Role Of Social Media In Sustaining Business During Corona Virus Pandemic

Due to Corona Virus Pandemic (Covid-19), several countries across the world resorted to lockdowns in order to protect their people from getting infected from the virus. But these lockdowns confined millions of citizens to their homes restricting their mobility. Restricted mobilization resulted in shutting down businesses and ceasing almost all economic activities. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global economy is expected to shrink by over 3 per cent in 2020, the steepest slowdown since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Another analysis by International Monetary Fund reveals that demand in the manufacturing sector has gone down in many countries of the world that further resulted in unemployment. During the lockdown, an estimated 14 crore (140 million) people lost employment while salaries were cut for many others. More than 45 per cent of households across the nation have reported an income drop as compared to the previous year. Thus, Covid-19/ Crona virus outbreak has presented new and significant downside risks to the global economic outlook. In the case of India too, some economists revealedthatduringlockdownthereis ajoblossof40millionpeople(MRD report) in the country, that’s too in the unorganized sectors. Moreover, with theadventofthelockdownmostofthe sectorshiftedtheirfunctioningonline orworkfromhomeinordertosustain their working. During shutdown it is also observed that the digital world got a push, sale of mobile phones and related gadgets increased. The small as well as big traders, businessmen started using apps like watsepp, Face book, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, PayTM etc more frequently. Undoubtedly, social media has helped in sustaining economy and business during the Corona Virus Pandemic. The present research work is an effort to look upon the role of social media in sustaining business during lockdown. Data were collected empirically again with the help of social media. Results revealed that impacts of lockdown were different on different types of businesses

Comparative study on burnout among Female Volleyball Players and Male Volleyball Players

The main purpose of the study was to compare the Burnout level of Female volleyball players and Male volleyball players. A total of 50 subjects in which 25 Female volleyball players & 25 Male volleyball players. The age of the subject ranged between 18-25 years. All samples were selected from Sports Authority of India centre; Mastuana Sahib, Sangrur, Punjab. The selected samples at least participated in National level. To assess the Burnout level of selected samples; Burnout Inventory developed by Christina Maslach, Michael P. Leiter, Susan E. Jackson. This inventory is highly reliable and valid to assess the Burnout level of selected subjects. To compare the Burnout level of selected subjects‘t’ test was used and the level of significance was chosen 0.05 level. Results of the study have found that Male volleyball players have shown higher Burnout level as compared to Female volleyball players

Effect of phenolic compounds on nematodes- A review

The term, phenolics has been used to describe a group of structurally diverse plant secondary metabolites. This group includes metabolites derived from the condensation of acetate units (terpenoids), those produced by the modification of aromatic amino acids (phenylpropanoids, cinnamic acid, lignin precursor, catechols and coumarins), flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and tannins. The occurrence and metabolism of phenolic substances in plants, in response to injury or invasion by pathogens, such as fungi, bacteria and viruses have already been studied. Oxidised compounds produced in plants after invasion by pathogens often show considerable biological activity and are a common mechanism of resistance to plant pathogens. The present review gives information regarding the effects of different phenolic compounds on nematode system. It is found that these compounds are involved in plant defense and hence provide resistance against nematode attack

Ultrasonographic evaluation of antenatal umbilical cord coiling index (aUCI) in second trimester of gestation and pregnancy outcome

Background: To evaluate the role of antenatal umbilical cord coiling index (aUCI) obtained during routine second trimester ultrasound as a predictor of perinatal outcome.Methods: Fetal ultrasound of 100 pregnant women was done between 18-24 weeks of gestation. Antenatal UCI was calculated as a reciprocal value of the distance between a pair of coils. Patients were followed up till delivery for perinatal outcome. UCI was correlated with: (1) gestational age (2) mode of delivery, (3) presence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid, (4) APGAR scores and (5) birth weight.Results: aUCI was categorized as hypocoiled, normocoiled or hypercoiled. Hypocoiled cord was associated with LBW (1%), preterm delivery (1%) while hypercoiled cord was associated with LBW (4%). No statistical difference was found for birth weight, gestational age, APGAR scores and MSAF between the groups with normal and abnormal aUCI.Conclusions: In present study, no association was found between abnormal aUCI with higher prevalence of interventional delivery, presence of MSAF, preterm and LBW. Therefore, more specific parameters need to be developed as promising prognostic marker for predicting adverse perinatal outcome and further studies are needed to test this hypothesis

Multiple urinary bladder calculi: a rare cause of irreducible uterovaginal prolapse

A case of irreducible prolapse with multiple bladder calculi in a 65-years-old multiparous, postmenopausal woman is reported. Inability to walk, constipation and urinary incontinence were her primary complaints. Routine ultrasound of the abdomen and pelvis failed to reveal multiple vesical calculi as the prolapse was lying outside the pelvis. However, targeted plain X-ray of the prolapsed mass showed multiple vesical calculi. The patient was managed with single-stage vaginal hysterectomy and laparotomy. First vaginal hysterectomy was done then prolapsed cystocele was reduced and extraperitoneal vesicolithotomy done. Currently, the patient is relieved of all symptoms. Management of an irreducible procidentia and a hard mass in the anterior compartment, as in this case, can be challenging and requires a diligent effort to confirm the diagnosis and to execute the appropriate surgical protocol to achieve optimal outcome with minimal intra- and post-operative complications

Responses of the antioxidant defences of Labeo rohita exposed to Basic violet-1 (BV-1)

