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BACKGROUND AND AIMS India has a significant burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and has committed to achieving national elimination by 2030. This will require a substantial scale-up in testing and treatment. The "HEAD-Start Project Delhi" aimed to enhance HCV diagnosis and treatment pathways among the general population. METHODS A prospective study was conducted at 5 district hospitals (Arm 1: one-stop shop), 15 polyclinics (Arm 2: referral for viral load (VL) testing and treatment) and 62 screening camps (Arm 3: referral for treatment). HCV prevalence, retention in the HCV care cascade, and turn-around time were measured. RESULTS Between January and September 2019, 37 425 participants were screened for HCV. The median (IQR) age of participants was 35 (26-48) years, with 50.4% male and 49.6% female. A significantly higher proportion of participants in Arm 1 (93.7%) and Arm 3 (90.3%) received a VL test compared with Arm 2 (52.5%, P

Moringa oleifera is a traditional Indian herb belonging to the Moringaceae family, it is commonly known as the horse-radish tree, drumstick, or sahajna. In developing countries, Moringa is used as feed for both humans and animals due to its well-known antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties owing to its several phytoconstituents including β-carotene, quercetin, kaempferol, ascorbic acid, flavonoids, phenolic acid, rhamnose, glycosylates, glucomoringin, and isothiocyanates. These constituents help to maintain the brain antioxidant enzyme levels, mitochondrial functions, and neurogenesis, showing neuroprotective effects in several neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Huntington's Disease, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This review discusses various phytoconstituent of moringa and their therapeutic potential in various neurological disorders. Additionally, we also concise the safety and toxicity profile, of different molecular pathways involved in the neuroprotective effect of M. oleifera including M. oleifera nanoparticles for better therapeutic value. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Several clinical and preclinical studies on Moringa oleifera have been conducted, and the outcomes indicate moringa could be used in the treatment of brain disorders. As a result, we conclude that moringa and its nanoformulations could be employed to treat neurological problems. In the future, M. oleifera phytoconstituents could be evaluated against specific signaling pathways, which could aid researchers in discovering their mechanism of action. Furthermore, the use of moringa as a nutraceutical owing to its myriad pharmacological potential will go a long way in boosting the economy of countries that grow moringa on a large scale.

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic infection with a much greater incidence in tropical regions and has now been identified as one of the emerging infectious diseases. The epidemiology of leptospirosis has been modified by changes in animal husbandry, climate and human behavior. Resurgent interest in leptospirosis has resulted from large outbreaks that have received significant publicity. The transmission cycle of leptospirosis involves maintenance hosts, carrier hosts, environment and human beings. The carrier animals in India include rats, pigs, cattle, bandicoots and dogs. Intervention strategies include vaccination, rodent control and improved environmental hygiene to eliminate possibility of water, soil and food contamination. Mass awareness or public education is of utmost importance. The development of simpler, rapid assays for diagnosis has been based largely on the recognition that early initiation of antibiotic therapy is important in acute disease but also on the need for assays which can be used more widely. The gold standard is microscopic agglutination test though serological studies are widely conducted for the diagnostic purpose. The antibiotics use for the treatment of leptospirosis includes oral doxycycline, azithromycin and penicillins. Among the parenteral therapy Intravenous penicillin G and third generation cephalosporins are used. We reviewed the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of leptospirosis in this study.

