Understanding Zoonotic Enteric Disease in Minnesota: A Spatio Temporal Analysis and Causal Theory Approach

With 75 percent of diseases in humans having origin in animals or animal products, zoonotic diseases have an enormous impact on the global disease burden. A significant portion of this can be attributed to bacterial zoonotic enteric pathogens. This study was designed to locate clusters of bacterial zoonotic enteric outbreaks in the State of Minnesota and study the seasonality of these outbreaks. In addition to identifying hot spots for zoonotic enteric outbreaks in Minnesota, the study also aimed to design a causal model to improve understanding of risk factors. This thesis considered only the bacterial zoonotic pathogens with significant disease burden. Foodborne and non-foodborne zoonotic enteric outbreaks reported by Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) during the period 2000 to 2010 were analyzed in the study. A recent rise in trend of zoonotic enteric disease (ZED) outbreaks were confirmed through empirical analyses. The study also revealed increased bacterial ZED outbreaks in the summer months as compared to other months of the year. Hot spot analysis results indicated twin cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) as the vulnerable area for ZED outbreaks. The study is especially important for health educators as it shines light on the right places and right time for tailoring interventions to reduce the disease burden

Study of the effect of vildagliptin, a DPP-IV inhibitor on learning and memory dysfunction of diabetic rats

Background: To evaluate whether vildagliptin, DPP-IV inhibitor possess a favorable effect on learning and memory dysfunction in the management of Diabetes mellitus.Methods: Forty Albino rats of either sex weighing 100-180g, were divided into 4 groups of 10 animals each. Streptozotocin was used for induction of diabetes in rats. The rats were divided into 4 groups of eight rats in each. Group-1 was taken as control with no further intervention whereas group-2,3,4 were injected 5mg/kg, 10mg/kg,20mg/kg of vildagliptin respectively for a period of 2 months. At the end of first and second month of treatment period, the rats were subjected to Y maze and EPM tests. The data were analyzed statistically using one-way analysis of variance followed by Student’s t test for paired analysis.Results: There was significant decrease in no of arm entries and SAP (p<0.05) in group-1 with induced diabetes. In addition, there was slight increase in no of open arm entries with time spent in open arm for the same group. The decrease in no of arm entries and SAP progressively declined and the no of open arm entries with time spent in open arm progressively increased from group-2 to group 4 till the end of 1st month. After 2nd month there was further decrease in no of arm entries and SAP (p<0.05) for group-1. There was significant increase in all parameters for rest of the groups after 2nd month as compared to 1st month. The findings clearly infer the potency of vildagliptin in treating diabetes induced learning and memory impairment.Conclusions: Vildagliptin significantly reduces the incidence of diabetes induced memory impairment and improves learning if continued further

Knowledge, attitude and practice study regarding pharmacovigilance programme of India among private practitioners in urban Odisha, India

Background: Private health care providers play an important role in health programmes of a country. Pharmacovigilance programme of India (PVPI) seeks involvement of different health sectors to make it successful. Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) studies provide a base line information about human behaviour and practices so that a properly planned acceptable intervention can be made.Methods: level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding pharmacovigilance programme of India was evaluated among doctors working in private hospitals/clinics of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack city of Odisha. A thirty three item questionnaire was used to collect the data which contained 12 knowledge, 12 attitude and 9 practice based questions.Results: Only fifty four out of 124 participating doctors responded positively. The knowledge level of practitioners was found to be acceptable with 38.9% subjects scoring more than 70%. However a gap in knowledge was observed regarding some specific area and was not translated in terms of good quality reporting of ADRs. Only 13 (24.1%) practitioners were found to have actually reported ADR to Pharmacovigilance centre.Conclusions: Adequate awareness should be created among private practioners regarding the pharmacovigilance programme of India. Easy accessibility of ADR forms and appropriate educational intervention through media can improve ADR reporting

Sexual Risk Behaviour among Migrant Tribals Living in Urban Slums of an Eastern Indian City: Implications on the Spread of HIV

