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There is no doubt that until now significant progress has been made to include gender in the Indian education policy. Further, it is also recognized that investment in the education of both boys and girls with focus on equity is consistently the most powerful and important indicator of national development, as well as being a vehicle for the advancement of the present and future generations of children. Therefore, leaving out issues of gender and girls' education puts a question mark on the future vision of society. Right now, the new education policy is in the making, after a gap of 24 years. There are two documents in the public domain. The first one was an outcome of a very extensive and expansive process of consultations. This article interrogates the process of policy formulation by looking at texts of these two reports as primary data sources. The central concern in this article is to show the complete or near complete gender blindness or exclusion of concerns regarding education of girls and women in the two documents. As a result, there is no or hardly any space given to them in these documents which presumably will go into the formulation of the new education policy. What is required is a focus on equality and a transformative conception of gender inclusiveness in the new policy, which will ensure meaningful and realistic inclusion of gender concerns.

Background: Development assistance for health (DAH) is an important source of financing for health for many low-income and some middle-income countries. Most DAH has predominantly been contributed by high-income countries. However, in the context of economic progress and changing global priorities, DAH contributions from countries of the Global South such as India have gained importance. In this paper, we estimate DAH contributed by India between 2009 and 2020. Methods: We leveraged data from budgetary documents, databases, and financial reports of the Ministry of External Affairs and multilateral organizations to estimate DAH contributions. The proportions of development assistance that go towards health in major recipient countries were estimated and reported by recipient country and year. Results: Between 2009 and 2020, DAH contributed by India to bilateral and multilateral partners totaled $206.0 million. South Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar received the most DAH from India. DAH contributed relative to DAH received ranged from 1.42% in 2009 to 5.26% in 2018, the latest year with country-level data. Health focus areas prioritized by India included technical training and innovation, health care infrastructure support, and supply of medications and medical equipment. Conclusion: India is an important development partner to many countries–particularly to those in the South Asian region. India's DAH allocation strategy prioritizes contributions toward neighboring countries in the South Asia region in several health focus areas. Detailed project-level data are needed to estimate DAH contributions from India with greater precision and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study assesses the existing sanitation practices in the rural areas of Fatehgarh Sahib including source identification of groundwater contamination using a semi-structured questionnaire. The survey of water uses and hygiene practices was carried out in 115 rural households of Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, India. Further, 45 groundwater samples were also analysed for physio-chemical examination using APHA methods. The study findings reveal that 44% of the study respondents prefer open defecation and 70% of the study participants wash their hands with soap after defecation. However, only 30% of respondents were aware of water contamination indicating poor knowledge about good hygiene practices. This is also confirmed as only 2.6% of study participants reported to treat water before consumption. The water quality in the studied villages was found poor as over 50% of the groundwater sample shows the presence of E. coli, an indication of faecal contamination. However, nitrate levels in groundwater were within acceptable limits. Fluoride concentration was above the BIS acceptable limits. Further, 60% of the groundwater samples were in moderate to very hard category. Poor water quality, sanitation and hygiene practices add to the burden of waterborne diseases and demand to create awareness and behaviour change practices to improve rural water and sanitation practices. Further, the distance between the toilet and drinking water source was not found adequate; hence, it is suggested to build guidelines to minimize the risk of waterborne diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hanging is that form of asphyxia which is caused by the suspension of the body by a ligature which encircles the neck, the constricting force being the weight of the body, or part of body weight. Strangulation is a form of death caused by constricting the neck by some means other than body weight. The means used may be ligature (ligature strangulation), human hand (throttling or manual strangulation), elbow (mugging), or some hard subject such as stick (bansdola). Aims and Objectives: To study the differentiating aspect between Hanging and Strangulation, with respect to type of ligature material and its position, external and internal finding of neck and changes in the subcutaneous tissue of neck. Results: Hanging amounted for 50.37% cases while strangulation was 17.20% cases among the violent asphyxial deaths. Clothes (65.45%) were most common ligature material both in hanging and strangulation as well. Position of ligature was above the level of thyroid in 95.12% cases while in strangulation the position of ligature was at level of thyroid in most of the cases (45.71%). Associated injuries