Analyzing the students\u27 learning behaviour for a technical course during COVID-19

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the learning behaviour of students towards a technical course in the two learning modes, remote learning (online) and in-person learning (offline). Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in India, the educational fraternity has successfully reached out to the students using the various virtual tools available. Although, the offline mode of teaching-learning i.e. the actual classroom interaction is quite important as far as a technical course is concerned, but during these tough times the online platforms like Zoom, Webex meetings, Google meet have made the teaching-learning feasible remotely at any time from any place. This paper compares the learning behaviour of students in the two modes, emergency virtual mode and offline mode. A total of 213 Bachelors of Engineering (BE) students studying a technical course, Modern and Computational Physics, participated in the survey and their responses based on a questionnaire were recorded. The questionnaire considered all aspects related to the delivery of contents, the evaluation method, the preferred way of clarifying students’ doubts, course difficulty level and duration of the course. The analysis suggests that 72.3% of students are in favour of learning this course using offline mode, while 27.7 % of students are comfortable with virtual online mode. Furthermore, the present study reveals that 95.7%, 95.3%, and 75.1 % of students are congenial with the offline mode in terms of teacher competency, content delivery, and interaction possibility respectively, whereas 85%, 76.9% and 48.4% of students are congenial with the remote online mode in terms of same parameters. The higher magnitude of average mean value for offline mode (3.99) anticipates its dominance over online mode (3.18). More than 50% students favoured online mode along with multiple choice question papers for the evaluation process irrespective of their preference to offline mode for teaching-learning. Based on the present analysis, some recommendations are proposed as the future strategies to improve the performance of teaching-learning activities during the times of crisis

Mass and Number and Its Chemical Composition Distribution of Particulate Matter in Different Microenvironments

Adverse health effects from exposure to air pollution are a global challenge and of widespread concern. Therefore, the present study attempted to pave the way in the study of indoor air pollution by coarse and fine particulate matter and picturesque its relation with the different indoor microenvironment. A campaign study was conducted in the city of Taj “Agra,” India in which different microenvironments were selected (i.e., offices, shops, and commercial centers). For each site, two different locations were chosen to examine the coarse particles (PM10 and PM5.0) and fine particles (PM2.5, PM1.0, PM0.5 and PM0.25) concentrations and metal concentration of Zn, Pb, Ni, Fe, Cr, Cd, Mg and Cu in PM2.5 and for their related health effects. The exposure factor and health risk assessment for carcinogenic effects due to heavy metal contaminants have also been calculated for adults working in different microenvironment by following the methodology prescribed by US EPA

Influence of Microenvironments and Personal Activities on Personal PM_2.5 Exposures among Children and Adults

Environmental issues are a major worldwide problem of significant concern. Due to the growing human population and advancement in every sector, the environmental related issues are multiplying in recent years. Scalable exposures assessments approach that captures personal exposure to particles for purposes of epidemiology are currently limited, but very valuable especially for a country like India. The high levels of indoor particulate matter and the apparent scale of its impact on the global burden of disease underline the importance of particulate as an environmental health risk and the need for monitoring them. Human exposure especially to fine particles can have significant harmful effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular system. To investigate daily exposure characteristics to PM2.5 with ambient concentrations in an urban environment, personal exposure measurements were conducted for different age groups of people residing in different indoor environments. To account for PM2.5 exposure and measurements personal environment monitors (PEM) and medium volume sampler APM 550 was used to measure PM2.5 concentration. On comparing the annual average PM2.5 concentration with National Ambient Air Quality and WHO standards the concentrations were found to be many folds higher for personal and ambient monitoring at homes, schools, and offices. Moreover, the questionnaire data study explains the fact that the health hazards experienced by occupants linked to various activity patterns pose a greater risk in different indoor environments as compared to outdoor environments. The presented research method and analysis can help develop environmental awareness in identifying these pollutants and can also help in elucidating these contaminants. A real understanding of these possible causes of airborne contaminant is crucial for selecting and developing suitable and effective control methods

AR-A 014418 Used against GSK3beta Downregulates Expression of hnRNPA1 and SF2/ASF Splicing Factors

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive forms of primary brain tumors of glial cells, including aberrant regulation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) and splicing factors deregulation. Here, we investigate the role of small molecule AR-A014418 and Manzamine A against GSK3 kinase with factual control on splicing regulators. AR-A 014418, 48 hrs posttreatment, caused dose (25–100 μM) dependent inhibition in U373 and U87 cell viability with also inhibition in activating tyrosine phosphorylation of GSK3alpha (Tyr 279) and beta (Tyr 216). Furthermore, inhibition of GSK3 kinase resulted in significant downregulation of splicing factors (SRSF1, SRSF5, PTPB1, and hnRNP) in U87 cells with downregulation of antiapoptotic genes such as BCL2, BCL-xL, Survivin, MCL1, and BMI1. Similarly, downregulation of splicing factors was also observed in U373 glioma cell after using SiRNA against AKT and GSK3beta kinase. In addition, potential roles of AR-A014418 in downregulation of splicing factors were reflected with decrease in Anxa7 (VA) variant and increase in Anxa7 WT tumor suppressor transcript and protein. The above results suggest that inhibition of GSK3beta kinase activation could be the beneficial strategy to inhibit the occurrence of alternative cancer escape pathway via downregulating the expression of splicing regulators as well as apoptosis

AR-A 014418 Used against GSK3beta Downregulates Expression of hnRNPA1 and SF2/ASF Splicing Factors

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive forms of primary brain tumors of glial cells, including aberrant regulation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3 ) and splicing factors deregulation. Here, we investigate the role of small molecule AR-A014418 and Manzamine A against GSK3 kinase with factual control on splicing regulators. AR-A 014418, 48 hrs posttreatment, caused dose (25-100 M) dependent inhibition in U373 and U87 cell viability with also inhibition in activating tyrosine phosphorylation of GSK3alpha (Tyr 279) and beta (Tyr 216). Furthermore, inhibition of GSK3 kinase resulted in significant downregulation of splicing factors (SRSF1, SRSF5, PTPB1, and hnRNP) in U87 cells with downregulation of antiapoptotic genes such as BCL2, BCL-xL, Survivin, MCL1, and BMI1. Similarly, downregulation of splicing factors was also observed in U373 glioma cell after using SiRNA against AKT and GSK3beta kinase. In addition, potential roles of AR-A014418 in downregulation of splicing factors were reflected with decrease in Anxa7 (VA) variant and increase in Anxa7 WT tumor suppressor transcript and protein. The above results suggest that inhibition of GSK3beta kinase activation could be the beneficial strategy to inhibit the occurrence of alternative cancer escape pathway via downregulating the expression of splicing regulators as well as apoptosis

Composition of rain water in Agra city, a semi-arid area in India

49-55Rainwater samples were collected at St. John's crossing during the monsoon period of 2000. The cations (Ca2+, Mg2+,Na+, K+ and NH4+) and anions (F¯, Cl¯, HCO3¯, NO3¯ and SO42¯) along with pH were measured. The percentage contribution of soil components (Ca2+, Mg2+,Na+, K+) and NH4+ are observed to be higher than the acidic substances. The ratio of F¯/ Ca2+, Mg2+/ Ca2+, Na+/ Ca2+ and NO3¯/ Ca2+ in rainwater samples indicates that local soil plays a significant role in precipitation chemistry. Hence, soil dust is responsible for neutralization of wet deposition. The data were also subjected to factor analysis based on principal component analysis using the SPSS software. Factor analysis also indicates that the soil as well as dust emission is the major contributor to rainwater composition