A questionnaire-based study to assess the knowledge, attitude and behaviour about leprosy among paramedical staff in a tertiary care hospital in Chennai

Background: The paramedical staff has an important part in the management of leprosy patients. They have a role in counselling, wound management, performing investigations etc. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of paramedical workers in a tertiary care hospital in Chennai.Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised of 100 paramedical workers of which 41 were males and 59 were females. Following classes of workers were included: nursing staff, auxiliary nursing midwives, ASHA workers, laboratory technicians, pharmacists and allied medical workers. Of these, the nursing staff comprised of the highest proportion (44%). The paramedical workers were given a questionnaire consisting of their demographic profile and further 32 questions to assess knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards leprosy. The data hence obtained over a period of 1 month was later systematically analysed.Results: The knowledge of paramedical workers was considered sufficient in the nursing staff, ANM and ASHA workers. It was consistently found that those workers who had some experience in the field of leprosy (39%) showed good level of knowledge, while others had a scope for improvement. The paramedical workers’ attitudes and behaviour were deemed to be overall appropriate, while there is a clear need to improve outreach initiatives in order to properly train them.Conclusions: The training of paramedical workers in leprosy should be prioritised. They are the initial point of contact for patients. There should be a greater emphasis on raising awareness and providing accurate information about the disease

Finding Universal Relations using Statistical Data Analysis

We present applications of statistical data analysis methods from both bi- and multivariate statistics to find suitable sets of neutron star features that can be leveraged for accurate and EoS independent -- or universal -- relations. To this end, we investigate the ability of various correlation measures such as Distance Correlation and Mutual Information in identifying universally related pairs of neutron star features. We also evaluate relations produced by methods of multivariate statistics such as Principal Component Analysis to assess their suitability for producing universal relations with multiple independent variables. As part of our analyses, we also put forward multiple entirely novel relations, including multivariate relations for the $f$-mode frequency of neutron stars with reduced error when compared to existing, bivariate relations.Comment: 19 pages, 29 figures, 6 table

Absence in Presence: Dalit Women’s Agency, Channar Lahala, and Kerala Renaissance

In the patriarchal milieu of Kerala, the woman’s world is overshadowed by male suppression and cowed silence; the Dalit woman, however, seems to never take it lying down. As is evident from the Channar revolt of the 19th century, Dalit women have never been silent victims in history. This is in stark contrast to the upper-caste women who tend to succumb to caste patriarchy in silence. Drawing on the Channar or Shannar women’s historic revolt for the right to cover their breasts, this paper engages with the question of Dalit women\u27s agency in the social reform movements during the period of the Kerala renaissance. Dalit women have been essentialized into silence in Dalit and ‘Dalitist’ writings. The writings of gendered Dalits characterize the emergence of Dalit women’s voices in literary discourses. This paper seeks to demonstrate that the newly emergent Dalit feminism in Kerala has an unrecorded and unrecognized tradition of its own in the early caste struggles such as the Channar revolt. By problematizing the elite historians’ sanctioned silence regarding the revolt, the role Dalit women played in it and arguing how it amounts to the erasure of Dalit women’s agency in history, this paper explicates how the Dalit as female is catapulted historically into the liminality of (non- )existence. This paper seeks to rectify the erasures by surfacing the tradition of the historical assertion of the gendered caste subaltern. It is hoped that such an epistemological effort will strengthen the cause of Dalit Feminism

A study of the knowledge, attitude and behavior among patients with psoriasis vulgaris during the COVID-19 lockdown period

Background: Patients with psoriasis may have been directly impacted by the COVID-19 lockdown and this may have had a significant effect on disease severity and treatment compliance. This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude and the behavioral practices of patients with psoriasis during the lockdown period.Methods: A self-assessed questionnaire was employed for the purpose of this study and was answered by 100 patients of clinically diagnosed psoriasis.Results: Although several patients were aware of their condition and its implications, a significant number of responders were found to have a faulty treatment compliance due to the COVID-19 lockdown.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates the knowledge, attitude and behaviour during the COVID-19 lockdown period of individuals who have been clinically diagnosed with psoriasis. This study raises the possibility that the sustained psychosocial stress induced by the current pandemic can potentially lead to exacerbations or onset of common inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis. The overall compliance to dermatologic therapy was slightly poor as there were frequent concerns regarding the safety of visiting a hospital or a doctor as well as possible financial constraints. As per this study, there is an urgent need to convey the right information about managing psoriasis during the COVID-19 pandemic among both the general population and patients alike.

Scattering Theory of Kondo Mirages and Observation of Single Kondo Atom Phase Shift

We explain the origin of the Kondo mirage seen in recent quantum corral Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) experiments with a scattering theory of electrons on the surfaces of metals. Our theory combined with experimental data provides the first direct observation of a single Kondo atom phase shift. The Kondo mirage at the empty focus of an elliptical quantum corral is shown to arise from multiple electron bounces off the walls of the corral in a manner analagous to the formation of a real image in optics. We demonstrate our theory with direct quantitive comparision to experimental data.Comment: 13 pages; significant clarifications of metho