that the β-catnc cells are enriched for colony-forming cells when cultured in stem cell-promoting media, and have longer telomeres, indicating shared properties with normal pituitary progenitors/stem cells (PSCs). Global gene profiling analysis has revealed that these β-catnc cells express high levels of secreted mitogenic signals, such as members of the SHH, BMP and FGF family, in addition to several chemokines and their receptors, suggesting an important autocrine/paracrine role of these cells in the pathogenesis of ACP and a reciprocal communication with their environment. Finally, we highlight the clinical relevance of these findings by showing that these pathways are also up-regulated in the β-catnc cell clusters identified in human ACP. As well as providing further support to the concept that pituitary stem cells may play an important role in the oncogenesis of human ACP, our data reveal novel disease biomarkers and potential pharmacological targets for the treatment of these devastating childhood tumours.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00401-012-0957-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Comparison of Information Technology Adoption Rates across Laggards, Innovators and Others Rukmini Reddy Muduganti

It is important to predict and analyze user acceptance of information technology in order to address success and failures of technological produ cts. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) has been used for two decades in empirical studies to predict use r acceptance of information technology. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is well suited for studying user acceptance of information technology, which is an instance of contingent behavior. In this paper we extend our research on ABM of the TRA by comparing technology adoption rates across varied sections of a population. We discuss intention variations among laggards, innovators and the undecided sections of employees in an organization. Our implementation is cost effective and easy to use in contrast to the empirical method. The results we produced corroborate the results obtained from the last few decades of empirical research in this field

Analytical Performance of a FRET-Based Point-of-Care Immunoassay for the Quantitation of C-Reactive Protein in Serum and Finger Prick Capillary Whole Blood

Time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) provides a useful technology for immunoassay measurement of proteins, This has been used to develop an immunoassay for C-reactive protein (Procise CRP™) that provides point-of-care measurement of CRP in less than 4 minutes using 20 µL of either whole blood or serum. Analytical studies of the assay on the ProciseDx™ analyzer were performed to characterize its measurement capabilities.Sensitivity, specificity, linearity, and precision - including reproducibility of finger prick blood collection and testing, suitable for routine clinical use in a point-of-care setting were demonstrated for the CRP assay. It also showed excellent analytical agreement with a current commercial CRP test. These results indicate the Procise CRP assay is useful for obtaining fast and accurate CRP quantitation in a point of care setting that can aid in the immediate assessment of patients’ inflammatory status. </div

Real-life benefits of intrajejunal levodopa infusion therapy in four patients with the parkinsonian variant of progressive supranuclear palsy:A 1-year follow-up data report

BACKGROUND: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition presenting with different clinical endophenotypes. The parkinsonian variant of PSP (PSP‐P) is characterised by early but fading responsiveness to high‐dose levodopa therapy; however, high‐dose oral therapy is often associated with intolerance due to dopaminergic side effects and so doses may have to be capped despite clinical benefits. Evidence from animal models and real‐life registries suggest far higher doses of levodopa can be tolerated if given in a continuous drug delivery (CDD) manner. We investigated tolerance and possible clinical benefits in patients with PSP‐P still responsive to levodopa after initiating CDD in the form of intrajejunal levodopa infusion (IJLI) therapy as part of a compassionate usage program (CU). METHODS: This is an observational clinical data report from the IJLI implementation program undertaken in regional tertiary referral Parkinson's centres in India and at King's College Hospital London, Dubai as part of a CU. Four patients with PSP‐P receiving IJLI as a part of a CU underwent evaluations of liver and renal function, motor and nonmotor function, quality of life, sleep dysfunction, fatigue, anxiety and depression, and cognitive impairment at baseline and 6 and 12 months post‐IJLI initiation. RESULTS: In total, three out of four patients successfully completed 12 months of treatment (6 months in one patient). All four patients showed good tolerability to IJLI even at higher doses (1400 and 1960 mg at 6 and 12 months, respectively) when compared to oral levodopa (812.5 ± 103 levodopa equivalent daily dose [LEDD]) and presented with overall persistent improvements in motor and nonmotor scores and quality‐of‐life scores at 6 and 12 months post‐IJLI. All patients showed improvement in estimated glomerular filtration rate (43.50 ml/min/1.73 m(2) to 67.5 ml/min/1.73 m(2) and 79.5 ml/min/1.73 m(2) at 6 and 12 months, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: IJLI led to persistent beneficial effects on motor and some nonmotor aspects in patients with PSP‐P at up to 12 months after treatment with associated improvement in overall renal function