Movement disorders are neurological conditions characterized by involuntary motor movements, such as dystonia, ataxia, chorea myoclonus, tremors, Huntington's disease (HD), and Parkinson's disease (PD). It is classified into two categories: hypokinetic and hyperkinetic movements. Globally, movement disorders are a major cause of death. The pathophysiological process is initiated by excessive ROS generation, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and neurotransmitters imbalance that lead to motor dysfunction in PD and HD patients. Several endogenous targets including Nrf2 maintain oxidative balance in the body. Activation of Nrf2 signaling is regulated by the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3β). In the cytoplasm, inhibition of GSK-3β regulates cellular proliferation, homeostasis, and apoptotic process by stimulating the nuclear factor erythroid 2 (Nrf2) pathway which is involved in the elevation of the cellular antioxidant enzymes which controls the ROS generation. The activation of Nrf2 increases the expression of antioxidant response elements (ARE), such as (Hemeoxygenase-1) HO-1, which decreases excessive cellular stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, and neuronal degeneration, which is the major cause of motor dysfunction. The present review explores the GSK-3β-mediated neuroprotection in various movement disorders through the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant pathway. This review provides a link between GSK-3β and the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in the treatment of PD and HD. In addition to that it highlights various GSK-3β inhibitors and the Nrf2/HO-1 activators, which exert robust neuroprotection against motor disorders. Therefore, the present review will help in the discovery of new therapy for PD and HD patients.

Background Given the shortage of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs in India and poor uptake worldwide, there is an urgent need to find alternative models of CR that are inexpensive and may offer choice to subgroups with poor uptake (e.g., women and elderly). Objectives This study sought to evaluate the effects of yoga-based CR (Yoga-CaRe) on major cardiovascular events and self-rated health in a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Methods The trial was conducted in 24 medical centers across India. This study recruited 3,959 patients with acute myocardial infarction with a median and minimum follow-up of 22 and 6 months. Patients were individually randomized to receive either a Yoga-CaRe program (n = 1,970) or enhanced standard care involving educational advice (n = 1,989). The co-primary outcomes were: 1) first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, or emergency cardiovascular hospitalization); and 2) self-rated health on the European Quality of Life–5 Dimensions–5 Level visual analogue scale at 12 weeks. Results MACE occurred in 131 (6.7%) patients in the Yoga-CaRe group and 146 (7.4%) patients in the enhanced standard care group (hazard ratio with Yoga-CaRe: 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71 to 1.15; p = 0.41). Self-rated health was 77 in Yoga-CaRe and 75.7 in the enhanced standard care group (baseline-adjusted mean difference in favor of Yoga-CaRe: 1.5; 95% CI: 0.5 to 2.5; p = 0.002). The Yoga-CaRe group had greater return to pre-infarct activities, but there was no difference in tobacco cessation or medication adherence between the treatment groups (secondary outcomes). Conclusions Yoga-CaRe improved self-rated health and return to pre-infarct activities after acute myocardial infarction, but the trial lacked statistical power to show a difference in MACE. Yoga-CaRe may be an option when conventional CR is unavailable or unacceptable to individuals. (A study on effectiveness of YOGA based cardiac rehabilitation programme in India and United Kingdom; CTRI/2012/02/002408)., Central Illustration

Monkeypox is a zoonotic illness caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) that has a similar etiology to smallpox. The first case of monkeypox was reported in Western and Central Africa in 1971, and in 2003, there was an outbreak of monkeypox viruses outside Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monkeypox is transmitted through direct contact with infected animals or persons exposed to infectious sores, scabs, or body fluids. Also, intimate contact between people during sex, kissing, cuddling, or touching parts of the body can result in the spreading of this disease. The use of the smallpox vaccine against monkeypox has several challenges and hence anti-virals such as cidofovir, brincidofovir, and tecovirimat have been used for the symptomatic relief of patients and reversing the lesion formation on the skin. Despite the recent outbreak of monkeypox most especially in hitherto non-endemic countries, there is still a lack of definitive treatment for monkeypox. In the present review, emphasis was focused on etiopathology, transmission, currently available therapeutic agents, and future targets that could be explored to halt the progression of monkeypox. From our review we can postulate that owing to the lack of a definitive cure to this reemerging disorder, there is a need for general awareness about the transmission as well as to develop appropriate diagnostic procedures, immunizations, and antiviral medication.

Background: Multiple forms of malnutrition (MOM) are a public health concern that requires strong and collaborative policy action. One common thread across MOM is inadequate consumption of fruits a...

