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Nutritional support of hospitalized patients is a neglected aspect of clinical management despite the fact that hospital malnutrition leads to increased morbidity and mortality. There is a paucity of data regarding the status of nutrition support services (NSS) from India; hence, the present study was conducted in 50 hospitals attached to medical colleges all over the country. A semi-structured, pre-tested questionnaire was utilized to collect data regarding the status of NSS in these hospitals. The results of the study revealed that only 64% of the hospitals had a dietetics department. About 18% did not have any dietician. The dietician-to-patient ratio was very low--0.28 dieticians available per 100 hospital indoor beds. The majority (82%) of the hospitals were providing hospital food to indoor patients. The average cost of 4 meals per day was Rs 22 per patient. It was seen that only 46% of the hospitals were not providing hospital-based special feeds to the patients. The findings of our study indicated that the NSS are inadequate even in tertiary care hospitals and there is a need to strengthen the services for the holistic management of patients.

Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) is a public health problem in India. A ban on the sale of uniodised salt for household consumption has been introduced in Rajasthan State since 1992. The present study was conducted in the district of Bharatpur, Rajasthan with the objective to assess the prevalence of iodine disorders in school children as no data is available on this aspect. A total of 3072 children in the age group of 6-12 years were included in the study and were clinically examined. On the spot urine samples were collected randomly from 450 children. A total of 1064 salt samples were collected randomly from the families of the children. The total goiter prevalence was found to be 7.2% in the subjects studied. It was found that the percentage of children with urinary iodine excretion20.0; 20.0-49.9, 50.0-99.9 and 100 mcg/L and above was 1.1, 1.1, 7.8 and 90.0% respectively. The assessment of iodine content of salt revealed that 56% of the families were consuming iodised salt. The findings of the present study indicated that the population is in a transition phase from iodine deficient (as revealed by the TGR) to iodine sufficient (as revealed by the medium UIE of 200.0 mcg/L) nutriture.

Third grade students used wireless handhelds and a large shared display to discover strategies for control of variables in scientific experiments. The technology suite supported activity requirements including synchronous individual control, face-to-face discourse, and instantaneous display updates. In an empirical study, students demonstrated learning in both original and transfer domains.

From the ethyl acetate extract of the roots of Clausena pentaphylla, a flavanone glycoside, 5,7-dihydroxy3',4'-dimethoxyflavanone 6-C-[α-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 6)]-β-glucopyranoside (1), was isolated. The isolated compound was characterized by UV, IR, and NMR (1H, 13C) studies.

Forest cover is defined as an area more than 1 ha in extent and having tree canopy density of 10 percent and above. Forest biodiversity is highly valued at all three levels for providing products and commodities, amenities and services and aesthetic beauty and natural settings for moral contemplation and spiritual uplifting. But due to insufficient care and protection they are loosing their vigour and being trapped and diminished by human beings' selfish and greedy attitude. Here in this review paper it has been tried to explain the forest cover of India in its different parts, importance of forest biodiversity to human beings and some strategies to rejuvenate it at this step of destruction.

Methods A new series of Nheterocyclic compounds has been derived from benzimidazole and pyrimidine nuclei optimized with the Discovery studio 3.0 software to investigate the interactions between the target compounds and the amino acid residues of Escherichia coli PDF Ni (PDB: ID 1G2A), and then synthesized. Further, all compounds were examined for their antibacterial activities against Gram-positive, S.viridians, and Gram-negative bacterial strains, E. coli, P. mirabilis and K. pneumoniae using the microdilution broth susceptibility test method and subjected to polynomial regression.

