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Biomedical subjects

R K Bansal

Publications and source records attributed to R K Bansal.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Need for strengthening of internship (rotatory housemanship) training in India.

INTRODUCTION: Internship is a problematic phase in the training of doctors in India. At the end of their one-year Internship, students are not formally examined for proficiency, rarely a student is not given a satisfactory completion certificate and training is sometimes not supervised. Students are required to spend three months of this Internship in Primary Health Centres at rural postings. During this period the students often prepare for the written exams that would allow them to pursue post-graduate studies. METHOD: In a personal reflection, this situation is described in the current article. The author suggests several approaches to improve this unwanted situation, so that the rural postings could be taken more seriously by the students. OUTCOMES: Suggestions range from a post-internship examination, via the introduction of compulsory rural postings after graduation to an increase of the avenues for post-graduate training to include a course in family medicine and general practice. CONCLUSIONS: The objective of providing excellent training during internship periods cannot be achieved unless interns actively participate. If the current situation does not change, for example according to the suggested solutions, this valuable component of medical training will remain problematic, thereby hindering the optimal preparation of doctors for the entire spectrum of necessary health care in India.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2004

Facilitating behavioral change for acceptance of oral polio vaccine.

A child aged 26 months could not be vaccinated initially during pulse polio immunisation due to parental fear of untoward side effects. Owning responsibility of child's welfare, in-depth counseling and involvement of community leaders are crucial in this regard.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2002

Overcrowding and health.

The present study correlates the disease profile of 2536 persons belonging to 542 families with the available per capita floor area (PCFA). It was observed that 91.9 percent individuals were living in overcrowded conditions. As the PCFA decreased, the communicable diseases, infective and parasitic diseases and respiratory disease episodes exhibited a significant increase.

Crowding↗
PubMed1999

G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction by nuclear Smad4/Dpc4: phenotypes reversed by a tumorigenic mutation.

The tumor suppressor Smad4/Dpc4 is a transcription activator that binds specific DNA sequences and whose nuclear localization is induced after exposure to type beta transforming growth factor-like cytokines. We explored an inducible system in which Smad4 protein is activated by translocation to the nucleus when cell lines that stably express wild-type or mutant Smad4 proteins fused to a murine estrogen receptor domain are treated with 4-hydroxytamoxifen. This induced Smad4-mediated transcriptional activation and a decrease in growth rate, attributable to a cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and an induction of apoptosis. A tumor-derived mutation (Arg-100 --> Thr) affecting a residue critical for DNA-binding demonstrated an "oncogenic" phenotype, having decreases in both the G1 fraction and apoptosis and, consequently, an augmentation of population growth. This model should be useful in the exploration and control of components that lie further downstream in the Smad4 tumor-suppressor pathway.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed1999

Transforming growth factor-beta responsiveness in DPC4/SMAD4-null cancer cells.

DPC4/SMAD4 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene with a strikingly high frequency of gene alterations in pancreatic cancer that suggests a discrete role for DPC4 in these tumors. DPC4 tumor-suppressive function has been implicated to mediate the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta)-suppressive pathway; however, in a DPC4-null pancreatic cancer cell line, TGFbeta growth-inhibitory and transcriptional responses were found to be DPC4-independent. This was observed within native cells having a natural homozygous deletion and in clones engineered for stable expression of wild-type DPC4 integrated into the genome. This observation contrasted with the absolute DPC4 dependence of TGFbeta responses in a breast cancer cell line studied in parallel. This growth-inhibitory response to TGFbeta in DPC4-null cells relied on an intact ras effector pathway. These data further suggest a major categorization of TGFbeta responses into DPC4-dependent and -independent signaling pathways and specifically suggest that disruption of the TGFbeta-independent signal might be a basis of selection for the emergence of DPC4 alterations during tumorigenesis in the pancreas and other sites.

Alleles↗
PubMed1999

Germline and somatic mutations of the STK11/LKB1 Peutz-Jeghers gene in pancreatic and biliary cancers.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and by pigmented macules of the lips, buccal mucosa, and digits. Less appreciated is the fact that PJS also predisposes patients to an increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer, and pancreatic cancer has been reported in many PJS patients. It was recently shown that germline mutations of the STK11/LKB1 gene are responsible for PJS. We investigated the role of STK11/LKB1 in the development of pancreatic and biliary cancer in patients with and without the PJS. In a PJS patient having a germline splice site mutation in the STK11/LKB1 gene, sequencing analysis of an intestinal polyp and pancreatic cancer from this patient revealed loss of the wild-type allele of the STK11/LKB1 gene in the cancer. Inactivation of STK11/LKB1, by homozygous deletions or somatic sequence mutations coupled with loss of heterozygosity, was also demonstrated in 4-6% of 127 sporadic pancreatic and biliary adenocarcinomas. Our results demonstrate that germline and somatic genetic alterations of the STK11/LKB1 gene may play a causal role in carcinogenesis and that the same gene contributes to the development of both sporadic and familial forms of cancer.

AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases↗
PubMed1998

Research skills acquisition by interns: a case study.

This study shows the impact of a holistic structured training programme on the acquisition of research skills by a batch of 13 interns of Pramukhswami Medical College, Gujarat, India, commensurate with their envisaged roles according to the concept of "Essential National Health Research" (ENHR). There was a significant improvement in the knowledge scores of the participants, subsequent to the training programme, as evidenced by an improvement over their mean pretest score of 16.4 +/- 11.0 to a posttest score of 87.1 +/- 19.9. The study also discussions the suggestions and feedback of the participants about the programme.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1998

Truck crew and risk of contraction of STDS, including HIV: encouraging the use of condoms by the method of applying theories.

Studies from India conclude that the long distance truck crew are at a high risk of contracting and transmitting STDs and HIV on account of their high risk sexual behaviours. These studies indicate the necessity of changing the behaviour of the truck crew in favour of safer sexual practices. This article addresses this important issue of developing an intervention to decrease the risk of contraction of STDs, including HIV, by encouraging the use of condoms by the method of applying psycho-social theories, which aim at changing behaviours of the target group.

Condoms↗