Engineering and Communication: Towards the Integration of Critical Thinking into the Professional Development of Engineering Students

In this paper we will address an important but neglected aspect of the professional development of engineering student’s i.e. promotion of good Communication Skills along with Critical Thinking Skills. With the conspicuous presence of English as a Lingua Franca in every vein of successful growth of a professional, Engineering students find themselves always standing on the horizons of ‘Classic Dilemma’ of How to get selected. We will try to focus on the need of communication skills not only to get jobs but also to showcase the potential in an organization to gain permanent position

Performance of DOH-Retained Hospitals in the Philippines

The national government has been aiming for the provision of essential health services that are accessible, affordable, and equitable. With the LGU Code of 1991, DOH retained 45 hospitals nationwide and in 2011, with the exclusion of drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers, 21 renationalized and 4 new hospitals were added to the list: 51 hospitals were classified as general and 19 are specialty hospitals. Aside from accessibility, people seek quality health care when getting medical attention while health providers use quality care to increase their market share. However, perception of quality differs between patients and health providers.Since one of the functions of the NCHFD is to provide technical assistance, an assessment of the 2011 hospital performance during the first year implementation of the KP thrust is beneficial. The study may determine areas for improving levels of performance and provide evidence for policy development. Results can serve as basis in ranking DOH hospitals in the PBB implementation. Furthermore, application of hospital performance specific indicators can be used in the planned hospital scorecard.The study focused its analysis on the 51 general DOH hospitals. Data were based on the annual hospital statistics reports submitted to the BHFS and NCHFD. Indirect indicators were used as recommended and agreed upon by the hospital information management team since the direct measures of quality care cannot be used. Generated results were compared to the standards proposed by McGibony (1969) and used as reference by the DOH (A.O. 147 s.2004)

Comparison of levobupivacaine vs bupivacaine in thoracic spinal anaesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomies

Background: Levobupivacaine is the pure S enantiomer of racemic bupivacaine. It is a long acting variant that is less toxic to the heart and central nervous system. It has gained relevance and popularity in the modern anaesthetic practice. Thoracic spinal anaesthesia has been shown to an effective   and safe anaesthetic approach for a varied spectrum of surgeries including laparoscopic cholecystectomies.  Incorporation   of epidural catheter adds flexibility and the provision of postoperative analgesia. To adopt thoracic combined spinal epidural anaesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomies was chosen in the study. This study aimed at comparing the efficacy of levobupivacaine and bupivacaine in thoracic combined spinal epidural anaesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomies.Methods: Total 60 ASA 1 and 2 patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomies were chosen for the purpose of this study extending from January 2019 to May 2019.  They were randomly divided into two groups - group L and group B. Both the groups received thoracic combined spinal anaesthesia using 2ml of 0.5% isobaric levobupivacaine and 25 µg (0.5ml) fentanyl in group L and 2ml of 0.5% isobaric bupivacaine and 25 µg (0.5ml) fentanyl in group B.  The duration of sensory and motor block, peak block height, maximum motor block achieved, haemodynamic variables and any postoperative neurological complications were evaluated.Results: Both the groups showed similar onset of sensory and motor block. The duration of motor block was similar in both the drug groups; however, levobupivacaine showed a significantly loner duration of sensory block.  There were no significant haemodynamic differences between the two groups and no postoperative neurological complications were seen in any patient.Conclusions: Levobupivacaine was found to be slightly better than bupivacaine in thoracic combined spinal epidural anaesthesia

Comparison of thoracic vs lumbar spinal anaesthesia fo orthopaedic surgeries

Background: Thoracic spinal anaesthesia has emerged as one of the most promising anaesthetic techniques in the recent times. On the other hand, lumbar approach has been the conventional choice  for orthopaedic surgeries since the advent of spinal anaesthesia. This study aimed at determining which approach is better suited for orthopaedic surgeries.Methods: Total 60 patients scheduled for orthopaedic surgeries were divided into two groups : group T and group L. Group T patients were given thoracic  spinal anaesthesia at the T9-T10 / T10-T11 interspace using  1.5 ml of hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% (5 mg/ml) + 25µg (0.5 ml) of fentanyl.  Group L patients received  2.5 ml of  hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% (5 mg/ml) + 25 µg (0.5 ml) of fentanyl at LI-L2/L2-L3 interspace. Authors evaluated the degree of analgesia  and  motor block,  haemodynamics  and neurological complications.Results: Onset of analgesia was faster in thoracic group - 2min. The duration of sensory  and motor block was shorter in thoracic group. There were no significant differences in haemodynamic variables and respiratory parameters between the two groups  and no neurological complication in any patient.Conclusions: Thoracic spinal anaesthesia is preferable to lumbar spinal anaesthesia for orthopaedic surgeries.

