Reading Habits and Attitudes of Undergraduate Students: A Gender Based Comparative Study of Government Degree College (Boys) and Government Degree College for Women, Anantnag (J&K)

Reading habit is an essential and important aspect for crating the literate society in this world. It shapes the personality of an individual and it helps them to develop the proper thinking methods and creating new ideas.One of the main functions of library system at college level is to inculcate the reading habits among the students. Today\u27s students are the future citizens and also the nation builders of tomorrow. In present scenario, due to the influence of the social media and digital environment, students do not show much interest in reading the books, magazines and journals etc. The current study was carried out to investigate the disparity and dynamics of Reading Habits and Attitudes, also influence of social media on Reading Habits among the students of GDC (Boys) and GDC (Women). Based on the sample of 300 students, it was found that significant differences exist between the two groups of students in terms of types of reading material and reading resources used. Differences in reading habits and attitudes were also observed between male and female participants. The results clearly show that there is much disparity in reading habits and attitudes between the two genders. Social media and other digital media have greatly impacted the reading habits and Behaviour across the genders also

Usage and Perception of E-Resources by Undergraduate Students: A Case Study of Government Degree College Baramulla- J&K

We have witnessed a drastic change in the organization and operations of Library and Information Centres from last three decades or so. From storehouses of books to Information Centres, from preserving philosophy to access orientation, printed materials to digital information, manual system of operations to automatic service delivery systems and from in-house services to advanced consortia based remote access to flood of information resources, libraries as service centres have traversed a long journey with revolutionary and evolutionary ramifications. Modern-day libraries are flooded with lots of information sources both in print as well as in digital format. A major chunk of information resource in today’s libraries is in electronic and digital form which have tremendous advantages over their print counterparts. This study is an attempt to study the usage, preference, and perception of undergraduate students at the college level. Survey method of data collection has been employed with a sample size of 350 students across the 5 streams of study in the institution. The major findings of the study reveal that students are more inclined towards E-Resources in comparison to print sources. College library needs to market its services particularly E-Services among the students as the large percentage of users are not fully aware of the E-Resources and services available in their library

Is open lateral anal sphincterotomy really a safe and satisfactory treatment option for refractory chronic anal fissures? - a prospective study

Background: Chronic anal fissure is a familiar entity in surgical outdoor departments of hospitals in our valley. The muslim women are usually reluctant to expose their anal canal related pathologies to male surgeons, letting anal fissures to reach the chronic stage. Under this background, the present study was conducted to look for the feasibility of lateral anal sphincterotomy in the management of chronic anal fissure in our patients.Methods: This prospective study was carried out over a period of 3 years in the unit 2nd of department of surgery at SMHS (Shri Maharaja Harisingh) hospital, an associated hospital of Government Medical College Srinagar. During this period, 59 patients presented to the outpatient department with typical chronic anal fissures and were included in this study.Results: Fifty-nine patients, diagnosed on clinical evaluation as chronic anal fissure were included in this study. The age varied from 19 to 58 years with mean age of 36.38±7.14 (SD= 7.14) years. There was a female predominance, with a female to male ratio of 2.1:1. Fifty-two (88.1%) patients had posterior midline fissure and 7 (11.8%) patients had an anterior anal fissure. Thirty-one patients were not satisfied with the conservative treatment and insisted for surgical management. All 31 patients were managed by open lateral anal sphincterotomy.Conclusions: Lateral anal sphincterotomy (LAS) is a safe and effective method of management for chronic refractory anal fissures. The complications are minimal and negligible

A descriptive study on correlates of stress and coping in relation to demographic variables in retirees of Kashmir valley

Background: As age develops in employees, they have to get retirement from job permanently or they have to reach their retirement period. Studies on adjustment at retirement report that one-thirds of adults report significant difficulty during this process. This study was carried out to correlate stress and coping among old age retirees in relation to sociodemographic variables.Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 retirees of district Srinagar between June 2015 and June 2016, using a semi-structured questionnaire. Levels of Stress among elderly retirees and their coping were assessed. Correlates of stress and coping were assessed with respect to different sociodemographic variables.Results: Nearly 40% of cases had moderate level, 03% had severe level, 04% had extremely severe level, and around 35% had no stress. Majority of retired employees 85% either used average level, or used good level of coping with a minority 10% using low level of coping. There was a significant positive correlation between the stress and gender, stress and education and stress and years of experience. However there was statistically no significance between coping and demographic variables.Conclusions: There is a need for organized family and social support to improve the physical and psychological health of elderly

Para-tricipital approach for extra articular fractures of the distal humerus: a case series

Extra-articular fractures of the distal humerus are frequently managed surgically as these fractures are often unstable and have associated radial nerve injury. Different surgical approaches can be used to fix this fracture. We operated on a series of 9 patients with extra-articular fractures of the distal humerus utilizing the para-tricipital approach. Clinical outcomes were assessed by Mayo elbow performance score and visual analog scores. Radiological outcomes were assessed by plain radiographs. Time to union was an average of 4.2 months. Mean range of motion achieved at final follow-up was 122.50. Mean Mayo elbow performance score was 92.4. Excellent clinical results can be achieved by utilizing para-tricipital approach in extra-articular fractures of the distal humerus. Besides providing adequate exposure for rigid fracture fixation, this approach prevents the morbidity associated with triceps injury

