Biodegradation of rocket propellant waste, ammonium perchlorate

The short term effects of ammonium perchlorate on selected organisms were studied. A long term experiment was also designed to assess the changes incurred by ammonium perchlorate on the nitrogen and chloride contents of soil within a period of 3 years. In addition, an attempt was made to produce methane gas from anaerobic fermentation of the aquatic weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides

Satlc model lesson for teaching and learning complex environmental issues related to the thermodynamics

Environmental chemistry is one of the disciplines of Science. For the goal of the deep learning of the subject, it is indispensable to present perception and models of chemical behaviour explicitly. This can be accomplished by giving careful consideration to the development of concepts such that newer approaches are given contemplation, taking in consideration participation of students. Students, well versed in issues which integrate to enhance vital concepts, are thus able to understand nature and help us to discover means to view the impact of industrialization on the well being of mankind. Understanding environmental chemistry needs quality teaching at undergraduate stage of students learning. In the absence of necessary input of biological sciences, mathematics, statistics, along with the parameters of analytical and physical chemistry, students often find environmental chemistry a difficult subject. It is therefore desirable that the practice of disseminating knowledge related to environmental chemistry must avoid the tradition of presenting the necessary information separated from each other. The lectures should be designed in such a way that they provide the complete description of any issue debated in the class room. The students have not to be encouraged to address the issue in a sphere of limited knowledge. It is suggested that the teachers organize their lectures in such a way that the student get involved in the class. This essential scenario can only develop when the knowledge is transferred through Systemic diagrams. Recently concept based teaching methodology; namely systemic approach to teaching and learning chemistry (SATLC) has been employed to highlight the connectivity between some environmental issues and the disciplines of Physical Chemistry. [African Journal of Chemical Education—AJCE 5(2), July 2015

Mapping exercise of mental health research and researchers in Pakistan

OBJECTIVE: To systematically identify mental health research and researchers in Pakistan. Subsidiary objectives were to identify methodologies of studies published in the indexed journals along with their country wide mean impact factor. METHODS: A systematic search strategy using key words related to neuropsychiatry was carried out to identify various studies published in Indexed and Non-indexed databases. RESULTS: We identified 108 studies from Indexed data bases (77.8% Medline; 22.2% PsychInfo). Beside these, 51 studies were also identified from non-indexed databases. Among the indexed articles, 97 (89.8%) were Journal articles while 10 were other type of documents--there were 3 clinical trials of which only one was a randomized controlled trial. The mean Impact Factor (IF) of these studies was 2.75 (Range; 2.21-3.29). The median IF was 2.90. The most preferred journal for publication was the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association (JPMA; N = 33) followed by British Journal of Psychiatry (B J Psych; N = 11) and Journal of College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan (JCPSP; N = 9). From the indexed and non-indexed publications we identified 43 researchers. Among these 34 (80%) were psychiatrists. CONCLUSION: The key finding of this mental health research mapping exercise is that mental health research output from Pakistan is low both in numbers and quality, with very few studies making it to high impact international journals. There is an urgent need to strengthen research capacity in areas of mental health at individual, organizational and macro-system levels

Medical school teaching on interprofessional relationships between primary and social care to enhance communication and integration of care – a pilot study

Background: A pilot study to identify if the delivery of teaching session to medical students would have the potential to enhance communication and a culture of integration between primary and social care, ultimately improving interprofessional relationships between primary and social care. Health and social care integration is a topic of great debate in the developed world and the focus of the upcoming Green Paper by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the NHS. There is much uncertainty to how this should be done and is hindered by the various current barriers. The literature identifies that collaborative cultures encourage effective interprofessional relationships and that communication is vital to integration of primary and social care and should be established early in medical training. Materials and Method: The General Medical Council’s Outcomes for Graduates and Imperial College School of Medicine curriculum were reviewed out to identify outcomes relating to inter-professional relationships between primary and social care. The relevant year group was surveyed to identify if the learning objective was delivered. In order to determine if delivery of a teaching session on nurturing interprofessional relationships between primary and social care would be effective, it was delivered to early clinical years to measure benefits as a pilot study. This was devised of case-based scenarios derived from learning objectives developed with experienced health care professionals. A survey was administered before and after the teaching session to determine if the students felt they had improved with respect to the learning objectives. Results: The initial survey identified the majority of students found the learning objectives were not delivered. The teaching session found a statistically significant improvement in confidence to nurture interprofessional relationships between primary and social care. Conclusion: Effective interprofessional relationships between primary and social care, improving communication and collaborative cultures, can be effectively taught in medical school, to improve integration of primary and social care