Introduction: Due to lack of formal sex education in India, the unpleasant past sexual experiences and at times normal physiological activities can lead to various myths and sexual beliefs. Base on their beliefs, individuals seeking treatment for early ejaculation have their set of expectations. Premature ejaculation (PME) in Indian population thus, has personal meaning and there is no common agreement on it. Materials and Methods: With the help of semi-structured questionnaire, we surveyed the sexual activity, sexual beliefs and past sexual experiences of those seeking treatment for early ejaculation ( n = 62) and compared them with an age-matched control ( n = 50). Results: Those seeking treatment for early ejaculation expected more number of strokes (39.1 vs. 32.6) in lesser time (11.5 min vs. 16.3) during sexual encounters i.e. more rapid thrusting. Significantly more of those seeking treatment for early ejaculation felt that masturbation was not a normal activity and that both male and female partners must climax simultaneously for satisfactory sexual experience. Also, significantly more of those seeking treatment for early ejaculation reported their first sexual experience to be unsatisfactory. Conclusion: In the cultural context of India, those seeking treatment for early ejaculation may be distressed due to their inability to meet their own expectations in addition to distress of inability to hold ejaculation as desired. It is essential to re-educate such individuals before considering the diagnosis of PME. Various diagnostic criteria for PME have not emphasized the exclusion of cultural factors as contributors to distress of PME.

Eosinophilic cholecystitis is a rare form of cholecystitis. It is believed that eosinophilic cholecystitis is associated with eosinophilic cystitis, parasitic infections, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, and drugs. We report the case of a 23-year-old female who presented with the clinical complaints of pain in epigastrium and burning sensation for 1 month. Ultrasound showed the presence of cholelithiasis. Open cholecystectomy was done. Histopathological report showed the presence of eosinophilic cholecystitis and xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis. Both these entities are rare and their association has not been reported in the literature so far. We report this case because of the rarity of its association.

Background Serotonin (5-HT) is a biogenic amine that also acts as a mitogen and a developmental signal early in rodent embryogenesis. Genetic and pharmacological disruption of 5-HT signaling causes various diseases and disorders via mediating central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and serious abnormalities on a growing embryo. Today, neither the effective modulators on 5-HT signaling pathways nor the genes affected by 5-HT signal are well known yet. Methodology/Principal Findings In an attempt to identify the genes altered by 5-HT signaling pathways, we analyzed the global gene expression via the Illumina array platform using the mouse WG-6 v2.0 Expression BeadChip containing 45,281 probe sets representing 30,854 genes in megakaryocytes isolated from mice infused with 5-HT or saline. We identified 723 differentially expressed genes of which 706 were induced and 17 were repressed by elevated plasma 5-HT. Conclusions/Significance Hierarchical gene clustering analysis was utilized to represent relations between groups and clusters. Using gene ontology mining tools and canonical pathway analyses, we identified multiple biological pathways that are regulated by 5-HT: (i) cytoskeletal remodeling, (ii) G-protein signaling, (iii) vesicular transport, and (iv) apoptosis and survival. Our data encompass the first extensive genome-wide based profiling in the progenitors of platelets in response to 5-HT elevation in vivo.

Foreign capital supplements domestic savings and stimulates economic growth. Moreover, it enables countries to counterbalance fluctuations in income and attain smooth consumption flows. Capital inflows can help developing countries with economic development by providing them with necessary capital and technology. It relaxes two major constraints to economic growth i.e. resource gap and foreign-exchange gap. However, surge in capital flows have had associated problems as it may lead to exchange rate appreciation, excessive accumulation in foreign exchange reserves etc. Large and volatile capital flows may destabilize macroeconomic management. Since economic reforms India has undertaken various policy measures to liberalize capital inflows which has resulted in significant increase in amount of capital inflows and changed its composition. Capital inflows have undergone a compositional shift from predominantly official and private debt flows to non-debt-creating flows in the post-reform period. This paper focuses on various facets of capital flows to India and attempts to analyze the patterns and trends in capital flows to India since 1990s. The paper also discusses issues and challenges associated with surge in capital inflows.

