Protective Effect of Emblica officinalis Against Alcohol-Induced Hepatic Injury by Ameliorating Oxidative Stress in Rats

The effect of Emblica officinalis fruit extract (EFE) against alcohol-induced hepatic damage in rats was investigated in the present study. In vitro studies showed that EFE possesses antioxidant as well nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activity. In vivo administration of alcohol (5 g/kg b.wt/day) for 60 days resulted increased liver lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls, nitrite plus nitrate levels. Alcohol administration also significantly lowers the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase and reduced glutathione as compared with control rats. Administration of EFE (250 mg/kg body weight) to alcoholic rats significantly brought the plasma enzymes towards near normal level and also significantly reduced the levels of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls and restored the enzymic and non-enzymatic antioxidants level. This observation was supplemented by histopathological examination in liver. Our data indicate that the tannoid, flavonoid and NO scavenging compounds present in EFE may offer protection against free radical mediated oxidative stress in rat hepatocytes of animals with alcohol-induced liver injury.     

Filaria associated clinical manifestations in children in an endemic area and morbidity control by immunomonitoring and optimal DEC therapy: Sevagram experience

Lymphatic filariasis is a major public health problem in India with 412 million people living in bancroftian endemic areas and is a major cause of clinical morbidity. Twenty million people are reported to suffer from chronic disease manifestations such as lymphoedema, hydrocele or elephantiasis. At least twice the number have been shown to suffer from acute and occult filarial infections in an endemic area without diagnosis. Due to non-availability of suitable diagnostic test for confirming filaria aetiology other than parasitological examination, no significant study on filariasis in children has been reported earlier. Studies in our laboratory for more than a decade showed usefulness of microfilarial excretory-secretory antigen in confirming filarial aetiology in acute and occult infections in adults as well as in children. This study reports acute and atypical manifestations such as lymphadenopathy, asthmatic bronchitis, pulmonary eosinophilia, mono-arthritis, recurrent URI, pneumonia, nutritional anemia, pain in abdomen etc. in children living in filaria endemic area having no microfilaraemia but showing filaria aetiology by immunomonitoring for the presence of antibody or antigen and responding to optimal DEC therapy.     

School-Wide Educator Evaluation for Improving School Capacity and Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools: Year 1 of the School System Improvement Project

The United States is in an era of high-stakes evaluation of educators (i.e., teachers and principals), the results of which are used to inform human capital decision making (i.e., recruitment, hiring, retention, and dismissal), which in turn impacts school capacity and student learning. The present article describes the School System Improvement (SSI) Project, a school-wide educator evaluation initiative that includes 22 high-poverty schools. The primary goal is to present the Year 1 planning for implementation of educator evaluation, highlighting the use of system consultation for planning. The SSI Project team includes researchers in school psychology and special education, school administrators, and teachers. The project aims to implement a multimethod educator evaluation system that generates scores for informing targeted, evidence-based professional development. Project goals are to increase educator competencies that lead to improved student achievement. Finally, directions for training and recommendations for future school reform are presented.     

When is a South Indian Really Anemic?

To determine the normal range of Hemoglobin and cutoff values in healthy adults of Southern India, blood samples were analyzed for parameters of RBC and iron metabolism in 177 male and 203 female medical students. The data were compared with the American white population (NHANES III) and the WHO criteria for detection of anemia. The mean values for hemoglobin and hematocrit in male students differed minimally from American white males. However, values for parameters of iron metabolism were lower except total iron binding capacity (TIBC) which was higher. In female students, hemoglobin, hematocrit and parameters of iron metabolism were lower than American white females, except TIBC which was higher. Lower 5th percentile cutoff point (Mean − 1.645 SD) in males and females were 13.5 and 10 g/dl respectively. In conclusion, South Indian adult males have Hb values similar to American male adults, but South Indian females have considerably lower Hb levels than American females, raising the questions about appropriateness of WHO or US criteria for detection of anemia in Indian females.     