The general practice perspective on barriers to integration between primary and social care: a London, United Kingdom-based qualitative interview study

Objective: There is an ongoing challenge of effective integration between primary and social care in the United Kingdom; current systems have led to fragmentation of services preventing holistic patient-centred care for vulnerable populations. To improve clinical outcomes and achieve financial efficiencies, the barriers to integration need to be identified and addressed. This study aims to explore the unique perspectives of frontline staff (General Practitioners and Practice Managers) towards these barriers to integration. Design: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to obtain results. Setting: General Practices within London. Participants: 18 General Practitioners (GPs) and 7 Practice Managers (PMs) based in London with experience of working with social care. Results: The study identified three overarching themes where frontline staff believed problems exist: accessing social services, interprofessional relationships, and infrastructure. Issues with contacting staff from other sectors creates delays in referrals for patient care and perpetuates existing logistical challenges. Likewise, professionals noted a hostile working culture between sectors that has resulted in silo working mentalities. In addition to staff being overworked as well as often inefficient multidisciplinary team meetings, poor relationships across sectors cause a diffusion of responsibility, impacting the speed with which patient requests are responded to. Furthermore, participants identified that a lack of interoperability between Information Systems, lack of pooled budgets and misaligned incentives between managerial staff compound the infrastructural divide between both sectors. Conclusion: In this study, primary care staff identify intangible barriers to integration such as poor interprofessional relationships, in addition to more well-described structural issues such as insufficient funding and difficulty accessing social care. Participants believe educating the next generation of medical professionals may lead to the development of collaborative, instead of siloed, working cultures and that change is needed at both an interpersonal and institutional level to successfully integrate care

Production Potential of Different Pasture Grasses under Off-Season Rainfall in Arid Conditions of Bikaner, India

Livestock rearing is the important source of livelihood in arid region of Rajasthan where the crop production is unstable due to low and erratic rainfall. The rangelands and pastures are important land use system and provide main support to the livestock in the arid region of Rajasthan. Grazing of livestock is a common practice in arid zone as about 50 % of total area of western Rajasthan is available for grazing mainly for cows, sheep and goat, however, the availability of green fodder is restricted to monsoon and post monsoon months only and during rest of the period livestock graze on dry grasses and crop residues available in cultivated, fallow and wastelands and other grazing lands. The perennial grasses like Lasiurus sindicus, Cenchrus ciliaris, C. setigerus, Panicum turgidum, P. antidotale etc. with some annuals are dominated in the rangelands and pastures in the arid zone of Rajasthan. Generally these grasses are grown during rainy season but also regenerated during off-season condition when sufficient moisture is available through rainfall or irrigation and provide fodder during the lean period. Productivity of these pasture grasses were assessed during rainy season but information of the production potential during off-season is not available in literature. Therefore, present study was conducted during March to May 2015 at Arid Region Campus of CSWRI, Bikaner to assess the production potential and regeneration of different grasses during off-season under arid condition

General practitioners\u27 awareness and management of common psychiatric disorders: a community-based survey from Karachi, Pakistan

This study assessed the knowledge and management of common psychiatric disorders by general practitioners (GPs) in Karachi, Pakistan. Structured interviews were carried out in 2009 with 360 GPs selected by cluster random sampling. Patients with psychiatric disorders were estimated to be up to 10% of the daily caseload according to 71.8% of doctors. Two-thirds of GPs were unaware of the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for depression and anxiety disorders. Benzodiazepines were the most recognized category of medication (75.3%) and were the most commonly used medication for all mental health conditions. Fewer GPs were familiar with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (35.1%) or tricyclic antidepressants (20.2%). Lack of time and patients\u27 financial constraints were reported to be barriers to care. Most GPs (69.2%) had not received any recent medical education about mental health problems. Gaps in GPs\u27 knowledge about the management of mental disorders have implications for the rational use of psychotropic medications in primary care