Construction of environmental knowledge: experiences from India

This paper explored key issues in how knowledge of the environment is constructed in the Third World. Drawing on which, it showed that there are both explicit and implicit ways in which this knowledge is contested. Particularly, it discussed how implicit forms of contestation are problematic in Third World economies because they are exclusionary and also where such issues become ‘headlines’ only after environmental damage and accompanying social injustices have resulted. It concludes by raising crucial questions for environmental research in the Third World where there is limited role of governments and communities in protecting their environment

GUI system for Elders/Patients in Intensive Care

In the old age, few people need special care if they are suffering from specific diseases as they can get stroke while they are in normal life routine. Also patients of any age, who are not able to walk, need to be taken care of personally but for this, either they have to be in hospital or someone like nurse should be with them for better care. This is costly in terms of money and man power. A person is needed for 24x7 care of these people. To help in this aspect we purposes a vision based system which will take input from the patient and will provide information to the specified person, who is currently may not in the patient room. This will reduce the need of man power, also a continuous monitoring would not be needed. The system is using MS Kinect for gesture detection for better accuracy and this system can be installed at home or hospital easily. The system provides GUI for simple usage and gives visual and audio feedback to user. This system work on natural hand interaction and need no training before using and also no need to wear any glove or color strip.Comment: In proceedings of the 4th IEEE International Conference on International Technology Management Conference, Chicago, IL USA, 12-15 June, 201

Evaluation of Lightning Impulse Voltages Superimposed with Oscillations and Overshoot using the Test Voltage Function

The frequency and amplitude of the superimposed oscillations or overshoot near the peak in Lighting Impulse (LI) voltage have an influence on the 50% Break-Down Voltage (BDV). The evaluation of test voltage incorporating frequency dependent test voltage function known as -factor takes the physical breakdown behaviour of the different dielectric materials. The paper presents two methods for implementation of -factor and the complete procedure to evaluate the test voltage magnitude and time parameters of lightning impulse voltage waveform. The first method is based on mean curve approach using Double Exponential (DE) function whereas second method uses Single Exponential (SE) function fitting on the tail of the measured impulse. The standard IEC 61083-2 Test Data Generator (TDG) waveforms are used for evaluation and comparison of these methods

Excess compressibility and excess volume studies in the binary mixtures of methyl and ethyl acetate in O-chlorophenol at different temperatures

Ultrasonic velocity and density measurements have been carried out in the binary mixtures of methyl acetate (MA) and ethyl acetate (EA) in O-chlorophenol (OCP) at 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, 318.15 and 323.15 K. From the experimental data, the excess thermodynamical parameters such as excess adiabatic compressibility (β), excess intermolecular free length (L) and excess molar volume (VE) have been calculated. The results have been interpreted in terms of intermolecular interactions leading to complex formation through the formation of hydrogen bonds between the component molecules of the mixture

Post-Operative Analgesia: A Comparative study of Intrathecal Bupivacaine with Buprenorphine and Intrathecal Bupivacaine with Midazolam

