ICT INTEGRATION IN EDUCATION: THE CASE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KERALA

The quality of education in rural areas has not risen to the expected standard due to lack of access, inadequate infrastructure, poor connectivity of ICT, and insufficient number of teachers, etc. This empirical study aims at finding out the factors influencing successful ICT integration in rural schools with special focus on the availability of ICT infrastructure, extent of ICT utilization in classrooms and the barriers encountered in its effective usage. The findings indicate that ICT infrastructure is inadequate and its use in teaching and learning were found to be minimal and has not brought about much improvement. Underutilization of the technology has resulted in lowering the digital competency of the students. Frequent utilization of smart-classrooms along with a strong ICT infrastructure and their integration into teaching activities can play a significant role in facilitating digital education in rural schools

Spectrum of endometrial lesions observed on histopathological examination of endometrial samples in women with abnormal uterine bleeding

Background: Abnormal uterine bleeding is one of the common gynecological complaints of women of all age groups. Histopathological study of endometrial biopsy and curettage samples is an effective diagnostic modality that can be used to identify cause of AUB at its earliest. This study was done to investigate the various endometrial causes of AUB that frequently come to our hospital and their incidence in various age groups i.e. reproductive, perimenopausal and postmenopausal.Methods: This study was conducted on 108 patients who clinically presented with AUB and had their endometrial biopsy and curettage specimens sent to the histopathology department of our tertiary care hospital and teaching centre, located in Uttar Pradesh from June 2018 to May 2019. The endometrial patterns were observed, and their frequencies and percentages were computed and classified age group wise.Results: These studies included patients with age range from 19 to 77 years. The predominant age group with AUB was reproductive age group (<40 years). The most common histopathological finding in this study was normal menstrual pattern (48.15 %). The endometrial pathologies observed were hormonal imbalance and pill effect (22.22%), atrophic endometrium (10.19%), chronic endometritis (5.56%), benign endometrial polyp (4.63%), gestation products (3.70%), endometrial hyperplasia (3.70%), and endometrial carcinoma (1.85%). Conclusion: The most commonly known cause of AUB in reproductive age group is due to hormonal imbalance. Endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma are usually more common in the perimenopausal and postmenopausal age groups. Overall, in patients with no organic cause of AUB, normal cyclical endometrial pattern is the most prevalent endometrial pattern observed.Conclusions: The most commonly known cause of AUB in reproductive age group is due to hormonal imbalance. Endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma are usually more common in the perimenopausal and postmenopausal age groups. Overall, in patients with no organic cause of AUB, normal cyclical endometrial pattern is the most prevalent endometrial pattern observed

Orchestrating ‘Institutional Network’ for the Sustainability of IS Program: Evidence from Indian Public Healthcare

Sustaining an IS program in healthcare encounters the complexities of the dynamic and loosely connected network of institutionally powerful actors. We apply ‘orchestration’ framework to examine the orchestration of public healthcare by a low power stakeholder for sustaining an IS program. We study the case of a hospital information systems running across 20+ hospitals in Himachal Pradesh, India, for more than a decade. Analysis informs that institutional network orchestration goes through multiple interconnected stages, each presenting unique dilemmas. The orchestrator takes different roles to perform various relation and material institutional work across these stages and often leverages on unanticipated events, just by being physically and temporally present. We identify four orchestration stages—promoting member engagement, building distributed ownership, managing partnership, and managing coherence. Initial stage institutional work helps orchestrator accumulate ‘symbolic power’, which proves critical in later stage orchestration. Findings contribute to orchestration framework and inform IS in healthcare literature

Yield attributes of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and soil properties in Southern Laterites, Kerala as influenced by consortium biofertilizers

A field experiment was undertaken at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during June to December 2019, to assess the efficacy of liquid consortium biofertilizer, Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) Mix - I in cassava and to examine the changes in soil chemical and biological properties with the application. The treatment combinations included four levels of biofertilizer [PGPR Mix - I liquid (L) @ 2 %, PGPR Mix - I liquid (L) @ 5 %, PGPR Mix - I powder (P) formulation @ 10g of 2 % mixture per plant, without biofertilizer] and three levels of nutrients, with 50: 50: 100 kg NPK/ha as the standard dose of nutrients (SDN), [50 % SDN, 75 % SDN, 100 % SDN]. The 4 × 3 factorial experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The results of the study revealed that the liquid biofertilizer consortium at 5 per cent + 75 percent SDN (37.5: 37.5: 75 kg NPK /ha) recorded significantly superior yield attributes in cassava and improved the soil organic C, available K status and microbial count.