This paper reports the sexual risk behaviour among migrant tribal community living in an eastern Indian city. The age at marriage is very low in this community and 54% of women had first intercourse before the age of 15 years with the mean of 15.8 years and it is 19.5 years for men. Pre and extramarital relations, including multi-partnered sex is prevalent. Safe sexual practices are not reported and the risk perception is very low. High prevalence of behavioral risk factors leaves a potential risk for rapid spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) both in slums as well as in remote tribal areas

Quality Of Life and Coping Strategies Among Caregivers of Patient with Cardiovascular Diseases

Caregivers and family members of patients with long-term cardiovascular diseases often experience varying degrees of depression due to the significant changes in life style and the challenges associated with managing the condition. Adapting and modifying coping strategies as needed is crucial for caregivers to effectively decrease or manage stressful situations. The objectives of this study was to assess the quality of life and coping strategies among caregiver of cardiovascular patient. At IMS &amp; SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar ,Odisha, a descriptive correlational research design was used. Purposive sampling selected 200 participants who completed a socio-demographic questionnaire. Two standardized scale s were employed: the WHOQOL-BREF scale to measure quality of life and the coping inventory for stressful situations to assess coping strategies. The study findings showed a significant negative correlation ( r = -0.338, p &lt; 0.01) between quality of life and coping strategies, as indicated by Karl Pearson’s correlation coefficient. This suggests that as, if the coping strategies is better, the quality of life is also better. Additionally, the study employed ANOVA and t-tests to examine the differences between quality of life and coping strategies. The study findings suggest that the quality of life of young individuals is more impacted by caregiving compared to the elderly. There is a significant negative correlation between quality of life and coping strategies, indicating that higher quality of life scores are associated with lower coping strategy scores. Conversely, better coping strategies are linked to better quality of life. Caregivers employ various coping strategies, and counselling can play a crucial role in providing emotional support, guidance, and practical advice to help caregivers manage challenges and maintain their well-being while caring for cardiovascular patients

Analysis of barriers of mHealth adoption in the context of sustainable operational practices in health care supply chains

Purpose: The goal of this research is to analyse the obstacles to the implementation of mobile health (mHealth) in India and to gain an understanding of the contextual inter-relationships that exist among those obstacles. Design/methodology/approach: A combination of a review of the relevant literature and consultation with subject matter experts is used to identify the barriers to widespread adoption of mHealth. The identified barriers are then analysed using an Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) technique to study the interplay existing among them and represent these in a hierarchical manner. Findings: The study explores a total of 15 factors that reduce the efficiency of mHealth adoption in India. The findings of the MICMAC investigation show that the economic situation of the government, concerns regarding the safety of intellectual technologies, and privacy issues are the primary obstacles because of the significant driving power they have in mHealth applications. Practical implications: Promoters of mHealth practices may be able to make better plans if they understand the social barriers and how they affect each other; this leads to easier adoption of these practices. The findings of this study might be helpful for governments of developing nations to produce standards relating to the deployment of mHealth; this will increase the efficiency with which it is adopted. Originality/Contributions: At this time, there is no comprehensive analysis of the factors that influence the adoption of mobile health care with social cognitive theory in developing nations like India. In addition, there is a lack of research in investigating how each of these elements affects the success of mHealth activities and how the others interact with them. Because developed nations learned the value of mHealth practices during the recent pandemic, this study, by investigating the obstacles to the adoption of mHealth and their inter-relationships, makes an important addition to both theory and practice

Proteomic and Genomic Studies of Micronutrient Deficiency and Toxicity in Plants

Micronutrients are essential for plants. Their growth, productivity and reproduction are directly influenced by the supply of micronutrients. Currently, there are eight trace elements considered to be essential for higher plants: Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ni, B, Mo, and Cl. Possibly, other essential elements could be discovered because of recent advances in nutrient solution culture techniques and in the commercial availability of highly sensitive analytical instrumentation for elemental analysis. Much remains to be learned about the physiology of micronutrient absorption, translocation and deposition in plants, and about the functions they perform in plant growth and development. With the recent advancements in the proteomic and molecular biology tools, researchers have attempted to explore and address some of these questions. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of micronutrients in plants and the proteomic/genomic approaches used to study plant nutrient deficiency and toxicity

