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PARASITOLOGY:A RESEARCH GUIDE

M.C. Agrawal
  • Country of Origin:

  • Imprint:

    NIPA

  • eISBN:

    9789389547351

  • Binding:

    EBook

  • Number Of Pages:

    268

  • Language:

    English

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Join research and be a celebrity: You are well aware about Galileo, Newton, Fleming, Edward Jenner, Charles Darwin, Ronald Rose etc who have born centuries ago but still remembered for their path breaking research. This is the power of research which is unparallel to any other profession. Sadly, our young generation is not well versed with research as career and have developed some wrong notions about it. If you are intelligent, diligent and wish to make some achievement in your life, why don’t join a research career. Even richest persons of the world (Noble, Ruther Ford, Billgate, Narain Murthy etc.) are those who made some innovations in their life. Alternatively, if you consider to pass life as a mission, you may join research in parasitic diseases, a less travelled path, which will help you to serve the humanity by finding some new ideas which will help in eradicating diseases of humans and his animals. This is the book which will provide you some details how you may join research activities in Parasitology and carry over research work in your life.

0 Start Pages

Preface While I was writing the book “Schistosomes and Schistosomiasis in South Asia“ (Published by Springer in June, 2012-ISBN 9788132205388) it struck to me that this reference book is for senior researchers, but what’s about our young aspiring scholars who are not quite familiar with scientific research though desiring to take up it as their career. This is because I witnessed difficulties of our post graduate students while pursuing their research problem; how they are ignorant about basic research principles and their wandering here and there to solve their minor problems. Even our Bharat Ratan scientist Dr CNR Rao in his autobiographical book “Climbing the Limitless Ladder – A Life in Chemistry“ has mentioned “I had a romantic notion about doing research as a scientist, but had nobody to guide me” He was wondering which college will be best for doing MSc in chemistry for making research as a career (finally he selected BHU) and sadly the state of affairs has not changed much even when we have entered in twenty first century. Though there are many books to guide our young generation to become doctors or engineers or even entrepreneurs, yet there is dearth of books to guide them how and why to choose research as a career and pursue research as goal of their life. Perhaps, this is one reason why Indian universities have failed to attract talent in research thereby remaining laggards in world ranking where research is the main criterion to judge superiority of any institution over others. Recently ICAR and UGC have provided two courses for postgraduate students; one is about consulting library i.e. scientific literature while other course is for writing a research thesis. Nevertheless, there are no books which can deal the subject comprehensively and teachers are still depending on their old class notes. Even a newly posted Assistant Professor faces great difficulty in formulating a research scheme or publishing research papers, particularly when there is no senior faculty member in the department. However, it’s of limited value to tell the aspiring students only about consulting the literature, or writing and publishing a research paper. Rather, it will be more advantageous to expose them to other aspects of research and to impress that research is essential for advancement of human civilization. In that sense, this book is a treatise to inspire our young generation to join research as their career; this book tells the scholars about benefits of joining research as a career with characteristics desired while joining research as a career. To deal the subject, I have taken examples from Parasitology - a field of my expertise and a part of life sciences where we study Parasites or creatures which are living on other living organism and causing some harm by their life style. When I say Research in Parasitology, I do not mean Parasitology in its restricted sense of treating parasitic diseases in man and animals . The place of the subject in life sciences has rightly been stated long back by Professor AC Chandler (1946) “Parasitology touches upon or overlaps as many other sciences that a Parasitologist probably has to stick his nose into more different fields of knowledge than any other kind of biologist. Indeed, modern parasitology might well be designated as ‘symbiology’ the one of the first truly inter-disciplinary biological sciences”. Indeed, in twenty first century, it extends its tentacles that encroaches not only all branches of life sciences (immunology, pathology, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, nutrition , zoonosis, public health , genetics, zoology, botany, malacology, entomology, paleontology, taxonomy, forestry) but also distant subjects such as geology, meteorology, environmental sciences, distance imagination science, hydrology, mathematics, history, economics and sociology.

