Search

At the first nongovernmental organization (NGO) networking meeting on HIV/AIDS in Gujarat State, India (July 1992), the 80 participants concluded that training for grassroots volunteers was urgently needed. The Gujarat AIDS Prevention Unit (GAP-SIRMCE) assumed responsibility for organizing this capacity-building activity. GAP facilitators formulated a training-of-trainers program and outlined a workshop manual. Feedback was obtained from NGOs and experts from training programs so that a manual could be finalized. 200 NGOs were invited to participate; 65 sent delegations for training during the 1-year project. They included NGOs working on health, rural and agricultural development, family welfare, slum development, cooperative movements, and women's groups. The workshops lasted 1-3 days, generally had 10-12 participants (2 trainees per NGO). Topics included basic information on HIV/AIDS, sexuality, and barriers to condom use. There were discussions on negotiating safer sex and identifying fulfilling alternatives to sex acts. Condom demonstrations were also done. GAP then presented important educational messages. Each workshop ended with an evaluation. One of the lessons learned during the project concerned funding of participants. Some NGOs said their participation depended on money received for travel and daily subsistence. It was decided that GAP should not offer such reimbursements because this encourages NGOs to see workshop participation merely as a means of earning money. The Gujarat NGOs in the Indian Network of NGOs on HIV/AIDS have identified 2 major areas for future collaboration. The first was adolescent sex education; more than 98% of NGOs wanted to offer such programs. The second area concerned training in counseling skills in relation to HIV/AIDS and also in family planning, drug addiction, and family and marriage counseling.

The circadian rhythm of liver esterase activity has been studied in rats maintained under highly standardized laboratory condition. They were housed in specially constructed climate rooms and subjected to an artificial 12 : 12 light-dark regimen. The total esterase was further differentiated to A esterase (E.C. 1.1.2) by using E 600 (Paraoxan), and a circadian rhythm for this enzyme also has been observed. During the lowest phase of total esterase activity, the higher phase for organophosphate-resistant esterase activity was observed.

Many epidemiologists have found a correlation between copper and zinc in the community environment and diseases, such as myocardial and vascular pathologies, and diabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the total daily intake of these two metals in cooked food, drinking water and air and their respective levels in blood and urine. A chronobiological methodology has been adopted to establish the reference values of these two metals in biological samples. It has been observed that the daily intake of copper is within the recommended value, whereas its urinary excretion is high. The daily intake of zinc is below the recommended value and its urinary excretion is also high. Both the metals showed a temporal oscillation pattern in blood and urine. A possible chronic zinc deficiency has been anticipated in this particular ethnic group of vegetarian food habit.

The distribution pattern of rat liver parenchymal cells of different ploidy classes has been investigated with isolated liver cell preparations on four different time points of the day. The percentage distribution of different ploidy populations was found to fluctuate along the activity-rest cycle of the animals. The mononuclear tetraploid (MT) cell population showed the strongest time-dependent distribution pattern with a 10% variation around the 24 h mean, the variations in the binuclear diploid (BD) cells being somewhat less obvious, but clearly present. The mononuclear diploid cells and the binuclear tetraploid cells occurred in a virtually constant percentage. An inverse correlationship was noted between MT and BD cells, the increase in the number of MT cells being accompanied by a decrease in the number of BD cells. This interdependency in the presence of the two cell types can be related to their relationship in the process of formation.

A recently developed method for the (quantitative) demonstration of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in individual cells with the use of a polyacrylamide carrier has been extended for other enzyme cytochemical techniques. Isolated hepatocytes have been incorporated in the matrix of a thin transparent polyacrylamide gel prior to incubation in a cytochemical medium. The techniques which have been applied are the synthetizing reaction technique for glycogen phosphorylase, the indigogenic method for nonspecific esterase, the metal salt method for glucose-6-phosphatase, the post-azo-coupling technique for acid phosphatase, and the tetrazolium salt technique for succinate and lactate dehydrogenase activities. In all cases a few major problems which occur in the cytochemistry on single cells seem to be solved. The morphology is very well preserved, the final reaction product seems to be precipitated at the expected site of enzyme activity and the coloured end-product is highly specific for the enzyme activity to be studied, as has been demonstrated well with control experiments. The conclusion is reached, therefore, that this relatively simple device can be used routinely for the optimalization of enzyme cytochemistry of single cells.

The time-dependent variation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activity during 24 h has been investigated by cytophotometric analysis in cytochemically stained, isolated hepatocytes of different ploidy classes from adult male rats. It was found that the amplitude of the variation in the total amount of parenchyma was 22%, with a maximum in the middle of the resting phase of the animals (13%). This small variation could not be detected subjectively in cryostat sections of liver that had been stained histochemically; nor could a metabolic zonation of the liver parenchyma be observed except the intermediate zone, which stained more strongly for G6PDH activity at 13% and 22%. The quantitative study on the isolated hepatocytes, however, revealed a relatively strong variation of 48% during the day in enzyme activity of the mononuclear diploid cells and no significant variation in the binuclear tetraploid cells. The cells of the in-between ploidy classes showed an amplitude of variation of 38% (binuclear diploid cells) and 24% (mononuclear tetraploid cells). All cells showed a maximum activity at 13% and a minimum activity during the night. It is concluded that this ploidy-dependent variation might play a role in the generation of pentoses for RNA synthesis. The findings indicate that for metabolic studies the heterogeneity of the liver parenchyma should be taken into account with respect to the different ploidy classes, as well as the well-known metabolic zonation of the acinus.

A recently developed method for the (quantitative) demonstration of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in individual cells with the use of a polyacrylamide carrier has been extended for other enzyme cytochemical techniques. Isolated hepatocytes have been incorporated in the matrix of a thin transparent polyacrylamide gel prior to incubation in a cytochemical medium. The techniques which have been applied are the synthetizing reaction technique for glycogen phosphorylase, the indigogenic method for nonspecific esterase, the metal salt method for glucose-6-phosphatase, the post-azo-coupling technique for acid phosphatase, and the tetrazolium salt technique for succinate and lactate dehydrogenase activities. In all cases a few major problems which occur in the cytochemistry on single cells seem to be solved. The morphology is very well preserved, the final reaction product seems to be precipitated at the expected site of enzyme activity and the coloured end-product is highly specific for the enzyme activity to be studied, as has been demonstrated well with control experiments. The conclusion is reached, therefore, that this relatively simple device can be used routinely for the optimalization of enzyme cytochemistry of single cells.