INTRODUCTION: Pain is one of the commonest and most unpleasant symptom that leads the patient to seek medical advice and whatever may be the cause it demands relief. Pain is a sensation which produces a reaction consisting of withdrawal response ,metabolic response, hormonal response and conscious aversion. Pain has been defined by IASP [International association for study of pain] as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage .The relief of post-operative pain is a subject which has been receiving an increasing amount of attention in the past few years. Pain relief is necessary for 1.Humanitarian and 2. Therapeutic reasons. Pain relief must be 1.Effective 2.Safe 3.feasible Post operative pain relief is important in reducing the morbidity after surgery. Pain causes peripheral vasoconstriction, reduces functional residual capacity andsputum clearance. Post operative pain relief has the following advantages-it can reduce the metabolic response to trauma, thus may prevent negative nitrogen balance. Moreover the pain relieved patient has better mobility with reduced incidence of chest infections and deep vein thrombosis. Patients with Hypertension and ischemic heart disease, when allowed to experience pain in the post operative period may develop a reactionary rise in blood pressure, tachycardia and may go for subendocardial ischemia, infarction, hence the need for post operative pain relief. Spinal anaesthesia continues to be one of the commonest regional anaesthetic techniques because of rapid onset, safety and simplicity. The use of neuraxial additive drugs with local anaesthetic agents has proved to exert synergistic action hence the various combinations have been tried. Studies on tissue compatibility (eg.) CSF indicate that buprenorphine and Midazolammay safely be adminsiterd epidurally and intrathecally. The use of neuraxial additive drugs have shown that this method of Pain relief provide prolonged segmental analgesia without systemic side effects of narcotics or the sensory, motor or autonomic block seen with regional anaesthetic techniques for pain relief. Since many Orthopaedic operations are performed frequently under sub arachnoid block it was decided to assess and compare the post-operative analgesia and side effects of buprenorphine and midazolam co-administered separately with subarachnoid anaesthetic agents like bupivacaine where longer duration of pain relief is required. AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the Post –operative analgesic effects of Intrathecal Bupivacaine with Buprenorphine and Intrathecal Bupivacaine with Midazolam following Orthopaedic Surgeries (lower limbs). The parameters that were analysed are, 1. Duration of analgesia, 2. Quality and adequacy of analgesia as per the visual analog scale, 3. Effects of Drugs on Cardio-Respiratory and Central Nervous System, 4. Undesirable side effects like Motor Weakness, Urinary retention, nausea and vomiting, Neurological dysfunction and allergic reaction(like pruritus). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The prospective clinical study was conducted at the Govt. Stanley Medical College Hospital, Chennai-1, in 75 adult patients undergoing elective Lower Limb Orthopaedic Surgery. The hospital ethical committee approved this study and informed consent was obtained from each patient. Study Design: An open, randomised, comparative parallel group design was employed. Inclusion criteria: 1. ASA 1 & II. 2. AGE 18-65. 3. Orthopaedic procedures of Lower Limbs. Exclusion criteria: 1. ASA III & IV. 2. Bleeding diathesis. 3. Spinal Deformity. 4. Age 65 years. 5. CNS disorder. 6. Local anaesthetic sensitivity. 7. Local Sepsis. SUMMARY: A clinical study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy, duration of pain relief and to know the quality of post-operative analgesia provided by neuraxial additives added to local anaesthetic agents. The study was undertaken in 75 patients of ASA I and II posted for lower limb orthopaedic surgery for post operative pain relief Group-A. 25 patients received only 3.0ml of hyperbaric 15mg (3ml) preservative free bupivacaine +0.4ml of 0.9% normal saline intrathecally. Group B - 25 patients 3.0ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (Preservative free) +0.12 mg(0.4ml) of buprenorphine (Preservative free) given intrathecally. Group C - 25 patients - 3.0ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (Preservative free) + 2mg (0.4ml) of Midazolam (Preservative free) given intrathecally. The onset time of analgesia in all three groups was 2½ - 4 minutes. The highest level of analgesia in all three group was upto T6 level. The motor blockade (Grade III) was upto three hours in these groups. The incidence of hypotension, bradycardia and pruitus were very low. The post-operative analgesia was upto 12 hours in Group B (S.D.59.46) and upto 6 hours in Group C (S.D.45.72). Spinal buprenorphine is better than spinal midazolam in that it is useful for patients who require a longer period of pain relief in the Post-operative period and is not associated with significant Cardiovascular, Respiratory (or) Central Nervous system side effects. Spinal opiate analgesia is better than parenteral opiates in that a smaller dose is sufficient, thereby reducing the side effects and the patients are not unduly sedated and the duration of analgesia is much longer than the parenteral route thereby avoiding repeated injections. Spinal opiates score over spinal local anaesthetics in that there is no motor block which is unwanted in post-operative patients. The sympathetic block they produce may result in hypotension and importantly the duration of action of spinal opiates is much longer than spinal local anaesthetics. The best drug amongst the spinal opiates is yet to be defined. Most of the studies have been done with morphine which is a hydrophilic drug and a liphophilic drug like buprenorphine has a definite edge as better concentration are achieved in the spinal cord and very little is left in CSF curtailing its rostral spread and depression of vital centers. The optimal dose for an intrathecal administration is lesser than the doses for epidural route. The addition of buprenorphine to the local anaesthetic agent bupivacine has not interfered with its action as for as duration of action, level of analgesia, the quality of the motor and sensory blockade (or) incidence of intra-operative complication like bradycardia, hypotension, nausea, vomiting etc. is considered. A single intrathecal injection of buprenorphine with bupivacaine has produced not only a satisfactory anaesthesia but also a prolonged post operative analgesia upto 12 hours, thereby avoiding the repeated im or IV injections and also improving the morale of the patient. Buprenorphine 0.12mg (Preservative free) with heavy bupivacaine 15mg (0.5%) (Preservative free) is safe, cheap and provides good, and prolonged post operative analgesia without any significant side effects, compared to other available techniques. This correlates with the studies done by Sen Lipp M (1987). CONCLUSION: Buprenorphine 0.12mg (0.4 ml preservative free) with hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine 15mg (preservative free) given by intrathecal route is safe, cheap and provides good and prolonged postoperative analgesia without any significant side effects when compared to midazolam 2 mg (0.4 ml preservative free) with hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine 15mg (preservative free) given by intrathecal route. So this combination can be used for providing prolonged post-operative analgesia for lower limb orthopaedic surgeries. None of the patients had any respiratory depression, but few patients had nausea and vomiting in the intra and post-operative period which was not severe. Urinary Retention (8%) and Pruritus (4%) was reported in a small percentage of patients in Group B

