Examining the rural-urban differentials in yoga and mindfulness practices among middle-aged and older adults in India: secondary analysis of a national representative survey.

Physical activity and mental well-being play an important role in reducing the risk of various diseases and in promoting independence among older adults. Appropriate physical activity, including yoga and mindfulness practices, can help rectify the loss of independence due to aging and have a positive influence on physical health and functional activities. This study assessed rural-urban differences in yoga and mindfulness practices and their associated factors among middle-aged and older Indian adults. The total sample size considered for the current analysis was 72,250 middle-aged and older adults (aged ≥ 45 years). Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the prevalence of yoga and mindfulness practices and examine the associations of selected variables with yoga and mindfulness practices among the participants. Further, we used the Fairley decomposition technique to determine the factors contributing to rural-urban differences in the prevalence of yoga and mindfulness practices among middle-aged and older adults. More than 9% of middle-aged and older adults in rural areas and 14% in urban areas reported practicing yoga and mindfulness activities more than once per week. Adults aged ≥ 65 years were more likely to practice yoga and mindfulness activities than those who age 45-54 years were. Those with an education of ten years and above were 2.3 and 2.1 times higher likely to practice yoga in rural (AOR: 2.28; CI: 2.07-2.52) and urban (AOR: 2.13; CI: 1.91-2.37) areas compared to their uneducated peers, respectively. The largest contributors in diminishing the gap in yoga practice among participants were education (44.2%), caste (2.5%), chronic diseases such as hypertension (4.53%), diabetes (1.71%), high cholesterol (3.08%), self-reported pain (5.76%), and difficulties in instrumental activities of daily living (1.22%). The findings suggest that middle-aged and older adults in urban areas practice yoga and mindfulness activities more than their peers in rural areas do. Education level, household characteristics, and health outcomes such as chronic conditions, pain, and functional difficulties explain the observed differences in yoga and mindfulness practices across rural and urban areas. Age-appropriate healthy practices such as yoga and mindfulness should be encouraged to enhance the physical and mental well-being of middle-aged and older adults, especially in rural areas.

Catastrophic Health Expenditure and Impoverishment Effects of Out-of-pocket Expenses: A Comparative Study of Tannery and Non-tannery Workers of Kanpur, India.

PURPOSE: Treatment-seeking behaviors and economic burden because of health expenditure are widely discussed issues in India, and more so in recent times. The aim of this study is to identify health problems of tannery workers and their treatment-seeking behavior and their health expenditure. DATA AND METHODS: The primary data used in this article were collected through a cross-sectional household survey of 284 male tannery workers in the Jajmau area of Kanpur city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, during January-June 2015. RESULTS: Findings of the study revealed that around 36% of the tannery workers and 42% of non-tannery workers received treatment as outpatients in government/municipal hospital in the first spell of treatment. The secondary source of treatment was pharmacy/drug stores for 30% of the tannery workers and 24% of the non-tannery workers, an indication that a substantial proportion takes treatment without consulting a qualified medical practitioner; it also highlights that almost one-third of the tannery and non-tannery workers visited private health facility despite poor economic condition. It is evident that a substantial proportion of tannery and non-tannery workers are visiting private/non-governmental organization/trust hospital despite their poor financial situation. CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need to reinstate people's faith in public health facilities by developing professionalism, integrity, and accountability among different levels of health functionaries and frontline workers with the support of credible, transparent, and responsible regulatory environment.

Double peptic perforation: Report of a rare case.

Perforation peritonitis is the most common surgery performed in an emergency. Upper gastrointestinal tract perforation is more common than lower gastrointestinal perforation. Multiple peptic perforations in an individual are a relatively rare entity, with fewer than 10 cases reported in the literature. The factor that contributes the most for the occurrence of multiple peptic perforations is analgesic and steroid abuse. Herein, we report a rare case of double peptic perforation in a middle-aged man with history of analgesic use for 18 months.

Ileal Perforation in a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Gastrointestinal involvement is common in patients of human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Specific gastrointestinal disorders often correlate with degree of immunosuppression. In advance cases of HIV infection GI symptoms are usually part of systemic infection. In such scenario multiple infections are common so failure to diagnose a specific cause is not uncommon. We here present a case study of a patient with ileal perforation with tubercular etiology and its management.

Comparative karyomorphological study of some Indian Cymbidium Swartz, 1799 (Cymbidieae, Orchidaceae).

Understanding the genetic resources and diversity is very important for the breeding programs and improvement of several economically important orchids like Cymbidium. Karyomorphological studies have been carried out on seven Cymbidium species, Cymbidium aloifolium (Linnaeus, 1753), Cymbidium devonianum Paxton,1843, Cymbidium elegans Lindley, 1828, Cymbidium iridioides D. Don, 1825, Cymbidium lowianum Rchb. f.,1877, Cymbidium tigrinum Parish ex Hook. f., 1864, and Cymbidium tracyanum L. Castle,1890, most of them endangered/threatened in their natural habitat. As reported earlier, the somatic chromosome number (2n = 40) has been observed in all the seven species. Distinct inter-specific variation was recorded in the arm ratio of few homologous pairs in the complements. Symmetrical or almost symmetrical karyotypes were prevalent; however significant asymmetry was reported in Cymbidium iridioides and Cymbidium tracyanum. The significance of karyotypic variation in speciation of the genus Cymbidium has been discussed. This study provides useful chromosome landmarks and evidence about genome evolution, heteromorphic chromosomes based heterozygosity, basic chromosome number and ploidy level in the genus Cymbidium.

Solute permeation across the apoplastic barrier in the perisperm-endosperm envelope in cucumber seeds.

An apoplastic barrier consisting of callose and lipid layers in the perisperm-endosperm (PE) envelope is known to restrict inward and outward transport of solutes in cucurbit seeds. The present work examines permeability properties of the barrier using cucumber seed as a model system. Osmometrically determined osmotic potential of the apoplastic fluid was used as a basis for osmotic studies aimed at examining solute exclusion from the apoplastic barrier in the PE envelope. The assessment of apoplastic permeability involved measuring the amount of anionic and cationic organic dyes diffused into agarose gel discs through the PE envelope. Ionic/non-ionic solutes including polyethylene glycols having Stokes radii 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) approximately methyl orange approximately methylene blue > Eosin Y >> Janus green approximately crystal violet approximately Evans Blue. Permeation time(0.5) for DCPIP and TTC was 9.71 and 9.96 h, respectively. Dyes having Stokes radii < 0.5 nm showed significant inward as well as outward diffusion across the PE envelope in contrast to restricted diffusion of dyes having Stokes radii > 0.5 nm. Size exclusion limit for apoplastic barrier in cucumber PE envelope was resolved to be about 0.5 nm by dye permeation and around 0.8 nm by osmotic studies. Dye permeances depended primarily on particle size as described by a quadratic polynomial function rather than on charge or log D.