TEACHER EDUCATION STRAGIES IN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND TECHINICAL/VOCATIONAL CURRICULA. TEACHER EDUCATION STRATEGIES IN THE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEACHING OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL CURRICULA

Educational development at the present time, and the year 2006 is characterized by two main aims: to enhance the content of education by making it more relevant and to improve the teaching/learning process. In science, both these aims have given rise to a number of projects which have attempted to link together the concepts and principles into an interdisciplinary or unified whole. The curricular materials generally include materials (texts and kits) for the students and guides for the teachers, once these are worked out way in advance; often these are so closely tied to the project/curriculum that teacher not directly involved in the project concerned have been only marginally influenced. It has also been observed/noted that when the trial phase of the interdisciplinary project (during which intensive training of teachers takes place) is over, many of teachers found it difficult to sustain the rhythm of implementation for a variety of reasons, much lip-service has been paid to the fact that teachers are agents of change and that central to any development or innovation is the role that they must play in language about that change, but little has been done to develop a theoretical framework in support of this role. In this direct, Professional Development Laboratory, PDL, has been working feverishly to produce a Model. Much teaching in the past emphasized content, today, the shift away from teaching facts to teaching skills pose a challenge if not a threat to all who are engaged in this enterprise

Damping of sands for varying saturation

A series of resonant column tests have been performed in the torsional mode of vibration to assess the effect of saturation, starting from the near dry state to the fully saturated state, on the damping ratio of sands corresponding to the threshold strain level. Tests were carried out on three different gradations of sand for various combinations of relative density and effective confining pressure. For fine sands, a certain optimum degree of saturation exists at which the damping ratio minimizes; it is known that a decrease in SrSr from a fully saturated state leads to a continuous increase in the matric suction. With an increase in the relative density, the optimum degree of saturation for fine sand increases marginally from 1.38 to 1.49%, but does not show any dependency on the effective confining pressure. In contrast, the minimum values of the damping ratio for medium and coarse sands are found to always correspond to the near dry state. The damping ratio decreases continuously with increases in relative density and effective confining pressure. The threshold strain level has been found to decrease continuously with increases in relative density and effective confining pressure.<br/

Photocatalytic activity of TiO2 doped with Zn2+ and V5+ transition metal ions: Influence of crystallite size and dopant electronic configuration on photocatalytic activity

Anatase TiO2 was prepared by sol-gel method through the hydrolysis of titanium tetrachloride and doped with transition metal ions like V5+ and Zn2+. The photocatalysts were characterized by various analytical techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction studies revealed only anatase phase for the doped samples. The band gap absorption for the doped samples showed red shift to the visible region (â¼456 nm) as confirmed by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance spectral studies. The surface area of the Zn2+ doped samples were higher than the V5+ doped samples as observed by BET surface area measurements due to their smaller crystallite size. Scanning electron microscopy showed almost similar morphology, while energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed the presence of dopant in the TiO2 matrix. The photocatalytic activities of these catalysts were tested for the degradation of Congo Red under solar light. Although both the doped samples showed similar red shift in the band gap, Zn2+ (0.06 at.) doped TiO2 showed enhanced activity and its efficiency was five fold higher compared to Degussa P-25 TiO2. This enhanced activity was attributed to smaller crystallite size and larger surface area. Further completely filled stable electronic configuration (d10) of Zn2+ shallowly traps the charge carriers and detraps the same to the surface adsorbed species thereby accelerating the interfacial charge transfer process. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Photocatalytic activity of V5+, Mo6+ and Th4+ doped polycrystalline TiO2 for the degradation of chlorpyrifos under UV/solar light

TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared by doping transition metal ions like V5+, Mo6+and an inner transition metal Th4+ in the concentration range of 0.02-0.1 and were characterized by various analytical techniques. The photocatalytic activities of these catalysts were studied for the mineralization of chlorpyrifos (CP) as a probe molecule. X-ray diffraction results showed only anatase phase irrespective of nature, oxidation state and concentration of these dopants. The photocatalytic activity of undoped TiO2 showed a better activity under UV light compared to doped catalysts. Under solar light illumination, the Th4+ (0.06)-TiO2 showed highest activity for the mineralization of CP. This was attributed to the prolonged separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, high specific surface area of the catalyst and high concentration of surface adsorbed water/hydroxyl groups. Further large shift in the absorption band (460 and 482 nm) due to the creation of mid band gap states by Th4+ dopant and also by its small crystallite size additionally contributes to the enhancement of the degradation process. The degradation pathway was followed by UV-vis spectroscopic and GC-MS analysis. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of Surana Modaka in Arshas

Arshas (haemorrhoids) is the commonest condition among the anorectal diseases in our day-to-day practice in terms of incidence. It is a very disagreeable condition for the patient and often creates restlessness. This disease has no particular sectorial affinity and is equally distributed throughout the world. Modern Science has very little to offer in terms of medicinal treatments of haemorrhoids. Prevalent modern para-surgical measures have been enumerated. Surgical techniques of performing haemorrhoidectomy are many and their complications such as pain, anal incontinence, stricture etc. are well known. Management of Arshas only on Ayurvedic lines seems to be more appropriate. Sushruta, basically a surgeon described four principal therapeutic measures in the management of Arshas, viz. medicinal, chemical cauterization, thermal cauterization and surgical excision. It may be pointed out here that enumeration of these measures in a definite order is suggestive of similar methods to be preferred first. By keeping all these principles in mind, a herbal formulation by name Surana Modaka is prepared to see its efficacy in Arshas