Development, implementation and evaluation of the online Movement, Interaction and Nutrition for Greater Lifestyles in the Elderly (MINGLE) program: The protocol for a pilot trial

Introduction People with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are more likely to experience loneliness, have poorer diets and be less physically active than people without AMD. The online Movement, Interaction and Nutrition for Greater Lifestyles in the Elderly (MINGLE) program is a holistic evidence-based intervention aiming to support people with AMD by incorporating physical activity, social interaction and nutrition education components all delivered via a COVID-19-safe Zoom platform. This study will involve two phases: 1) a formative qualitative study with AMD patients to identify the barriers and facilitators to participating in the proposed MINGLE program; and 2) a 10-week pilot study to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of MINGLE. Methods and analysis Phase 1 involves AMD patients who will be recruited from an eye clinic in Western Sydney, Australia to participate in audio-recorded semi-structured interviews. Verbatim interview transcripts will be coded using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour (COMB) model and themes established. These themes will be used as a guide to specifically tailor the proposed MINGLE program to people with AMD. Phase 2 involves 52 AMD patients who will then be recruited from the same clinic to participate in the MINGLE program. Prepost questionnaires will be administered to intervention participants to collect information on the following variables: demographics, socioeconomic status, vision function, loneliness, quality of life (including depression), falls risk, physical activity (level), and dietary intake. The acceptability and feasibility of the MINGLE program will also be evaluated using descriptive statistics

Geometric quantum computation using fictitious spin- 1/2 subspaces of strongly dipolar coupled nuclear spins

Geometric phases have been used in NMR, to implement controlled phase shift gates for quantum information processing, only in weakly coupled systems in which the individual spins can be identified as qubits. In this work, we implement controlled phase shift gates in strongly coupled systems, by using non-adiabatic geometric phases, obtained by evolving the magnetization of fictitious spin-1/2 subspaces, over a closed loop on the Bloch sphere. The dynamical phase accumulated during the evolution of the subspaces, is refocused by a spin echo pulse sequence and by setting the delay of transition selective pulses such that the evolution under the homonuclear coupling makes a complete $2\pi$ rotation. A detailed theoretical explanation of non-adiabatic geometric phases in NMR is given, by using single transition operators. Controlled phase shift gates, two qubit Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm and parity algorithm in a qubit-qutrit system have been implemented in various strongly dipolar coupled systems obtained by orienting the molecules in liquid crystal media.Comment: 37 pages, 17 figure

Investigation on Tensile and Flexural Strength of KOH Treated Ridge Gourd Fiber-Polyester Resin Composite

Abstract- Natural fiber is abundantly availing in nature. Nowadays this is used in composite materials. In general ridge gourd fiber is very strength material due to its woven. So this fiber is using in composites. Here potassium hydroxide (KOH) treated ridge gourd fiber is used in composite. One of the traditional methods, hand lay – up method is to use for preparing ridge gourd fiber reinforcing polyester composite. Specimens are to be test as per ASTM standards. Tensile and flexural strength are analyzed and optimize the parameters. Then, the fractured surfaces are analyzed with the help of SEM images. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150312