Present study envisaged evaluating the effect of Basic violet-1 (BV-1, CI No. 42535), a widely used azo dye in dyeing and textile industries, on antioxidant enzymes of Labeo rohita fingerlings (7.6 – 11.3 cm length and 16.1 – 26.7 g weight). Antioxidant enzymes such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were estimated in liver, kidney, gill, muscle and brain of the fish as markers for the stress of BV-1. After 96h, the fish were kept for a recovery period of 30 days and activity of enzymes was determined at 15 day intervals. Significant dose dependent increase over control in the activity of AST (79.69%) and ALT (50.07%) was observed in all the tissues while a significant decrease over control was observed in AChE (717.43%) and SDH (173.07%) activity in all the tissues. Alterations in the activity of enzymes could probably be due to a defense against oxidative damage caused by the dye and prolonged effect till the end of the recovery period could be a metabolic adaptation of the fish to the stress of the present dye. The results indicate that the dye is very toxic to L. rohita as there was a marked change in the activity of selected enzymes in the exposed fish and the effect prolonged till the end of recovery period. So these enzymes in the selected tissues can be considered as best biomarker to determine toxicity of even very low doses of the azo dye BV-1 in fish

Use of off-label drugs in the neonatal intensive care unit in India

Background: Off-label use of drugs is widespread in pediatrics and almost all neonates hospitalized in NICU are affected by the use of off-label drugs regardless of gestational age and birth weight. This is because of the lack of regulation for medications in the neonatal population and the delays in updating drug instructions. This is mainly due to the ethical difficulty in the research and difficulties in conducting clinical trials in this vulnerable population. Hence, the study was planned to assess the extent of the use of off-label drugs in the NICU. Methods: An observational study was carried out in the NICU of a tertiary care center from May 2021 to Oct 2022 and case records of neonates admitted to the NICU were evaluated. Results: Among 1745 drug prescriptions in 360 neonates, 1208 (69.22%) were off-label. Anti-infectives were the most commonly used off-label class of drug, Piperacillin+tazobactam was the most commonly used off-label drug and most common reason for off-label prescriptions was indication and administration. It was found that 79.44% of neonates received at least one off-label drug. Conclusions: Off-label use of drugs, specifically anti-infective drugs, is common in NICUs of India as in other countries. So, more research should be done to generate evidence-based guidelines for the rational use of drugs in neonates

Molecular and biochemical characterization of hydroxyjasmonate and flavonoid sulfotransferases from Arabidopsis thaliana

Recently, we initiated a functional genomics project with the objective of characterizing the biological function of all the sulfotransferase (ST) coding genes of A. thaliana . Based on amino acid sequence alignment with previously characterized soluble STs, we have identified 17 genes coding for putative STs in the genome of this plant. Prior to this work, only one ST-coding gene ( AtST1 ) has been characterized from A. thaliana . AtST1 was shown to sulfonate brassinosteroids and was proposed to be involved in the modulation of their biological activity. This thesis presents the characterization of two more ST-coding genes from A. thaliana , namely AtST2a and AtST3a . The recombinant AtST3a protein was found to exhibit strict specificity for position 7 of flavonoids. In contrast with the previously characterized flavonol 7-ST from Flaveria bidentis that sulfonates only flavonol disulfates, AtST3a was found to accept a number of flavonols and flavone aglycones, as well as their monosulfate derivatives. The AtST3a is expressed only at the earlier stage of seedling development. In contrast, the expression pattern of the flavonol 3-ST from Flaveria species is detectable at all stages of plant development, with highest activities found in the terminal buds and first pair of leaves. The natural occurrence of a ST exhibiting high specificity for flavonoids in A. thaliana suggests that sulfated flavonoids may be of more common occurrence in the plant kingdom than once thought. In this study, we demonstrate that the AtST2a from A. thaliana encodes a sulfotransferase specific for 11- and 12-hydroxyjasmonic acid. Jasmonic acid and its derivatives, commonly named jasmonates, are of ubiquitous occurrence in the plant kingdom and they play an important role in the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. More recently, it has been demonstrated that jasmonates are also involved in the control of key developmental processes such as anther development. AtST2a is not expressed in plants growing in the light but is induced 8 hours after their transfer to the dark. Overexpression of AtST2a in transgenic Arabidopsis leads to a delayed flowering phenotype observed only when the plants are growing under long-days. In contrast, decreasing AtST2a expression by expressing antisense AtST2a RNA leads to an early flowering phenotype observed only in short day-grown transgenic plants. Our results suggest that the function of AtST2a is to sulfonate hydroxylated jasmonic acids under growth conditions that do not favor flowering. This data also suggest that hydroxylated jasmonic acids act as signals that promote the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth when A. thaliana is exposed to an inductive photoperiod

A review on ecotoxic potential of pollutants in fish

Fishes in the aquatic food web are at the top of most aquatic food chains and form an important link in the aquatic-terrestrial food chain also. They are easily available in the wild, market, can be easily maintained in the laboratory and act as important models for indicating the outcome of exposure of human populations to toxic and genotoxic chemicals in drinking water. They respond to toxicants in a manner similar to higher vertebrates and metabolize and accumulate pollutants. Food is a major route for exposure of human populations to toxic chemicals in water so fish and shell fish have been recognized as major vectors for transfer of contaminants to humans, as these major sources of protein in many countries, are often contaminated with high concentrations of pollutants. In living systems, these are biotransformed to various toxic derivatives which react with DNA and lead to tumour development are carcinogenic and/or mutagenic to life leading to the number of cancer cases. Epidemiological studies have revealed that workers in the dye industry had a higher incidence of urinary bladder tumours than that of the general population. Therefore, in the present review an attempt has been made to document the work done in past on the use of fishes for studying toxicological changes induced by pollutants. Actually, toxicity and genotoxicity of dyes in fish has not been much explored, therefore along with the few reports available on dyes, literature on toxicity and genotoxicity of other aquatic pollutants has also been reviewed in the present study