The Interaction of Seasons and Biogeochemical Properties of Water Regulate the Air–Water CO₂ Exchanges in Two Major Tropical Estuaries, Bay of Bengal (India)

The exchange of CO2 between the air–water interfaces of estuaries is crucial from the perspective of the global carbon cycle and climate change feedback. In this regard, we evaluated the air–water CO2 exchanges in two major estuaries—the Mahanadi estuary (ME) and the Dhamra estuary (DE) in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, India. Biogeochemical properties of these estuarine waters were quantified in three distinct seasons, namely, pre-monsoon (March to May), monsoon (June to October), and post-monsoon (November to February). The significant properties of water, such as the water temperature, pH, salinity, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a (chl a), and photosynthetic pigment fluorescence of phytoplankton, were estimated and correlated with CO2 fluxes. We found that the ME acted as a source of CO2 fluxes in the monsoon and post-monsoon, while DE acted as a sink during the monsoon. The stepwise regression model showed that the fluxes were primarily driven by water temperature, pH, and salinity, and they correlated well with the phytoplankton characteristics. The chl a content, fluorescence yield, and phycobilisomes-to-photosystem II fluorescence ratios were major drivers of the fluxes. Therefore, for predicting air–water CO2 exchanges precisely in a large area over a seasonal and annual scale in the estuaries of the Bay of Bengal, India, critical key parameters such as water temperature, pH, salinity, chl a, and fluorescence yield of phytoplankton should be taken into consideration. However, the responses of phytoplankton, both in terms of production and CO2 capture, are critical research areas for a better understanding of air–water CO2 exchanges in coastal ecology under climate change scenarios

Characterization of natural fiber extracted from Bauhinia vahlii bast subjected to different surface treatments: A potential reinforcement in polymer composite

Bauhinia vahlii (BV) is a great source of cellulosic biomass, and it is gaining popularity as a renewable resource. BV bast fiber is proposed to have the potential to replace synthetic fibers in biopolymer composites as a reinforcing material. This investigation deals with the extraction, surface modification and comprehensive characterization of BV bast fibers which could be used for the production of sustainable fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The extracted fibers were chemically treated with sodium hydroxide, sodium chlorite, and benzoyl chloride. Then, the chemical properties, mechanical properties, surface morphology and thermal properties were investigated. An improvement in chemical and mechanical properties was observed after surface modification of fibers. Benzoylation treated BV bast fibers revealed highest tensile strength of 128.56 MPa and Young’s modulus of 8.34 GPa. In addition, after treatment, the fibers had rougher surface as seen from SEM images. The surface treatments removed a specific quantity of hemicelluloses, lignin, and pectin from the natural fiber surface, according to FTIR analysis. The surface treatments had a good impact on the crystallinity index of the natural fibers, according to XRD analysis. The characterization results confirmed that BV bast fibers could be used for the production of sustainable fiber reinforced polymer composites

Enhancement of Mechanical, Thermal and Morphological Properties of Eleusine Indica Grass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

This research focuses on developing a new material by reinforcing chemically treated Eleusine Indica (EI) fiber with epoxy resin as matrix. Composites using varying wt% of treated EI fibers were fabricated taking epoxy as matrix. The effect of chemical treatment and fiber loading on various mechanical properties, thermal, and morphology using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was investigated. From the results obtained, it is obvious that the mechanical and thermal properties of composites reinforced with chemically treated fibers were enhanced due to fiber surface modification which helps in better bonding with matrix. Moreover, the composites with 20 wt% fiber concentration shows good tensile strength, Young’s modulus, impact strength and was found to be 79.31MPa, 3.84 GPa, 32.24 KJ/m2 respectively. At this fiber loading the composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric (TGA) and compared with untreated fiber reinforced composites and neat epoxy. Finally, the failure analysis of fracture surface due to delimitation, pull-out of the fibers, percentage of voids, and composite fracture has been verified using scanning electron microscope. The findings provide manufacturers and engineers with a general concept of how to employ the composites to make low-weight automotive parts for improved fuel efficiency