Diseases spread by pathogens are a major cause of both illness and death of human beings. The danger of getting infectious diseases in every hospital throughout the world is always there and is a universal fact. This paper proposes an Ultra Violet Disinfection and Sterilizing (UVDS) robot, which helps to sterilize an area in hospitals and resolve the problem of acquiring infectious diseases through hospitals and other potential places. The aim to innovate this equipment is to estimate the disinfection capacity of a UVDS robot. This robot can be used in hospitals, public transport, airlines and any enclosed areas. This technique will help to increase the sanitation process of contaminated areas and dramatically reduce the need for workforce. The UVDS robot is designed with ultraviolet lights and sanitizer spray along with the controllers to program I according to the need of disinfecting areas, which is contaminated by bacteria, viruses and other harmful microorganisms. To disinfect a wide range of surfaces, the sanitizer sprays are used, which rotates at an angle of 180°. Our UVDS robot has six 20 watts of UV lights. The concept of Internet of Things (IoT) is utilized to control the robot as well as measure the parameters. The operator will operate the system through the mobile application from outside the room. Ultraviolet Disinfection and Sterilizing Robot will remotely disinfect hospital wards and the patient’s private room. The objective of this UVDS robot is to reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) in hospitals. This robot moderates the number of viruses, infectious diseases and deaths caused by them in healthcare services provided during hospitalization. The proposed UVDS robot is used for hospitals, institutions, industries, airports and other infected areas.

Certified reference material (CRM) for trace elements in quartz matrix is required to assess the performance of analytical methods in regards to their validation, calibration and for comparability of measurements between laboratories. Due to unavailability of matrix matched CRMs in our country, National Centre for Compositional Characterization of Materials (NCCCM) of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Hyderabad and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi have initiated a program for the production of a CRM for the certification of critical trace elements in high purity quartz. Preparation and certification of Indian Reference Material (BND 4101.01), quartz powder with certified mass fractions of seven trace impurities was carried out jointly between NCCCM and NPL; two national laboratories of Government of India. Sampling constant (Ks) were established before carrying out the homogeneity test within and between bottles. The homogeneity test was carried out by NCCCM. The certified values were assigned after Inter Laboratory Comparison Exercise (ILCE) between reputed National Laboratories in India as per ISO-Guide 34 & 35. Analytical techniques like Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), Flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and Total reflection x-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) have been used for the characterization of property values.

The benefits of fruit and vegetables are well established, particularly their role in preventing general micronutrient-deficiencies and chronic diseases. However, global food systems are not delivering diverse and high quality diets: healthy food is unavailable and too expensive for many. Creating food environments that foster consumer access to fruit and vegetables will require coordinated policy action across sectors, mostly outside of the health sector. The aim of this paper is to identify opportunities to strengthen food system policy for nutrition, through an analysis of the policies relevant to the external food environment for fruit and vegetables in India. We conducted interviews based on policy theory with 55 stakeholders from national and state level, from within government, research, private sector and non-government agencies, and from health, agriculture and economic sectors. Specific strategies identified in this study to improve consumers’ external food environment for fruit and vegetables in India were: development of strategic Public-Private Partnerships to increase access to diverse expertise across the supply chain; linking health and economic/agricultural policy agendas; and strengthening surveillance of policy impacts on consumer access to fruit and vegetables. We also found that public health actors can play an important role in advocating for ‘consumer oriented’ fruit and vegetable supply policy. This study demonstrates the usefulness of ‘policy learning’-oriented qualitative policy analysis in identifying ‘points of entry’ for food policy change, and extends understanding of political dynamics in engendering agricultural policy change for nutrition. Improving access to affordable fruit and vegetables is a global priority, and given common global food supply challenges, the findings from this study are also likely to be relevant for other low and middle income countries.