are present in 51.43% cases of strangulation. Subcutaneous tissue is white glistening in most of hanging cases (76.58%) while contused in most of strangulation (82.86%) cases. Conclusion and Suggestions: It is suggested that in the interest of justice to avoid confusion, in all cases of violent asphyxial deaths, the post-mortem examination should be conducted by the Forensic experts only. Police personals should also be given training that they should not cut the ligature material and remove ligature material before post-mortem examination so that easy differentiation of hanging and strangulation can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is ranked highest in terms of disability-adjusted life-years lived. Patient education and self-management have shown to play a crucial role in the overall pain management. However, the literature on the same with respect to Indian context is still lacking. The study was aimed to develop, validate and assess the acceptability and effectiveness of self-instructional educational module among Indian chronic LBP (CLBP) patients. Methods: A prospective single-arm open-label study was conducted in a pain clinic of a tertiary care public hospital in North India with 'Backcare booklet-self-instructional module (SIM)' as an intervention in patients with CLBP. SIM was developed with the intent to provide up-to-date evidence-based information in an easy understanding way to patients with CLBP. 132 patients were administered SIM with a single session of verbal explanation. Pain intensity (numeric rating scale [NRS]), disability, fear-avoidance belief Questionnaire (FABQ), quality of life (EQ5D) and knowledge level were assessed at baseline and after 3 months of intervention. Student's paired t-test and Chi-square test were used. Data were analysed using SPSS version 15.0. Results: 120 patients successfully completed the 3 months' follow-up. Significant reductions were observed in pain intensity (76[12] vs 55 [15, P < 0.01); disability (51[14] vs 43 [10], P < 0.01); FABQ (46[12] vs 41 [10], P < 0.01); EQ5D (0.35 [0.27] vs 0.18 [0.26], P < 0.01). Conclusion: Backcare booklet as an intervention, along with usual pharmacological care is a cost-effective educational medium to promote self-management of CLBP in the clinical outpatient settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is rising interest among research and development practitioners to arrive at impact driven solutions in the field of gender and climate change adaptation. Climate change adaptation interventions can be better targeted by being linked with type of climatic risks experienced by women farmers, their social profile and their needs based on the role they play in agriculture. This study presents a methodology to identify hotspots where climate change adaptation and gender based interventions could be prioritized. The methodology is illustrated for India. The results suggest 36 hotspots across 10 states in India, where large number of women farmers are impacted by high levels of drought probability, excess rainfall and heat wave. The target population in these hotspots comprise 14.4% of the total women farmers in the country. A socioeconomic characterization of the hotspot population highlights barriers, such as labor, credit and market access for female cultivators and lower wage rates for female laborers in these hotspots. Based on the constraints as well as the climatic risks faced by these women in the hotspots, the potential of climate-smart agriculture technologies and practices are emphasized. Additionally, a comparison of current research being done in the field with the results of the study highlights the potential to learn from current efforts for efficient scalability of gender and climate change adaptation interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:An increasing death rate as a result of violence constitutes a large group in medico-legal autopsies especially deaths due to asphyxia which are one of the most important causes in violent deaths. Analysis and interpretations of cases of hanging, ligature strangulation, throttling, suffocation, traumatic asphyxia and drowning is presented in this paper. Aims and Objective: The present study was carried out with a view to study the incidence and postmortem finding of violent asphyxial deaths with regard to key features that help to differentiate between different violent asphyxial deaths. Method: A ten years retrospective study of all medico-legal autopsies of violent asphyxial deaths was undertaken between 1st January 2006 to 31st December 2015 in the department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Government. Medical College, Amritsar, Punjab, India. Results: Incidence of violent asphyxia deaths is 3.98% of total autopsies. Hanging (50.37%) was most common method of asphyxiation followed by drowning (29.48%). Males (68.06%) outnumbered females (31.94%) with male to female ratio of 2.13:1. Most affected age group was 21-30 years among both the sexes. Most of the victims were married 233 (57.25%) compared to unmarried 100 (24.57%) and unknown 74 (18.18%) cases. Suicide (53.56%) was most common manner of death followed by homicide (19.90%), accidental was least common (17.20%) and in (9.34%) cases manner was unascertained. More cases 52.83% of violent asphyxial deaths were reported from rural area as compared to urban (27.76%) and residence status of 18.18% cases were unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the preparedness required in tertiary care hospitals in India. Topics mentioned include specialist palliative care for patients with refractory physical symptoms, depression, grief, anxiety, and existential crisis, education for all frontline health care providers regarding the use and titration of opioids for dyspnea, and preparation of a standardized informed consent form for the plan of care.