Coke–pitch interactions during anode preparation

The information on the interactions between coke and pitch is of great value for the aluminum industry. This information can help choose the suitable coke and pitch pairs as well as the appropriate mixing parameters to be used during the production of anodes. In this study, the interaction mechanisms of pitch and coke at the mixing stage were studied by a sessile-drop test using two coal-tar pitches as the liquid and three petroleum cokes as the substrate. The results showed that the coke–pitch interactions are related to both pitch and coke chemical compositions. The contact angle of different coke–pitch systems decreased with increasing time and temperature. At high temperatures, decreasing the pitch viscosity facilitated the spreading of pitch and its penetration into the coke bed. The chemical behavior of petroleum cokes and coal tar pitches were studied using the FT-IR spectroscopy and XPS. The results showed that the wettability behavior of cokes by pitches depends on their physical properties as well as the presence of surface functional groups of coke and pitch which can form chemical bonds

Differential effects of cholesterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol on ligand binding of solubilized hippocampal serotonin<SUB>1A</SUB> receptors: implications in SLOS

The serotonin1A receptor is an important member of the G-protein coupled receptor family, and is involved in the generation and modulation of a variety of cognitive, behavioral, and developmental functions. Solubilization of the hippocampal serotonin1A receptor by 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) is accompanied by loss of membrane cholesterol which results in a reduction in specific agonist binding activity. Replenishment of cholesterol to solubilized membranes restores the cholesterol content of the membrane and significantly enhances specific agonist binding activity. In order to test the stringency of the requirement of cholesterol in this process, we solubilized native hippocampal membranes followed by replenishment with 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC). 7-DHC is an immediate biosynthetic precursor of cholesterol differing only in a double bond at the 7th position in its sterol ring. Our results show, for the first time, that replenishment of solubilized hippocampal membranes with 7-DHC does not restore ligand binding activity of the serotonin1A receptor, in spite of recovery of the overall membrane order. This observation shows that the requirement for restoration of ligand binding activity is more stringent than the requirement for the recovery of overall membrane order. These novel results have potential implications in understanding the interaction of membrane sterols with this important neuronal receptor under pathogenic conditions such as the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

Downscaling down under: towards degrowth in integrated assessment models

IPCC reports, to date, have not featured ambitious mitigation scenarios with degrowth in high-income regions. Here, using MESSAGEix-Australia, we create 51 emissions scenarios for Australia with near-term GDP growth going from +3%/year to rapid reductions (−5%/year) to explore how a traditional integrated assessment model (IAM) represents degrowth from an economic starting point, not just energy demand reduction. We find that stagnating GDP per capita reduces the mid-century need for upscaling solar and wind energy by about 40% compared to the SSP2 growth baseline, and limits future material needs for renewables. Still, solar and wind energy in 2030 is more than quadruple that of 2020. Faster reductions in energy demand may entail higher socio-cultural feasibility concerns, depending on the policies involved. Strong reductions in inequality reduce the risk of lowered access to decent living services. We discuss research needs and possible IAM extensions to improve post-growth and degrowth scenario modelling

Chemistry, temperature, and faunal distributions at diffuse-flow hydrothermal vents : comparison of two geologically distinct ridge systems

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 25, no. 1 (2012): 234–245, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.22.Diffuse-flow, low-temperature areas near hydrothermal vents support life via chemosynthesis: hydrogen sulfide (and other reduced chemical compounds) emanating from the subsurface is oxidized with bottom-water oxygen through bacterial mediation to fix carbon dioxide and produce biomass. This article reviews the in situ diffuse-flow chemistry (mainly H2S and O2) and temperature data collected in 2006 and 2009 along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC), and from 2004 to 2008 at 9°N along the East Pacific Rise (9 N EPR), predominantly around macrofauna that contain endosymbionts at these two hydrothermal vent regions. More than 48,000 and 20,000 distinct chemical and temperature data points were collected with a multi-analyte electrochemical analyzer in the diffuse-flow waters at 9 N EPR and the ELSC, respectively. Despite their different geological settings and different macrofauna (two different species of snails and mussels at the ELSC versus two different species of tubeworms and mussels at 9 N EPR), there are similarities in the temperature and chemistry data, as well as in the distributions of organisms. The pattern of water chemistry preferred by the provannid snails (Alviniconcha spp., Ifremeria nautilei) and Bathymodiolus brevior at the ELSC is similar to the water chemistry pattern found for the siboglinid tubeworms (Tevnia jerichonana, Riftia pachyptila) and the Bathymodiolus thermophilus mussels at 9 N EPR. The eruptions at 9 N EPR in 2005 and 2006 resulted in increased H2S concentrations, increased H2S/T ratios, and an initial change in the dominant tubeworm species from Riftia pachyptila to Tevnia jerichonana after the eruption created new vent habitats. In 2005, two sites at 9 N EPR showed major increases in the H2S/T ratio from 2004, which suggested a probable eruption in this basalt-dominated system. At the ELSC, there was a decrease in the H2S/T ratio from northern to southern sites, which reflects the change in geological setting from basalt to andesite and the shallower water depths at the southern sites.This work was supported by NSF grants OCE-0240896, OCE-073243 (ELSC), OCE-0308398 (OTIC), OCE-0326434, and OCE-0937324 (EPR) to GWL; ESI-0087679, OCE-9529819, and OCE-0327353 to RAL; OCE-0327261, OCE-0328117, OCE-0451983 to TMS; and OCE 0240985 and OCE 0732333 to CRF