Institutional Diversity and Capitalist Transformation in Rural Arunachal Pradesh

This paper contributes a preliminary analysis of the process of capitalist transformation in Arunachal Pradesh, one of the least studied regions of India. Primarily based on information collected through a field survey in eleven villages, the paper seeks to explain the nature and implications of institutional unevenness in the development of capitalism. Institutional diversity is not simply mapped across space; it is also manifested in the simultaneous existence of market and non-market institutions across the means of production within the same village or spatial context. In addition there is a continuous and complex interaction among these institutions which both shapes and is shaped by this incipient capitalist transformation. Against the near universal consensus of social theorists that non-market institutional forms and processes would decline with the expansion and consolidation of the capitalist economy, the evidence presented here suggests that institutional adaptation, continuity and hybridity are as much integral to the emergence of the market economy as are the processes of creation of new institutions and demise of others. There is no necessary correspondence between the emerging commercialisation of the different productive dimensions of the agrarian economy. These uneven processes of institutional diversity, hybridity and interdependence are deeply influenced by existing and emerging power relations. Primitive accumulation, which was thought to be an archaic feature of early capitalism, emerges as a continuing characteristic of the on-going agrarian and non-agrarian capitalist transformation.

Utility of Papanicolaou test in diagnosis of cervical lesions: a study in a tertiary care centre of western Uttar Pradesh

Background: Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among females in India. It is also one of the major causes of deaths among them. Papanicolaou (Pap) cytological test helps in detecting the early epithelial abnormalities in cervical cells. The morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer has come down in countries with well-established screening programmes at national level. This study was conducted to emphasize the value of cervical screening as a tool for early detection of non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions of cervix. Slide positivity rate was computed and clinico-pathological correlation was done.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2012 to December 2014 (3 years), on 2202 women aged between 20-70 years coming for a Pap smear examination in a tertiary care hospital in Bareilly, India. After staining with conventional Papanicolaou technique, all cases were classified as per Bethesda nomenclature (2001).Results: Out of 2202 cases, 85.16% slides were found to be negative for intraepithelial abnormalities and 14.84% slides were labelled as positive for epithelial lesions. 97.67% of high grade lesions were found in women more than 40 years. Smears with epithelial cell abnormality were found more common in older age groups whereas smears negative for epithelial cell abnormality were found more common in young age groups.Conclusion: Pap test is a cost effective cancer screening and is a simple method to detect various lesions of cervix, non-neoplastic as well as neoplastic. High risk screening programmes should be directed to all women >40 years. Pap test is especially useful to diagnose precancerous lesions of cervix, thereby early detection of these lesions & subsequent proper treatment can be helpful in prevention of cervical cancer.

THE SPECTRA OF INTESTINAL PARASITIC INFECTIONS AFFECTING PATIENTS ATTENDING A TERTIARY CARE CENTER IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH

Objective: Intestinal parasitic infection is a burgeoning health issue, especially in developing countries owing to low socioeconomic conditions, poor sanitation, poor personal hygiene, and lack of access to potable drinking water. This study aims to determine the prevalence of different intestinal parasites among the patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 470 patients attending our hospital from October 2018 to September 2019. Specimens were collected and examined macroscopically and microscopically using concentration methods and modified Ziehl–Neelsen staining for coccidian parasites. Results: Out of the 470 patients, prevalence of intestinal infections was 4.89%. The helminthic infections were more common (52.17%), which was topped by Hookworm infection (26.09%) followed by Ascariasis (13.04%). Among the protozoa, Giardia lamblia (26.09%) was the most common, followed by Entamoeba histolytica (17.39%). The parasitic infections were more in female (5.62%) than male (4.19%) and highest in the pediatric age group and between 51 and 60 years. Conclusion: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections is decreasing due to increasing awareness about sanitation, effects of open defecation, safe drinking water, and personal hygiene. However, the need of intervallic monitoring of intestinal parasitic infections is necessary

Preparation and characterization of beta-glucan particles containing a payload of nanoembedded rifabutin for enhanced targeted delivery to macrophages

β-glucan particles (GP) are polymeric carbohydrates, mainly found as components of cell wall fungi, yeast, bacteria and also in cereals such as barley and oat, and have been recently shown to have application in macrophagetargeted drug delivery. The aim of this study was to prepare and characterize GP containing a large payload of Rifabutin (RB), an anti-tuberculosis drug effective against MDR-TB at lower MIC than Rifampicin. GP were prepared from yeast cells by acidic and alkaline extraction were either spray dried or lyophilized, prior to RB loading and alginate sealing. The FTIR and 13C-NMR spectra of the GP confirmed a β-(1→3) linked glucan structure, with a triple-helical conformation. The spray dried GP exhibited better characteristics in terms of uniformity, size range (2.9 to 6.1 μm) and more than 75 % particles were below 3.5 μm. The RP-HPLC analysis of spray dried GP revealed drug entrapment and drug loading up to 81.46 ± 4.9 % and ~40.5 ± 1.9 %, respectively, as compared to those dried by lyophilization. Electron microscopy showed nearly spherical and porous nature of GP, and the presence of drug ‘nanoprecipitates’ filling the pore spaces. The formulation showed adequate thermal stability for pharmaceutical application. The particles were readily phagocytosed by macrophage(s) within 5 min of exposure. Drug release occurred in a sustained manner via diffusion, as the release kinetics best fit for drug release was obtained using Higuchi’s equation. Thus, the spray dried GP-based-formulation technology holds promise for enhanced targeted delivery of anti-TB drug(s) to macrophage within a therapeutic window for the clearance of intracellular bacteria

Pressure Induced Hydrogen Order–Disorder Transition in β-Ni(OH)2

Here we address the challenging problem of pressure induced hydrogen sublattice disordering in layered hydroxides using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and first-principles calculations..

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Overweight and Obesity in Reproductive Women of a Municipality in Western Nepal

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are major health-related problems causing an economic burden on societies around the world. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to determine the associated factors among reproductive women in a municipality in western Nepal. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was performed and data was collected by convenience sampling method including 353 women aged 15-45 years. Chi-Square test was used to assess the factors associated with overweight and obesity. The odds ratio was computed using binary logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 55% . Age (p < 0.001), education (p = 0.02), occupation (p = 0.012), marital status (p = 0.008), presence of chronic disease (p < 0.001), dietary pattern (p = 0.01), restaurant visit (p = 0.002) and stress (p = 0.003) were significant associated factors for overweight including obesity. The odds of being overweight or obesity was higher but not statistically significant in women aged 25-35 years (OR = 2.57 ; 95% CI: 0.89-7.4, p = 0.082), in married women (OR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.08-2.02), and in parous women (OR = 2.38; 95 % CI: 4.05-27.57). The odds of being overweight or obese were significantly higher in the respondents who had no chronic disease  (OR = 6.81, 95% CI: 2.10-10.16). Conclusion: We observed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in our sample. Age, education, occupation, marital status, presence of chronic disease, dietary pattern, restaurant visits, and stress were associated with overweight or obesity

HOW CAN WE MAKE THE CURRENT UK PSYCHIATRIC TRAINING SCHEME TRULY TRAINEE CENTRED?

Introduction. UK Psychiatric training is popular worldwide and IMG from throughout the world come to UK. Psychiatric training has undergone significant changes but this has not reflected in the outcomes. There is a need to refocus on trainee centred teaching principles. Current Psychiatric Training: Current training scheme started in 2007 as run-through programme spanning six years. Till 2005, examinations decided the progression of trainees through the training scheme with development of Work Place Based Assessments. Following Tooke’s report,training was uncoupled and examinations regained importance in deciding the progress of trainees to higher training. Factors affecting psychiatric training: EWTD, budget cuts, service priorities lead to a sense of lack of importance among trainees. Surveys focussing on clinical supervision pointed to the inadequacy and poor quality of supervision. Training has lost trainee centeredness. It is important to make the training maximally effective to deliver safer services. Trainees are major work forces and the future consultants who lead and manage services. Conclusion: Student centred teaching is a highly skilled educational process. Adapting these principles into psychiatric training could help trainees learn successfully