Background Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a standard treatment for secondary prevention of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in high income countries (HICs), but it is inaccessible to most patients in India due to high costs and skills required for multidisciplinary CR teams. We developed a low-cost and scalable CR program based on culturally-acceptable practice of yoga (Yoga-CaRe). In this paper, we report the rationale and design for evaluation of its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Methods This is a multi-center, single-blind, two-arm parallel-group randomized controlled trial across 22 cardiac care hospitals in India. Four thousand patients aged 18–80 years with AMI will be recruited and randomized 1:1 to receive Yoga-CaRe program (13 sessions supervised by an instructor and encouragement to self-practice daily) or enhanced standard care (3 sessions of health education) delivered over a period of three months. Participants will be followed 3-monthly till the end of the trial. The co-primary outcomes are a) time to occurrence of first cardiovascular event (composite of all-cause mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke and emergency cardiovascular hospitalization), and b) quality of life (Euro-QoL-5L) at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes include need for revascularization procedures, return to pre-infarct activities, tobacco cessation, medication adherence, and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Conclusion This trial will alone contribute >20% participants to existing meta-analyses of randomized trials of CR worldwide. If Yoga-CaRe is found to be effective, it has the potential to save millions of lives and transform care of AMI patients in India and other low and middle income country settings.

"Let the buyer beware" was the slogan about three decades ago which has been changed to "Let the seller beware" with the induction of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 in the Indian Legal System. This has paved a new jurisprudence of the consumer laws in India where the consumer enjoys every comfort of goods or services. The Act has enshrined to the consumer certain basic enforceable rights and the three level redressal mechanisms, the District Forum, State Commission and the National Commission to strengthen the rights Divya Soni "Effects in Day to Day Life Due to the Changing Concept of Caveat Emptor" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-5 , August 2018, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd17077.pdf

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a known independent predictor of mortality following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In addition, patients with DM may have other risk factors for AMI such as hypertension (HTN), tobacco use, physical inactivity. This study aimed to explore the distribution of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors among patients of AMI with and without DM. Yoga-CaRe, a multicenter randomized controlled trial, included patients of AMI (first or consequent AMI) with DM (n=856) and without DM (n=2330), aged 18-80 years from 24 cardiac centers across India. The baseline socio-demographics, clinical and behavioral characteristics of those with and without DM were analyzed using multivariable logistic/linear regression models, sequentially adjusted for age, gender, education and physical inactivity. Patients of AMI with DM were older as compared to those without DM (mean age 56.4± 9.4 vs. 51.9 ± 11.2). Patients with DM had higher odds of having hypertension, being physically inactive and had lower odds of self-reported ever tobacco use. Patients with DM had higher mean waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Table). No differences were found in body mass index between diabetes and nondiabetes groups.The observed differential distribution of CV risk factors in AMI patients with DM calls for a tailored rehabilitation plan. Cardiovascular risk factors among AMI patients with diabetes vs. without diabetesVariableDiabetes (n=856)Without diabetes (n=2330)Adjusted OR/Regression coefficient* [95% CI]Ever tobacco use (%)34.2%49.2%0.73 [0.60-0.88]Physical inactivity (%)57.8%49.2%1.38 [1.18-1.62]Body Mass Index ≥25Kg/m2 (%)57.6%50.8%1.13 [0.95-1.34]Waist circumference (cm) (mean)99.3±20.792.3±17.94.7 [3.1-6.3]*Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) (mean)123.4±17.2118.8±16.13.6 [2.3-4.9]*Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) (mean)76.7±10.774.9±10.31.9 [1.02-2.7] *Hypertension (%)53.1%18.6%3.8 [2.9-5.1] Disclosure D. Soni: None. C.M. Ambalam: None. V.S. Ajay: None. K. Singh: None. K. Singh: None. P.A. Praveen: None. A. Roy: None. S.C. Manchanda: None. B. Mohan: None. P.C. Negi: None. P. Bhat: None. K.S. Sadananda: None. P.M. R.: None. P. Sarma: None. S. Natarajan: None. C. Narasimhan: None. N. Desai: None. S. Patil: None. D.S. Chadha: None. S. Chandra: None. S. Kinra: None. D. Prabhakaran: None.

