This article demonstrates how prison food is controlled by the state through denying female prisoners’ choices in food consumption and excluding them from active roles in cooking. Narratives of women in three prisons of India have been used to analyze their experiences with prison food. A majority of inmates perceived food as negatively affecting their health during imprisonment. Some were found to use it as a medium to recreate special identities for themselves, contesting the power of the prison. The study suggests the need for better articulation of the intricate relationship between power, health, and food in Indian prison settings.

Background:Home-based palliative services form the cornerstone of Kerala's palliative program. However, two issues need research: (a) whether family-homes can be considered as the locus of ageing and dying for marginal populations who experience deprivation and poverty and (b) whether the present delivery structure meets the needs of elderly population. These issues are examined in the context of two rural areas. The study explores end-of-life characteristics of the elderly – their sociodemographic status and living patterns, morbidity profile, and functional status. It also looks into the accessibility and utilization of palliative services and respondents’ satisfaction with different components of the services.Materials and Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional survey design is used. Data were collected based on the interviews of sixty service users sampled randomly from a roster of palliative care services. Semi-structured interviews were substantiated by personal field observations.Results:The study has found people living under extreme financial distress with inadequate shelter and poor social security provisions. The health profile is characterized by high level of functional dependence. Many dependent widowed women were living alone without appropriate care and shelter. The palliative program as perceived by the respondents is characterized by few doctor visitations and poor frequency.Conclusion:The study concludes that home-based palliation in its present form does not promote good end-of-life care. It lacks an integrated approach with good service-mix. It raises serious questions on family-home as the locus of ageing and dying for marginal populations, and suggests need for restructuring of the palliative program.

Aim:This study makes an assessment of end-of-life care of the elderly in private homes in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.Participants and Methods:Primary data were collected from private homes which supported elder care through observation and semi-structured interviews with primary family caregivers of the elderly.Results:The study finds that the major factors preventing private homes from providing adequate care to the elderly were architecturally inadequate housing conditions, paucity of financial support, and scarcity of skilled caregivers. Besides, considerable neglect and domestic abuse of the elderly was also found in some private homes. In addition, the peripheral location of private homes within public health framework and inadequate state palliative policy, including stringent narcotic regulations, accentuated the problems of home care.Conclusion:The study concludes by questioning the rhetoric of private homes as spaces for the dying elderly in Kolkata and suggests remedial measures to improve their capacity to deliver care.

High-fat diet (HFD) is associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes risk, which share features such as insulin resistance and amylin deposition. We examined gene expression associated with astrocytes and microglia since dysfunction of these cell types is implicated in AD pathogenesis. We hypothesize gene expression changes in disease-associated astrocytes (DAA), disease-associated microglia and human Alzheimer’s microglia exist in diabetic and obese individuals before AD development. By analyzing bulk RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data generated from brains of mice fed HFD and humans with AD, 11 overlapping AD-associated differentially expressed genes were identified, including Kcnj2, C4b and Ddr1, which are upregulated in response to both HFD and AD. Analysis of single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data indicated C4b is astrocyte specific. Spatial transcriptomics (ST) revealed C4b colocalizes with Gfad, a known astrocyte marker, and the colocalization of C4b expressing cells with Gad2 expressing cells, i.e., GABAergic neurons, in mouse brain. There also exists a positive correlation between C4b and Gad2 expression in ST indicating a potential interaction between DAA and GABAergic neurons. These findings provide novel links between the pathogenesis of obesity, diabetes and AD and identify C4b as a potential early marker for AD in obese or diabetic individuals.

No abstract