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of transition metal ions Mn2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ doped polycrystalline titania for the degradation of Aniline Blue under UV/solar light

Anatase TiO2 was doped with divalent transition metal ions like Mn2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ and characterized by various analytical techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction revealed stabilization of anatase phase for Ni2+ and Zn2+ doped samples, while phase transformation from anatase to rutile was promoted due to Mn2+ inclusion. The rutile fraction increased with Mn2+ concentration due to the creation of surface oxygen vacancies. All the doped catalysts showed red shift in the band gap absorption to the visible region. The photocatalytic activities of these catalysts were evaluated in the degradation of Aniline Blue (AB) under UV/solar light. Among the photocatalysts, Mn2+ (0.06 at.)-TiO2 showed enhanced activity, which is attributed to the synergistic effect in the bicrystalline framework of anatase and rutile. Further the unique half filled electronic structure of Mn2+ serves as a shallow trap for the charge carriers to enhance the photocatalytic activity. An insight to the mechanism of interfacial charge transfer in the mixed phase of anatase and rutile is explored, taking into consideration the theories of previous models. © 2010 Elsevier B.V

Some Identities for Ramanujan-Göllnitz-Gordon Continued Fraction

In this paper, we obtain certain P--Q eta--function identities, using which we establish identities providing modular relations between Ramanujan-Göllnitz-Gordon continued fraction H(q) and H(q^n) for n= 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 23, 25, 29 and 55

Comparative In-vitro Anthelmintic Activity of the Latex of Ficus religinosa, Ficus elastica and Ficus bengalensis

The World Health Organization estimates that a staggering two billion people harbor parasitic worm infections. Parasitic worms also infect livestock and crops, affecting food production with a resultant economic impact. The three plants present in the study are Ficus religinosa, Ficus elastica and Ficus bengalensis. They belong to the family Moraceae and are traditionally used for various diseases. Our aim was to investigate the anthelmintic activity of the latex of three plants. The latex of the plants was taken for anthelmintic activity against Indian earthworm Pheritima posthuma. Various species of the ficus latex was tested and results were expressed in terms of time for paralysis and time for death of worms. Metronidazole (10mg/ml) was used as a reference standard and distilled water as a control group. From the results of this study found that the three plants possess anthelmintic activity but Ficus religinosa shows more activities compared to others.Key words: F.religinosa, F.elastica, F.bengalensis, Metronidazole, Anthelmintic activity, latex B.N. Vedha Hari et al. Comparative In-vitro Anthelmintic Activity of the Latex of Ficus religinosa, Ficus elastica and Ficus bengalensis. J Phytol 3/3 (2011) 26-30

Preliminary Phytochemical and Anti-Arthritic Activity of an Ayurvedic Formulation -Yogaraja Gulgulu

Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful and crippling systemic disease for which there is no cure. Ayurveda is becoming popular with more and more people accepting its holistic approach to healing. The anti-arthritic activity of an ayurvedic formulation Yogaraja gulgulu was studied in rats. The formulation was then subjected for preliminary phytochemical studies and pharmacological investigation. The anti-arthritic activity was carried out by Fruend’s adjuant arthritis model. The ayurvedic formulation has exhibited significant anti-arthritic activity. The phytoconstituents screening reveals the presence of required component for anti-arthritic activity. The present study concludes that the yogaraja gulgulu can be used as anti-arthritic drug. Key words: Yogaraja gulgulu, arthritis, adjuant, indomethacin A.Puratchikody et al. Preliminary Phytochemical and Anti-Arthritic Activity of an Ayurvedic Formulation -Yogaraja Gulgulu. J Phytol 3/3 (2011) 31-36

Incidence and factors associated with flare-ups in a post graduate programme in the indian population

Objectives: The study had twin objectives: to assess the incidence of flare-ups (a severe problem requiring an unscheduled visit and treatment) among patients who received endodontic treatment in the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics in Vyas Dental college and hospital, Jodhpur during a period of one year, and also to examine the correlation with pre-operative and operative variables. Material and Methods: Data was collected from 1023 teeth from 916 patients who had received endodontic treatment over a 12- month period. Information was obtained for each patient treated, including pulp and peri-radicular diagnosis for the tooth, presence of pre-operatory pain, type of medication being used, type of instrumentation technique used and number of appointments needed to complete the root canal treatment. Results: The results showed an incidence of 2.35% for flare-ups from 1023 endodontically treated teeth. Statistical analysis was done using the chi-square test. Conclusions: Flare-ups were found to be affected significantly by gender of patient, presence of radiolucent lesions, patients taking pre-operative analgesic or anti-inflammatory drugs and on type of instrumentation technique. In contrast, there was no correlation between flare-ups and age, different arch/tooth groups and single or multiple visit endodontics