What It Means to Be a Social Worker: Her World Woman of the Year Acceptance Speech

This Perspective presents remarks delivered by Sudha Nair on August 24, 2016, in an address accepting the Her World Woman of the Year award. Dr. Nair is the executive director of PAVE (the first family violence specialist center in Singapore) and a member of the Public Service Commission of Singapore

Genetic evaluation for understanding combining ability effects and Heterotic grouping in Maize (Zea mays L.)

Combining ability of the genotypes/lines is a major factor in planning the breeding programme and for development of Heterotic hybrids. In the present study, twenty maize inbred lines were crossed to three diverse testers CM-111, GPM-549 and GPM-581 and the resultant F1 hybrids were evaluated in an alpha lattice design. General combining ability of lines which is representation of additive gene action was found to be significant for all the quantitative traits. Specific combining ability which is indication of non-additive gene action was found to be significant for the traits number of kernel rows per cob, number of kernels per row, cob girth, cob length, test weight and grain yield. Lines VL-058725, VL-1018527 and VL-108723 produced heterotic hybrids in cross combination with any of the tester due to their high GCA effects. Whereas, the lines VL-0536, SNL-1574 and VL-109086 interacted positively with their testers thus producing heterotic hybrids with high positive SCA. GGE biplot analysis was helpful in visualizing the combining ability effects and identify heterotic pattern among theinbred lines. Heterotic grouping based on SCA and mean grain yield was able to classify thirteen of the twenty inbred lines into two distinct heterotic groups i.e., Heterotic group A and B consisting of six and seven lines respectively. Heterotic group A consisted of lines with high GCA whereas, heterotic group B with low GCA lines. SCA effect showed significant positive correlation with all the quantitative traits and played a prominent role in determining the performance of hybrids, thus indicating the importance of non-additive gene action in developingheterotic hybrids

Broadband Passive Sonar Signal Simulation in Shallow Ocean

The broadband plane wave model is valid only in the far-field of a point source under free-field propagating conditions. However the acoustics in ocean is characterized by multi-modal acoustic propagation due to its top-bottom limited boundary conditions. The effect of multi-modal field is to alter the source spectrum while the effect of dispersion is to modify the pulse shape. Moreover the use of a plane wave beamformer in a multi-modal field leads to a bias in the bearing estimates. These effects are highly dependant on the environment parameters and have important ramifications for target localization and classification in an ocean waveguide. We propose a more realistic simulator which essentially models these effects and therefore serves to provide test signals for first hand verification of signal processing algorithms to be developed for such scenarios. This model is to be understood as a better model than the naïve plane wave model which is entirely oblivious of even the gross features such as wave propagation in an oceanic waveguide. The channel parameter so estimated from the present simulation can be convolved with the radiated noise spectra of the source to generate the passive sonar signal.Defence Science Journal, 2011, 61(4), pp.370-376, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.61.8

Shaping The Curriculum: A Characteristics Approach And Its Impact On Teaching And Learning

This is a critical review on the characteristics approach used in shaping the curriculum and its impact on teaching and learning. It analyzes 10 journals/book articles base on five characteristics of the curriculum. The terms discussed are research intensiveness, interdisciplinary, community engagement, global connectedness and academic literacy. These characteristics are compared and contrast with relevant information highlighting its impact on teaching and learning. It also further discusses the issues of concern regarding the processes on the delivery systems in learning organisations such as schools and higher learning institutions

A prospective comparative study of efficacy of lenalidomide plus dexamethasone combination therapy versus VAD (vincristine, doxorubicin and dexamethasone) regimen in the treatment of multiple myeloma

Background: Lenalidomide plus Dexamethasone (Len-Dex) and VAD (Vincristine, Doxorubicin and Dexamethasone) regimen are the two common drug therapies employed in the treatment of Multiple myeloma.Objectives: To compare the efficacy of Len-Dex versus VAD regimen based on complete remission achieved with treatment in newly diagnosed cases of multiple myeloma in a tertiary care hospital in Kerala.Methods: Eighty patients (forty in each group) of newly diagnosed cases of multiple myeloma, who were willing to give the informed consent, were included in the study. Patients were allocated by the treating physician to two groups; one group was given Len-Dex (lenalidomide + dexamethasone) regimen and the other VAD (Vincristine, Adriamycin, Dexamethasone) regimen. A total of six cycles were given for both groups. Their baseline investigations and follow up investigations were collected at regular intervals, based on these values, the outcome was classified as partial remission and complete remission and the results were compared and analyzed.Results: Among the forty patients in each group, 17 (38%) on VAD regimen and 28 (62%) on Len-Dex regimen achieved complete remission. The statistical analysis was done using chi square test (χ2= 6.13, df= 1, p= 0.01) which showed statistically significant difference.Conclusions: The study showed that the efficacy of Lenalidomide-Dexamethasone (Len-Dex) combination therapy is clearly higher than that of VAD regimen among the study population. The overall efficacy of Len-Dex combination is 70% and that of VAD regimen is only 42.5%

