Chemistry Departments in Predominantly Black Institutions

Chemistry programs in 87 predominantly Black institutions were compared by questionnaire survey. Advanced undergraduate courses were offered for chemistry majors by 86% of these schools, but only 28% offered research and independent study for undergraduates. Although there were extremes, most of the faculty taught 15 to 18 contact hours and their median salaries were below the national median. Library support seemed adequate with 1 to 1.5% of the total library materials being chemistry books, texts and reference, and the libraries of most schools had holdings of 15 principal chemistry-related journals. More than 90% of the schools were well-equipped with laboratory instrumentation for the undergraduate program. One-third of the schools were recipients of current grants, but less than 50% of these grants were for research. At the time of the survey there was a median of 13 chemistry majors in the schools, but this has been increasing since. On the basis of 45% response from individual faculty members of these schools, all faculty members had post-baccalaureate degrees, with 2/3 holding the doctoral degree. Only about 2/3 of the respondents indicated professional activity via scientific meeting attendance and/or recent publication. Most respondents (92%) were members of the American Chemical Society, but membership in other professional societies was much less common. Responses by these faculty members indicated that up-to-date instructional methods were generally being used

Theoretical Study of Thermopower Behavior of LaFeO3_{3} Compound in High Temperature Region

The electronic structure and thermopower ($\alpha$) behavior of LaFeO$_{3}$ compound were investigated by combining the ab-initio electronic structures and Boltzmann transport calculations. LSDA plus Hubbard U (U = 5 eV) calculation on G-type anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) configuration gives an energy gap of $\sim$2 eV, which is very close to the experimentally reported energy gap. The calculated values of effective mass of holes (m$^{*}$$_{h}$) in valance band (VB) are found $\sim$4 times that of the effective mass of electrons (m$^{*}$$_{e}$) in conduction band (CB). The large effective masses of holes are responsible for the large and positive thermopower exhibited by this compound. The calculated values of $\alpha$ using BoltzTraP code are found to be large and positive in the 300-1200 K temperature range, which is in agreement with the experimentally reported data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Chikungunya Epidemic Mortality in India: Lessons from 17th Century Bills of Mortality Still Relevant

Chikungunya is a virus spread by the bite of the Aedes mosquito, which recently reemerged as a massive epidemic in the Indian Ocean islands and India. Chikungunya is generally considered self-limiting and has been reported as non-fatal but, since March 2005, one-third of the 770,000 people in the Indian Ocean Island of R�union (a French territory) have been affected by Chikungunya with 237 deaths. India reported 1.3 million cases of Chikungunya however the Government of India has not reported any deaths. However there is evidence that deaths due to Chikungunya did occur. The lack of official reports of deaths is mainly due to the poor recording of ‘Causes of Death’ in India. The London Bills of Mortality from the 17th provides a very good example of the importance of proper reporting of deaths especially during an epidemic period. This paper reflects on the London bills of mortality and modern day lessons to be drawn from it as well as the reasons behind the apparent lack of death reporting in 2006’s Chikungunya epidemic.

Imatinib Resistance and Relapse in CML Patients with Complex Chromosomal Variants

The BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor Imatinib is highly effective for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, some patients gradually develop resistance to Imatinib, resulting in therapeutic failure. In the present study, we analyzed 192 CML patients, from which CML relapse was observed in 17 individuals with involvement of other chromosomes in addition to Philadelphia translocation and who were on treatment of Imatinib (400mg per day since last 3-4 years). Interestingly, all 17 individuals had only BCR/ABL fusion at the time of diagnosis and attained complete Cytogenetic and hematological remission (CHR) within 18 weeks of the therapy. Three individuals among these 17 were not regular in the uptake of Imatinib after attaining CHR and CCyR and could be probable reason for relapse. In addition, we have also recorded primary resistance to Imatinib in 4 individuals who were diagnosed with some complex chromosomal variants. Therefore, either involvement of other genes along with BCR/ABL fusion, or additional chromosomes and point mutation in the fusion BCR/ABL gene itself could be a reason for primary resistance and relapse to Imatinib

Chikungunya Fever: A Killer Epidemic in Ahmedabad City, India

Background The Chikungunya virus is an alphavirus native to tropical Africa and Asia and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. The symptoms of Chikungunya include sudden onset of fever, severe arthralgia, and maculopapular rash. Thirty percent of the population on the French R�union Island was afflicted with Chikungunya in the past year. They reported 237 deaths. India on the other hand reported 1.39 million cases of Chikungunya but no deaths. Methods Mortality data from 2002-2006 was obtained from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Actual mortality rate of 2006 was compared to the mortality rate of 2002-05 and its statistical significance tests were carried out. Findings Mortality data obtained from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) suggests that 3112 excess deaths occurred in August-November (epidemic period) compared to the average deaths in the same months during the previous four years. These differences in deaths were found to be highly statistically significant. A peak in excess mortality is seen in the month of September when 1489 additional deaths were recorded. Case fatality rates for Ahmedabad also turn out to be much higher than that of the Reunion Island. Interpretation The Chikungunya epidemic was raging when the excess deaths occurred. There were no other adverse events or other epidemics that took place could explain this excess mortality. Government authorities, WHO and other international public health agencies should take these findings of excess mortality seriously and investigate into this occurrence of excess deaths to understand this reemerging disease and prevent future epidemics and mortality.