Measuring the benefits of a psychology placement year

Placement programmes are considered to provide students with an induction into the work environment and a valuable learning experience. Aston University maintains one of the highest success rates of any UK university for graduate employment and it is thought that the placement year plays a large role in this success. However, the benefits of placements in theoretical subjects like Psychology are often less obvious than those for practical subjects like Optometry or Engineering. Here we compared Psychology students on the 3‐year vs. the 4‐year sandwich course on a number of attributes using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Final year students who had taken a placement year achieved significantly higher marks in their final year (F_1,407 = 31.52, p<0.001) and were rated more favourably by academic staff on a measure of transferable skills (F_1,43 = 11.08, p<0.005). In addition, post‐graduation, students who had taken a placement year reported a better idea of their career direction and could be argued to be further on in terms of their career progression and pay levels. Qualitatively, focus groups of placement and non‐placement students suggested a number of benefits of taking a placement year, including better time management, confidence and responsibility. Whether the benefits of a sandwich placement in a psychology degree outweigh the costs to students and their families, and the need for further research to identify the scope and longevity of possible early career benefits are discussed.     

Sleepless in Chicago: tracking the effects of adolescent sleep loss during the middle school years

The influence of the sleep patterns of 2,259 students, aged 11 to 14 years, on trajectories of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and grades was longitudinally examined using latent growth cross-domain models. Consistent with previous research, sleep decreased over time. Students who obtained less sleep in sixth grade exhibited lower initial self-esteem and grades and higher initial levels of depressive symptoms. Similarly, students who obtained less sleep over time reported heightened levels of depressive symptoms and decreased self-esteem. Sex of the student played a strong role as a predictor of hours of sleep, self-esteem, and grades. This study underscores the role of sleep in predicting adolescents' psychosocial outcomes and highlights the importance of using idiographic methodologies in the study of developmental processes.     

Lipid peroxides,vitamin E levels and glutathione peroxidase activity in serum of respiratory disease patients

The concentration of serum lipid peroxides, tocopherol and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity was measured in 75 patients (43 males and 32 females) of different respiratory diseases aged 15–40 years. The results were compared with the values obtained from 100 healthy persons of comparabie age. The patients of respiratory diseases showed elevated levels of lipid peroxides with concomitant reduction of tocopherol and glutathione peroxidase activity. When these patients were categorised into different groups depending on the type of the disease like pulmonary tuberculosis (PT), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary tuberculosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PT and COPD) and suppurative lung disease (SLD). There was no significant difference between the groups. A significant inverse relation was found between lipid peroxides versus tocopherol and glutathione peroxidase activity in patients of respiratory diseases. The results suggest the involvement of lipid peroxidation process in pulmonary damage.     

Relationship between serum antioxidants and lipids among rural and urban populations

The association of serum antioxidatns and lipids was studied in 350 urban individuals with an age range of 40–76 years, in comparison with a control rural sample of equal size. Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) activity was found to be significantly higher in urban population when compared to rural population. Urban population were characterised by elevated levels of serum cholesterol (SC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) and triglycerides (TG) in comparison with rural population. In urban females both tocopherol (T) and GPx were negatively related with age. The serum lipid levels were found to be increased with age in urban population when compared to rural population. Further the correlation coefficients revealed that LDLC positively (.285:P<.05), and TG inversely (?.512:P<.05) related to ascorbic acid (AA), and an inverse association of SC (?.625:P<.05), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) (?.369:P<.05) and LDLC (?.532:P<.05) with T in urban population. In rural population GPx shown a good positive correlation with lipid levels. The results of this study revealed that accumulation of lipids with unaltered antioxidants may be the consequence of urbanization.     

Isolation ofMycobacterium Tuberculosis 31 kDa antigen protein of diagnostic interest from culture filtrate using anti-ES-31 antibody by affinity chromatography

Proteins secreted into the culture medium byMycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) are shown to be source of antigens of immunodiagnostic interest. Anin vitro released 31 kDa antigen ESAS-7F isolated fromM.tb H₃₇Ra culture filtrate by salt precipitation, SDS-PAGE and cation exchange fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) was shown earlier to be a diagnostically important antigen fraction. In this report, we describe the isolation of ESAS-7F antigen using monospecific antibody coupled to sepharose CL-4B column. The percentage recovery of ESAS-7F antigen using affinity chromatography was approximately 8% of the total ES antigen proteins compared to 0.05% obtained by conventional purification steps using salt precipitation, SDS-PAGE and FPLC. Similar seroreactivity was observed by the antigen isolated by both the methods in indirect ELISA. Affinity chromatography helped in an increased recovery of ESAS-7F antigen and obviates the need for time consuming conventional purification steps.     

Hyper prolinuria and hyper-hydroxy prolinuria in children with mental retardation

Three thousand cases with mental retardation referred from different hospitals were screened for aminoacid disorders. Among them one case of hyperprolinuria and another case of hyperprolinuria with hyper hydroxyprolinuria were detected. These are the first cases to be reported from the state of Andhra Pradesh.