Language Death and Urgency to Retain its Pure Variety

Language Death is a process that affects speech communities where the level of linguistic competence that speakers possess of a given language variety is decreased Language death may affect any language idiom including dialects and language Khortha or Kharostha Bangla is enigmatic in nature because of its varied varieties and features like ergativity language switching code mixing and convergence Language Shift leading to language death is a sociolinguistic phenomenon which can be widely observed in Khortha The present paper highlights upon the various aspects of Language shift in Khortha It will also focuses on the factors that may lead to the death of the original variety of Khortha The paper also emphasizes on the need to see the urgency to maintain and retain the originality of Khortha so that it does nt disappear or become a matter of pas

Scenario of Employee Welfare Programs in IT sector of Rajasthan – Employee Expectations and Reality

Employee Welfare is a corporate attitude or commitment reflected in the expressed care for employees at all levels. The term welfare suggests the state of well-being, health, happiness, prosperity and the development of human resources .The present study is an attempt to identify the employee welfare programs being conducted in IT industry and analysing the satisfaction level of employees from these activities. The study also aims at finding out how aware employees are regarding the basic welfare activities that they are entitled to avail at workplace. The effective and efficient policies and welfare facilities (statutory and non statutory) make the employee to perform the job better, which leads to effectiveness of the organization and is a factor of employee engagement. As a major outcome of the study, the organisations focus differently on the various Employee Welfare Programs on the basis of the need and priorities of the employees. The research tool used for primary data collection was structured questionnaire and personal interviews. Secondary data was taken through various journals, magazines and company websites. Out of 240 questionnaires rotated 200 were received with proper responses that were analysed and conclusions were drawn. The data was collected through employees and HR managers of various IT and ITes companies of the state of Rajasthan. Keywords- Employee Welfare Programs, Employee Engagement, IT and ITeS, HR practices , statutory and Non Statutory

Impact and Implication of Thermal Conditioning on the Mechanical behavior of FRP Composites

Fiber reinforced composites are used extensively on a very large scale. They are subject to change in temperature and loading conditions constantly. In the experimental study, we have tried to assess the impact of temperature and conditioning time on the mechanical behaviour of glass fiber reinforced composites. Interface is the most significant part of composite structure which regulates the load transfer from matrix to fiber. Its strength is measured in terms of ILSS (Inter Laminar Shear Strength). Short beam shear tests are done at ambient and 60⁰C for conditioning times 30 minutes, 1 hour and 3 hours .The results show that at high temperature, there is initial increase in the strength of interface up to 30 minutes followed by weakening as conditioning time increases to 1 hour. This again is followed by strengthening of the interface as conditioning time extends to 3 hours. Understanding the effect of conditioning time might help us in optimization of the mechanical properties. Composite material may contain randomly spaced microvoids, incipient damage sites and microcracks with statistically distributed sizes and directions. Therefore, the local strength in the material varies in a random fashion. The failure location as well as degree of damage induced in the material will also vary in an unpredictable mode. The fractured surfaces are photographed by SEM analysis and studied. As temperature increases, the mode of failure approaches matrix cracking, fiber breakage and debonding. Each test is carried out at six different crosshead speeds, 5mm /min, 10mm/min, 50mm/min, 100mm/min, 200mm/min, and 500mm/min. ILSS decreases as crosshead speed is increased. FTIR analysis of composite specimens was carried out to interpret the reaction between matrix and fiber at the interface. DSC analysis was done to understand the deflection of glass transition temperature with the change in temperature and conditioning time. There are a lot of conflicts over this subject and this study has tried to highlight the major factors which need to be focussed upon for further improvement in the field of composites

