Solid waste - its ecoepidemiological impact

Poor handling of solid waste is an unrecognised area of community development, with the potential risk at Pondicherry alarming in terms of public health, morbidity and loss of productivity. An earlier study on children (Khan et al. 1993) exposed the risk in terms of both morbidity and mortality. An epidemiological, case-control study was conducted. An assessment of health risk on exposure to solid waste is done. A high incidence rate indicated the impact of exposures on disease frequency. An individually manageable cost-effective, waste treatment technique - vermicomposting is advocated

Identification of mangrove water quality by multivariate statistical analysis methods in Pondicherry coast, India

Different multivariate statistical analysis such as, cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and multidimensional scale plot were employed to evaluate the trophic status of water quality for four monitoring stations. The present study was carried out to determine the physicochemical parameters of water and sediment characteristics of Pondicherry mangroves— southeast coast of India, during September 2008– December 2010. Seasonal variations of different parameters investigated were as follows: salinity (10.26–35.20 psu), dissolved oxygen (3.71–5.33 mg/L), pH (7.05– 8.36), electrical conductivity (26.41–41.33 ms−1), sulfide (1.98–40.43 mg/L), sediment texture sand (39.54– 87.31%), silt (9.89–32.97%), clay (3.06–31.20%), and organic matter (0.94–4.64%). pH, temperature, salinity, sand, silt, clay, and organic matter indicated a correlation at P<0.01

Influence of Environmental Parameters on the Distribution and Diversity of Molluscan Composition in Pondicherry Mangroves, Southeast Coast of India

Seasonal variation in the distribution of mollusks in relation to environmental parameters was studied at four mangrove stations on the Pondicherry coast during September 2008-August 2009. A total of 37 species of molluscs were recorded, among them 16 species of bivalves belonging to 7 families and 12 Genera, and 21 species of gastropods belonging to 14 families and 19 Genera, with the Cereithedia cingulata being the dominant group. An increase of species density and diversity in the Post monsoon season was observed, with the highest values for both indexes at stations 1 and 2, and the lowest at stations 3 and 4 fine where the sand assemblage was dominated by a few gastropods. Pollution indicator species Cassidula nucleus, Melampus ceylonicus, Sphaerassiminea minuta were found only in highly polluted regions near stations 3 and 4; they were totally absent in moderately polluted areas near stations 1 and 2. From a stepwise multivariate analysis of the different environmental parameters regarding molluscan density, it was found that in all 10 parameters govern the density variation of benthic mollusks in Pondicherry mangroves and that the organic matter of sediment and sulphide, DO, and salinity were the highly significant ones

Teacher perspectives on value creation and learning in South African eco-schools: an evaluative review of teacher support processes in an eco-school professional learning community

The study is framed within the broader policy context of teacher professional development and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Department of Higher Education (DHET) strategy to support the development of Professional Learning Communities. Teacher Education and Development initiatives in South Africa face multiple challenges, with the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education in South Africa: 2011-2025 (ISFPTED) (South Africa, DBE, 2011) providing guidance on priority interventions to address these, including guidance on continuous teacher professional development through teacher education support in professional learning communities. The Eco-Schools programme has, over its decade-long history, provided support to teachers in schools registered as Eco-Schools. The value created by the diverse support practices is not well known or understood. The study aimed to shed light on the support teachers in the Eco-Schools programme value and how this contributes to environmental learning and practice. Working with Wenger’s Communities of Practice theory (Wenger, 1998) as a conceptual framework and lens, the study set out to describe and explore the processes of teacher learning amongst a sample of teachers supported to function as a professional learning community within the Eco-Schools programme. The findings and recommendations made are in relation to the research goals which are to explore and describe the value being created by the patterns of teacher support in an Eco-Schools node/cluster. To this end, the evaluative study generated evidence in relation to what teachers derive value from through the support they receive; and assessed evidence on how teaching, learning, and practice are developing through participation in the Eco-Schools Professional Learning Community examined. The study was conducted in 2 phases, the first as a survey of the patterns of support in Eco-School clusters/ nodes. The descriptions enabled a mapping of the patterns of support in the “coordinator supported model” of Eco-Schools to understand how the coordinator supported model of Eco-Schools enables teacher collaboration and supports the development of an environment and sustainability community of practice between teachers from across the cluster/ node. The second part of the study explored teacher’s perspectives of value derived from participation in an expanded model of Eco-Schools support, using an appreciative inquiry methodology to extract teacher narrations of value creation and meaning-making. In relation to goal one, the main findings indicate that the patterns of support enabled teachers to develop confidence and skills for action taking and responding to local socio-economic and environmental challenges. The data also reflected local partnerships with other environmental knowledge organisations, thus adding value to the programme through an expanded network of environmental practice and provision of additional resources. In relation to goal 2 of the study, teachers experienced Eco-School practices as personally meaningful and connected to their identity. Teachers expressed value in the training they had received through the Fundisa for Change programme which deepened their understanding of the implementation requirements of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and helped to connect knowledge concepts in the curriculum with sustainability practices implemented as part of the Eco-Schools framework. In relation to goal 3, teachers gained confidence in “Teaching Biodiversity” through the Fundisa for Change training. Teachers were better able to understand the Specific Aims of the Biodiversity curriculum (CAPS) and to adapt their teaching methods to support the CAPS content and assessment requirements. Teacher portfolios also showed evidence of teachers developing skills in analysis of learner performance and an awareness of the need to adjust their teaching and assessment strategies to address “gaps” in learner understanding