In ancient times, people considered fire one of the basic elements of the universe, along with water, air, and earth. Fire can be a friendly, comforting thing, a source of heat and light, as anyone who has ever sat by a campfire in the dark of the night knows. Yet fire can also be dangerous and deadly, racing and leaping like a living thing to consume all in its path. Death due to burns was one of the commonest unnatural deaths found in society. A retrospective study of cases from January 2011 to December 2012 of death due to burns was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Government Medical College, Amritsar. The objective of the study was to understand various demographic aspects of deaths due to burns so as to suggest some remedial measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceritinib is a novel ALK inhibitor approved for advanced stage NSCLC with ALK gene rearrangement, progressed and/or intolerant to crizotinib. 13 patients were included in our study who received ceritinib. Majority of them were women and never smokers with a median age of 47 yrs. Nearly half of them had a compromised performance status and received ceritinib in third line and beyond. Ceritinib showed nearly 50% response rates. With a median follow up of 9 months for the entire cohort, median PFS and OS were not reached. However, the mean values for PFS and OS were 10.9 and 14.8 months,with an estimated 1 year PFS and OS being 56% and 78% respectively.1/3 of the patients had gastrointestinal and liver toxicities. Metabolic abnormalities were seen in 1/4 th of them. ceritinib was permanently discontinued in one patient due to pneumonitis. In conclusion, ceritinib has a favorable efficacy and side effect profile in our patient population., similar to that reported in large clinical trials. It has shown promising efficacy even in patients with compromised performance status; presence of brain metastases and heavily pre-treated disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abdominal pain is one of the most common reasons for presenting to the emergency department (ED) and the etiology is varied. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in a large ED of a tertiary care center in India. All patients older than 15 years and presenting with non-traumatic abdominal pain to the ED from May 2012 to October 2012 were recruited and the demographic characteristics, diagnosis and outcome were analyzed. Results: The study cohort included 264 patients over a 6 month period. More than half (55.6%) were aged between 15 and 40 years. There was a male predominance (56.8%). Majority of the patients (76.9%) presented with abdominal pain of less than 72 hour duration. The pain was sudden in onset in 54.9% of patients. Dull type was the most common character of pain (36%) followed by colicky type (22.3%). The most common site of pain was the lower abdomen (45.8%). Upper abdominal pain was seen in 26.9% and the pain was generalized in 27.3% of patients. The common causes were uretericcolic (16.3%), urinary tract infection (12.5%), acute pancreatitis (11%), acute appendicitis (10.6%) and acute gastritis (8%). More than half (51.9%) discharged from ED and 37% of cases were managed by the emergency physicians. Surgical intervention was required in 25.8% of patients. The mortality rate was 2.3%. Conclusions: Abdominal pain is a common ED symptom and clinicians must consider multiple diagnoses, especially those that require immediate intervention to limit morbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ROS1 rearrangement acts as a driver mutation in 1-2% of NSCLC. Crizotinib is approved in this situation both in treatment naïve and pre-treated patients. Here we report our experience with crizotinib in patients with advanced NSCLC harbouring ROS1 rearrangement. Eleven patients were included in our study. More than half of our patients had associated comorbidities and one fourth of them had a compromised performance status. Out of 11 patients, 5 of them were exposed to crizotinib .The response rates among crizotinib treated patients was 80%. With a median follow up of 9 months, median PFS and OS were 5.4 months and 8.5 months respectively for the entire population. Analyzing the outcomes separately , median PFS and OS was not reached for those who received crizotinib compared to median PFS of 2.5 months and median OS of 4.2 months in those who were not exposed to crizotinib. The difference was statistically significant. Estimated 1 year OS was 80% for those who received crizotinib compared to 18% for who did not receive crizotinib. In conclusion, crizotinib is effective with acceptable side effect profile in patients with ROS1 rearranged NSCLC in our population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is an attempt to understand and analyze the problems and errors made by the students whose L1 is Hindi and other Indian languages and trying to learn English as a second language in India. The errors made during the test are categorized and analyzed on the basis of a score sheet and PRAAT software. It is realized that the proficiency and effective communication can be developed among the learners if they are instructed correctly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Euthanasia also called as mercy killing is producing painless death of an individual suffering from hopelessly incurable and painful disease. The question of euthanasia arises on three occasions that is at the beginning of life in severely handicapped children, at the end of natural life and when a person is severely impaired as a result of brain damage. The present paper deals with concept, types, reasons for opting euthanasia as well as arguments in favour and against euthanasia, history of euthanasia, its legalization both international and in Indian scenario will be discussed along with its ethical consideration in relation to Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminiun Phosphide is used as fumigant to keep the grains free from pests. Due to its free availability it is becoming agent of choice to commit suicides. Suicide is among the top 10 causes of deaths in India. During the last 10 years it has gained notoriety as an effective suicidal agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on social control and education of girls in India. To analyze girl's education, one has to give reference to their social context, which is rooted in culture, religion and in the patriarchal family structure and ideology. The decisions regarding girl's access to education are taken within and by the family and are governed by familial considerations of gender roles and the need for formal education. The article discusses the nature and functioning of familial socialisation as the process of gender construction and its impact on the education of the girl child. It attempts to provide an insight into how socialisation and formal schooling or education interact and react with each other. Both socialisation and formal education are processes of social control and train an individual to conform to the expectations of a social group. Protection of female sexuality and purity are central to the socialisation of the female child. Therefore, socialisation practices and their different significance for boys and girls are important to disclose the constraints imposed on girl's education.