To the Editor: High fat diet has long been considered as an important etiological factor in the development of breast cancer as per the principal dietary hypothesis [1]. The risk of development of breast cancer has also been found to increase with elevation in circulating lipid components except for high density lipoprotein cholesterol [2]. It has been found that women with breast cancer excrete higher levels of neutral steroids and bile acids, although their dietary intake of total calories, total fat and cholesterol does not exceed as compared to the controls [3]. These women also have a higher endogenous synthesis of cholesterol than controls. Studies conducted earlier have revealed that controls have lower cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels as compared to the breast cancer patients [4-7]. We would like to share with the readers of Journal of Breast Cancer, the results of our hospital based case-control study conducted in the year 2001 to 2003. The study was conducted amongst 160 breast cancer patients from the out-patient ward and hospital admissions of the Departments of Surgery/Surgical Oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. The criteria for selection of the patients was as follow: First, they should be proven cases of breast cancer by histopathology/cytopathology. Second, they should have not undergone any treatment specific for breast cancer. Third, they should not have suffered from any major chronic illness in the past, before the diagnosis of breast cancer so as to change their dietary pattern. Fourth, they should not have taken long course of any vitamin or mineral supplements during the last 1 year. Fifth, they should not be on corticosteroid therapy or suffering from hepatic disorders/severe malnutrition. One hundred and sixty normal healthy individuals accompanying the patients in the Department of Gastroenterology, Medicine and Surgery at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi constituted the control group. The criteria for selection of the controls was as follow: First, the attendants of patients who did not suffer from any major illness in the past. Second, they should not have taken long course of any vitamin or mineral supplements during the last 1 year. Third, they should not be on corticosteroid therapy or suffering from hepatic disorders or severe malnutrition. The study was ethically approved by the Ethics Committee of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. All the investigations to be performed were explained to the subjects and those who consented for participation were included in the study. Venous blood (5 mL) was drawn from antecubital vein from both the cases and controls and collected in uncoated amber colored polypropylene tubes. The tubes were flushed with nitrogen for 30 to 60 seconds and tightly capped prior to blood collection. The tubes were then placed in an ice box and transported for centrifugation. The samples were centrifuged at 3,500 rpm at 4℃ for 30 minutes for the collection of serum. The vials of serum samples were stored at -80℃ until analysis. The estimation of total cholesterol and triglyceride was done utilizing the standard procedures [8,9]. All the estimations were repeated in triplicates and the mean of the three readings was taken as the final reading. Serum samples of known concentration of total cholesterol and triglyceride was estimated with each batch of assay as an internal quality control. The estimation was repeated for the batch of assay in which the control sample values were over or under estimated. The independent samples t-test or Student's t-test was utilized to compare the mean serum levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides between breast cancer patients and controls. The result was considered significant at 5% level of significance. The results of the study revealed that the mean age of the patients and controls was 45.29 and 40.98 years, respectively. Forty-seven percent of the patients and 65.0% of the controls belonged to upper lower socioeconomic status. The total cholesterol levels in patients and controls were found to be 181.22±46.09 and 153.36±46.32 mg/dL, respectively (p

Objective: The present study was conducted in year 2002 in NCT of Delhi with the objective to re-assess the prevalence of iodine deficiency disorders.Methods : A total of 7009 children in the age group of 6–11 years were clinically examined for presence of goiter. A total of 991 salt samples were also collected randomly. On the spot casual urine samples were collected from 1395 children.Results : The total goiter prevalence was found to be 6.2 %. The percentage of children with urinary iodine excretion (UIE) of

We present a case of pan-mandibular keratocystic odontogenic tumor which is known to produce marrow invasion without obvious sign and symptoms. To the best of our knowledge this is the 2nd case reported so far in the literature, where an extensive cystic lesion was seen with complete involvement of mandible, showing no preponderant signs or symptoms.

Deficiency of iodine causes a wide spectrum of disabilities including the implications on reproductive functions and lowering of IQ levels in school age children. The present study was conducted to assess the status of iodine nutriture and salt iodization in the entire Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. The study was conducted in all the four districts of Pondicherry. In each district 150 salt samples were collected by utilizing the uniform sampling methodology. The iodine content of salt samples was analyzed using the standard iodometric titration method. On the spot casual urine samples were collected from at least 80 children from the same school selected randomly The urinary iodine excretion (UIE) levels were analyzed using the wet digestion method It was observed that 59.7% of the families were consuming iodized salt with more than 5 ppm . It was found that 3 out of 4 districts had adequate iodine nutriture (median UIE levels more than 100 µg/l) possibly due to consumption of iodized salt by majority of the population. This study revealed the success of the salt iodization program in Pondicherry. However, there is a need for strengthening the existing monitoring and distribution system to ensure that adequately iodized salt is available for human consumption to eliminate IDD from the state.

