Smita Patil: Fiercely Feminine

Smita Patil is an Indian actress who worked in films for a twelve year period between 1974 and 1986, during which time she established herself as one of the powerhouses of the Parallel Cinema movement in the country. She was discovered by none other than Shyam Benegal, a pioneering film-maker himself. She started with a supporting role in Nishant, and never looked back, growing into her own from one remarkable performance to the next. She quickly became the go-to actress for most of the film-makers working in Parallel Cinema at the time. Patil was soon critically acclaimed both within the country and outside, for her work. She created some of the truly unforgettable female protagonists in Parallel Cinema, roles for which she is still remembered and admired. These characters are feisty, fiercely feminine, and have left an indelible impression on critics and audiences alike. What is it about her that enabled Patil to create these portrayals with such honesty and intensity? This thesis looks at her persona, as well as her craft, in order to answer this question, examining three of her films in detail: Bhumika, Manthan, and Subah

Fundamental studies of hydrogen chemisorption on supported monometallic and bimetallic catalysts using microcalorimetry

Hydrogen serves as a reactant in many important commercial processes catalyzed by supported transition metals. However, little is known about the fundamental interactions of hydrogen with these complex catalyst systems. Hence, the objective of this thesis was to investigate the energetics of hydrogen chemisorption on supported monometallic and bimetallic catalysts using microcalorimetry. Differential heats of hydrogen adsorption on silica supported Ru, Rh, Pt, Ru-Ag, Ru-Cu, K/Ru/SiO{dollar}\sb2{dollar} were investigated.;A home-built Tian-Calvet microcalorimeter was designed, built and used to determine the dependence of differential heats of adsorption on the ratio of hydrogen to surface metal. Comparison of initial heats of adsorption on various catalysts provided information on phenomena, such as electronic effects, which might occur in bimetallic and promoted catalysts. Differential heats of adsorption and amounts of hydrogen adsorbed were determined as a function of pressure and coverage. The ability to probe the energetics of adsorption at high pressures was specifically developed in this work. At high pressures weak hydrogen becomes available and this plays an important role in catalytic reactions. However, little is known about the nature of this weak hydrogen. The microcalorimetric results were complemented with hydrogen mobility information obtained via {dollar}\sp1{dollar}H NMR.;The energetics of hydrogen adsorption on silica supported Ru, Rh and Pt was investigated. The Ru-Cu and Ru-Ag model systems were also investigated with emphasis on probing the energetics of adsorption at high pressure. The influence of K promoter on the chemisorption and kinetics of hydrogen adsorption on Ru/SiO{dollar}\sb2{dollar} were also studied. It is proposed that the chemisorption behavior and the energetics of hydrogen adsorption on supported systems at high pressures cannot be obtained through a simple extrapolation of results obtained from surface science studies on single crystals at low pressures

Case report of venous air embolism in complete placenta previa in a case of lower segment caesarean section

Thromboembolic episodes in the pregnant and postpartum period in patients remain rare but fatal causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. They can be either venous air embolism, venous thrombo-embolism which include deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and last but not the least amniotic fluid embolism. The incidence of embolic episodes is more in LSCS patients than in patients coming for normal vaginal deliveries for all the type of embolisms, ranging from 10-97% for air embolisms depending on the surgical position and diagnostic tools with a potential for life threatening events, for venous thromboembolism (VTE)  it is 0.5-2.2%  patients per 1000 deliveries and increased  5-10-fold in pregnancy and 15-35% in postpartum period as compared to   the non-pregnant  women, the highest being during the 1st 3-6 weeks postpartum. After that the risk declines rapidly, although a small risk increase persists up to 12 weeks. After delivery, incidence of pulmonary embolism ranges from 0.11-0.73% per 1000 deliveries. It is rare, unpredictable, and unpreventable life-threatening complication of pregnancy. According to the International Cooperative Pulmonary Embolism registry, the death rate from massive PE among hemodynamically unstable patients is 52%. Last but not the least, incidence of amniotic fluid embolism ranges from 1/8000 to 1/15000. Delayed diagnosis, delayed treatment or inadequate treatment and inadequate thromboprophylaxis account for many of these deaths. Hence, early detection and proper management helps to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity in our patients. Also, thrombotic prophylaxis helps in preventing the fatal outcome and morbidity and mortality in our patients. Here, we report a case of a patient with complete placenta Previa scheduled for elective Lower segment caesarean section who developed venous air embolism (VAE) but with prompt detection and treatment a fatal outcome was prevented

Case report on peripartum cardiomyopathy in a patient with Schmidt syndrome with twin pregnancy for emergency lower segment cesarean section

Peripartum and autoimmune cardiomyopathy is an uncommon rare disorder associated with pregnancy. When it occurs association with autoimmune thyroid disorder and autoimmune adrenal insufficiency, it is eponymously referred to as Schmidt syndrome or autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2 (APS type 2). Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) can be difficult to diagnose as the symptoms can be masked or misinterpreted due to the normal physiological changes during pregnancy, as the symptoms of heart failure can mimic those of pregnancy. PPCM is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality and so should not be underestimated. In this report, we are discussing the management of 32-years-old female with hypothyroidism and Addison’s disease (polyglandular syndrome type 2- Schmidt syndrome) who came for emergency lower segment cesarean section (LSCS) due to twin pregnancy (abnormal doppler of the second twin) and during the period developed pulmonary edema and was diagnosed as peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Assessing the queuing process using data envelopment analysis:an application in health centres

Queuing is one of the very important criteria for assessing the performance and efficiency of any service industry, including healthcare. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is one of the most widely-used techniques for performance measurement in healthcare. However, no queue management application has been reported in the health-related DEA literature. Most of the studies regarding patient flow systems had the objective of improving an already existing Appointment System. The current study presents a novel application of DEA for assessing the queuing process at an Outpatients’ department of a large public hospital in a developing country where appointment systems do not exist. The main aim of the current study is to demonstrate the usefulness of DEA modelling in the evaluation of a queue system. The patient flow pathway considered for this study consists of two stages; consultation with a doctor and pharmacy. The DEA results indicated that waiting times and other related queuing variables included need considerable minimisation at both stages