Urinary Incontinence & Impact of Management on Sexual Function in Women

Aims and Objectives: It was hypothesized that urinary incontinence has an impact on sexual function in women though the exact impact and its mechanism remains unproven. This thesis aimed to analyze the association between urinary incontinence and sexual function in women. The impact of different treatment modalities for urinary incontinence and their effect on sexual function was measured. This was through a series of separate experiments. Methods: It is widely accepted that urinary incontinence impacts on sexual function but the pathophysiology of sexual dysfunction remains unclear. A review of female sexual dysfunction (Paper 1) and the impact of pelvic floor problems on sexual function (Paper 2) was undertaken. As studies analyzing sexual function in women with pelvic floor disorders tend to cluster women with prolapse and incontinence it has been difficult to identify which of these has a greater impact on sexual function. A study was undertaken to compare sexual function in these 2 main disorders of the pelvic floor, prolapse and incontinence (Paper 3). The incidence of sexual dysfunction and comparison of symptoms in both groups were done using Mann-Whitney U test. The two most common causes for urinary incontinence are sphincter weakness and involuntary detrusor contractions, which usually manifest clinically as stress incontinence and overactive bladder. Traditional teaching has been that both are responsible for coital incontinence but there remains considerable controversy on the exact impact different types of urinary incontinence has. This was further explored in another study (Paper4). Data were collected as part of routine clinical care using an electronic pelvic floor questionnaire (ePAQ) and correlated with urodynamic findings. By correlating the different types of incontinence based on urodynamic diagnosis to sexual function, the exact incidence of coital incontinence, penetration and orgasm incontinence were estimated. Various treatment modalities for both types of urinary incontinence were assessed and the impact these treatments have on sexual function studied. The main treatments for Stress incontinence are Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) and surgical treatment. To assess the former a prospective cohort randomized controlled trial was conducted looking at the impact of electrical stimulation compared to standard PFMT alone in women with urinary incontinence and the impact this has on sexual function (Paper 7). This was a single centre two arm parallel group randomised controlled trial. The interventions compared were electric stimulation versus standard pelvic floor muscle training. Outcome measures included Prolapse and Incontinence Sexual function Questionnaire (PISQ) physical function dimension at post-treatment (primary); other dimensions of PISQ, SF-36; EQ-5D, EPAQ, resource use, adverse events and cost-effectiveness (secondary outcomes). The impact of all continence surgery including the Tension free vaginal tape (TVT) on sexual function was evaluated by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis (Paper 5). Observational studies and randomised controlled trials investigating the impact of surgical correction of stress urinary incontinence on sexual function were included. Surgical interventions included TVT, TVT-O, TOT, Burch and AFS. Studies which included patients undergoing concurrent prolapse surgery were excluded from the analysis. Coital incontinence was analyzed separately and OR with 95% CI calculated. The data were analysed in Review Manager 5 software. In addition to analyzing various treatment options we also compared the different types of midurethral tapes and their overall impact on sexual function. The mainstay of treatment for women with overactive bladder symptoms (OAB) is anticholinergics and this was assessed in a separate study. Women identified to have OAB and sexual dysfunction being commenced on anticholinergics were followed up to observe the impact of medical treatment on their sexual function (Paper 6). The ePAQ PF, PISQ 12 and PGI-I were used for the assessment of Overactive bladder and Sexual function. Sexually active women with overactive bladder were included in the study and assessed using the ePAQ-PF, PISQ 12 and PGI-I for Overactive bladder and Sexual function. Prolapse and voiding dysfunction were exclusion criteria for the study. All women were treatment naïve and followed up for 6 months. Sexual function before and after treatment was compared. The data were analysed using SPSS (version 20). Results: The individual impact of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and urinary incontinence on sexual function was found to be similar. Patient and partner avoidance in women with POP was greater than those with stress urinary incontinence (Paper 3). Worsening urinary incontinence has a deleterious effect on sexual function. However the type of urinary incontinence as established on Urodynamic diagnosis does not correlate with the nature of underlying sexual problems, orgasm or penetration incontinence (Paper 4). PFMT improved sexual function, but there was no difference in the outcomes when comparing standard PFMT to electrical stimulation (Paper 7). Surgical correction of SUI significantly reduced coital incontinence . An analysis of overall impact on sexual function with all surgical continence procedures demonstrated an improvement, no change and deterioration in 31.9%, 55.5% and 13.1% respectively. These were similar when analyzing overall sexual function following mid urethral tapes in isolation (Paper 5). Anticholinergics and cure of overactive bladder did not however correlate to an improvement in sexual function (Paper 6). Conclusions: Sexual dysfunction is complex and multifactorial. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction is greater in women with pelvic floor disorders and the interventions for urinary incontinence have a variable impact.

