From the Desk of Coordinator, Bioinformatics Centre

Bioinformatics Centre

             We are pleased to keep the January issue of ‘Sevamed Quarterly’ in your hands. With this fourth issue, the second volume of SEVAMED is entering the new Millennium. The year that has gone by, kept us on toes to release Sevamed in time. The young and energetic BIC staff and the faculty worked enthusiastically, updating the information from Databases, getting referred by clinical experts, preparing the material for printing and dispatching the finished product to reach you in time. The growing subscribers list is an indication of the interest, Sevamed generated in the readers. We very much appreciate and value the suggestions of our esteemed readers.

             The year 2000 has seen breakthrough in modern biology, by deciphering Human Genome with lots of expectations and imaginations. Genome research is like atomic energy which can be used for good or bad. We hope and wish that the divine instincts of man dominate the demonic instincts, to use genomic research for betterment of the mankind. There is constant need to Question and understand the disease process for its successful management. With this objective in our minds, ‘Sevamed Quarterly’ continues to update and post you with advances in medical research. We look forward to your continued patronization and support .I take this opportunity to wish the esteemed readers a very Happy New Year in the New Millennium.                                                         

January 1, 2001                                                                     
  Dr. B. C. Harinath
                                                Director Professor & Head
JB Tropical Disease Research Centre
& Department of Biochemistry

Workshop On Bioinformatics & Medical Research
NOV. 24-26, 2000
(SUPPORTED BY DEPT. OF BIOTECHNOLOGY)
BIOINFORMATICS CENTRE, JB TROPICAL DISEASE RESEARCH CENTRE
MAHATAMA GANDHI INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, SEVAGRAM

Dr. R. Narang , Medical Superintendent  addressing the Workshop participants. Sitting from left are Dr. T. Madhan Mohan (Director, DBT), Shri Dhirubhai  Mehta (Vice President, KHS), Dr. B.C. Harinath (Director Professor, JBTDRC), Dr. M. V. R. Reddy (Addl. Professor)

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Back

Complementary  and  Alternative  Medicine

                 With increasing health care costs and disillusion in successful management of chronic diseases by orthodox or academic medicine, consumers seeking a cure and general practioners seeking clinical results are turning towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in western countries namely Australia, Canada, Germany, Finland, Israel, UK and USA. This is one of the offshoots of globalization and post modernisation reflecting proliferation of consumer choice. "Clinical legitimacy" seems to override "Scientific legitimacy". Studies conducted in Australia and USA showed significant proportion of population was using CAM. A lot of medicinal plants, traditionally used for thousands of years in Rasayana formulations in Ayurveda seem to have interesting antioxidant activities. In 1988, a new system of acupuncture, popularly known as Sujok Acupuncture was brought to the notice of the world by Prof. Sir Park Jae Woo of South Korea. Numerous courses in alternative medicine are regularly advertised in the journal of German Medical association. In September 1999 the National Institutes of Health (USA) announced the funding of five more specialized Centers of Research in complimentary and alternative medicine, bringing total number of centers to nine giving tremendous boost to the scientific investigation of CAM. The reemerging field of holistic medicine considers body, mind and spirit as a whole while trying to give relief from ailment. Keeping this trend in mind, we have added a new section in ' Sevamed Quarterly ' having bibliography on Ayurveda and alternative systems of  Medicine in April issue. We hope the same will be well received by the esteemed readers.
            Lastly may I request you to spare few minutes and send subscription to ' Sevmed Quarterly' (see page 96 ) showing your interest in its continued publication and service to medical teachers and researchers.  

April 1, 2001                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                        

Dr. B. C. Harinath
                                                Director Professor & Head
JB Tropical Disease Research Centre
& Department of Biochemistry

Welcoming  The  Chief  Guest  Dr. S.R. Rao, PSO, Department of Biotechnology at the Inaugural function  of 7th training course on Immunodiagnostics held during February 5 - 10, 2001

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July 1, 2001

Vision and Realization

            I could learn that there is a long way between vision and its realization from the experience I had from one of the subscribers of Sevamed Q. The subscriber shot back a letter along with renewal of subscription, that the Sevamed Q should reach the subscriber in time. April issue has reached him probably in the last week of April in spite of our best efforts. I did get hurt when I saw the letter but then I took it sportively as a lesson in monitoring and geared the BIC staff to do better this time. But then what happened? We did not receive Ovid Medline CD till now in the year 2001. Possibly it is a new millenium gift. We made frantic calls but no avail. Ovid itself did not receive update until May. But ovid was kind enough to allow us to browse their website as soon as they got update. Then came failure in internet connectivity at Sevagram. We had considerable stress that how to satisfy our esteemed subscribers this time. One of our staff went to Wardha and did marathon sitting for 12 hours on medline search facing the problem of internet connectivity. We are relieved that we can go ahead with Sevamed Quarterly this time. This makes me wonder how other people manage to realize their vision. Some are lucky that they do not bother to have vision, live day to day and forget about future goals. Some are even luckier. They have vision but not bother to realize or monitor. No wonder, that number of vision documents are gathering dust without anybody bothering to touch them. Even ten percent of the time utilized in preparation of the document is spent for monitoring, our Institutions would have been more successful in achieving excellence and withstand liberalization and globalization. Possibly we believe in Vision but not in its Realization.

July 1, 2001                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                        

Dr. B. C. Harinath
                                                Director Professor & Head
JB Tropical Disease Research Centre
& Department of Biochemistry

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October 1, 2001

The Rat Race

 Now we too have the website. “Have the website and put all your information on website” we are repeatedly advised by one and all. We joined the ‘Rat Race’. Thanks to Anil and Swati Bhaskar of Techlogistics Solutions, Inc. USA for hosting the website free for JBTDRC. We prepared the material for the website and we thought we achieved everything. We can inform now that we too have website for JBTDRC www.jbtdrc.org. Then came the real challenge. Who will see? Why should they see? How many times would they visit? How to keep their interest to see JBTDRC repeatedly? One should work full time to catch viewer’s interests and also find new customers. We are used to and have expertise in down loading. Uploading new information is a real challenge. It demands a rapid expansion of the Research Centre with more committed band of workers to put hardwork to generate new information in the thrust areas of diagnostics and vaccines for better disease management and to sustain the interest of JBTDRC website browsers. Otherwise it will be added to history. This is where the bottleneck lies. Whether we succeed or not, only time will tell. However we are pleased that we could place ‘Sevamed Quarterly’ online through JBTDRC website making advances in "Infectious Disease Research and Traditional Medicine" available on fingertips. This is some satisfaction for the time being.

In India the Institutions have short history. The individuals grow bigger out of the institutions but the institutions stagnate after a few years. I visited my alma mater, The Washington University School of Medicine in 1998 after a gap of 25 years. I could not believe. Tremendous expansion with number of newer structures and facilities. I felt there is life in the buildings as well. Otherwise how one can explain continuous growth. The technique of bringing life into the Institution is a challenge to our managers. This is some thing which we have yet to learn from advanced countries.

October 1, 2001                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                        

Dr. B. C. Harinath
                                                Director Professor & Head
JB Tropical Disease Research Centre
& Department of Biochemistry

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