Balansert målstyring i kommunal sektor : en casestudie av Sarpsborg kommune

Denne avhandlingen undersøker Sarpsborg kommunens valg om å redusere bruken av balansert målstyring som deres ledende rapporteringsverktøy. Avhandlingens funn viser at bruken av balansert målstyring har vært mislykket grunnet kommunens mistolkning av rapporteringsverktøyet. Denne mislykkede implementeringen skyldes i hovedsak manglende forståelse av og forvirrelse rundt forskjellen i bruk av balansert målstyring og Excellence modellen. Avhandlingens funn markerer tydelig den vesentlige forskjellen mellom Excellence modell og balansert målstyring. I motsetning til balansert målstyring som gir muligheten til å tilpasse rapporteringsverktøyet til spesifikke enheter, er Excellence modellen mer statisk, der konseptet baserer seg på et forhåndsbestemt årsak-virkningsforhold mellom modellens indikatorer. Dermed egner Excellence modellen seg mer som et diagnostisk verktøy eller benchmarking verktøy. Siden balansert målstyring har sitt opphav fra eller er inspirert av Excellence modellen, er det ikke mulig å gjenopprette rapporteringsverktøyets originale format. Videre funn tyder også på at Sarpsborg Kommune er svært tilbakeholdne når det gjelder bruk av balansert målstyring som sitt rapporteringsverktøy. Dette grunnet dets høye rapporteringsfrekvens til ledelsen. På grunn av dette har de valgt å benytte en mer verdibasert ledelsestilnærming. Det har allikevel vist seg at bruken av denne tilnærmingen alene ikke er tilstrekkelig som et styrings- og rapporteringsverktøy og det anbefales derfor at Sarpsborg kommune bruker verdibasert ledelsestilnærming i kombinasjon med balansert målstyring. Det anbefales sterkt at Sarpsborg kommune følger de retningslinjene som presenteres i denne avhandlingen i en eventuell implementering av balansert virksomhetsstyring. Det er enda viktigere å understreke nivået av ledelsesinvolvering i implementeringen av balansert målstyring. En konsensus i ledelsen for å implementere balansert målstyring og en klar forståelse av organisasjonens visjon og strategi vil øke sannsynligheten for en vellykket gjennomføring av balansert målstyring og danne grunnlaget for utnyttelse av modellens fordeler.This dissertation investigates why Sarpsborg Commune has chosen to decrease their use of The Balanced Scorecard as their management reporting tool. The findings conclude that Sarpsborg Communes implementation of The Balanced Scorecard has not, due to misinterpretation of the management tool, been a success. This unsuccessful implementation is mainly due to confusion between the difference in the use of The Balance Scorecard and The Excellence Model. The findings clearly show a fundamental difference between The Excellence Model and The Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard gives the opportunity to customize the reporting tool to entity specific environment, whereas The Excellence Model is more static and has a predefined cause-and-effect relationship between the indicators in the model. Thus The Excellence Model is more suitable as a diagnostic tool or a benchmarking tool. Since the Balanced Scorecard, used by Sarpsborg Commune, originates from or is inspired by The Excellence Model, it is not possible to reestablish the reporting tool in present format. Furthermore findings suggest that Sarpsborg Commune is very reluctant to The Balanced Scorecard as their management tool, due to the high level of reporting frequency to the management. Therefore they have chosen to move towards a more Value Based Management approach. The use of The Value Based Management approach on its own to be sufficient as a Management Reporting Tool and therefore it is suggested that Sarpsborg Commune uses The Value Based Management approach in combination with The Balanced Scorecard. It is highly recommended that Sarpsborg Commune in possible implementation of The Balanced Scorecard use the guidelines presented in this dissertation. To emphasize the level of management involvement in the implementation of The Balanced Scorecard is even more important. Having a clear understanding of the organizations vision and strategy and a consensus on implementing The Balanced in the management, will increase the probability of a successful implementation of The Balanced Scorecard and create a base for utilizing the benefits of using The Balanced Scorecard.M-Ø

