Speaking Medicine in the Silent Language: Experience with a Deaf Patient in Sri Lanka

Being deaf can pose challenges in everyday living, due to the fact that most deaf people cannot effectively communicate with the majority of non-deaf people in society. Effective communication plays a vital role when seeking medical services. As a developing nation, there have been several steps taken in Sri Lanka to bridge the communication gap between deaf and non-deaf people. Nevertheless, there is still a need to introduce a cost-effective communication system in governmental healthcare services. This experience highlights the importance of bridging the gap between healthcare providers and deaf patients, and suggests possible cost-effective ways to provide better quality healthcare services

Groundwater Contamination in Jaffna Red Beds Mainly Focused on Nitrate and Trace Elements

The Jaffna peninsula is dependent on groundwater for all its water requirements andpredominantly for agricultural activities. Studies on effect of fertilisation and groundwaterpollution in such an area are of prime importance. Especially, nitrate rich drinking water ispotentially harmful to human health, particularly to infants. It is recommended that pregnantwomen and lactating mothers should limit nitrate consumption. According to the Jaffnahospital sources, people living in red bed area mostly affected by water bone diseases.Therefore, this study mainly focused on behaviours of nitrate and associated trace elements(Li, Cs, Cu, Sr, Zn, Mn, Fe, K, Mg and Na) in the wells around the red bed in order toinvestigate source and mobility.Physical parameters of water also can be determined the quality of water. The pH wasanalysed by using pH meter. The results were along the study area in WHO and SLS limit.Electric Conductivity is considered as an important water quality parameter in assessingdrinking and surface water. According to the SLS Standards, most of the sources had it abovethe permissible level. The source for the Salinity may be sea water intrusion in thisagricultural land area. Therefore, the water not suitable for the drinking purpose.Seventy randomly collected groundwater samples were analysed using atomic absorptionspectrometer (AAS, Varian 240). Results indicated that most of the wells were highlycontaminated with nitrate in red bed area than in the other regions. It was noted that, overdosage of fertiliser and agrochemicals cause for higher nitrate contamination. It is furtherobserved that the red bed in the area is unconsolidated and mainly formed by iron courtedsands with lower level of organic matter. This further concluded that nature of the red bedprovides favourable conditions for leaching nitrate to groundwater rather than retaining in thesoil. The trace elements such as K, Mg, Ca, Na, Sr, Li and Cu exceeded the permissible levelfor drinking water for all the wells. This may be due to sea water mixing with groundwaterthrough the groundwater flow or by wind spray. Especially, element Ca and Sr may haveaccumulated by weathering of shell fragments in the calcareous deposits in the area.Conversely element Cu may have leached from agrochemicals. However, Zn, Fe, and Bawere in lower concentrations. In general, there were significant correlations between theelements which clearly concluded that the sources for the contaminations are diverse andanthropogenic.Keywords: Fertilisation, Nitrate, Red bed, Groundwate

INTRODUCTION OF BIO- FUNGICIDES FOR CONTROLLING POWDERY MILDEW DISEASE OF RAMBUTAN

Powdery mildew of Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) incited by the fungus Oidium nephelii attack young leaves, flowers and immature fruits become dis-colored and dry off causing fruit quality deterioration and heavy fruit losses.  Oidium nephelii is controlled by application of fungicides. An experiment was conducted  to study the efficacy of plant extracts compared with the  fungicides to control powdery mildew disease of Rambutan. The treatments consisted of eight plant extracts (Neem oil, Citronella oil, Cinnamon leaf extract (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Clove leaf  extract (Syzygium aromaticum),  Naa leaf extract (Mesua nagassarium), Lime leaf extract (Citrus aurantifolia),  Neem seed extract (Azadiracta indica), Vinegar (Cocos nucifera)) and two recommended fungicides Thiovit (wettable  Sulphur) and  Daconil (Chlorothalonil). Severity and spread of powdery mildew basically depends on the environment. Therefore selection of herbal extracts was done during heavy rain and in dry weather conditions. The results obtained from the experiment revealed that under the dry weather condition, the maximum number of healthy fruit set at harvest was given by the Citronella oil and Neem oil. The Clove leaf extract and Cinnamon leaf extract significantly controlled the powdery mildew disease  than that of Department recommended fungicides .Neem seed extract and Vinegar controlled the disease  similar to the Department recommended fungicides. In contrast to the data obtained under dry weather condition, in the heavy rain conditions, only the Citronella oil and Neem oil moderately increased  the healthy fruit set at harvest. The  plant extracts Neem oil, Citronella oil, Clove leaf extract, Cinnamon leaf extract controlled the disease than that of recommended fungicides and they can be used as the bio-fungicides. Bio-fungicides are eco-friendly and are not known to cause pollution to climate or soil