Storing Drinking-water in Copper pots Kills Contaminating Diarrhoeagenic Bacteria

Microbially-unsafe water is still a major concern in most developing countries. Although many water-purification methods exist, these are expensive and beyond the reach of many people, especially in rural areas. Ayurveda recommends the use of copper for storing drinking-water. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of copper pot on microbially-contaminated drinking-water. The antibacterial effect of copper pot against important diarrhoeagenic bacteria, including Vibrio cholerae O1, Shigella flexneri 2a, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, Salmonella enterica Typhi, and Salmonella Paratyphi is reported. When drinking-water (pH 7.83±0.4; source: ground) was contaminated with 500 CFU/mL of the above bacteria and stored in copper pots for 16 hours at room temperature, no bacteria could be recovered on the culture medium. Recovery failed even after resuscitation in enrichment broth, followed by plating on selective media, indicating loss of culturability. This is the first report on the effect of copper on S. flexneri 2a, enteropathogenic E. coli, and Salmonella Paratyphi. After 16 hours, there was a slight increase in the pH of water from 7.83 to 7.93 in the copper pots while the other physicochemical parameters remained unchanged. Copper content (177±16 ppb) in water stored in copper pots was well within the permissible limits of the World Health Organization. Copper holds promise as a point-of-use solution for microbial purification of drinking-water, especially in developing countries

Squamous cell carcinoma of tongue in a 19-year-old female

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignant neoplasm of the Oral Cavity, usually affecting individuals over 50 years of age. It rarely occurs in patients who are less than 40 years old (0.4-5.5%). However, since it is so rare, when cases occur they are often misdiagnosed and inappropriately treated leading to delay in definitive treatment. This report describes a case of squamous cell carcinoma, involving the posterolateral border of the tongue of a 19-year-old female patient, with no deleterious habits usually associated with oral cancer. This report focuses on the etiological factors and prognosis related to the case. Additionally, a brief literature review regarding squamous cell carcinoma in young patients is also included

Squamous cell carcinoma of tongue in a 19-year-old female

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignant neoplasm of the Oral Cavity, usually affecting individuals over 50 years of age. It rarely occurs in patients who are less than 40 years old (0.4-5.5%). However, since it is so rare, when cases occur they are often misdiagnosed and inappropriately treated leading to delay in definitive treatment. This report describes a case of squamous cell carcinoma, involving the posterolateral border of the tongue of a 19-year-old female patient, with no deleterious habits usually associated with oral cancer. This report focuses on the etiological factors and prognosis related to the case. Additionally, a brief literature review regarding squamous cell carcinoma in young patients is also included

Molecular mapping across three populations reveals a QTL hotspot region on chromosome 3 for secondary traits associated with drought tolerance in tropical maize

Identifying quantitative trait loci (QTL) of sizeable effects that are expressed in diverse genetic backgrounds across contrasting water regimes particularly for secondary traits can significantly complement the conventional drought tolerance breeding efforts. We evaluated three tropical maize biparental populations under water-stressed and well-watered regimes for drought-related morpho-physiological traits, such as anthesis-silking interval (ASI), ears per plant (EPP), stay-green (SG) and plant-to-ear height ratio (PEH). In general, drought stress reduced the genetic variance of grain yield (GY), while that of morpho-physiological traits remained stable or even increased under drought conditions. We detected consistent genomic regions across different genetic backgrounds that could be target regions for marker-assisted introgression for drought tolerance in maize. A total of 203 QTL for ASI, EPP, SG and PEH were identified under both the water regimes. Meta-QTL analysis across the three populations identified six constitutive genomic regions with a minimum of two overlapping traits. Clusters of QTL were observed on chromosomes 1.06, 3.06, 4.09, 5.05, 7.03 and 10.04/06. Interestingly, a ~8-Mb region delimited in 3.06 harboured QTL for most of the morpho-physiological traits considered in the current study. This region contained two important candidate genes viz., zmm16 (MADS-domain transcription factor) and psbs1 (photosystem II unit) that are responsible for reproductive organ development and photosynthate accumulation, respectively. The genomic regions identified in this study partially explained the association of secondary traits with GY. Flanking single nucleotide polymorphism markers reported herein may be useful in marker-assisted introgression of drought tolerance in tropical maize