Parent involvement towards children’s reading habit: A focus group survey from Nashik, India

Abstract Purpose - This study was carried out to ascertain parents’ attitude about reading related activities of children, to discover parents’ efforts for instilling the reading habit in their children, to understand the challenges faced by parents in inculcating reading habit in their children, and to suggest possible solutions to the parents’ difficulties related to their children’s reading habits. Design/ Methodology - The research was conducted using the Survey method, with Focus Group Discussion used as the data collection tool. The research sample was 24 parents of pupils who were studying in the primary and secondary Marathi medium schools in Nashik district. An anonymous data was collected Qualitative descriptive analysis was carried out of the collected data. Findings - It was observed that parents knew that pleasure reading was important for the overall behavioral development of their children. However, less than half of them performed any substantial activities to instill the reading habit in their children. Children’s excessive usage of the internet, time constraints, children’s disinterest in reading, and parents’ incognizance about the effective reading material were the main challenges faced. Originality/ Value - This study is one of the first one of its kind in the Indian scenario. Uniquely collecting parents’ real experiences through focus group interviews, this paper provides concrete solutions to the difficulties of parents in inculcating reading habits among their children. Paper type - Research pape

Formulation and Characterization of Fexofenadine hydrochloride Fast Dissolving Tablet by using various Superdisintegrants

In the present work, fast dissolving tablets of fexofenadine HCl were designed with a view to enhance patient compliance by direct compression method. The present work studied the effect of superdisintegrants on release rate of fexofenadine HCl in the form of fast disintegrating tablet. For the present study range of superdisintegrants in their different concentrations, were used. The superdisintegrants used were crosscarmellose sodium, crosspovidone and kyron        T-314. The blends were prepared by direct compression technique. The tablets were evaluated for hardness, thickness, friability, drug content, weight variation and in-vitro drug release studies in pH 6.8. Keywords: Fexofenadine hydrochloride, fast dissolving tablets, crosscarmellose sodium, crospovidone, kyron T-31

Formulation and Characterization of Fexofenadine hydrochloride Fast Dissolving Tablet by using various Superdisintegrants

In the present work, fast dissolving tablets of fexofenadine HCl were designed with a view to enhance patient compliance by direct compression method. The present work studied the effect of superdisintegrants on release rate of fexofenadine HCl in the form of fast disintegrating tablet. For the present study range of superdisintegrants in their different concentrations, were used. The superdisintegrants used were crosscarmellose sodium, crosspovidone and kyron        T-314. The blends were prepared by direct compression technique. The tablets were evaluated for hardness, thickness, friability, drug content, weight variation and in-vitro drug release studies in pH 6.8. Keywords: Fexofenadine hydrochloride, fast dissolving tablets, crosscarmellose sodium, crospovidone, kyron T-31

Moduli of Abelian varieties, Vinberg theta-groups, and free resolutions

We present a systematic approach to studying the geometric aspects of Vinberg theta-representations. The main idea is to use the Borel-Weil construction for representations of reductive groups as sections of homogeneous bundles on homogeneous spaces, and then to study degeneracy loci of these vector bundles. Our main technical tool is to use free resolutions as an "enhanced" version of degeneracy loci formulas. We illustrate our approach on several examples and show how they are connected to moduli spaces of Abelian varieties. To make the article accessible to both algebraists and geometers, we also include background material on free resolutions and representation theory.Comment: 41 pages, uses tabmac.sty, Dedicated to David Eisenbud on the occasion of his 65th birthday; v2: fixed some typos and added reference

Annealing study and thermal investigation on bismuth sulfide thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition in basic medium

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Applied Physics A 124.2 (2018): 166. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-1584-7Bismuth sulfide thin films were prepared by chemical bath deposition using thiourea as sulfide ion source in basic medium. First, the effects of both the deposition parameters on films growth as well as the annealing effect under argon and sulfur atmosphere on as-deposited thin films were studied. The parameters were found to be influential using the Doehlert matrix experimental design methodology. Ranges for a maximum surface mass of films (3 mg cm-2) were determined. A well crystallized major phase of bismuth sulfide with stoichiometric composition was achieved at 190°C for 3 hours. The prepared thin films were characterized using Grazing Incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Second, the band gap energy value was found to be 1.5 eV. Finally, the thermal properties have been studied for the first time by means of the electropyroelectric (EPE) technique. Indeed, the thermal conductivity varied in the range of 1.20 - 0.60 W m-1 K-1 while the thermal diffusivity values increased in terms of the annealing effect ranging from 1.8 to 3.5 10-7 m2s-1This work was financially supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and by the WINCOST (ENE2016-80788-C5-2-R) project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes

Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS): A Tool for Assessment of Depression in Elderly

Background: India is in the process of rapid demographic progression of increased life expectancy and aging with geriatric population of 7.2 percent which is estimated to rise to 20 percent in 2050. With increasing geriatric population elderly with dementia and associated depressive illness are expected to rise in number to almost an epidemic. Among the morbidity encountered in elderly, depressive disorders are common. Aim & Objectives: The present study was conducted with the objective to assess the extent and degree of depression in elderly, and study some correlates associated with depression in them. Material & Methods: The study was carried out at geriatric clinic of Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Pune under the guidance of department of community medicine. Methodology:The randomly selected elderly above the age of 60 years attending the clinic and willing to participate in study were administered the questionnaire of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), scores were given, based on which the subjects were categorized as mild, moderate and severe. Those with score >5 were considered as suggestive of depression and some factors studied were analysed to find out their association with depression. Results: It was revealed that the proportion of elderly having depression was 52.4% with 84.6% of depressed in age group of 76-80 years. Moderate to severe type was more commonly seen in illiterate; however some degree of depression was present in all elderly irrespective of literacy status. Moderate to severe type was seen more commonly in elderly living in nuclear families (23.8%), and living alone (33.3%). Thus more than half of elderly studied were having depression, and it was observed that as the age advanced the degree of depression significantly increased. Some of the factors studied like low education status, poor economic status, nuclear family status, single status, loneliness, were associated with depression. The GDS Scale can be considered as a tool for early detection and prompt action. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression in elderly is a matter of concern. The GDS can be used as a simple, easy to use, non-intervention based tool for early detection and prompt action. Tackling the health related issues like depression along with social and income security will go a long way in adding life to their years instead of years to life of elderly