SYNERGISTIC EFFECT OF CURCUMA LONGA AND GLYCYRRHIZA GLABRA EXTRACTS WITH COPPER IONS ON FOOD SPOILAGE BACTERIA

Objective: To evaluate the synergistic antibacterial activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Curcuma longa and Glycyrrhiza glabra in combination with copper metal ions. Methods: The phytochemical analysis of Curcuma longa and Glycyrrhiza glabra's extracts were observed by standard procedures. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Curcuma longa and Glycyrrhiza glabra were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against Paenibacillus popilliae by an agar well diffusion method. Antibacterial activity of copper ions and their synergistic effect was also evaluated.Results: The phytochemical analysis of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts was carried out for the detection of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, alkaloids and coumarins. The results of combinatorial effects of copper metal ions with aqueous extracts of Curcuma longa and Glycyrrhiza glabra showed maximum antibacterial activity (30±0.33 mm and 30±0.00 mm) when 25 µl of plant extract combined with 25 µl of copper ions, whereas minimum antibacterial activity (23±0.33 mm and 22±0.33 mm) was shown when 45 µl of plant extract combined with 5 µl of copper ions, when evaluated against Paenibacillus popilliae. An increase of 187.5% and 12.55% (least) was observed in aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Curcuma longa on supplementation of copper metal ions.Conclusion: The results suggest that crude extracts from these plants can be used for therapeutic purposes as they possess potent antibacterial properties due to the presence of various phyto chemicals in them. The aqueous plant extracts showed enhanced activity in conjugation with copper metal ions against food spoilage bacteria as compared to ethanolic plant extracts.Â

Comparison of effect of isobaric bupivacaine vs hyperbaric bupivacaine on haemodynamic variables in thorcic combined spinal epidural anaesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomies

Background: Regional anaesthesia has always been an attractive option for laparoscopic surgeries in patients who are not fit for general anaesthesia. Also, regional anaesthesia has certain advantages over general anaesthesia like lesser oropharyngeal morbidity, lesser blood loss and decreased chances of thrombosis. Lumbar spinal anaesthesia has been synonymous with the term regional anaesthesia for laparoscopic surgeries for quite some time now. In the light of recent works by Imbelloni and Zundert, thoracic spinal anaesthesia has been shown to be a promising alternative not only for healthy patients but for high risk patients as well. Baricity defines the density of the drug with respect to CSF density. This undoubtedly makes it is one of the most important factors that influence drug distribution in the subarachnoid space. Drugs of differing baricities have been studied previously in lumbar spinal anaesthesia. We aimed at studying the behaviour of isobaric and hyperbaric bupivacaine using a different approach which in this study was thoracic combined spinal epidural anaesthesia. Authors evaluated the haemodynamic changes as well as neurological and any other post operative complications that occurred in any of the patients.Methods: There were 60 ASA I and II patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy who were chosen for this study. They were randomly divided into two equal groups - group I and group H. Thoracic combined spinal epidural anaesthesia (CSE) was performed at T9-T10 / T10-T11 interspace. Patients in group I received 1.5ml of isobaric bupivacaine 0.5% (5mg/ml) + 25µg (0.5ml) of fentanyl and group H patients were given 1.5ml of hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% (5mg/ml) + 25µg (0.5ml) of fentanyl.Results: There was no significant difference among the haemodynamic variables between the two groups and no neurological complication was seen in any patient.Conclusions: Thoracic combined spinal epidural anaesthesia allows haemodynamic stability in laparoscopic cholecystectomies with minimal neurological and post operative complications irrespective of baricity of the drug used

Feasibility and Efficacy of BLE Beacon IoT Devices in Inventory Management at the Shop Floor

Inventory Management is a key area for customer service and cost optimization in any manufacturing setup. As companies turn global and have thousands of components and hundreds of warehouses the inventory becomes a nightmare and a lot of time is spend in tracking inventory and ensuring right shipments. Traditional systems of robotic arms for inventory pick and drop have been based on premises of marking areas of the warehouse and tracking it. However with the advent of IoT all this is set to change as inventory objects become more self-aware and self-broadcasting. This paper technically suggests an approach of managing inventory using low energy blue tooth beacons and also does a statistical case research on two groups of the same organization one before the pilot run where traditional barcode scanners are used to track inventory and other one where the pilot trial BLE beacon technology was used. Statistically the IoT-beacon users are much more efficient and accurate and save lot of time and costs in the short run itself

Function of zinctransporters in human cells

This study contributes to the knowledge of zinc homeostasis involving members of the ZnT family, in particular ZnT5 and ZnT6, and their role in the molecular basis of an inherited disorder of zinc metabolism in humans, and their function in cultured neuronal cells

Modified Excipients in Novel Drug Delivery: Need of the Day

Drug products not only contain “actives” that confer the intended therapeutic benefits such as pain relief or act on particular part of the body, but contain other materials that are also “functional” with respect to the drug product. These are known as excipients and specific functionality which they confer to a particular product is independentupon the process used to add the excipient to the formulation and its exact location within the final dosage form. Introduction of novel drug delivery systems and new drugmoieties lead to the need for new excipients with varied characteristics. Development of new excipient entities and their evaluation is a costly procedure; modificationof existing excipients is very easy, more economical and less time consuming. The development of excipients that are capable of fulfilling multifunctional roles such asenhancing drug bioavailability and drug stability as well as controlling the release of the drug according to the therapeutic needs is one of the most important prerequisitesfor further progress in the design of novel drug delivery systems. The main focus of this article is on synthetic novel excipients that perform multiple functions inpharmaceutical formulations