Objectives:The association between clinical profile such as electrocardiographic changes and angiographic changes without and with comorbid hypertension among acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients is not explored in Indian population. To examine the clinical profile among AMI patients with and

Aim Listeria monocytogenes acts as a pathogen for humans and animals, mainly causing, neonatal sepsis, abortions in pregnant females and severe infections such as septicemia and meningoencephalitis in susceptible hosts. Current study was aimed to identify novel strains of L. monocytogenes from retail chicken, beef meat and seafood samples. Methods In order to identify the strain, extraction and amplification of genomic DNA, 16S rRNA sequence analysis was carried out. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using dnapars and dnaml available in Phylip. The secondary structures of 16S rRNA gene sequence were predicted using UNAFOLD, a Linux based software. Results The results obtained were found to be a novel foodborne pathogens, which was further named L. monocytogenes strain Pyde1 and L. monocytogenes strain Pyde2 , after characterization the sequence of isolate was deposited in GenBank with accession numbers ‘KC852899’ and ‘KC852900’ respectively. The Gibb's free energy of the secondary structures of L. monocytogenes strain Pyde1 and Pyde2 were −275.60 and −282.20 kcal/mol seems to be more stable in the present investigation. Conclusion The described results of phylogenetic distinctiveness and phenotypic disparities indicate that strain 2b represents a novel strain of foodborne pathogens within L. monocytogenes species, for which the name L. monocytogenes strain Pyde1 and L. monocytogenes strain Pyde2 is proposed.

Aim Drugs in breast cancer treatment suffer resistance and drug efflux from ATP-binding cassette (ABC) efflux transporter protein. Drugs inhibiting BCRP suffer activity alteration due to sequence variants. It is imperative to investigate role of mutant variants using structure based aspects of drug binding. Method In present work, we included single nucleotide polymorphisms like F208S, S248P and F431L in BCRP structure and evaluated their role in alteration of drug binding affinities using computational approaches. Comparative modeling of BCRP 3D structure was achieved using various tools available followed by structure validation. Mutagenesis and its impact by SNPs was attained in 3D structure of BCRP. A set of selected and established BCRP inhibitors were further docked into binding site to record the drug resistance in mutant variants. Results Nucleotide binding (NB) domain (258 AA) and transmembrane (TM) domain (291 AA) of BCRP were modeled separately and assembled together to generate a single structure. Ramachandran Plot confirmed quality of modeled structures along with main chain and side chain parameters. Mutagenesis included three main variants (F208S, S248P and F431L) using Triton program. Molecular docking results showed inhibitor CID_25223199 binding effectively to wild and F431L mutant structure of BCRP while inhibitors CID_25223002 to F208S and CID_119373 to S248P. Conclusion Distortion in spatial arrangement of amino acids in BCRP protein due to mutations led to low efficacy in drug response with respect to wild isoform. Results of present work demand to probe pharmacogenomic aspects in drug development efforts for breast cancer.

Objectives:Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) demonstrates poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores in comparison to the general population. Although hypertension is associated with quality of life, little is known about the synergistic effect of blood pressure on HRQoL follow

Music is one of the beautiful and greatest creations of human kind in the course of history. As we know it, music plays a vital role not only in the film industry but also in our daily life. The creation of a popular song is a tedious task in today's world because of the availability of many popular and known songs worldwide. While on the one hand musicians or song writers try to give their level best, on the other side there are people who try to remix the old songs with new music and sometimes they do prove beneficial. From the classification of various genres like Pop, Jazz, Bhangra(an Indian genre) our proposal is to use the technological development in data and pattern mining, keeping the sense of creativity to a minimum and providing more chances to technology in the Hindi Jazz songs. This paper deals with the recognition of similar pattern in the Jazz music which makes them popular from the rest of the songs.

