Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Blood Donation among Health Science Students in a University campus, South India

Background: The major part of demand for blood in India has been meeting through voluntary blood donations. The healthy, active and receptive huge student population is potential blood donors to meet safe blood requirements. However, there is a paucity of studies on awareness and attitude among health science students on voluntary blood donation. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude about blood donation among health science students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 health sciences students from different streams in a University campus of South India through a structured survey questionnaire in the year 2009. Results: The overall knowledge on blood donation was good, but majority (62%) of students never donated blood. Knowledge level was found highest among allied health science (53.1%) and lowest among pharmacy students (20.7%). ‘Feeling of medically unfit’ and ‘never thought of blood donation’ were the major reasons for not donating blood. A significant association was observed between different streams of students and levels of knowledge and attitude about blood donation. Conclusion: This study elicits the importance of adopting effective measures in our campuses to motivate about voluntary blood donation among students

Global funding trends for malaria research in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic analysis

Background Total domestic and international funding for malaria is inadequate to achieve WHO global targets in burden reduction by 2030. We describe the trends of investments in malaria-related research in sub-Saharan Africa and compare investment with national disease burden to identify areas of funding strength and potentially neglected populations. We also considered funding for malaria control. Methods Research funding data related to malaria for 1997–2013 were sourced from existing datasets, from 13 major public and philanthropic global health funders, and from funding databases. Investments (reported in US$) were considered by geographical area and compared with data on parasite prevalence and populations at risk in sub- Saharan Africa. 45 sub-Saharan African countries were ranked by amount of research funding received. Findings We found 333 research awards totalling US$814·4 million. Public health research covered $308·1 million (37·8$275·2 million (33·8%). Tanzania ($107·8 million [13·2$97·9 million [12·0%]), and Kenya ($92·9 million [11·4%]) received the highest sum of research investment and the most research awards. Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda remained highly ranked after adjusting for national gross domestic product. Countries with a reasonably high malaria burden that received little research investment or funding for malaria control included Central African Republic (ranked 40th) and Sierra Leone (ranked 35th). Congo (Brazzaville) and Guinea had reasonably high malaria mortality, yet Congo (Brazzaville) ranked 38th and Guinea ranked 25th, thus receiving little investment. Interpretation Some countries receive reasonably large investments in malaria-related research (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda), whereas others receive little or no investments (Sierra Leone, Central African Republic). Research investments are typically highest in countries where funding for malaria control is also high. Investment strategies should consider more equitable research and operational investments across countries to include currently neglected and susceptible populations

Economic analysis of integrated farming systems in the Kuttanad region of Kerala state, India: A case study

Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is unquestionably the largest livelihood provider in India. According to Committee on Doubling of Farmers’ Income Report, the average annual earning of a small and marginal farmer household was Rs 79,779 in 2015-16 and indicates that 86% of farmer households earn only 9% of total income and rest of the farmers earn 91% of total income. Integrated farming system practised mostly by small and marginal farmers, is a viable option for increasing farm income. The present study was undertaken to identify the farming systems practised by small and marginal holdings in Kuttanad region of Kerala state, India and also attempts to assess the profitability of these farms and suggest optimal farm plans using linear programming technique. The study revealed that rice + fish and Coconut + Banana+ Dairy cow + Poultry+ Goat were the most profitable farming systems with a benefit cost ratio of 2.63 and 2.86, respectively. The resource allocation in the existing plan was sub-optimal. The optimisation of resource use led to maximization of net returns, indicating the potential for realising greater income. The net returns of rice + fish increased from Rs. 181724 to Rs. 220010 in the optimal plan. The study also suggests the extent to which net returns can be increased with additional units of constraint resources viz., land/labour. The net returns in FS IV can be increased by Rs.286177.9 per additional acreage of land allotted.  Thus, the farmers in Kuttanad can increase their income by optimal resource allocation and by deploying additional units of land or labour

Bio-Prospecting of a Few Brown Seaweeds for Their Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Activities

Methanolic extracts (MEs) of seven brown seaweeds occurring in the Indian coastal waters were screened for their cytotoxic and antioxidant properties following various assays. The methanolic extracts of seaweeds in the order of Dictyopteris australis > Spatoglossum variabile > Stoechospermum marginatum > Spatoglossum aspermum showed significant cytotoxic activity. A very high DPPH radical scavenging activity was exhibited by the methanolic extracts prepared from St. marginatum, Padina tetrastromatica, Dictyopteris delicatula and S. aspermum. The total phenolic content of the MEs varied from 13.19 ± 0.32 to 25.29 ± 0.445 gallic acid equivalents (mg g−1 of methanolic extract). The reducing power assay indicated a dose dependency, at concentrations of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 and 2.0 mg mL−1 of MEs and decreased in the following order: Butylated hydroxy toluene > P. tetrastromatica > D. delicatula > S. aspermum > S. variabile > S. marginatum > D. australis > S. marginatum. Furthermore, D. australis, S. aspermum, S. variabile and S. marginatum demonstrated good metal ion chelating properties. All the above evidences suggest that, the antioxidant compounds found in brown seaweeds scavenge free radicals through effective intervention. This decisively promotes them as a potential source of natural antioxidants

Some aspects on ecotoxicology and Ecophysiology of shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus (De haan, 1844) to copper, Cadmium and zinc (TH 117)