 
1 Why Interested in Research

If you are inclined to make research as a career, the first question is why are you interested in research or making it as a career in your life -whether for money or to pass a cozy life in a government institute or to get fame or to solve some scientific problems - related to cosmos, Agriculture, animals, human health, search some medicinal plants or you have great passion for science and impressed with its power to find solutions for many universal problems ? Or it is un-employment, now rampant in every field, which is deriving you to join higher degrees and research. Many times, this unemployment or no vacancies in due time leads the young persons to continue their post graduation or joining doctorate program with the hope that some vacancy will arise in the ensuing period or a suitable job may fall after or prior getting a Ph.D. degree.

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2 Historical Events

Research is the basics which have changed human life and surrounding environment what existed on earth million years ago into present form. As soon as man realized himself as a separate entity from other animals, he started thinking about himself, creatures co-inhabiting with him and the universe. In that sense, biological science is the oldest subject which fascinated man, though it was called natural sciences in ancient times. Perhaps, the first curiosity was about himself, his birth, death and alike matters. As soon as he realized mortality of life or faced death of his dear ones, he attempted to become immortal or ‘amar’. This is reflected by worshiping of ‘Asur ’(Hirnakashyap, Bhasmasur, Ravan etc) to ‘Brahma’ or ‘Shiva’ for receiving the blessings of becoming immortal . However, even God refrained to bless these personalities becoming ‘amar’ confirming the realization by all that life is strongly linked with death ; as such they were blessed with certain conditional ties which may lead their death. Eventually, they met with their death under specific circumstances (3). When God or His little part (Ansh) took birth on earth as incarnation, He also followed all the rules and regulations of cosmic laws. But He never tried to become immortal and left His body on the earth, after finishing His duties.

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3 Research and Your Personality

The very basics in one’s life is whether he has judged his interests or decided goals of his life or has taken life casually. The first is to know what you wish to achieve in your life or in the words of our former president and Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam (14) what are your dreams ? If you have dreams than only you can achieve them hence it’s essential to know what is your passion ?, passion is the key to success. In pursuing your passion, all things become secondary ; in fact, desired changes occur within you, unnoticed and automatic to achieve your goals. It may not be out of contest to mention that basically I belonged to a business family and being eldest son in the family, my father asked me to join family business, after doing my intermediate, with the liberty to join part time BA classes while carrying business activities. But business was not my passion hence I struggled to join to the academics and carried all my Veterinary education with distinctions - because of my interests. I am not sure what would have happened to my life have I joined least interested business line- perhaps a failed business man.

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4 Essentiality of Degrees

At times, we hear our young generation questioning the need for obtaining degrees for conducting any research work. To some extend they are right. If we look back, there are many examples where persons without any former degree attained what is impossible by many degree holders. Tulsidas has written ‘Ramacharitmanas’, incorporating so many principles of Vedas and stories from Puranas without obtaining any degree. Srinivasa Ramanujan (21) narrated mathematics theorems without any degree in mathematics. His achievements may be appreciated by the fact that we celebrate his birthday 22nd December as National Mathematical day.

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5 Job Opportunities

Whenever a person acquires desired qualifications, he needs a forum to express his talents and a place where he can fulfill his dreams and make important attainments. This may be achieved by two ways. One is, he becomes an entrepreneur and plans his own organization. As we are discussing biological research, there are good opportunities to start a Pharmaceutical firm to produce a drug, or a biotechnology firm to produce some biochemical molecule, enzymes, bio-fertilizers, vaccines against important human/animal/poultry diseases or a firm to supply diagnostic kits or immunological products etc. These are not hypothetical suggestions, difficult to achieve by a middle class person, but part of reality achieved by middle class family in India with laurels in their field of work. We may cite examples of firms like Dr Reddy Laboratory (Dr K.A Reddy), Biocon India (Ms Majumdar), Venky (poultry vaccines etc), Biorad (Bangalore based biochemical molecules supplier) who are working in India and leading their respective field. All this have been possible with tremendous change that has occurred in Indian scenario where there are many venture capitalists (or PE firms) who are willing to invest any amount of money provided they like your new idea of establishing a new enterprise. A somewhat more detailed information, in this regards, is provided elsewhere (see Research for money-chapter 13). Here I have not mentioned to pursue a Dairy or Poultry farm as these are not parts of research activities but related to animal production and any other person may also enter in such commercial activities.

