English Language Learning for Engineering Students with Internet-Based Projects

This article presents a student-centered approach of teaching English by making use of internet based projects. Whereas many educators enthusiastically embrace the use of Internet-based resources, little theoretical and empirical research exists that demonstrates how to make use of such practices in a sound pedagogical way. Based on concrete sample lessons, this article provides guidance to teachers and curriculum developers to integrate Internet-based activities into a language learning class

Version Aware LibreOffice Documents

Version control systems provide a methodology for maintaining changes in a document over its lifetime and provide better management and control with evolving document collections, such as source code for large software systems. However, no version control system currently supports such functionality for the office documents. An office document can go through different modifications during its lifetime and can be developed by multiple technical or non-technical users. It might be desirable to know how the document came to its final stage and to sometime retrieve older versions of the document or merge two different versions of a document without manual effort. This thesis work explains how we could implement versioning support for LibreOffice documents without using additional infrastructure for version repositories. Since embedding versioning data within the office document can indeed make version control a seamless part of the writing process. Such a modified document with embedded versioning data is called a version aware document. A versioning framework has been developed previously at UWM that provides this versioning functionality for version aware XML documents by calculating the reverse deltas between revisions. A Version Aware XML document integrates full versioning functionality into an XML document type, using XML namespaces to avoid document type errors. Version aware XML documents contain a preamble with versions stored in reverse delta format, plus unique ID attributes attached to the nodes of the documents. They support the full branching and merging functionalities familiar to software engineers, in contrast to the constrained versioning models typical of Office applications. LibreOffice is a free open source office suite that is widely used for document creation and branched off from OpenOffice in 2010. It is managed by The Document Foundation and includes application for text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings and database. Each document is represented in the Open Office Document Format (ODF), which is a collection of XML files. The current project is an endeavor to show the practicality of the version aware XML documents approach by modifying the LibreOffice document suite to support version awareness. It is necessary to understand the architecture of LibreOffice application as well as the document load and save cycles, the XML element and attribute processing, the class hierarchies and the internal data structures. We have modified the source code of the LibreOffice Writer application to accept and preserve the required changes

Recent Advances in Technology & Its Effects on Higher Education

The technology available to the generations preceding this generation pales in comparison to the technology available to this generation. The methods of education have also changed from generation to generation. There is a direct connection between the technology available and the education practices. All of the technological advancements made in education have allowed students to access vast stores of information and because of these advancements it became easier to get by without learning, and, on the other hand, learn in a much more efficient way. One of the techniques to improving the students’ meets the academic needs and helps them developing English language skills is providing multimedia during the process of teaching and learning in the classroom. Multimedia classroom provide the students chances for interacting with diverse texts that give them a solid background in the tasks and content of mainstream college courses. The writing aims to find out some advantages of the use of multimedia in the classroom. Also, the involvement of technology in the classroom cannot denied giving positive point to improving the quality of teaching and giving more various techniques in teaching a foreign language. The research uses a qualitative method giving a deeply description using multimedia in the classroom. The difference between a traditional classroom and multimedia classroom has been drawn in this writing. The writing shows that there are some advantages in teaching English using multimedia as a technique in teaching process in the classroom. Through the media the teacher could give more opportunity to students to express their opinions and enjoy during the course. The highly presence and motivation also bring positive aspects to students so that they can improve their skills. Keywords: Multimedia,  Technology,  Classroom, e tools ,Blogs, Skype ,Twitte

Effect of Feeding Grapefruit Pulp on Bone Microarchitecture and Strength in Orchidectomized Rats

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of enhancing antioxidant status on bone microarchitecture and strength in a male rat model of osteoporosis. Three month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to four groups. Three groups were orchidectomized (ORX) and one group had sham surgery (SHAM). Three days post-surgery, ORX rats were assigned to the following treatments: ORX, ORX + 5% grapefruit pulp and ORX + 10% grapefruit pulp. The rats were fed a semi-purified, powdered casein based diet modified from AIN-93M for 2 months. At the end of the study, blood and bones were collected. The bone samples were assessed for bone density and microarchitecture using DXA and microcomputed tomography. The data were analyzed using SAS (version 9.1) and the generalized linear model (GLM) and Least Significant Differences (LSD) procedures were used to separate treatment differences (p<0.05). Microarchitectural changes seen in tibia showed a marked improvement in the 10% grapefruit group in certain measures whilst none were seen in the 5% group. ORX negatively impacted certain measures of bone microarchitecture that included bone volume fraction, connectivity density, trabecular number and trabecular separation of the tibial bone. In 4th lumbar trabecular assessment, a dose dependent effect was seen as ORX + 10% grapefruit pulp rats had significantly improved bone volume fraction, connectivity density, trabecular number and reduced trabecular separation. FE analysis of the tibial bone showed that a greater force was required to compress SHAM than any of the ORX groups though no significant difference was appreciated in the lumbar vertebrae.Department of Nutritional Science

Effect of glimepiride compared with glibenclamide on post prandial blood sugar in type II diabetes mellitus patients

