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The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program of PT. Indonesia Asahan Aluminum towards the welfare of the people of Batu Bara Regency. The variables in this research consist of Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Welfare. This research was conducted on the people of Sei Suka Subdistrict, Batu Bara Regency as many as 56,078 people, based on the slovin formula, 100 respondents were obtained as samples. The method in this research is descriptive quantitative using instruments in the form of a questionnaire / questionnaire, observation and interviews with Likert scale measurements. From the results of Simple Linear Regression Analysis, it shows that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has a positive effect on Community Welfare. Based on the Coefficient of Determination Test, the R value states that the adjusted R value is 35.9%, which means that the welfare of the community is influenced by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), while the remaining 63.1% is influenced by other variables not examined in this study. From the results of the partial analysis (t test), the independent variable Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has a significant effect on the dependent variable, namely Community Welfare. This can be seen in the Coefficient table through hypothesis testing, it can be seen that the calculation results partially have a significant and significant effect on the Community Welfare variable.

7 Higher education creates professionals, thinkers, future teachers, researchers, economists and knowledge workers, who, besides inhabiting knowledge societies, can be instrumental in creating them. Higher education also has a direct correlation with GDP, health indicators, and development (World Bank, 2002). The current scenario of higher education is marked by various problems of access, equity, and quality. The ills that afflict higher education in the country relate to outdated and rigid curricula, large number of vacant faculty positions, poor faculty quality in terms of both commitment and competence, poor systemic enablers for student mobility, absence of research, minimal and poor extension work, low levels of skill development, low employability, flawed and rigid system of examination, poor methods of teaching and learning, presence of strong vested interests, poor management and educational services, and problems of governance in the ecosystem of higher education. As we grapple with all these problems, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) comes through as a possible silver bullet offering a lot of promise and prospects. With the possibilities of ICT-driven access to quality education, 24X7 availability of educational resources, penetration of Internet, and the now available mobile access to these resources, a fresh perspective on the approach to solving the problems afflicting higher education becomes possible.

This paper presents the results of a study on the perceived challenge of e-learning with special reference to the National Program for Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) offered by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc)jointly. The programme has been used to model learner requirement and expectations through technology enhanced and online learning worldwide. Survey data collected from across India is used to identify the predominant sections of users that feel "e-learning is challenging" and hence aren't able to engage fully in the e-learning process. Such findings will also have direct bearing on future design of all online learning processes worldwide through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). An attempt is also made to identify the causes of this perception and corroborate the same with an analysis of the survey data. Finally, along with the results of the analysis, some suggestions for NPTEL and other online content providers worldwide, following the movement by UNESCO to create Open Educational Resources (OERs), are also given to help them chart their future courses of action. On the user side, some of these suggestions may also be helpful for overcoming this perception by addressing the roots of similar problems.

In recent decades, there has been a manifold increase in the scope of technical knowledge, leading to a heavy demand for technical education. NPTEL is an Indian portal dedicated to technical e-content. This paper studies the effect of NPTEL on students of eight engineering colleges of Gujarat using the cluster analysis method. It brings out the variations in perceptions and preferences of students using NPTEL. These preferences, inter-alia, relate to use of local language, enrichment of knowledge, passing of examination, employability, educational services, community based extension work and research options among others. Interestingly, a near clear agreement emerges in need for a comprehensive online study program with examination and certification. The need to incorporate features of experiential learning in terms of carrying out actual live research, extension, teaching and working with the local community and industry are also clearly emerging.

Bilirubin toxicity to the central nervous system (CNS) is responsible for severe and permanent neurologic damage, resulting in hearing loss, cognitive, and movement impairment. Timely and effective management of severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia by phototherapy or exchange transfusion is crucial for avoiding permanent neurological consequences, but these therapies are not always possible, particularly in low-income countries. To explore alternative options, we investigated a pharmaceutical approach focused on protecting the CNS from pigment toxicity, independently from serum bilirubin level. To this goal, we tested the ability of curcumin, a nutraceutical already used with relevant results in animal models as well as in clinics in other diseases, in the Gunn rat, the spontaneous model of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Curcumin treatment fully abolished the landmark cerebellar hypoplasia of Gunn rat, restoring the histological features, and reverting the behavioral abnormalities present in the hyperbilirubinemic rat. The protection was mediated by a multi-target action on the main bilirubin-induced pathological mechanism ongoing CNS damage (inflammation, redox imbalance, and glutamate neurotoxicity). If confirmed by independent studies, the result suggests the potential of curcumin as an alternative/complementary approach to bilirubin-induced brain damage in the clinical scenario.

Following the increase in life expectancy, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) as the most common movement disorder is expected to rise. Despite the incredibly huge efforts in research to find the definitive biomarker, to date, the diagnosis of PD still relies mainly upon clinical symptoms. A wide range of treatments is available for PD, mainly alleviating the clinical symptoms. However, none of these current therapies can stop or even slow down the disease evolution. Hence, disease-modifying treatment is still a paramount unmet medical need. On the other side, bilirubin and its enzymatic machinery and precursors have offered potential benefits by targeting multiple mechanisms in chronic diseases, including PD. Nevertheless, only limited discussions are available in the context of neurological conditions, particularly in PD. Therefore, in this review, we profoundly discuss this topic to understand bilirubin’s therapeutical potential in PD.