Gastropoda, Neogastropoda, Buccinidae, Cantharus tranquebaricus (Gmelin, 1791): first record from Pondicherry mangroves, southeast coast of India

Cantharus tranquebaricus (Gmelin, 1791) is reported for the first time in Pondicherry mangroves, southeast coast of India. Three adult specimens have been found in the Thengaithittu lagoon during post monsoon season of 2009. It is a characteristic species of molluscan fauna of the Bay of Bengal and the descriptions of the shell are provided

Characterization of Salmonella isolates recovered from stages of the processing lines at four broiler processing plants in Trinidad and Tobago

This cross-sectional study determined the prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors for contamination of chicken with Salmonella at four operating broiler processing plants in Trinidad. Standard methods were used to isolate and characterize the Salmonella isolates. The overall prevalence of Salmonella at the four processing plants was 27.0% (107/396). The whole carcass enrichment (WCE) method yielded a statistically significantly (p = 0.0014) higher frequency of isolation (53.9%; 97/180) than the whole carcass rinse (35.0%; 63/180) and neck skin methods (42.2%; 38/90). S. enterica serotypes Enteritidis, Javiana, and Infantis were the predominant serotypes isolated accounting for 20.8%, 16.7% and 12.5%, respectively, of the serotyped isolates. Risk factors included the use of over 100 contract farmers (OR 4.4), pre-chiller (OR 2.3), addition of chlorine to chiller (OR 3.2), slaughtering sick broilers (OR 4.4), and flocks with >50% mortality. Multi-drug resistance was detected in 12.3% (14/114) of the isolates of Salmonella. Resistance was high to kanamycin (85.7%) and doxycycline (74.6%) but low to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (2.4%) and sulphamethoxazoletrimethoprim (0.8%). The occurrence of resistant Salmonella in chickens processed at commercial broiler processing plants has implications for salmonellosis and therapeutic failure in consumers of improperly cooked contaminated chickens from these plants in the country.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL : S1: Flow chart of activities that take place at the four processing plants, S2: Broiler processing plant questionnaire.The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus Research and Publication Fund Committee. The Tuskegee University, U.S.A. funded the APC.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganismsam2022Production Animal Studie

Occurrence, risk factors, serotypes, and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella strains isolated from imported fertile hatching eggs, hatcheries, and broiler farms in Trinidad and Tobago

