Nanomedicine and nano drug delivery systems are pretty new but swiftly evolving sciences that use nanoscale materials as diagnostic tools for the controlled delivery of therapeutic agents to specific sites. Nanotechnology offers many benefits in the treatment of chronic human diseases by providing accurate medicines to specific target areas. Recently, nanomedicines (chemotherapeutic agents, biological agents, immunotherapeutic agents, etc.) have found many important uses in the treatment of various diseases. This chapter summarizes the latest developments in nanomedicine and nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems and describes the discovery and use of nanomaterials to improve the efficacy of new and old drugs (such as natural products) and diagnosis by disease marker molecule. It also discusses the potential and challenges of nanomedicines in delivering medicines from synthetic/natural sources for their clinical applications. Moreover, this chapter also includes the trends and prospects in nanomedicine.
Self-help group-bank linkage program is considered a powerful tool for eradicating poverty in many poor and developing countries, especially in Asia. The number of these groups has increased rapidly during the last few years; however, their efficacy to achieve long-term poverty alleviation has been questioned by many researchers.Previous studies have focused mainly on objective indicators to understand the program's impact on the lives of its members, such as changes in the economic condition and the development of conceptual frameworks. The present study primarily focuses on member perceptions of the overall functioning of the self-help group. A questionnaire survey was administered to 15 presidents and 75 group members belonging to 15 self-help groups with active bank accounts in Chandigarh, a union territory of India. Drawing on their responses and perceptions, the five major problems faced by these groups were identified as: (i) ineffective group meetings, (ii) absence of income-generating activities, (iii) lack of cooperation among members, (iv) lack of awareness, and (v) minimal savings. Our key recommendations include: (i) increased organizational support, (ii) focus on skill development, (iii) training and motivation, (iv) effective leadership, and (v) regular meetings.
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