The taxation of cross-border transactions involving the transfer of shares of an Indian company to a Mauritius-based shareholder and the applicability of the India-Mauritius treaty has been a controversial and divisive issue for many years. This ruling highlights the determination of the Indian tax authorities to block attempts at treaty shopping, albeit in an indirect manner. Although India did not have a general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) when the transaction took place, the tax authorities had argued that the transaction was an attempt at tax avoidance and should be termed “colorable.” The AAR's re-characterization of capital gains as dividends is the first of its kind and seeks to ignore the very form of the transaction.

Principle enshrined in this case is that an in-ordinate delay in rendering the award would by itself not result in the Award being “in conflict with the public policy of India” within the meaning of Section 34 (2) (b) (ii) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The factors which the courts would consider while determining the above would inter-alia include as to whether the award is a reasoned and comprehensive award passed after analyzing facts and the evidence led by the Parties, the submissions of Counsel and whether setting aside an award on the grounds of delay would result in further hardships upon the parties in terms of time and money already spent in the Arbitration proceedings.

In India, there is no particular statute, laying down the minimum standard, which the judicial or quasi judicial bodies must follow while exercising their decision making powers. The principles of natural justice have been developed by the courts, in order to secure fairness in judicial functions. These principles are the Common Law counterpart of the ‘due process of law’ in the Constitution of the United States. The doctrine of natural justice pervades the procedural law of arbitration as its observance is the pragmatic requirement of fair play in action. In a case before the United States Supreme Court, a Jackson J. said: ‘Procedural fairness and regularity are indispensable essence of liberty. Severe substantive laws can be endured if they are fairly and impartially applied’. ‘The doctrine of natural justice seeks not only to secure justice but also to prevent miscarriage of justice.’ An arbitral tribunal is not bound by the procedure set out in the Code. It is for the parties to agree on a procedure, and if the parties are silent, then the arbitrator has to prescribe the procedure. The procedure so prescribed, however, should be in consonance with the principles of natural justice. The violation of principles of natural justice would amount to be contrary to the public policy of India. The arbitral tribunal discharging quasi judicial functions is expected to be fair and impartial in the arbitral proceedings. Principles of Natural Justice have been defined to mean 'fair play in action.' They constitute the basic elements of a fair hearing, having ties roots in the innate sense of man for fair play and justice, which is not the preserve of any particular race or country but is shared in common by all men. This article asserts that such a statutory provision being violative of the principles of natural justice should be struck down as being unconstitutional and bad in law. The procedure has to be modified by providing an option for referring the matter to a Court of law or other institutional arbitration bodies consisting of unbiased judges and arbitrators respectively.

Background Bacterial populations communicate through the cell density-dependent mechanism of quorum sensing (QS). Vibrio harveyi, one of the best studied model organisms for QS, was used to explore effects of the synthetic cannabinoid HU-210 on QS and different QS-regulated physiological processes in bacteria. Results Analysis of QS-regulated bioluminescence in wild-type and mutant strains of V. harveyi revealed that HU-210 affects the autoinducer-2 (AI-2) pathway, one of three known QS cascades of V. harveyi. Furthermore, QS-mediated biofilm formation and swimming motility in the mutant strain BB152 (AI-1−, AI-2+) were significantly reduced in the presence of HU-210. HU-210 inhibited QS-mediated virulence factor production without any inhibitory effect on bacterial growth. It also alters the expression of several genes, which are regulated by QS, specifically downregulating the genes of the AI-2 QS cascade. Conclusion First evidence is being provided for interference of bacterial signal-transduction systems by a synthetic cannabinoid. The effect of HU-210 was specific to the AI-2 cascade in V. harveyi. AI-2 is known as a "universal autoinducer" and interference with its activity opens a broad spectrum of applications for synthetic cannabinoids in future research as a potential anti-QS agent. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-015-0499-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.