B98 Autophagic mechanism is known to provide survival advantage and chemo-resistant in various cancers. Molecular iodine (I2) has been shown to cause apoptotic cell death independent of estrogen receptor and p53 status in breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-453, ZR-75-1, T-47D). In MCF-7 cells apoptotic cell death has been shown to be independent of caspase activity and is mediated through AIF. Non-evident apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 in response to I2 treatment led us to investigate its cell death mechanism in detail. Electron microscopic observations and immunofluorescence performed in molecular iodine treated MDA-MB-231 cells showed increase in acidic vacuoles, autophagosome formation and subsequent autolysosome formation confirmed the autophagy. Blocking of various stages of I2 induced autophagy by PI3 kinase inhibitors (LY294002 and 3-MA), bafilomycin (lysosomal fusion inhibitor) resulted in enhanced cell death indicating that autophagy provides survival advantage to MDA-MB-231 cells. The evidence of autophagy is further supported by enhanced expression of Beclin, decreased Bcl-2, and increased LC-3 cleavage seen on western blot. Recent evidence that anti-malarial drug chloroquin inhibits chemotherapeutic regimen induced autophagy leading to increased cell death in CNS lymphoma is promising. To know whether the chloroquin mediated increased therapeutic efficacy is drug/system specific or is more generalized phenomenon we investigated its effect in I2 treated MDA-MB-231 cells. Co-treatment with I2 and Chloroquin resulted in increased cytotoxicity, accumulation of sub-G1 cell fraction, nuclear fragmentation with enhanced caspase-9 activation and decreased pro-caspase-3 indicates that chloroquin redirects the cells undergoing autophagy under the influence of molecular iodine to dominant apoptotic mechanism of cell death. In vivo efficiency of molecular iodine and chloroquine combined treatment was assessed in mammary tumor implanted ICRC mice. Mammary tumors were implanted in 18-20 mice from spontaneous mammary tumors harboring mice. Volumes were measured by NMR spectroscopy. Once tumor volume reached 0.5 - 0.7 cm3, mice were divided in three groups of six mice each of control, I2 treatment and I2 plus chloroquin co-treatment (n=6). Tumor volume in untreated mice showed a significant increase over a period of 6 weeks, no increase in iodine treated group and a significant decreased on combination treatment protocol The evidence provided so far indicates that the chloroquin probably increases the therapeutic efficacy of drug regimen in a ubiquitous manner. This switch over ability from autophagy to apoptosis provided by chloroquin makes it a potential adjuvant to overcome the survival advantage conferred by molecular Iodine to MDA-MB-231 cells. Supported by Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, Grant No SR/SO/HS/017/2003 Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):B98.

EDITOR—The article by Subramanian et al on patterns and distribution of tobacco consumption in India is interesting and informative but raises issues.1 Unadjusted prevalence of adults aged 18 and above who smoke or chew tobacco in 1998-9 by Indian state …

quiangular frames are an important class of finite dimensional frames because of their superior performance and numerous applications. The objective of this paper is to present a new tool to construct equiangular tight frames from groups. We prove that many equiangular tight frames arise from subsets of groups which we call signature sets. Subsequently, we define quasi-signature sets and examine real equiangular tight frames associated with these subsets of groups. This approach yields further results and establishes new correspondences. We extend these results to complex equiangular tight frames where the inner product between any pair of vectors is a common multiple of a cube root of unity and exhibit equiangular tight frames that arise from groups in this manner.

Road traffic injuries are one of the leading causes of deaths around the world. Due to lack of available resources and due to unplanned growth, predominant portion of these fatalities occur in middle-income and low-income countries. For the improvement of traffic safety, it is important to understand various characteristics of traffic risks both temporally and spatially. Lack of detailed data in developing countries is a serious challenge in addressing traffic safety. In India, number of traffic related fatalities is the only reliable traffic safety related data available. Multiple regression models, which are generally used in these countries analyze the fatality data, do not consider the effect of omitted variables on the dependent variable. This study is an attempt to develop a model based on readily available data for India to estimate traffic safety risk while considering the individual specific effect of various regions. Panel data analysis is commonly being used for various studies due to the advantages of panel data. Panel data can accommodate data with more information, more variability, less collinearity among variables, more efficiency and more degree of freedom. Using cross sectional time series panel data for 28 states of India over the period of 2004-08, panel model is developed on the number of fatalities. Data on total number of deaths due to road crashes, road infrastructure, population, area and vehicle registration are used in this study. Most of the data are retrieved from reliable sources such as publications of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), Census Bureau of India, and Ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MOSPI). The coefficients for the variables included into the model are assumed to be fixed based on the analysis of covariance test. This assumption is unrealistic. However, with the availability of data for more years, the variation of the coefficients of variables can be taken into account.