Profesionalna astma u radnika izloženih prašinama iz biljnih i voćnih čajeva

We performed a cross-sectional study to detect occupational asthma (OA) in 63 subjects occupationally exposed to herbal and fruit tea dust and in 63 corresponding controls. The evaluation included a questionnaire, skin prick tests to workplace and common inhalant allergens, spirometry, and histamine challenge test. The evaluation of the work-relatedness of asthma in the exposed workers was based on serial peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) measurements and bronchoprovocation tests. We found a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the exposed workers, whereas spirometric parameters were significantly lower. The prevalence of sensitisation to allergens and of bronchial hyperresponsivenss (BHR) did not differ significantly between the groups. The prevalence of asthma was also similar in both groups (8.0 % vs. 6.4 %; P=0.540). Work-relatedness of symptoms was reported by all asthmatic tea workers and by no control with asthma. Significant work-related changes in PEFR diurnal variations and in non-specific BHR, suggesting allergic OA, were found in one tea worker with asthma (1.6 %). No specific workplace agent causing OA in the affected subject was identified. None of the tea workers with asthma met the criteria for medical case definition of the reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS). Our data confirm workplace exposure to herbal and fruit tea dust as a risk factor for OA.Svrha je ovoga presječnog ispitivanja bila otkriti profesionalnu astmu u skupini od 63 ispitanika koji su na radnome mjestu bili izloženi prašinama biljnih i voćnih čajeva. Kao kontrola uzet je jednak broj uredskih radnika koji nisu bili izloženi ovim prašinama. Ocjena izloženih i kontrolnih ispitanika obuhvatila je upitnik, skin prick testove na uobičajene i profesionalne inhalacijske alergene, spirometriju te histaminski test. Povezanost astme s profesionalnom izloženosti u radnika utvrđena je prema kriterijima Američkog kolegija pulmologa (American College of Chest Physicians, krat. ACCP), a na temelju mjerenja niza vršnih ekspiratornih protoka (engl. peak expiratory flow rate, PEFR) i niza bronhoprovokativnih testova. Izloženi su radnici iskazali veću prevalenciju respiratornih simptoma odnosno niže spirometrijske vrijednosti od kontrole. Izloženi ispitanici nisu se značajno razlikovali od kontrole u prevalenciji senzibilizacije na profesionalne i uobičajene inhalacijske alergene te prevalenciji pretjerane bronhalne reaktivnosti (engl. bronchial hyperresponsiveness, krat. BHR). Isto vrijedi i za prevalenciju astme (8,0 % u izloženih radnika prema 6,4 % u kontrola; P=0,540). Povezanost simptoma s poslom prijavili su svi radnici u obradi čaja oboljeli od astme te ni jedan kontrolni ispitanik s astmom. U jednoga astmatičnog radnika na čaju utvrđene su značajne promjene u dnevnim varijacijama PEFR-a te u nespecifičnom BHR-u koji upućuju na profesionalnu astmu (1.6 %). Nije utvrđeno koja je to tvar uzrokovala profesionalnu astmu u ovog ispitanika. Nitko od izloženih radnika s astmom nije zadovoljio sve medicinske kriterije za dijagnozu sindroma reaktivne disfunkcije dišnih putova (engl. reactive airway dysfunction syndrome, RADS). Naši podaci potvrđuju da je profesionalna izloženost prašinama iz biljnih i voćnih čajeva čimbenik rizika od profesionalne astme

Use of 5G and mmWave radar for positioning, sensing, and line-of-sight detection in airport areas

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Work related complaints of neck, shoulder and arm among computer office workers: a cross-sectional evaluation of prevalence and risk factors in a developing country

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Complaints of arms, neck and shoulders (CANS) is common among computer office workers. We evaluated an aetiological model with physical/psychosocial risk-factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We invited 2,500 computer office workers for the study. Data on prevalence and risk-factors of CANS were collected by validated Maastricht-Upper-extremity-Questionnaire. Workstations were evaluated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Visual-Display-Terminal workstation-checklist. Participants' knowledge and awareness was evaluated by a set of expert-validated questions. A binary logistic regression analysis investigated relationships/correlations between risk-factors and symptoms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sample size was 2,210. Mean age 30.8 ± 8.1 years, 50.8% were males. The 1-year prevalence of CANS was 56.9%, commonest region of complaint was forearm/hand (42.6%), followed by neck (36.7%) and shoulder/arm (32.0%). In those with CANS, 22.7% had taken treatment from a health care professional, only in 1.1% seeking medical advice an occupation-related injury had been suspected/diagnosed. In addition 9.3% reported CANS-related absenteeism from work, while 15.4% reported CANS causing disruption of normal activities. A majority of evaluated workstations in all participants (88.4%,) and in those with CANS (91.9%) had OSHA non-compliant workstations. In the binary logistic regression analyses female gender, daily computer usage, incorrect body posture, bad work-habits, work overload, poor social support and poor ergonomic knowledge were associated with CANS and its' severity In a multiple logistic regression analysis controlling for age, gender and duration of occupation, incorrect body posture, bad work-habits and daily computer usage were significant independent predictors of CANS</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of work-related CANS among computer office workers in Sri Lanka, a developing, South Asian country is high and comparable to prevalence in developed countries. Work-related physical factors, psychosocial factors and lack of awareness were all important associations of CANS and effective preventive strategies need to address all three areas.</p

GÊNEROS DISCURSIVOS E ENSINO: UMA PROPOSTA DE APLICAÇÃO EM SALA DE AULA

Os gêneros discursivos são formas de agir e interagir discursivamente e são inerentes à comunicação humana. Neste artigo, nos propomos, a partir de um percurso teórico, discutir sobre o conceito de gênero discursivo com base nas reflexões de Bakhtin (2000) e Marcuschi (2003, 2005), considerando sua aplicabilidade no ensino como condição para assegurar à construção de conhecimentos fundamentais para as práticas sociais de linguagem. Para isso, refletimos sobre o gênero discursivo como atividade sociocomunicativa de interação social, produzido para as necessidades de comunicação, constituído de componentes sociais, históricos, culturais e cognitivos. Além disso, analisamos a sequência didática na perspectiva de Dolz e Schneuwly (2004) como possibilidade de auxiliar o ensino através dos gêneros.&nbsp; Entendemos ser essencial, por essa razão, que as aulas de língua portuguesa centrem-se, nos diferentes níveis de ensino, nas dinâmicas sociais de interação por meio dos gêneros discursivos. &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp