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haeological studies in the upper and lower part of the Ganga-Bhaghrathi-Hugli delta were taken up to understand the nature of site formation and human adaptation in a dynamic fluvial zone. This aspect has been neglected in Indian archaeology. However archaeological dating using typological information, has an error margin of a couple of centuries and hence, is of limited use. We suggest that high resolution chronology using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating can be quite effective in the study of archaeology and human environment relationship in the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta (GBD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major objective of the investigation was to evaluate the road traffic noise and its likely impacts on the local community of Asansol city (West Bengal, India) by monitoring and modeling. The attitudinal response of local population due to existing vehicular noise is presented in the paper. Noise and Attitudinal Survey was conducted at 25 locations. A total of 869 individuals were surveyed. The relationship between traffic noise levels and annoyance was studied using correlation, linear and multiple linear regressions analysis. The average Ldn value was 73.28 ± 8.51 dB(A) (55.1–87.3); The Traffic Noise Index (TNI) was 80.62 ± 15.88 dB(A) (49.4–115.8). The mean value of percent of population Highly Annoyed (%HA) due to road traffic noise was 26.50 ± 3.37 (19.44–33.2), whereas the mean dissatisfaction score (MDS) was 2.96 ± 0.90 (1.04–4.45). Annoyance modeling was also performed based on field data. It can be said that Noise values gives desirable annoyance predicting values in comparison to vehicular data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacture of surgical instruments is one of the leading small-scale industrial sectors in West Bengal, India. The present study was undertaken to assess the rate, type and cause of injury incidents among surgical blacksmiths and whether these incidents affected the work performance of the blacksmiths. A cluster of 216 skilled and 225 unskilled blacksmiths (male), engaged in the manufacture of surgical instruments, was selected from Baruipur subdivision as study subjects. The study included: 1) completion of a questionnaire; 2) measurement of physical parameters; 3) incident records; 4) statistical analysis of the data. The present study revealed that the blacksmiths suffered very frequently from work-related injuries. The number of injuries that occurred during 2004 - 2005 for skilled and unskilled blacksmiths was 1413 and 1610 respectively. Unskilled blacksmiths were disproportionately affected. These injuries resulted in a high rate of lost workdays, i.e. 517 and 742 workdays for skilled and unskilled workers respectively. The study thus indicated that surgical blacksmiths are highly prone to injuries in their occupation, mostly affecting the fingers (23% and 23%) and back region (21.7% and 22%) in both groups, which consequently affected their health, productivity and work performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the prevalence of upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among 50 male brass metal workers and 50 male office workers in West Bengal, India. Such disorder is found to be a result of a rigorous hand intensive jobs. Such a study involved the identification of MSD's causative factors. Results revealed that MSD has become a major health problem as it involves the hand, wrist, fingers, and shoulder due to prolonged work activity and decreased handgrip strength.

Abstract: Diospyros peregrina is an edible fruit of costal West-Bengal. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the role of aqueous extract of D. peregrina fruit in streptozotocin–nicotinamide induced type 2 diabetic rats. Oral administration of extract at the doses of 50 and 100mg/kg body weight per day for 28days to diabetic rats was found to possess significant dose dependant hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity. An increased reactive oxygen species and insufficient antioxidant activity is associated with diabetes mellitus, which is mainly responsible for diabetic pathogenesis. The role of extract on antioxidant markers of liver and kidney were estimated. The diabetic rats exhibited lower activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and reduced glutathione (GSH) content in hepatic and renal tissues as compared with normal rats. The activities of SOD, CAT, and GSH were found to be increased in extract treated diabetic rats in selected tissues. The increased level of lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and hydroperoxide) in diabetic rats was also found to be reverted back to near normal status in extract treated groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Serotoninergic dysfunction is highly implicated in autism. Serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) that regulates synaptic serotonin level has been investigated as a candidate gene for autism, but consensus opinion on possible association is still lacking. Converging evidences of platelet-hyperserotoninemia in ∼25% of the patients, betterment of ritualistic behavior on administration of SSRI and linkage to chromosome 17q11 harboring SLC6A4, supports the hypothesis that SLC6A4 polymorphisms may contribute towards autism pathology. Our recent report on 5-HTTLPR marker represents the first study on genetic association of SLC6A4 with autism in the Indian population. Further analysis involving additional markers may reinforce the earlier hypothesis. So in the present study, we have investigated the association of a VNTR of 17 bp at intron2 (STin2) and an SNP at 3′UTR (HTT-3′UTR-SNP) of the gene with autism using family and population-based approaches. We have genotyped 421 individuals (93 autistic subjects, their parents and 160 controls) and consistent with other publications, family-based association studies using individual markers (STin2 and HTT-3′UTR-SNP) have not revealed any preferential allelic transmission to the probands. However, the interesting finding of strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) between the markers and significant disease-specific distortion in the distribution of HTT-3′UTR-SNP genotypes (T1χ 2 =5.19, P =0.02; OR=2.89, 95% CI=1.13–7.41) and the specific haplotypes of the two markers (LRS=11.85, p c =0.02), with higher frequencies of T/T genotype and 10-T haplotype in autistic cases suggests that either these markers or nearby markers of SLC6A4 that are in LD, may pose a risk towards autism in the Eastern Indian population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]