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6 History of Parasitic Research

It will be unjust not to describe history of Parasitology (31) and a little bit about Parasitology (chapter 8) so that our students may know the earlier works done in this field and how research has advanced by diligent observations of the eminent scientists when they were not having such sophisticated facilities. As helminth is visible with naked eyes, it was this parasite which man encountered first in its journey of life sciences or natural sciences,as was known in ancient times. Some of these were known even before the era of biblical Palestine and ancient Egyptian civilization. Hippocrates (460-357BC), ‘Father of Medicine’ knew about pinworms (Oxyuris equi) of horses. In his “History of Animalium”, Aristotle (384-322 BC)(32) has mentioned three kinds of helminthes-flatworms, cylindrical worms (Ascaris lumbricoides) and thinworms (Enterobius vermicularis). The treatises of India had the information on large roundworms of intestine (Ascaris), pinworms, leeches, bed bugs and mosquitoes.

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7 Nature the Greatest Laboratory

Our nature is the greatest or only laboratory where a large number of events are occurring at every fraction of a second - there are so many events, creatures, miseries taking place in the nature. Rightly it is considered an unparallel and biggest laboratory, man has ever witnessed. However, understanding it’s any event requires deep devotion and understanding,then only success will come. Our Philosopher and Poet Kabirdas has understood these facts as have reflected in his various couplets “Jin khoja tin paiya, gahre pani paith” or “chalti chaki dekh kar diya kabira roye, do patan ke beech main sabit bacha na koi“. For an ordinary person earth is still flat and he may not know the reasons for change of seasons.

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8 Parasitology and its Branches

Parasitology is the branch of biological sciences that deals with the study of parasites and all the related aspects. This leads to a basic question who is a parasite ? In fact, this term is frequently used in our society for those persons who are doing nothing and depending on others for their survival. The term Parasite means the organism (parasite) which depends on other organism (host) for its nutritional requirements. By definition, it excludes the organisms which are free living and do not depend on other organism for their food requirements. There are other details in fulfilling its nutritional requirements and important one is that in doing so, it causes some harm to the host other wise it will not be a parasite but a commensal.

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9 Research Scope in Parasitology

A close look on three disciplines of Parasitology reveal that these are the branches where a scholar initially select them as per his basic qualifications. But while pursuing research in Parasitology, the line of demarcation becomes blurred and it is in fact combination of a group of scientists,from varied disciplines, who are able to solve any one problem; at that point, it is absurd to divide the subject as medical or veterinary or basic parasitology. In fact, these will be your interests and experiences which will decide your line of research and will determine your achievements.

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10 Search of A Guru

It is always advantageous if there is a senior scientist,a mentor or a Guru ( I have not used the term teacher as all may be teachers but may not be Guru as per Indian mythology) who can recognize your talents and may believe that you may achieve some unusual goals, if properly guided or encouraged. This is important for carrying an important task to its fruitful results. Here what we are referring a Guru is not in the sense as is presently used for searching a god father. There is a vast difference between the two. The perception about god-father is that he may not possess the required knowledge but is perfect in manipulating situations in his favor so that work is done by all means. In scientific world, this is mostly applied to the persons who have contact with higher ups helping in getting promotions or foreign trips. These god fathers are good only to provide some material gifts but are not best in their scientific achievements hence cannot replace a Guru or a good scientist.

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11 Suggestions by the Peers

If you have prepared yourself to make research as your career, it is most advantageous to read research papers/reviews/chapters/books published by the eminent scientists. It is not necessary to confine reading to your subject but a voracious reading will enable you to develop an idea about general problems related to science and our society; how scientists managed to solve them and with development of new knowledge, how you may tackle fresh or existing problems. A deep analysis may be done of those works which are so accurate that even after lapse of so many years, they still hold true. In our opinion, it is better to launch websites/blogs highlighting important works of eminent Parasitologists for the benefit of our research scholars; a beginning, in India in Parasitology, has been made in this direction with launch of a website on first time Rafi Ahmed Kidwai award winner (in Animal Sciences) late Dr SC Dutt (www.drscdutt.com). 

