An empirical investigation on the impact of attitudes towards organ donation in India [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Organ shortage is a global issue and it is imperative to take steps to bridge this gap. In the Indian context, despite its demographic dividend, the rate of organ donation has been abysmally low. This emphasizes a need to demystify the antecedents of organ donation intention among the Indian population. Methods: Using a cross-sectional research design and adopting a post-positivism research philosophy, this study identified 259 respondents by adopting a purposive sampling approach and data on knowledge of organ donation was collected using a structured, pretested questionnaire. Results: Awareness of organ donation law in India is low on specific issues and respondents from the health science & medicine discipline scored better on knowledge about organ donation. The findings show that most participants had heard about organ donation and had a favourable attitude toward it. The primary sources of information on organ donation were television and newspapers, and healthcare service providers. A complementary partial median is established (β = .217, t = 5.889, p < .001) which implies that willingness to discuss with family significantly mediates the association between attitude towards organ & tissue donation and willingness to sign the donor card. Conclusion: This study revealed that there is a general awareness of organ and tissue donation among the Indian population, but they lack clarity on certain specific issues. Mass media has to be effectively used to build awareness campaigns revolving around enhancing knowledge on a specific issue and building acceptance of the concept of organ and tissue donation

Traditional medicine in the management of Recurrent Tonsillitis - An Ayurvedic Perspective

Tonsillitis is one of the commonest infectious illness suffered by pediatric age group. It has high incidence in developing nations like India. Its recurrent attack results in hypertrophy of tonsils, difficulty in swallowing, sleep problems resulting in poor nutrition and poor school performance as well. Recurrent tonsillitis may also result in late complications like rheumatic heart diseases. Conventional systems of medicine usually advise surgical removal of tonsils to treat its recurrent infections. Ayurveda describes a similar condition, Tundikeri which have same clinical manifestations like recurrent tonsillitis and also advised its medicinal treatment. Ayurveda have ample treasure of herbal medicine which can be used in the management of recurrent tonsillitis. This article reviews various classical texts as well as recent experimental and clinical studies to find out herbal medicine useful in recurrent tonsillitis and revalidate their use to reduce necessity of tonsillectomy

Contribution of Gandhian Thought to Corporate Responsibility

Mahatma Gandhiji transformed contemporary capitalists amidst the criticism from leftist quarters that he was working for a compromise in the interests of the Indian bourgeoisie. The purpose of this paper is to present a forerunner of today’s conversations in the world about corporate social responsibility (CSR). Gandhiji not only befriended a number of businesspersons but also advised them to consider their role as a steward of their wealth and businesses that they held. We intend to substantiate his pious intentions derived from his understanding of Bhagavad Gita, which suggested to him that one could enjoy one’s acquired wealth by renouncing it. Persuaded by such moral disposition, Gandhiji argued that it is the surest method to evolve a new order of life of universal benefit of all people in the society as opposed to the order in which most of us live for ourselves without regard to what happens to our neighbour. The paper is based on archival materials representing his conceptualisation and acceptance of trusteeship and the collaborations of the capitalists that lived in his times.Â

CORRELATION OF CELLULAR AUTOLYTIC CHANGES IN BONE MARROW WITH POST-MORTEM INTERVAL

Estimation of post mortem interval is of great importance in both civil and criminal disputes. Determining time since death is extremely difficult and accuracy can never be met. Most of the methods currently employed are temperature based algorithms, rigor mortis, livor mortis, thanato-chemistry etc. But the uncertainties attaching to traditional means of establishing the time since death have directed attention to the chemical changes in the body fluids like cerebrospinal fluid and vitreous humour along with various cellular changes in the body tissues. The study of the viability and morphological changes seen in the cells of various body tissues could provide useful information regarding post-mortem interval. In our study the cellular and cytoplasmic changes observed were time related up to 16 hours. KEYWORDS: Post mortem interval; Cellular changes; Cytoplasmic changes

