A study of serum lipid profile part-1: Establishment of normal reference values of serum lipid levels in healthy vegetarian population of Gujarat

Fasting samples of 1329 apparently healthy vegetarian Gujarati population were tested for total cholesterol, triglycerides and three major fractions of lipoproteins, i.e. high density lipoproteins, low density lipoproteins and very low density lipoproteins. All the values showed marked increase with the age. Except for serum triglycerides, values differ in males and females in the age group of above 45 years. Compared to Northern Indian population low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein values were higher, but values of triglycerides and very low density lipoproteins were lower. There is no significant difference in total cholesterol values. Compared to Southern Indian population low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein values were higher but values of triglycerides, total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein were lower. All serum lipid values were significantly lower than the Westem population. The range of values for both the sexes is presented for different age groups.     

US news magazine images of black‐Asian American relationships, 1980–1992

During the past 20 years, primarily Latinos and Asians have immigranted to these shores and settled in urban areas. Media sources assert that this influx created particularly problematic relations between blacks and Asian Americans. Using Frame theory and textual analysis, we explored the images newsmagazines produced of this relationship. We found that one frame predominated: the nature of group relations had to do with each group's “essential”; qualities. Within this frame there also appeared four media packages: 1) the nature of the urban space, 2) the role of culture in the quality of relationships, 3) the essential qualities of urban residents and 4) the preeminence of class over race. Analysis of black‐Asian American relationships, while not strictly hegemonic, rarely deviated from accepted critiques. The nature of the coverage constrained understanding to personal shortcomings, while poverty and racial strife were rarely associated with historical and structural factors.     

Lifelong Learning for Employment and Equity: the Role of Part‐time Degrees

The last few years have seen a growing debate and new initiatives by government and other agencies on the concept of lifelong learning. The objectives of these have been to provide better access to a broad knowledge base and to develop individuals' employability and economic success. But lifelong learning is not a new phenomenon. In the UK and elsewhere many adults have always studied for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways. Study through part‐time degrees has long been one option for many adult learners. This paper draws on data from a study undertaken for the Department for Education and Employment on the employment of part‐time students and considers whether part‐time study benefits people's careers and whether some people benefit more than others.     

A Review on Salivary Genomics and Proteomics Biomarkers in Oral Cancer

Oral cancer has emerged as an alarming public health problem with increasing incidence and mortality rates all over the world. Therefore, the implementation of newer screening and early detection approaches are of utmost importance which could reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. Sensitive and specific biomarkers for oral cancer are likely to be most effective for screening, diagnosis, staging and follow-up for this dreaded malignancy. Unlike other deep cancers, oral cancer is located in oral cavity. Hence, the direct contact between saliva and oral cancer lesion makes the measurement of tumor markers in saliva an attractive alternative to serum and tissue testing. The DNA, RNA and protein molecules derived from the living cancer cells can be conveniently obtained from saliva. Thus, salivary biomarkers, a non-invasive alternative to serum and tissue-based biomarkers may be an effective modality for early diagnosis, prognostication and monitoring post therapy status. In the current post-genomic era, various technologies provide opportunities for high-throughput approaches to genomics and proteomics; which have been used to evaluate altered expressions of gene and protein targets in saliva of oral cancer patients. The emerging field of salivary biomarkers has great potentials to prove its clinical significance to combat oral cancer. Hence, we have reviewed importance of several salivary genomics and proteomics biomarkers for oral cancer.     

Case study: library usage at an Indian medical college

This issue's feature column reports on the findings of a small survey of library users carried out in an Indian medical college with a traditional curriculum. The study found that the main reason a student visited the library was to consult text books. Although the majority of students were satisfied with the library facilities, the study suggests that more needs to be done to promote self-directed learning. JM.     

Glimpses of a century-old story

The story of Agrobacterium has been widely discussed for over a century. Fridiano Cavara in 1897 first described the occurrence of plant-derived tumors with bacterial origin. Detailed molecular analysis of this microbe accelerated in the last 30 years and it gained worldwide acceptance as a ‘natural genetic engineering tool’. This tool has an interesting history starting from the tumors that it makes, nomenclature, genome, pathogenicity and DNA transfer, to its economic importance. This review is a glimpse of some basic and interesting facts of the unique Agrobacterium.     

Controlled electroporation of the plasma membrane in microfluidic devices for single cell analysis

Chemical cytometry on a single cell level is of interest to various biological fields ranging from cancer to stem cell research. The impact chemical cytometry can exert in these fields depends on the dimensionality of the retrievable analytes content. To this point, the number of different analytes identifiable and additionally their subcellular localization is of interest. To address this, we present an electroporation based approach for selective lysis of only the plasma membrane, which permits analysis of the dissolved cytoplasm, while reducing contributions from the nucleus and membrane bound fractions of the cell analytes. The use of 100 μs long pulse and a well defined DC electric field gradient of ∼4.5 kV·cm⁻¹ generated by 3D electrodes initiates release of a cytoplasm marker in ≪1 s, while retaining nuclear fluorescence markers.     

Study of C-Reactive Protein and Myocardial Infarction in the Indian Population

To analyse the association of high sensitivity C-reactive (hsCRP) protein levels and −717A/G single nucleotide polymorphism of CRP with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Indian population. Study population included 100 MI cases wherein 32 patients had experienced previous MI (MI-Group-1), 68 MI cases were recruited at presentation (MI-Group-2) and equal number of age and gender matched healthy individuals. hsCRP levels were determined by ELISA and genotyping of −717A/G was carried out by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction digestion method. The −717A/G genotypes did not influence hsCRP level and their distribution did not differ between groups. However, in the present study hsCRP demonstrated significant correlation with BMI in controls of both the genders and with triglycerides in females of AMI at presentation who otherwise are with low risk profile. Identifying traditional risk factors associated with inflammation may help in controlling the acute event.     

Expression and Reception: An Analytic Method for Assessing Message Production and Consumption in CMC

This article presents an innovative methodology to study computer-mediated communication (CMC), which allows analysis of the multi-layered effects of online expression and reception. The methodology is demonstrated by combining the following three data sets collected from a widely tested eHealth system, the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS): (1) a flexible and precise computer-aided content analysis; (2) a record of individual message posting and reading; and (3) longitudinal survey data. Further, this article discusses how the resulting data can be applied to online social network analysis and demonstrates how to construct two distinct types of online social networks—open and targeted communication networks—for different types of content embedded in social networks.