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12 Think for A Change

One prime fact in research is not to take the matter for granted and do not believe in status quo. This is most critical mindset for creating something new. Even change may be made in existing circumstances with minimum requirements. Here, I may cite my experience while starting research in 1976 for my doctorate program on immunity against schistosomiasis. The experimental model was albino mouse where schistosomes, by their nature, develop into blood vascular system of the host hence require a special technique called “Perfusion technique” for retrieval of mature and immature schistosomes. This ‘perfusion technique’ requires use of a “Peristaltic pump” and was followed in some western countries (2). However, No body in India followed this perfusion technique hence recovered schistosomes from mouse or from any other host species by teasing the blood vessels or/and cutting and soaking liver,spleen, kidney, lung pieces in normal saline.

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13 Type of Research

There is only one type of scientific research and that is to solve a real problem or to understand the universe and provide a solution –either with the experiments or by putting a hypothesis. However, we have classified the research in various types as per our comfort. But for the employed researchers, it may be a matter of concern if they are working on time bound research schemes as their services may be co-terminus with the project and they may face the problem of un-employment, after termination of the scheme. According to the scholars’ activities and type of research being carried out in the country, we can discuss the subject under following topics.

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14 Searching Literature

When you are assigned with your thesis problem or some problem is puzzling you, the first step is to search the related literature ; here the term literature is used not as it is used in humanities but this means the literature related to the research work published by the earlier scientists on the topic. The searching of literature is a most important and first step in conducting research on a particular topic. This not only acquaint you with the work of other scientists who tried to solve the problem but also confirms the possibility that previous scientists might have solved that problem and yours will be a repeat attempt ; in that case you may tackle other aspects of the problem, if at all they are existing and important in present circumstances.

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15 Conducting Research

Review of literature or consulting of literature is just beginning of a research project. The main intellectual work is to study the previous work meticulously and to draw conclusions regarding existing problems. This leads us to another intelligent part of the research i.e. planning of the research work. If you analyze what you are planning, it is only about materials to be employed and methodology of the research work (with planning of the work)- only these three parameters are under your control as results will be the outcome of these three facets while discussion will be how you consider your results in presence of previous research work. In fact, this statement of mine is more align to the sermon of “Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta” (5) where it is stated that man has control only on his actions (planning and conducting research) hence fulfill this duty without caring for the results-which in turn will depend on your analyzing the previous facts and how you have planned to solve the problem. Therefore, pay full attention on these three facts of the research.

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16 Recording the Data

After planning research problem, the next step is to start real research work. Indeed, it is said that planning of a research work is only 20% of work done while conducting the experiments is 80% to be done and is more laborious, requiring extended time and patience of the scientist. While conducting your research work,it is essential to record each and every observation of your work. These observations will be of two types. One is the subjective observations which are difficult to quantify. For example, if you are recording clinical parameters of a disease,you may record pulse, temperature, respiration in arithmetic form but clinical symptoms are subjective and require a description of the patient rather than filling tabular sheet. In describing morphology of a parasite both parameters are needed ; you will describe morphology of the parasite and will also mention measurements of different parts of the parasite. Likewise, you may like to describe weather conditions or behavior of animals, vectors at certain stage of disease while you have to mention figures in many cases. Thus your observations are clearly divided in two categories – one is subjective observation and other is recording arithmetic values.

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17 Writing the Research Work

What so ever you are doing as a researcher, one important task is to publish the same for scientific fraternity for establishing your view points else no body will recognize you and your competence. Your credentials are judged by the research papers published by you and its impact on scientific community. Therefore, it is must to publish what so ever you are doing to establish yourself in the scientific community and also to advance science. This implies to select a national or international journal for your research publication which has wide scientific circulation so that peers of scientific world may observe your publication. Adversely, the publication may bring you criticism if it does not stand on scientific parameters and you may lose your reputation in your profession.