Helminth infection in coldwater fishes of Suru river Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India

A helminthological survey of coldwater fishes of Ladakh was carried out from November 2007 to April 2009 (18 months). A total of 93 fishes belonging to two species viz., Schizothorax plagiostomus and Diptychus maculatus were collected and examined from different collection sites of Suru river, Kargil. A total of 2 helminth species viz., Neoechinorhynchus yalei Datta, 1936 and Rhabdochona himalayai Fotedar & Dhar, 1977 belonging to two helminth groups, i-e. Acanthocephala and Nematode were reported. It was found that out of 93 hosts examined, 31 were found infected with 43 parasites recovered in total, with an overall prevalence, mean intensity and abundance of 33.33%, 1.38 and 0.46 respectively. Distribution of helminth infection and its relation with sex and size of host was analysed. The helminth infection showed no significant relationship with sex of hosts however it showed mostly significant relation to size of host

Impact of Income on the Insurance Potential-A Case Study of Rural Sector of Jammu and Kashmir State

The Indian Insurance industry is flourishing with several national and international players competing and growing at rapid rates. The globalisation has allowed the Indian insurance sector to flourish as there is huge market potential for insurance in India and this potential will definitely increase further in future.  The survey was conducted from the state of Jammu and Kashmir using primary and secondary sources of data. This study has explored and assessed insurance potential in rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir State by analysing relationship between disposable income and Insurance potential. Looking at the source of information for households, it was found that television is the primary source for both insured and uninsured households. Other sources of information are friends, relatives and neighbours, news papers, radios, and transistors. Keywords: Households, Insurance, Information, Potential, Regulation

Immunopathogenesis of Salmonellosis

Salmonella is an intracellular pathogenic, gram-negative, facultative anaerobe and non-spore-forming and usually a motile bacillus that leads to salmonellosis in the host. It is a common food-borne disease that ranges from local gastrointestinal inflammation and diarrhoea to life-threatening typhoid fever and presents usually a serious threat to public health due to its socio-economic value. Inadequate sanitation and impure water help in the propagation of this disease. Despite advancement in the sanitation standards, Salmonella enters the food chain and affects communities globally. There is an immediate need to develop improved vaccines to minimise Salmonella-related illnesses. Some Salmonella serovars infect a wide range of hosts, while others are known to be host restricted. Many different factors determine the adaptability and host specificity of Salmonella. The host-pathogen interactions play a unique role in Salmonella invasion and progression which needs to be studied in detail. This chapter shall focus on our current understanding of Salmonella invasion, pathogenesis and interactions with the host, host specificity and adaptability

Dual-Energy Multidetector Computed Tomography: A Highly Accurate Non-Invasive Tool for in Vivo Determination of Chemical Composition of Renal Calculi

Introduction. Computed tomography is more accurate than excretory urography in evaluation of renal stones due to its high sensitivity and temporal resolution; it permits sub-millimetric evaluation of the size and site of calculi but cannot evaluate their chemical composition. Dual-energy computed tomography allows evaluating the chemical composition of urinary calculi using simultaneous image acquisition at two different energy levels. The objective of the research was to determine renal stone composition using dual-energy multidetector computed tomography, and its correlation with post-extraction chemical analysis of stones. Materials and Methods. This prospective study was conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging from September 2017 to March 2019. A total of 50 patients with urolithiasis at the age of 18-70 years were included in the study. Dual-energy computed tomography ratios of various stones were noted, and preoperative composition of calculi was given based on their colour and dual-energy computed tomography ratio. These results were compared with the post-extraction chemical analysis of stones (using Fourier infrared transform spectroscopy as the standard comparative method.) Results. The most common type of calculi in our study population was calcium oxalate stones (78%) followed by uric acid stones (12%), cystine stones (6%) and hydroxyapatite stones (4%). The dual-energy ratio of calcium oxalate, uric acid, cystine and hydroxyapatite stones ranged from 1.38-1.59, 0.94-1.08, and 1.20-1.28 and 1.52-1.57, respectively, with the mean dual-energy ratio of 1.43, 1.01, 1.25 and 1.55, respectively. Dual-energy computed tomography was found to be 100% sensitive and specific for differentiating uric acid stones from non‑uric acid stones. The sensitivity and specificity in differentiating calcium oxalate calculus from non‑calcium oxalate calculus was 97.5% and 90.9%, respectively, with 96% accuracy and kappa value of 0.883 suggesting strong agreement. Conclusions. Dual-energy computed tomography is highly sensitive and accurate in distinguishing between various types of renal calculi. It has vital role in management as uric acid calculi are amenable to drug treatment, while most of non-uric acid calculi require surgical intervention