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem with many complications. The Global Burden of Diabetes Study has projected that there will be a 122% increase in the number of people with diabetes mellitus worldwide in 2025 compared to 1995. Despite the availability of new agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus oral sulfonylureas remain a cornerstone of therapy.Glibenclamide and glimepiride are widely used sulfonylurea antidiabetic drugs.Methods: A randomized, open, parallel group study was conducted by the Department of Pharmacology in association with Department of Medicine at Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (MMIMSR), Mullana, Ambala. Total 50 patients were divided into two groups I & II. In Group I (n=25) glibenclamide (5-15 mg/day) & in Group II (n=25) glimepiride (1-6mg/day) was administered for a period of 24 weeks and data analyzed by Student’s “t”- test.Results: There was a significant improvement in  the post prandial blood sugar score (p0.05) between the two groups.Conclusions: Both the drugs glibenclamide and glimepiride were effectively reduced post prandial blood sugar in both the groups. But these sulfonylurea drugs lowered post prandial blood sugar to a similar degree without significant difference between the two groups

Utjecaj fluorida proizvedenih aluminijskim industrijskim postrojenjem na biljke i područja nastanjena ljudima

Fluorine is a highly reactive common element that does not occur in nature in the elemental state. It exists in the form of fluorides and accounts for about 0.3 g/kg of the Earth’s crust. Generally, it is found in the form of a number of minerals like fluorspar, cryolite and fluor-apatite. Fluoride has both positive and negative effects on individual health. Fluoride, in the form of fluorspar and cryo- lite is distributed extensively in the lithosphere, and is renowned as the thir- teenth most common among elements in the earth’s crust. Hydrogen fluorides in gaseous form accumulate in the leaves of generally sensitive plants against a concentration gradient and therefore, considered as a most phytotoxic air pollut- ant and affects plants at extremely low concentration. As per our study, it is found that the fluoride impacts on fauna are in normal condition, but in coming times it may have adverse impact on fauna and flora of surroundings of Hindalco Industries Limited.Fluor je vrlo reaktivan element koji se u elementarnom obliku ne pojavljuje u prirodi. Postoji u obliku fluorida u zemljinoj kori, gdje se nalazi u omjeru od oko 0,3 g/kg. Općenito, nalazi se u obliku velikog broja minerala poput fluorita, kriolita i apatita. Fluorid ima i pozitivne i negativne učinke na ljudsko zdravlje. Fluorid, u obliku fluorita i kriolita, široko je rasprostranjen u litosferi, a poznat je i kao trinaesta najčešća tvar u Zemljinoj kori. Fluorovodici u plinovitom obliku nagomilavaju se u listovima uglavnom osjetljivih biljaka prema gradijentu koncentracije. Stoga se smatraju najfitotoksičnijim onečišćujućim tvarima u zraku, a djeluju na biljke i pri ekstremno niskim koncentracijama. Prema našoj studiji utvrđeno je da su učinci fluorida na faunu u uobičajenim okvirima, ali u budućnosti može imati štetan utjecaj na faunu i floru u okruženju tvornice Hindalco Industries Limited

A survival analysis of high-grade gliomas in sub-himalayan population including the times of lockdown during COVID 19 pandemic: A single institutional experience

Background and Objectives: High Grade Gliomas are categorised as Grade III and IV and have high mortality rate with poor prognosis. How we should adopt clinical practice in neuro-oncology during Covid 19 Pandemic is another area of scientific exploration . Hypofractionated radiotherapy protocols can be easily utilised in high grade gliomas during Covid 19 pandemic . Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of 147 patients with diagnosis of high-grade gliomas between January 2009 till December 2020 including Covid-19 pandemic lockdown time was done. Age , gender , KPS , symptoms , extent of surgery and use of concurrent temozolamide , were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis .Overall Survival was determined using the Kaplan Meir method . Results: Glioblastoma multiforme being the most common brain tumor (82.3%) in all high-grade gliomas .Near total or total excision was done in 83.7% of cases The median dose of EBRT delivered was 60Gy .75.5% patients were treated with concurrent and adjuvant chemotherapy . 29.2% patients were treated during Covid 19 pandemic lockdown time . The median overall survival was 15.9 months . The 1 year Overall survival was 67.8% , and 3 year OS was 6.4% . Out of 43 patients treated during covid pandemic time ,62.7% are alive and on follow up . Conclusion: The results of survival analysis demonstrated the benefit of adding radiation with concurrent and adjuvant temzolamide in high grade gliomas including covid 19 during lockdown time . Hypofractionated radiotherapy with concurrent temozolamide is safe during the Covid 19 pandemic

Highlighting the Compound Risk of COVID-19 and Environmental Pollutants Using Geospatial Technology

The new COVID-19 coronavirus disease has emerged as a global threat and not just to human health but also the global economy. Due to the pandemic, most countries affected have therefore imposed periods of full or partial lockdowns to restrict community transmission. This has had the welcome but unexpected side effect that existing levels of atmospheric pollutants, particularly in cities, have temporarily declined. As found by several authors, air quality can inherently exacerbate the risks linked to respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. In this study, we explore patterns of air pollution for ten of the most affected countries in the world, in the context of the 2020 development of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that the concentrations of some of the principal atmospheric pollutants were temporarily reduced during the extensive lockdowns in the spring. Secondly, we show that the seasonality of the atmospheric pollutants is not significantly affected by these temporary changes, indicating that observed variations in COVID-19 conditions are likely to be linked to air quality. On this background, we confirm that air pollution may be a good predictor for the local and national severity of COVID-19 infections.The authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Government, Grant RTI2018-354 094336-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE), the Spanish Carlos III Health Institute, COV 20/01213, and the Basque Government, Grant IT1207-19