CORRELATION OF CELLULAR AUTOLYTIC CHANGES IN BONE MARROW WITH POST-MORTEM INTERVAL

Estimation of post mortem interval is of great importance in both civil and criminal disputes. Determining time since death is extremely difficult and accuracy can never be met. Most of the methods currently employed are temperature based algorithms, rigor mortis, livor mortis, thanato-chemistry etc. But the uncertainties attaching to traditional means of establishing the time since death have directed attention to the chemical changes in the body fluids like cerebrospinal fluid and vitreous humour along with various cellular changes in the body tissues. The study of the viability and morphological changes seen in the cells of various body tissues could provide useful information regarding post-mortem interval. In our study the cellular and cytoplasmic changes observed were time related up to 16 hours. KEYWORDS: Post mortem interval; Cellular changes; Cytoplasmic changes

Adsorption studies on the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution using a low cost fertilizer industry waste material

Low cost fertilizer industry waste material called carbon slurry, produced in generators of fuel oil based industrial generators was converted into an effective and efficient adsorbent for the removal of hexavalent chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions.The waste was chemically treated, activated, characterized and used for the adsorption of chromium. The work involves batch experiments to investigate the effect of contact time, pH, temperature, concentration and adsorbent dose on the extent of adsorption by carbon slurry. The maximum adsorption was found at 70 min., 2.0 pH, 4.0 g/L dose, 303 K temperature. Maximum adsorption capacity (15.24 mg/g) of Cr(VI) on carbon slurry was observed at 100 mg/L initial Cr(VI ) concentration. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models were applied to analyze adsorption data, and both were found to be applicable to this adsorption system, in terms of relatively high regression values. Thermodynamic parameters showed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) onto carbon slurry was feasible, spontaneous and exothermic under studied conditions. Kinetics of adsorption was found to follow pseudo second order rate equation. Column studies have been carried out to compare these with the batch capacities. The recovery of Cr(VI) and chemical regeneration of the spent column have also been tried. In all, the results indicated that the adsorbent used in this work proved to be effective material for the treatment of chromium bearing aqueous solutions

Anatomical Variation of Radial Wrist Extensor Muscles: A Study in Cadavers

OBJECTIVE: The tendons of the extensor carpi radialis longus and brevis muscles are quite useful in tendon transfer, such as in correction of finger clawing and restoration of thumb opposition. Knowledge of additional radial wrist extensor muscle bellies with independent tendons is useful in the above-mentioned surgical procedures. METHODS: The skin, subcutaneous tissue, and antebrachial fascia of 48 (24 on the right side and 24 on left side) male upper limb forearms were dissected. The following aspects were then analyzed: (a) the presence of additional muscle bellies of radial wrist extensors, (b) the origin and insertion of the additional muscle, and (c) measurements of the muscle bellies and their tendons. RESULTS: Five out of 48 upper limbs (10.41%) had additional radial wrist extensors; this occurred in 3 out of 24 left upper limbs (12.5%) and 2 out of 24 right upper limbs (8.3%). In one of the right upper limbs, two additional muscles were found. The length and width of each additional muscle belly and its tendon ranged between 2 - 15cm by 0.35 - 6.4cm and 2.8 - 20.8cm by 0.2 0.5cm, respectively. The additional radial wrist extensor tendons in our study basically originated either from the extensor carpi radialis longus or brevis muscles and were inserted at the base of the 2nd or 3rd metacarpal bone. CONCLUSION: The present study will inform surgeons about the different varieties of additional radial wrist extensors and the frequency of their occurrence

Structure and Dimerization of the Kinase Domain from Yeast Snf1, a Member of the Snf1/AMPK Protein Family

