National policies for natural resources management marginalization of poor rural women

"The basic contention of this study is that there are close links between forestry, agriculture, food production and water resource management system. However, the macro policies, relating to the management and use of these resources and compartmentalized approaches to agriculture, forestry, common resources and management of India's major river systems, have led to increasing marginalization of people from the poorer households and casualisation of labour. These processes have destroyed their life support systems and alienated them from their resource base without creating viable, alternative livelihood systems.

Power vs. representation: feminist dilemmas, ambivalent state and the debate on reservation for women in India

"Democratisation and representative institutions while setting the terms for citizen's participation, also provide the framework for political activity. Inequalities that characterise our social structure and qualify the notion of 'political equality' are an important part of any agenda for democratisation. The agenda of the women's movement spans the entire range of issues from the redistribution of resources, time and responsibilities at home, to changes in the electoral process, parliamentary democracy, representation and women's political engagement with democratic institutions. The social agenda hidden in the demand for political representation of women and the larger struggle for equalising opportunities continues to pose a challenge to institutions of democracy. The process of democratisation has been resisted by the changing dynamics of class, caste and gender relations pursuing their different and at times conflicting interests.

Power vs. representation: feminist dilemmas, ambivalent state and the debate on reservation for women in India

"Democratisation and representative institutions while setting the terms for citizen's participation, also provide the framework for political activity. Inequalities that characterise our social structure and qualify the notion of 'political equality' are an important part of any agenda for democratisation. The agenda of the women's movement spans the entire range of issues from the redistribution of resources, time and responsibilities at home, to changes in the electoral process, parliamentary democracy, representation and women's political engagement with democratic institutions. The social agenda hidden in the demand for political representation of women and the larger struggle for equalising opportunities continues to pose a challenge to institutions of democracy. The process of democratisation has been resisted by the changing dynamics of class, caste and gender relations pursuing their different and at times conflicting interests.

Evaluation of Onion Varieties under Low Hill Conditions of Himachal Pradesh

An experiment was conducted to identify promising varieties of onion suited for cultivation under low hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh. Ten varieties were evaluated at Research Farm of the Institute of Biotechnology and Environmental Science, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri, Hamirpur, for two consecutive seasons (2010- 2011 and 2011-2012). The farm is located at an altitude of 620m above mean sea level, with average mean maximum and minimum temperatures of 31.3°C and 12.4°C, respectively, and is a representative site of the low hill region of Himachal Pradesh. Standard package of practices was followed for raising the crop as recommended by the University. Observations were recorded on various horticultural traits, viz., plant height, number of leaves per plant, days to harvest, neck thickness, bulb diameter, bulb weight, TSS, and total yield. In addition, all the varieties were screened for resistance against purple blotch disease. Maximum days to harvest (129.33 days) were seen in the variety Holland Louis, while, variety Agrifound Rose showed minimum number of days (109). Varieties Palam Lohit, Nasik Red, N-53 and Agrifound Dark Red recorded significantly higher bulb yield (275.00, 240.67, 239.25 and 232.37 q/ha, respectively) than the other varieties evaluated. None of the varieties was able to resist the disease totally; however, 'Agrifound Dark Red' was moderately resistant, exhibiting just 13.78% disease incidence. Varieties Palam Lohit, Nasik Red and Agrifound Dark Red had medium bulb size and higher yield. These can be advocated for commercial cultivation under low hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh

Comparison of low dose Dhaka regimen of magnesium sulphate with standard pritchard regimen in eclampsia

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of altitude on severe preeclampsia and eclampsia and subsequent perinatal outcome.Methods: This prospective study was carried out during 1st March 2011 to 29th February 2012 in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru State Hospital for Mother and Child, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla situated at a height of 2200m from sea level. All the subjects with severe preeclampsia or eclampsia were included in the study and their perinatal outcome was noted.Results: There were a total of 5897 deliveries. There were 423 cases of PIH making an incidence of severe preeclampsia and eclampsia 15.4% and 7.3% among PIH, respectively. Majority of cases (60.4%) belonged to age group 18-25 year with mean systolic blood pressure in eclampsia was 184.3±18.6 mm of Hg and in severe preeclampsia was 171.5±13.9 mm of Hg. Mean diastolic blood pressure was 125.8±12.6 mm of Hg in eclampsia and 118.6±4.3 mm of Hg in severe preeclampsia. Various other complications in eclampsia and severe preeclampsia cases included IUGR (35.1%) cases, abruptio placentae (15.9%), HELLP syndrome (9.6%) cases, spontaneous preterm labour (21.3%) and intrauterine death (6.4%). Live births were 85.1%; fresh still births were 8.5%. Mean birth weight was 2192.5±572grams. Respiratory distress syndrome was seen in 21.3% neonates, Hyperbilirubinemia was seen in 26.2% neonates intracranial bleeding was seen in 7.5% neonates. Perinatal mortality was 27.7% which constitute14.9% still birth neonatal deaths.Conclusions: Efficacy of MgSO4 in prevention and treatment of eclamptic convulsions is time tested and supported with a variety of studies. Since its narrow therapeutic and toxicity is major concern, the use of low dose MgSO4 protocols is a viable alternative to standard dose therapy. However, because of small study design further studies on the larger scale are required to support routine clinical use of low dose protocols

NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION BY NON-FERMENTING GRAM NEGATIVE BACILLI IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL: SCREENING AND CURE

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to identify the Non-Fermenting Gram Negative Bacteria from the tertiary care hospital.Methods: The conventional method was used i.e. Antibiotic susceptibility test which was performed by Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method and analysis of microbes was done by Vitek-2.Results: 172 samples were identified as Non-Fermenting Gram-Negative Bacilli from 1526 respiratory samples. Acinetobacter baumanii was the predominant isolate accounting 103 (59.88%) specimens followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 33.13%. Other isolates were Stenotrophomonas maltophilia 5.23% and Burkholderi acepacia1.74%. From the 172 samples, Endotracheal Aspirate was found to be the most infected amongst all the other samples. Acinetobacter baumanii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common NFGNB isolated in our study from patients of Respiratory Tract Infections.Conclusion: Both Acinetobacter baumanii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed good sensitivity to colistin, amikacin, cefoperazone while in most cases carbapenam is found to be highly resistant. Colistin along with amikacin and cefoperazone should be used against this pathogen for treatment.Keywords: Nosocomial infection, Gram negative bacilli, Tertiary care hospital, Lower respiratory tract infection, Non-fermenting bacill

What is better: cryocautery or electrocautery for cervical erosion?

Background: Present study was conducted with a background in mind to compare the efficacy of electrocautery and cryocautery for the management of cervical erosion. Aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of electrocautery and cryocautery for the treatment of cervical erosion and to check cost effectiveness.Methods: A comparative study was conducted at Maharishi Markandeshwar medical college and hospital, Kumarhatti (Solan) between July’13 to June’14 among 100 patients of reproductive age group with cervical erosion. They were grouped into 2 groups A (Electrocautery) & B (Cryocautery) and data obtained was analysed by paired t-test.Results: Though in short- term follow-up at 4-6 weeks after cautery, apparently electrocautery was superior to cryocautery in terms of erosion healing rate 92% vs. 76% as P value (0.4557) is not statistically significant, but in long-term follow-up at 12-14 weeks there was no significant difference in erosion healing but electrocautery was cost effective.Conclusions: Both types of cautery were equally good for treatment of cervical erosion in long-term follow-up. But electrocautery occupies less space and there is no chance of gas leakage in electrocautery, so electrocautery is more cost effective.

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in children with histomorphological review

Rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) are aggressive malignant neoplasm of mesenchymal origin, related to skeletal muscle lineage. These are the most common soft tissue tumors in children. The diagnosis is made by microscopic analysis and ancillary techniques like immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, cytogenetics and molecular biology. We encountered a case of a 03 years old child who presented with a tender, reddish, soft swelling over cheek for three weeks. The FNAC was reported as a small round cell tumor, Probably Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET). The biopsy of tumor revealed a small round cell tumor with an alveolar pattern. Tumor giant cells were absent and mitotic figures were infrequent. Hence, differentials of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and PNET were rendered. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) demonstrated desmin positivity. Thus, a final diagnosis of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma was offered

Verrucous Hyperplasia : Case report and differential diagnosis

Verrucous hyperplasia (VH) is a rare exophytic oral mucosal lesion which can transform into verrucous carcinoma (VC), its malignant but clinically similar counterpart. These entities can be distinguished by the lack of invasive growth in VH cases; as such, it is essential to include a margin with adequate depth whenperforming a biopsy of the epithelium of the lesion. We report an 80-year-old male patient who presented to the Bapuji Dental College & Hospital, Davangere, Karanataka, India, in 2011 with a warty whitish-pink growth on the inside of his cheek. The patient was treated with wide surgical excision of the lesion and a diagnosis of VH was made based on histopathological features. There was no evidence of recurrence at a five-year follow-up. This report highlights the histological variations, pathogenesis and differential diagnosis of VH

Hydrogeochemistry of Two Major Mid-hill Lentic Water Bodies for Irrigation of the Central Himalaya, Nepal

The concentration and composition of different salts in natural water bodies determine the water quality for various purposes. This study assesses the water quality of two mid-mountain lentic water bodies, Lake Phewa and Kulekhani Reservoir. For this purpose, selected physico-chemical parameters along with major ions such as HCO3-, SO42-, PO43-, NO3-, Cl-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, and NH4+ were analyzed. Major ions were analyzed using ion chromatography, anions by DX-600 and cations by Dionex ISC-2500 ion chromatographs. The sources of major ions were determined by using the Gibbs diagram, Piper plot, and Scatter plots. Dissolved oxygen, ammonia and phosphate showed seasonal variations in both lakes. The concentrations of cations are in the order of Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ in both water bodies. However the trend of anions had small variations for Cl- and SO42- in Lake Phewa (HCO3- > Cl- > SO42- > NO3-) and Kulekhani Reservoir (HCO3- > SO42- > Cl- > NO3-). The Piper plot and equiline plots indicated that the water chemistry is dominantly controlled by the dissolution of carbonate minerals and to a limited extent by weathering of silicate minerals. This is further supported by the Gibbs plot showing bedrock geology as the main source of major ions. The overall study indicates that the hydrogeochemistry of these water bodies is controlled by local geology and is suitable for irrigation purposes