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 1 : Hatchery questionnaire.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 2 : Broiler farm questionnaire.This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the occurrence, risk factors, and characteristics of Salmonella isolates recovered from imported fertile broiler hatching eggs, hatcheries, and broiler farms in Trinidad and Tobago. Standard methods were used to isolate and characterize Salmonella isolates from two broiler hatcheries and 27 broiler farms in the country. The frequency of isolation of Salmonella was 0.0% for imported fertile hatching eggs (0 of 45 pools of 10 eggs each, i.e., 450 eggs), 7.6% for hatcheries (12 of 158 samples), and 2.8% for broiler farms (24 of 866 samples) (P = 0.006). Stillborn chicks at hatcheries had the highest prevalence of Salmonella (7 of 28 samples, 28.0%), whereas on broiler farms the cloacal swabs had the highest prevalence of Salmonella (15 of 675 samples, 2.2%). None of the 15 farm management and production practices investigated were significantly associated (P > 0.05) with the isolation of Salmonella. The predominant Salmonella serotypes were Kentucky (83.3%) and Infantis (62.5%) among hatchery and farm isolates, respectively. The disk diffusion method revealed frequencies of antimicrobial resistance (i.e., resistance to one or more agents) of 44.0% (11 of 25 isolates) and 87.5% (35 of 40 isolates) at hatcheries and broiler farms, respectively (P = 0.0002). Antimicrobial resistance among hatchery isolates was highest (28.0%) to doxycycline and kanamycin and was very high (>65%) among farm isolates to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, gentamicin, ceftriaxone, kanamycin, and doxycycline. Multidrug resistance (MDR; i.e., resistance to antimicrobial agents from three or more classes) was exhibited by 4.0 and 85.7% of Salmonella isolates recovered from several environmental and animal sources at the hatcheries and farms, respectively (P < 0.0001). The high level of antimicrobial resistance and the presence of MDR among Salmonella isolates from broiler farms highlight the therapeutic implications and the potential for MDR strains to enter the food chain.The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus Research and Publication Fund Committee.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-food-protectionhj2023Production Animal Studie

Catheter Drainage for Chronic Subdural Hematoma

Objective: To evaluate the functional outcome of patients having chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) in terms of Glasgow Outcome Scale subjected to single burr-hole craniostomy and catheter drainage without prior subdural space irrigation.Materials and Methods: This study was performed in Neurosurgery Department, PGMI Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan from January 01, 2016 to December 31, 2016. Through a Descriptive Case Series, 116 patients presenting with CSDH were included in the study in a consecutive manner, subjected to single burr hole craniostomy and catheter drainage and followed up for up to 06 weeks.Results: The mean age group of the sample was 37.31 +/- 10.74 years, of which 69% were male and 31%female patients respectively. At the presentation, there were 37.06% of patients in Class I group with GCS13-14, 47.41% of patients in Class II group with GCS 9-12 and 15.52% of patients in Class III group with GCS 3-8. On follow up, Glasgow Outcome Score of the sample was 4.04 +/- 0.75, with 84.48% favorable and 15.52% unfavorable outcome respectively.Conclusion: This study suggested that chronic subdural hematoma managed with single burr hole subdural catheter drainage is associated with a high frequency of a favorable outcome in terms of Glasgow Outcome Score. Admission Glasgow Coma Scale of less than 8 and advanced age are associated with lesser frequency of favorable outcome and more prone to unfavorable outcomes

Size at birth and cognitive function among rural adolescents:a life course epidemiology study protocol of the Kisalaya cohort in Mysuru, South India

Introduction: It is proven that adverse intrauterine environment results in 'early life programming,' alterations in metabolism and physiological development of the fetus, often termed as 'Developmental Origins of Health and Disease' (DOHaD) resulting in a smaller size at birth, greater non-communicable diseases (NCD) risk factors during childhood and adolescence, and cardiometabolic disorders in adulthood. Nevertheless, very few studies have examined the relationship between DOHaD programming and cognition. This study aims to examine if impaired prenatal growth indicated by birth weight is associated with cognition among adolescents in the Kisalaya cohort, a rural birth cohort in South India, thus providing newer insights into DOHaD programming for adolescent mental health in a low-income and middle-income country setting.Methods and analysis: Kisalaya cohort was established in 2008, to provide integrated antenatal care and HIV testing using mobile clinics to improve maternal and child health outcomes. This cohort included pregnant women residing in 144 villages of Mysuru Taluk (rural) who received antenatal care through mobile clinics and delivered their children between 2008 and 2011. Data related to mother-infant dyads for all pregnant women who received care in the Kisalaya programme are available for this study. Presently, children born to women who received care through Kisalaya are adolescents between 10 and 12 years. At this point, information would be collected on sociodemographic data and assessments of mental health, stressful life events, cognition, vision, speech, language, hearing and anthropometric measures would be done and relevant maternal data and child data, available from the cohort would be retracted for analysis. We plan to retrace as many adolescents as possible out of 1544 adolescents who are currently available for study excluding twins, abortions, stillbirths and postdelivery deaths. Analyses will be extended to construct a life course pathway for cognition using structural equation modelling.</p