SummaryThe Snf1/AMPK kinases are intracellular energy sensors, and the AMPK pathway has been implicated in a variety of metabolic human disorders. Here we report the crystal structure of the kinase domain from yeast Snf1, revealing a bilobe kinase fold with greatest homology to cyclin-dependant kinase-2. Unexpectedly, the crystal structure also reveals a novel homodimer that we show also forms in solution, as demonstrated by equilibrium sedimentation, and in yeast cells, as shown by coimmunoprecipitation of differentially tagged intact Snf1. A mapping of sequence conservation suggests that dimer formation is a conserved feature of the Snf1/AMPK kinases. The conformation of the conserved αC helix, and the burial of the activation segment and substrate binding site within the dimer, suggests that it represents an inactive form of the kinase. Taken together, these studies suggest another layer of kinase regulation within the Snf1/AMPK family, and an avenue for development of AMPK-specific activating compounds

Conformational transitions of the sodium-dependent sugar transporter, vSGLT.

Sodium-dependent transporters couple the flow of Na+ ions down their electrochemical potential gradient to the uphill transport of various ligands. Many of these transporters share a common core structure composed of a five-helix inverted repeat and deliver their cargo utilizing an alternating-access mechanism. A detailed characterization of inward-facing conformations of the Na+-dependent sugar transporter from Vibrio parahaemolyticus (vSGLT) has previously been reported, but structural details on additional conformations and on how Na+ and ligand influence the equilibrium between other states remains unknown. Here, double electron-electron resonance spectroscopy, structural modeling, and molecular dynamics are utilized to deduce ligand-dependent equilibria shifts of vSGLT in micelles. In the absence and presence of saturating amounts of Na+, vSGLT favors an inward-facing conformation. Upon binding both Na+ and sugar, the equilibrium shifts toward either an outward-facing or occluded conformation. While Na+ alone does not stabilize the outward-facing state, gating charge calculations together with a kinetic model of transport suggest that the resting negative membrane potential of the cell, absent in detergent-solubilized samples, may stabilize vSGLT in an outward-open conformation where it is poised for binding external sugars. In total, these findings provide insights into ligand-induced conformational selection and delineate the transport cycle of vSGLT

Anticonvulsant activity of gap-junctional blocker carbenoxolone in albino rats

Background: Gap junctions (GJs) are clusters of channels that connect the interiors of adjoining neurons and mediate electrical/electrotonic coupling by transfer of ions and small molecules. Electrotonic coupling between principal neurons via GJs is increasingly recognized as one of the mechanisms in the pathogenesis of the abnormal neuronal synchrony that occurs during seizures. Carbenoxolone the succinyl ester of glycyrrhetinic acid obtained from liquorice has been shown to have the property of blocking gap junctional intercellular communication. The objectives were to study if carbenoxolone has in-vivo anticonvulsive activity in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and maximal electroshock (MES) seizure models and to probe the functional role of GJs in seizures.Methods: Carbenoxolone was tested for anticonvulsive effect in albino rats subjected to seizures by the PTZ and MES at three doses 100 m/kg, 200 m/kg, 300 m/kg. In the PTZ model parameters observed were seizure protection, seizure latency and seizure duration. In the MES model parameters observed were seizure protection and seizure duration.Results: The results showed that the carbenoxolone has anticonvulsant activity in both PTZ and MES induced seizures with better protection in the PTZ induced seizures. In the PTZ model carbenoxolone produced a statistically significant increase in seizure latency, decrease in seizure duration and seizure protection. In the MES model carbenoxolone produced a statistically significant decrease in seizure duration.Conclusions: Carbenoxolone has in-vivo anticonvulsive effect and could be useful in both petitmal (absence) seizures and grand mal (generalized tonic-clonic epilepsy) seizures. The protective effect of carbenoxolone could be due to blockade of GJ channels that mediate electro tonic coupling and thereby prevent the neural synchronization that is characteristic of seizures. The study also supports the view that GJs have a functional role in the electrophysiology of seizures and GJ blockers have potential as a new class of antiepileptic drugs