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18 Publishing Research Work

What so ever work you have done, it will not be recognized in the scientific world unless you publish it hence publishing the search work is of prime importance for a scientist. As it provides you recognition, you must pay greatest attention on quality of your research work which depends on the keenness of your observations. It is must to confirm and re-confirm your observations prior publishing them as once they are published, it will come in public domain with nothing you can do (except of publishing another paper to refute your earlier finding). As publishing the observations will form opinion about your scientific integrity and knowledge among the peers, the paper, if not cared and contained silly technical mistakes, will reflect ignorance of the workers on the subject.

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19 Scientific Conferences

It is a must for the research scholars to attend scientific conferences of the Parasitology associations, after being members. It is advisable to become life-members of all three Parasitology associations, in India i.e. Indian Society of Parasitology, Lucknow, Indian Association for Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, IVRI, Izatnagar and Indian Academy of Tropical Parasitology, JIPMER, Pondicherry. The annual conferences expose better chances to interlink with Parasitologists of the country and at times foreign scientists.

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20 Extension Literature

As the Veterinary colleges, and Parasitology being an integral part of them, are part of Agricultural universities framed on USA land grant pattern, or separated as Veterinary university imbibing the same philosophy, extension is an integral part of the system. Here, a team of the experts visit the villages to teach the villagers about the basic problems, faced by them in day to day dealing with animals. For explaining a particular problem to the villagers, the experts generally take help of the pamphlets which they have prepared. These pamphlets or extension literature deal the subject with common sense and illustrate the material with line drawings.

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21 Internet Mail, Blog, Website, You Tube

Till twentieth century information technology was restricted to European and American countries but entering in twenty first century witnessed passage of this technology with a vast speed in all other countries making a spectrum of changes in communication and transmission of knowledge that has altogether changed scenario of whole world. Earlier communication to international scientists was costly, time consuming while now its only a click away. So is of transmitting reprints of research papers – earlier they were dispatched by mail, now these reprints and other matters are available in soft copy and are attached with e-mail that is transmitted instantly.

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22 End Pages

Appendix   NOTES AND REFERENCES Here, we are mentioning notes, websites and references which may be consulted for getting further details on the topics mentioned in the text: PART A 1. Vikram Doctor (2011). Agricultural research’s real estate problems. The Economic Times, 14th Jan, 2011, New Delhi (there was a series of articles in daily news paper economic times on such topics, at that time). 2. Agrawal MC (2012). Schistosomes and schistosomiasis in South Asia. Springer India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. page 351 (this is the first book on schistosomiasis in South Asia, dealing all aspects of the infection). 3. Shri Ram Charit Manas was completed within 2 years, 7 months 26 days in the samvat year 1633 on “Ram Vivah day” by shrimad Goswami Tulsi Das jee. The text (written in Avadhi- a form of Hindi) has been published by Geeta Press, Gorakhpur and interpreted in Hindi by Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar. Till the samvat 2045, there have been 69 editions of the book by Geeta Press, Gorakhpur, UP. 4. The meaning of Ayurveda is Ayus=life, Ved=knowledge. It is a part of Atharvaveda which is written about 1000 years BC (according to some veda are written about 5000 years back) and an important part of vedic life of the Indians. There are certain principles laid down for long human life. Dhanvantri, who is considered incarnation of lord Vishnu, is considered the Great Physician, and writer of Ayurveda. 5. Sage Maharshi Ved Vyas has written ‘Maha Bharata” (in Sanskrit) and “Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta” is a part of this epic. Its period of writing is about 3500 years back. Geeta Press, Gorakhpur, UP has published 34th edition (with Hindi translation) till samvat 2045. This is a sacred document of Hindu religion and has been interpreted by many scholars including Sarvapali Radha Krishnan, Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave etc. 6. History of agriculture domestication of plants and animals has developed around 12,000 years ago (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ History_of_agriculture). In Indian subcontinent (about 9000 BCE) wheat, barley, sheep and goat domestication was followed. Also see Hillman GC 1996. Late Pleistocene changes in wild plant-foods available to hunter gatherers of the northern Fertile Crescent: Possible preludes to cereal cultivation. In D.R Harris (ed) The origin and spread of Agriculture and Pastoralism in Eurasia. UCL BOOKS, London pp 159-203.

 
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