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BackgroundAdherence to evidence-based therapies such as medications and exercise remains poor among patients after a myocardial infarction (MI). Text message reminders have been shown to improve rates of adherence to medication and exercise, but the existing studies have been of short duration. ObjectiveTwo single-center randomized controlled pilot trials were conducted to evaluate the impact of text message reminders over 12 months on adherence to cardiac medications and exercise among patients receiving cardiac rehabilitation after hospitalization for MI. MethodsIn the medication adherence trial, 34 patients were randomized to receive usual care alone or usual care plus daily text message reminders delivered at the time of day at which medications were to be taken. In the exercise adherence trial, 50 patients were randomized to receive usual care alone or usual care plus 4 daily text messages reminding them to exercise as directed. ResultsThe text message reminders led to a mean 14.2 percentage point improvement in self-reported medication adherence over usual care (P

In this article, we have examined toxicity of nanostructures such as flower-like ZnO capped with starch, spherical uncapped ZnO and spherical CdS on aquatic plant Hydrilla verticillata, which has not done before. Hydrilla plant was exposed by these nanoparticles at a concentration of 400 mg/L for 7 days and changes in the biochemical parameters such as catalase activity, chlorophyll content and protein content were observed. It was perceived that spherical CdS nanoparticles were more toxic than the corresponding ZnO nanoparticles since there was a decrease in chlorophyll content and increase in catalase activity. This effort upsurge an interest in understanding the hazards of nanomaterials and their risk, which poses an impact on our environment and how they can be monitored via simple biochemical assays on plant systems.

Mother-tongue education has increasingly become a keyword in formulations of development goals, especially the Sustainable Development Goals (2015). Achievement of these goals acquires a grave sense of urgency in light of the ever-increasing threat to the very fabric of our linguistic diversity. The basic premise of this article is that Gandhian thought can serve as a guiding principle in our struggle to stem the tsunami of language endangerment. Engagement with Gandhian thought enables us to critically examine the current presuppositions about development and the role of language in nation-building (especially in schools) and also inspires us to look for more sustainable alternatives. This article aims at examining the linguistic world order that Gandhi envisaged--an order where languages do not encroach upon each other. In postulating such a world order, Gandhi shows a keen awareness of the dangers that languages such as English could pose to mother tongues. Furthermore, diversity is not seen as a 'management' problem but rather a necessary condition for all that is human. Emphasis on ensuring that the child in school is an active producer rather than a passive consumer of knowledge, as well as envisaging the school as a resource centre for the neighbourhood ensures that the mother tongues (L-languages) and languages taught in schools (H-languages) enter into a harmonious and symmetrical pedagogical relationship rather than a relationship of violent conflict, which characterises the current linguistic world-order. The article argues that such a pedagogical relationship serves as a necessary component of any sustainable developmental paradigm.