The article discusses dialectics of tradition and modernity and women's education in India. The role of education in promoting modernization and development has been one of the central concerns of western social scientists in the twentieth century. Of late, this concern has been narrowed down to the study of the impact of education on the value orientations and attitudes of individuals. Till recently, social scientists used to accept as given the proposition that education promotes modernization. The author of this article, while tracing the growth of women's education attempted to bring out the complex relationship between modernity and tradition in Indian society. It is argued that although after independence gender equality was accepted as one of the goals of educational policy, education has not really succeeded in radically changing the social definition of gender roles. Notwithstanding the accent on women's education, the gender role expectation of and about women continues to be that of a home maker. This role definition has been internalized by even those women who have had access to modern education and to career opportunities.

Forensic Odontology helps the law in the administration of justice. Though in developed countries this branch of dentistry is playing a useful role but as for as India is concerned its role is definitely being recognized nowadays. An overview of the basic and recent trends of this emerging branch of dentistry is presented to make the concerned professionals aware of their role in medico legal matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To study the application of intraoperative retinoscopy for intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation in combined cataract extraction and silicone oil removal. Settings: Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Methods: This study comprised patients with silicone oil–filled eyes and visually significant cataract who had combined cataract extraction by phacoemulsification and silicone oil removal by a standard method through the pars plana route. Retinoscopy was performed with a streak retinoscope, standard vertex distance of 13.0 mm, and distance of 50.0 cm. All eyes had in-the-bag implantation of a foldable IOL with an A-constant of 118.4. The IOL power was calculated using the Ianchulev formula as follows: R × 2.01449. Postoperative refraction was performed at 3 months, and the spherical equivalent was calculated. Results: Twelve eyes of 12 patients were evaluated. The mean emmetropic power calculated by intraoperative retinoscopy was 20.46 diopters (D) ± 3.4 (SD) (range 13.09 to 25.18 D) and the mean refractive error, −0.45 ± 0.63 D (range −1.00 to +1.00 D). The postoperative refractive error was within ±0.50 D in 4 eyes (33.3%) and within ±1.00 D in all eyes. Ten eyes (83.33%) had a postoperative refractive error in the range of 0.00 to −1.00 D using IOL power based on intraoperative retinoscopy. Conclusion: Intraoperative retinoscopy for IOL power calculation in combined cataract extraction and silicone oil removal gave satisfactory refractive outcomes, although further studies with more patients are required to confirm its usefulness and determine whether there are disadvantages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• CAM is a web-based DSS for real-time crop yield monitoring and loss estimation. • It uses weather, crop models, and remote sensing at multiple crop stages to estimate crop losses. • Modular design allows customization to make tactical decisions for different stakeholders. • Case study for soybean demonstrates it's potential. Real-time knowledge about crop growth conditions is critical to make decisions about risk management and food security planning. Several crop forecasting decision support systems (DSSs) are available which use crop models, remote sensing, weather derivatives or statistical modelling. The results from such DSS are conditioned to the goodness of the model used and the assumptions made. This paper describes a web-based DSS– Crop-loss Assessment Monitor (CAM) for real-time crop growth monitoring, loss estimation, and insurance analytics using different methods at multiple times during the crop growth for rice, wheat, maize, soybean, pearl millet, sorghum, and groundnut. The core of CAM comprises of a set of databases and system-analysis components. Its modular design allows customization for different countries and policy scenarios. The potential of CAM in monitoring crop yield losses is illustrated for soybean crop in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like any other disease, accidents too are caused by interaction between agent, host, and environment. Human factors include age, (accidents most common between 10 and 24 years), sex, education, medical conditions (heart attack, impaired vision), fatigue, influence of alcohol and other drugs, lack of bodily protection (like helmets, seat belts) and psychosocial factors like lack of experience, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, defective judgment and delay in decisions. Drunken driving is an important risk factor in causing accidents. This study was focused on the status of alcohol consumption in relation with roadside accidents in northern India in the region of Amritsar. The present study was carried out in 100 cases alleged to have died of roadside accident and brought to the mortuary attached to the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Government Medical College, Amritsar for autopsy examination. Blood samples were collected from the femoral vein and were tested for the presence of alcohol with steam distillation and titration method using potassium dichromate and sulfuric acid. In the present study, 23% of the fatal driver/pedestrian victims of roadside accidents were found to have consumed alcohol before accident. Most of the victims of road accident were from the age group 21-30 and 31-40 years. Most of the accidents occurred on straight roads instead of bends or intersections, more during daytime and weekends. 57% of the blood alcohol positives were between 100 mg% and 149 mg%. Majority of the victims of roadside accidents were motorcyclists and the striking vehicles were trucks and buses causing head & neck injuries in most of the victims. Death occurred within a few minutes in most of the cases., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)