Practicing a Collaborative Directing Style, Ecotheater, and Theater for Social Change with Madeleine George’s Hurricane Diane

The Greek god Dionysus, aka Diane, has returned or as claimed in her opening monologue – she never really left. However, this time her return is in the form of a permaculture expert who has been living in a lesbian commune outside of Burlington, Vermont. Her ultimate purpose is to initiate the instant healing of our planet by recruiting four women to join her cult from this perfect cul-de-sac located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Although her plan sounds very simple and straightforward, chaos ensues when Diane is pressed for time by a hurricane that is approaching the east coast. In Hurricane Diane, Madeleine George has put the ubiquitous environmental crisis that Earth is facing at the very forefront of this play prompting the audience to question the systems of human oppression that have enabled it. The focus of this project is to understand how theater is practiced to impact social change and what theater has to offer when used to address social issues such as the environmental crisis. This thesis offers a reflection and analysis of my directing process which focuses on the importance of collaboration in a rehearsal setting and the disruption of traditional theater hierarchy and power structures in the rehearsal process. The two main pillars of this thesis include the exploration of theater in relation to inspiring social change and the practice of Ecotheater as proposed by Una Chaudhuri

Neonatal small left colon syndrome - Radiological diagnosis by gastrografin contrast study

Neonatal small left colon syndrome (NSLCS) is one of the suspected diagnoses if the neonate does not pass meconium within 24 h ofbirth. Radiological contrast studies play a vital role in diagnosing and treating the entity. We report a case where the newborn did notpass meconium till 4 days of birth and which on gastrografin studies was diagnosed as a case of NSLCS

Reaction to Yadav S et al: Invalid presentation of bilateral synchronous presentation of spermatocytic seminoma

No Abstract

Non-Invasive Neuromodulation Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technologies have been applied to study brain physiology and, more recently, have been recognized for their therapeutic potential as an adjunctive treatment for various neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electric stimulation (tES) are two of the most studied NIBS modalities in Parkinson’s disease. They are non-systemic and relatively safe. Most therapeutic trials have been conducted to ameliorate motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) with overall positive results using various stimulation modalities and methods. Notwithstanding significant results, evidence has not yet been compelling mainly due to small-size studies, lack of standardization of methodologies and other study design limitations. NIBS hold promise for treatment of PD symptoms and PD related complications. Large, well designed clinical trials are needed to corroborate these positive findings and inform its durability and the overall clinical relevance for the treatment of PD

Development of Motion Trackers for Space Debris Research

Space debris are dysfunctional artificial objects that are orbiting around the earth. Miniaturization and advancement in space technology have encouraged the increase in the number of small-satellite constellations. Over the years, in-orbit catastrophic events have resulted in an exponential increase in space pollution with the ever-expanding coverage area of space debris. An international consortium of private institutions and space agencies works together to address the concern by extensive research and development related to active debris tracking and removal methods. On the same grounds, the Institute of Technical Physics of German Aerospace Center is developing ground based high energy laser facility and optical instruments to track and remove space debris from Low Earth Orbit. The internship project aims to develop a motion tracker software to track the sample in a technology demonstration experiment of impulse generation through laser-matter interaction. Several object detection and motion tracking algorithms in computer vision were reviewed and analyzed to accomplish it. For object detection, Harris Corner Detector and Scale Invariant Feature Transform algorithms exhibit a decent success rate. Optical flow point based tracking was most promising to obtain a 3-Dimensional sample track specifically in a multi-view camera configuration. The reference data files used for software development are the high-speed videos originally obtained during the laser-matter interaction experiment throughout the project

UNSTEADY FLOW THROUGH POROUS MEDIA PAST ON MOVING VERTICAL PLATE WITH VARIABLE TEMPERATURE IN THE PRESENCE OF INCLINED MAGNETIC FIELD

In this paper, we have investigated the motion of unsteady flow through porous media past on moving vertical plate with variable temperature in the presence of inclined magnetic field. The fluid considered is viscous, electrically conducting, incompressible, absorbing-emitting radiation in a non-scattering medium. The Laplace transform technique has been used to find the solutions for the velocity profile. The velocity profile has been studied for different parameters like Hartmann number, Prandtl number, thermal Grashof number and time. The effects of variable parameters to the velocity profiles are discussed graphically and the numerical values obtained for skin-friction has been tabulated

Art therapy for Parkinson's disease.

Abstract Objective To explore the potential rehabilitative effect of art therapy and its underlying mechanisms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods Observational study of eighteen patients with PD, followed in a prospective, open-label, exploratory trial. Before and after twenty sessions of art therapy, PD patients were assessed with the UPDRS, Pegboard Test, Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale and PROMIS-Self-Efficacy, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT), Benton Visual Recognition Test (BVRT), Navon Test, Visual Search, and Stop Signal Task. Eye movements were recorded during the BVRT. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was also performed to assess functional connectivity (FC) changes within the dorsal attention (DAN), executive control (ECN), fronto-occipital (FOC), salience (SAL), primary and secondary visual (V1, V2) brain networks. We also tested fourteen age-matched healthy controls at baseline. Results At baseline, PD patients showed abnormal visual-cognitive functions and eye movements. Analyses of rs-fMRI showed increased functional connectivity within DAN and ECN in patients compared to controls. Following art therapy, performance improved on Navon test, eye tracking, and UPDRS scores. Rs-fMRI analysis revealed significantly increased FC levels in brain regions within V1 and V2 networks. Interpretation Art therapy improves overall visual-cognitive skills and visual exploration strategies as well as general motor function in patients with PD. The changes in brain connectivity highlight a functional reorganization of visual networks

Engineering design of vertical test stand cryostat

Under Indian Institutions and Fermilab collaboration, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are jointly developing 2K Vertical Test Stand (VTS) cryostats for testing SCRF cavities at 2K. The VTS cryostat has been designed for a large testing aperture of 86.36 cm for testing of 325 MHz Spoke resonators, 650 MHz and 1.3 GHz multi-cell SCRF cavities for Fermilab's Project-X. Units will be installed at Fermilab and RRCAT and used to test cavities for Project-X. A VTS cryostat comprises of liquid helium (LHe) vessel with internal magnetic shield, top insert plate equipped with cavity support stand and radiation shield, liquid nitrogen (LN{sub 2}) shield and vacuum vessel with external magnetic shield. The engineering design and analysis of VTS cryostat has been carried out using ASME B&PV Code and Finite Element Analysis. Design of internal and external magnetic shields was performed to limit the magnetic field inside LHe vessel at the cavity surface <1 {micro}T. Thermal analysis for LN{sub 2} shield has been performed to check the effectiveness of LN{sub 2} cooling and for compliance with ASME piping code allowable stresses