Angular Lens

We propose a single phase-only optical element that transforms different orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes into localized spots at separated angular positions on a transverse plane. We refer to this element as an angular lens since it separates out OAM modes in a manner analogous to how a converging lens separates out transverse wave-vector modes at the focal plane. We also simulate the proposed angular lens using a spatial light modulator and experimentally demonstrate its working. Our work can have important implications for OAM-based classical and quantum communication applications

Cost-Effectiveness of Automated Digital Microscopy for Diagnosis of Active Tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Automated digital microscopy has the potential to improve the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), particularly in settings where molecular testing is too expensive to perform routinely. The cost-effectiveness of TB diagnostic algorithms using automated digital microscopy remains uncertain. METHODS: Using data from a demonstration study of an automated digital microscopy system (TBDx, Applied Visual Systems, Inc.), we performed an economic evaluation of TB diagnosis in South Africa from the health system perspective. The primary outcome was the incremental cost per new TB diagnosis made. We considered costs and effectiveness of different algorithms for automated digital microscopy, including as a stand-alone test and with confirmation of positive results with Xpert MTB/RIF ('Xpert', Cepheid, Inc.). Results were compared against both manual microscopy and universal Xpert testing. RESULTS: In settings willing to pay $2000 per incremental TB diagnosis, universal Xpert was the preferred strategy. However, where resources were not sufficient to support universal Xpert, and a testing volume of at least 30 specimens per day could be ensured, automated digital microscopy with Xpert confirmation of low-positive results could facilitate the diagnosis of 79-84$1280 per incremental TB diagnosis (95% uncertainty range, UR: $340-$3440) in the base case, but improved under conditions likely reflective of many settings in sub-Saharan Africa: $677 per diagnosis (95$450-$935) when sensitivity of manual smear microscopy was lowered to 0.5, and$956 per diagnosis (95% UR: $40-$2910) when the prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB was lowered to 1%. CONCLUSIONS: Although universal Xpert testing is the preferred algorithm for TB diagnosis when resources are sufficient, automated digital microscopy can identify the majority of cases and halve the cost of diagnosis and treatment when resources are more scarce and multidrug-resistant TB is not common

Prolapse or incontinence: what affects sexual function the most?

Introduction and hypothesis Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) adversely affect sexual function in women. Comparative studies of the two subgroups are few and results are conflicting. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of POP and SUI on the sexual function of women undergoing surgery for these conditions. Methods The study population comprised women with POP or SUI in a tertiary referral hospital in the UK. Women who underwent SUI surgery had no symptoms of POP and had urodynamically proven stress incontinence. Patients with POP had ≥ stage 2 prolapse, without bothersome urinary symptoms. Pre-operative data on sexual function were collected and compared using an electronic pelvic floor assessment questionnaire (ePAQ). The incidence of sexual dysfunction and comparison of symptoms in both groups were calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results Three hundred and forty-three women undergoing surgery for either SUI or POP were included. Patients were age-matched, with 184 undergoing SUI surgery (age range 33–77 years) and 159 POP surgery (age range 27–78 years; p = 0.869). The overall impact of POP and SUI was not significantly different in the two subgroups (p = 0.703). However, both patients (73 % vs 36 %; p = 0.00) and partners (50 % vs 24 %; p = 0.00) avoid intercourse significantly more frequently in cases with POP compared with SUI. This did not have a significant impact on quality of life. Conclusions The impact of bothersome SUI or POP on sexual function was found to be similar, but patient and partner avoidance in women with POP was greater than those with SUI

The impact of vaginal laser treatment for genitourinary syndrome of menopause in breast cancer survivors : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is caused by hypo-estrogenism, resulting in vaginal dryness, pain, dyspareunia, and urinary tract infection. It is more severe and common in breast cancer (BC) survivors owing to the severity of induced menopause following treatment (ie, chemotherapy, GnRH agonists/anti-estrogen therapy). It has a detrimental effect on quality of life. The gold standard therapy is topical estrogen, which is highly effective; however, it is contraindicated in patients with BC owing to concerns with recurrence. Recently, vaginal laser therapy has been used to restore vaginal mucosal thickness, lubrication, and elasticity with good effect in menopausal women with GSM. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of vaginal laser therapy on BC-associated GSM. Materials and Methods This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis. Results A total of 48 papers were identified, revealing 10 observational studies of GSM symptoms before and after vaginal laser therapy with no randomized trials. Vaginal laser was effective in treating GSM in BC survivors with improvement in the Vaginal Health Index and the Visual Analogue Scale score for dyspareunia and vaginal dryness, sexual function, and overall satisfaction in the short term with minimal adverse events. Conclusion Vaginal laser may be effective in treating GSM in BC survivors in the short term, but there are no long-term data on safety and efficacy. More research is needed looking at longer term follow-up, health economic costs, and sub-group analysis as well as the complex interplay between GSM and the other negative impacts of BC therapy on intimate relationships