The thesis highlights the effect of copper, cadmium and zinc in green tiger prawn Penaeus semisu/catus, one of the penaeids occurring throughout the Indian coastal waters particularly in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. Acute toxicity bioassays were conducted for copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and zinc (In ). The 96 h LCso for copper, cadmium and zinc were 6.98 ppm, 2.8 ppm and 5.00 ppm respectively. The degree of toxicity of the three metals were in the order Cd > In > Cu. Based on the LCso values, two sublethal concentrations of copper (0.7 ppm and 1.4 ppm), cadmium (0.25 ppm and 0.5 ppm) and zinc (0.5 ppm and 1.00 ppm) were selected for bioaccumulation, physio-biochemical and histopathological studies. In all the lethal and sublethal exposures, blackening of the gill lamellae and exoskeleton was noticed. The accumulation of metals was pronounced in the hepatopancreas, gills, muscle, tail and carapace. The results of the study suggest that the shrimps could not regulate the accumulation of Cu. Cd and In . The bioaccumulation in the selected organsltissues was found to be dose dependent. In the physio-biochemical studies. an increase in the respiration rate was found in shrimps exposed to lethal concentrations of copper. cadmium and zinc. The biochemical components, carbohydrate, protein and lipid were found to get reduced during the various phases of metal exposure. The observed change in the proximate components is attributed to the alterations in the enzymes involved in cellular energy generation processes. inhibition of protein synthesis by the alteration in the DNA and RNA content and increases in the free fatty acid content due to changes in the synthesis and mobilization of lipids. Histopathological changes include haemocy1ic infiltration. swelling of gill lamellae. fusion of gill lamellae. lifting of lamellar epithelium. fusion and necrosis of secondary gill lamellae in gills and tissue debris, necrotic tubules, swelling and abnormal lumen in hepatopancreas. Ultrastructural changes in gills include damaged nuclear membrane. disrupted mitochondria, distorted endoplasmic reticulum. apical cell damage, and damage to mitochondrial and nuclear membrane. In hepatopancreas vacuole formation. breakage of cell membrane. swelling of nuclear membrane. condensed nucleus. aggregations in nucleus. disrupted endoplasmic reticulum and formation of electron dense bodies were the major changes

A revision of Indian species of Parurios Girault with a new record of Papuopsia Boucek (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) from India

Two new species of Parurios Girault viz. P. bouceki Narendran sp. nov. and P. sringericus Narendran sp. nov. are described from India. The female of P. keralensis Narendran is also described. A key to Indian species of Parurios is provided. The genus Papuopsia is recorded for the first time from India

Effects of Daily News Sentiment on Stock Price Forecasting

Predicting future prices of a stock is an arduous task to perform. However, incorporating additional elements can significantly improve our predictions, rather than relying solely on a stock's historical price data to forecast its future price. Studies have demonstrated that investor sentiment, which is impacted by daily news about the company, can have a significant impact on stock price swings. There are numerous sources from which we can get this information, but they are cluttered with a lot of noise, making it difficult to accurately extract the sentiments from them. Hence the focus of our research is to design an efficient system to capture the sentiments from the news about the NITY50 stocks and investigate how much the financial news sentiment of these stocks are affecting their prices over a period of time. This paper presents a robust data collection and preprocessing framework to create a news database for a timeline of around 3.7 years, consisting of almost half a million news articles. We also capture the stock price information for this timeline and create multiple time series data, that include the sentiment scores from various sections of the article, calculated using different sentiment libraries. Based on this, we fit several LSTM models to forecast the stock prices, with and without using the sentiment scores as features and compare their performances.Comment: 9th ICBAI conference on December'2022 at IIM Bangalor

Improving the post-fire performance of reinforced concrete beams with lightweight plaster

Structural fires pose significant risks to the built environment, making fire resistance a critical design consideration for reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Elevated temperatures during fires reduce the strength and stiffness of both concrete and steel reinforcement, compromising load-bearing capacity. This experimental study evaluates the effectiveness of lightweight plaster coatings in enhancing the post-fire performance of RC members exposed to ISO 834 standard fire conditions. Two materials, expanded vermiculite (EV) and expanded perlite (EP), were examined. First, the compressive strength of concrete mixes incorporating EV or EP as partial replacements (2.5 %, 5 %, 7.5 %, and 10 %) for fine aggregates was assessed after heating durations of 30–120 min. Subsequently, structural performance was tested in RC beams across three configurations: (1) EV or EP integrated into the mix, (2) EV or EP applied as external plaster, and (3) a combination of both. A total of 54 RC beam specimens were cast, with 12 beams used for internal temperature monitoring and 42 subjected to four-point bending tests following 60, 90, and 120 min of heating. Concrete grades M20 and M50 were developed using EV or EP as partial sand replacements, while plaster layers were prepared with EV or EP mortar. Key performance indicators, including load-deflection response, ultimate load, internal temperature distribution, residual rebar yield strength, and first-crack load, were analysed. The protected M20-EP+EPC beam recorded a 62.2 % reduction in rebar temperature compared to the unprotected M20-R beam. Further, the loss of yield strength was reduced by 87.5 %, and the moment of resistance degradation was reduced by 61.1 % compared to the unprotected M20-R beam. Beams protected with EV or EP in both the mix and external plaster demonstrated superior performance, extending survival time from 45 to 120 min and improving fire resistance ratings from 15 to 60 min based on insulation criteria

Price behaviour of black pepper in Indian and international markets: a comparative analysis

Black pepper, being a trade dependent commodity, shows high degree of price fluctuations. The present study examined the price behavior of black pepper in the pre-liberalisation and postliberalisation periods. The study revealed that the variation in prices increased in the postliberalisation period. Seasonal nature was evident in prices and the harvesting period was found to be coinciding with the trough phase in the price cycle, while the off-season synchronized with the peak phase. The prices exhibited cyclical behavior and the periods of low prices endured longer than that of the price spikes. The occurrence and amplitude of random factors exhibited in the prices of black pepper were more in the pre-liberalisation period