Influencing girls\u27 lives: Acceptability and effectiveness of a livelihoods skill building intervention in Gujarat

The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), a key Indian micro-finance nongovernmental organization, in partnership with the Population Council, undertook a pilot livelihoods skill-building program to support adolescent girls aged 13–19 years (mostly unmarried, in school and out of school). Like other such programs, this livelihoods program focused on exposing girls to new ideas, building social networks, exposing them to the world around them, and providing the technical skills needed to enhance their access to income generating opportunities. The study’s findings are mixed, but suggest that a life and livelihoods skill-building intervention program for girls is acceptable to adolescents (and their parents), and can be implemented in rural settings. As far as the acceptability of the intervention is concerned, not all the components were equally internalized by participants, however simply meeting on a regular basis facilitated the establishment of strong peer networks, which along with having access to the outside world and developing new skills became an empowering experience for secluded adolescent girls. The analysis suggests that while current approaches may be necessary for expanding agency and life choices for adolescent girls, they are not sufficient; the report details lessons that emerged from the study

A Critical Review of Standardization of Ayurvedic Dosage Form Kwatha - Part - II: Approaches and Outcome

A Kwatha, decoction, is one of the most used classical Ayurvedic dosage forms. It is a liquid preparation to be freshly consumed. For this preparation the raw material, mostly herbs or a group of herbs are extracted in water by boiling them for a specific time span. This is second part of the review paper on Ayurvedic Kwatha - herbal decoction to review and consider various approaches and their outcomes for the standardization. It provides information and reference data for the standardization of decoction across conventional methods and new techniques and explains how this classical process has evolved within new pharmaceutical developments. Many Ayurvedic production units appear to have adapted to newer manufacturing technologies including fermentation techniques. This paper explores the scope for application of newer technologies for the purpose of better standardization and novel product applications. Application of Kwatha's nano-drug delivery systems have a promising potential to enhance operation and resolve issues related to classical dosage forms. In order to tackle further chronic diseases, the incorporation of nano-carriers as NDDS in the conventional medicine system is necessary. This review examines the benefits of the nano-drug delivery system, its properties, its drawbacks, forms of nanoparticles, their preparation methods, and various herbal nano medicines. This review further explores how therapeutic benefits can be improved by reducing toxicity and increasing bioavailability

Anaesthetic Management of A Child with Multiple Congenital Anomalies Scheduled for Cataract Extraction

In infants& children variety of conditions and syndromes are associated with difficult Airway. Anaesthetic management becomes a challenge if it remains unrecognized until induction and sometimes results in disaster, leading to oropharyngeal trauma, laryngeal oedema, cardiovascular& neurological complications. A 4-month-old child with multiple congenital anomalies was posted for cataract extraction for early and better development of vision. He had history of post birth respiratory distress, difficulty in feeding, breath holding with delayed mile stones. He was treated as for Juvenile asthma. This child was induced with inhalation anaesthesia. There was difficulty in laryngoscopic intubation and could pass much smaller size of the tube than predicted. He developed post operative stridor and desaturation. The problems which we faced during the anaesthetic management and during postoperative period are discussed with this case

A comparative evaluation of hyperbaric ropivacaine versus hyperbaric bupivacaine for elective surgery under spinal anesthesia

Background: Recently introduced ropivacaine is 40% less potent than bupivacaine. Ropivacaine made hyperbaric by the addition of dextrose is known to provide reliable spinal anesthesia (SA).This study was designed to compare the clinical efficacy of equal doses of hyperbaric 0.5% ropivacaine with 0.5% bupivacaine for SA. Materials and Methods: Eighty American Society of Anesthesiologists grade I-II patients undergoing elective infraumbilical surgeries under SA were recruited and randomized to receive 3ml of hyperbaric ropivacaine 5mg/ml containing dextrose 83 mg/ml (by the addition of desired dose of 25% dextrose) in Group R or 3ml of hyperbaric bupivacaine 5mg/ml containing dextrose 80 mg/ml in Group B. Monitoring of vitals and observation for the block parameters were carried out. The data were presented as mean with a standard deviation and frequency with percentage. Statistical analysis was performed using InStat computer software with appropriate tests and P < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: Ropivacaine produced a slower onset of sensory block (ropivacaine 4.5 min; bupivacaine 3.2 min; P < 0.05) and the mean total duration of sensory block was significantly lesser (ropivacaine155 min; bupivacaine 190.5 min; P < 0.05). Patients in the ropivacaine Group R had significantly more rapid recovery from the motor blockade (ropivacaine120 min; bupivacaine 190 min; P < 0.05) and passed urine sooner than the patients in bupivacaine Group B (ropivacaine 257 min; bupivacaine 358 min; P < 0.05). Conclusion: Ropivacaine 15 mg in dextrose 8.3% provides reliable SA of shorter duration than bupivacaine 15 mg in 8% dextrose