Morphotaxometry and Ultratopography of Lytocestus haryanii n.sp. (Caryophyllidea: Lytocestidae) from the intestine of freshwater catfish Clarias batrachus Linnaeus 1758 (Siluriformes: Clariidae) of river Yamuna, Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, India

The present investigation deals with the first report of newer species of caryophyllid cestodes, Lytocestus haryanii n.sp. (Caryophyllidea: Lytocestidae) in the freshwater catfish, Clarias batrachus Linnaeus 1758 (Siluriformes: Clariidae) of river Yamuna from Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, India from July 2018 to June 2020. These helminthes are the most common cestodes (endoparasites) among the fishes of fresh water, brackish water, and marine habitat worldwide.  The recovered newer worms were processed through the standardized protocol for the microscopic observations and morphometry, ultratopographic study through scanning electron microscopy, and anatomical analysis by histology using microtomy techniques followed by the double staining. The findings of the present worms were substantiated and compared with the earlier reported species of the same genera from different hosts shared the common group using advanced numerical taxonomy for the taxometric validation. The present proposed newer worms shared all the common characteristics which helped in the generic diagnosis and are closely related to the species collected from the same host species inhabiting different freshwater bodies. The worms comprised several striking contrasts in the combination of distinguishing characters of taxonomic significance in special reference to shape, size, orientation, distribution, and the dimension of the body (single proglottid), scolex, neck, testes, ovary, cirrus pouch, vitellaria, eggs, and excretory pore. Based on the striking morphological, taxometric, ultratopgraphic, and histological differences summarized here can, therefore, be used to propose the worm as a new species.

Yttrium Enhanced Glass-Forming Ability of Zr-Based Metallic Glasses

803-810Thermodynamic behavior of Zr56-xCo28Al16Yx (x = 0, 2, 7, 10 at. %) bulk metallic glass-forming alloys has been studied using an analytical approach where some of the key thermodynamic quantities such as ΔH, ΔS and ΔG have been estimated using a hyperbolic temperature dependence of specific heat difference ΔCp in the supercooled liquid region. The study is focused on understanding the effect of yttrium (Y) doping on the thermodynamics of the alloys in the supercooled region and on the glass-forming ability (GFA) of these alloys. The analytical approach has been found to give estimates of ΔG in a wide supercooled liquid region which is in excellent agreement with the experimental results. Estimated ΔG values are found to be minimum for Y concentration of 7% and 10% which is consistent with the observed high GFA for these compositions. Fundamental elemental properties such as atomic size, electronegativity, the heat of mixing have been found to play an important role in governing the thermodynamics of the alloys in the supercooled liquid region

Effective Contribution of Air Pollutants to Physiological and Psychological Human Diseases: A Systematic Review

Increasing globalization, industrialization, population, and burning of fossil fuels have been adversely affecting the environment for a long time. The consequences of the effects can be seen even within a short period of time in the current scenario. The air pollutants such as SO2, NO2, CO, and PM are the main contributors to the adverse health effects. Long-term and short-term exposure to pollutants may cause acute and chronic effects on the human body as they can enter deep into the organ and circulate in the bloodstream. The ultimate purpose of this review is to develop a quantitative perceptive of the existing state of facts about potential health effects concerning the dose-response relationship between exposure level of air pollutants and induced diseases. We have drawn around 376 scientific research papers on high-impact factors related to air pollution and health. These publications were analyzed with consideration of experimental methods, design, observations, and reports on the exposure through inhalation which may emulate the normal direction of exposure inside the human organs. The present study suggests the effects of epidemiological studies on associations between pollutant concentrations and human health. Most of the inferences evidenced the severe adverse effects of particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM10) on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Our present investigation reveals the health risk due to pollutants’ exposure to the vulnerable population anguishing with asthma, COPD, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer (physiological diseases); dementia, depression, and stress (psychological diseases)