The present study is on the Ultra High Pressure Metamorphic rocks of the Tso Morari Crystalline Complex of the northwestern Himalayas. Five different mineral associations representative of five stages of P–T (pressure–temperature) evolution of these rocks have been established based on metamorphic textures and mineral chemistry. The pre-UHP metamorphic association 1 of Na-Ca-amphibole + epidote ± paragonite ± rutile ± magnetite with T–P of ~ 500°C and 10 kbar. This is followed by UHP metamorphic regime marked by association 2 and association 3. Association 2 (Fe>Mg>Ca-garnet + omphacite + coesite + phengite + rutile ± ilmenite) marks the peak metamorphic conditions of atleast 33 kbar and ~ 750°C. Association 3 (Fe>Mg>Ca-garnet + Na-Ca amphibole + phengite ± paragonite ± calcite ± ilmenite ± titanite) yields a P–T condition of ~28 kbar and 700°C. The post-UHP metamorphic regime is defined by associations 4 and 5. Association 4 (Fe>Ca>Mg-garnet + Ca-amphibole + plagioclase (An05) + biotite + epidote ± phengite yields a P–T estimate of ~14 kbar and 800°C) and association 5 (Chlorite + plagioclase (An05) + quartz + phengite + Ca-amphibole ± epidote ± biotite ± rutile ± titanite ± ilmenite) yields a P–T value of ~7 kbar and 350°C.

Background Stress is discussed as a potential factor in the development of sleep bruxism (SB). The aim of this study was to investigate whether specific stress-factors correlate with SB-activity. Methods Sixty-nine subjects, of which 48 were SB-patients, completed three German questionnaires assessing different stress-parameters and stress-coping-strategies: Short questionnaire for recognition of stress-factors (Kurzer Fragebogen zur Erfassung von Belastungen, KFB), Questionnaire for recuperation and strain (Erholungs-Belastungs-Fragebogen, EBF-24 A/3) and the stress-coping questionnaire (Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen-78, SVF-78). The diagnosis of SB was based on the clinical criteria of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). The degree of SB-activity was measured by the Bruxcore-Bruxism-Monitoring-Device (BBMD, Bruxcore, Boston, USA), worn for five consecutive nights and analyzed using a computer-based method. Non-parametric Spearman correlation coefficients, rho, were calculated between the psychometric data and the amount of SB-activity measured by a pixel score of the BBMD. Results Significant correlations were found for 'daily problems' (r = 0.461, p < 0.01), 'trouble at work' (r = 0.293), 'fatigue' (r = 0.288), 'physical problems' (r = 0.288) and the coping-strategy 'escape' (r = 0.295) (all p < 0.05). Conclusions Within the limitations of this study it could be shown that subjects with high SB-activity tend to feel more stressed at work and in their daily life, which in turn might influence their physical state. These subjects also seem to deal with stress in a negative way. However, due to the rather low to almost moderate correlation coefficients and the descriptive character of the study, further investigations are necessary to examine a possible causal relationship.

Free Space Optical communication (FSO) has engrossed a large section of researchers in recent times due to its wide bandwidth, effortless deployment and immune links making it appropriate for communication purposes. This wireless optical technique requires clear and non-turbulent atmospheric conditions for efficient transmission. In this paper, authors aim at reducing the effect of turbulent atmospheric conditions like scintillation effect on FSO. Multibeam technique, which uses spatially diverse transmitters for transmission, has been used for increasing the achievable link distance of the FSO system. Parameters like quality factor and bit error rate have been used to check the received signal quality.