ASSIMILATING AND REPRODUCING CONCEPTS AFTER PHARMACOLOGY LECTURE - A QUESTIONNAIRE-BASED STUDY

Objective: Medical undergraduates learn pharmacology during the second phase of MBBS. Considering the expanding list of drugs and volatility associated with its learning, the objective of this study was to describe the factors that interfere with the assimilation and reproduction of the concepts in pharmacology. Methods: This was a descriptive study done in the Department of Pharmacology of a Government Medical College in Central Kerala for a period of 2 months. Five short answer questions were chosen to elicit responses from the participants in the form of a surprise test. A Google fill out form elicited the perception of the participants about learning during the pharmacology lecture. The data were sorted and entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, USA). Descriptive data were expressed using frequencies and percentages. Results: Of the 148 students, 84 (56.75%) participated in the study. For the surprise test, the mean marks scored were 2.24±0.77 (maximum marks 5). Forty-seven (56%) participants claimed that they were attentive in pharmacology lectures only “sometimes.” The majority of the participants 82 (97.6%) “sometimes” found it difficult to imbibe the concepts in pharmacology. Seventy (83.3%) agreed that definitions are difficult to learn as such. Only 10 (11.9%) disagreed with the statement that a drug’s action cannot be interpreted as its use because sometimes actions can aggravate some diseases. Sixty-one (72.6%) participants had difficulty in understanding the word “rationale.” Five minutes break, continuity of topics, separate question-answer session at the end of class, summarization, a video demonstration of the mechanism of action, providing printed lecture notes, simple explanation, mnemonics to learn, clinical correlation, lectures during morning hours, and team-based quizzes were some suggestions to increase the assimilation of the subject. Conclusion: Participants had a mean score which was <50% of the total score. While the scores for definitions varied the question on uses of drugs fetched similar marks; however, the students had poor performance on the question related to rationale. Ignorance about the meaning of the word “rationale” shows the importance of regular feedback and the use of simple language in understanding the problems faced by the participants in learning the concepts in pharmacology

Satellite chlorophyll concentration as an aid to understanding the dynamics of Indian oil sardine in the southeastern Arabian Sea

Coastal waters of Kerala, which form an integral part of the Malabar upwelling zone off the southwest coast of India, constitute an important fishing region for small pelagics. Satellite remote sensing data from 1998−2014 were used to test the hypothesis that fluctuations in the landings of Sardinella longiceps, the major pelagic fish landed in the area designated as the South Eastern Arabian Sea (SEAS), are influenced by seasonal variability in phytoplankton biomass (measured as chlorophyll a [chl a] concentration), under the changing strength of physical para - meters such as sea surface temperature (SST), alongshore wind stress, Ekman mass transport, sea level anomaly (SLA) and Kerala rainfall. Multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA) was used to assess the influence of physical forcing mechanisms on chl a concentration on monthly and seasonal scales. We found that SLA, alongshore wind stress, SST and rainfall were ranked 1 to 4, respectively, and the first 3 factors significantly influenced the chl a concentration of SEAS. Pearson’s correlation analysis between monthly chl a and sardine landing (with chl a leading) showed a maximum positive correlation (+0.26) at 2 and 3 mo lags, emphasizing that the influence of chl a on the fishery of S. longiceps is seasonal (r = 0.35 for seasonal lead−lag correlation) in the coastal waters of SEAS. Variation in phytoplankton biomass, as evidenced by chl a fluctuations, seems to have a decisive role in regulating the physiological condition of larvae spawned during the southwest monsoon season, their juveniles and finally the adults that are recruited into the fishery in the next season. Using the quantity of phytoplankton as a predictive tool will exploit the presumptive trophic link to aid understanding of sardine fishery dynamics in upwelling zones

A Novel Privacy Approach of Digital Aerial Images Based on Mersenne Twister Method with DNA Genetic Encoding and Chaos

Aerial photography involves capturing images from aircraft and other flying objects, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Aerial images are used in many fields and can contain sensitive information that requires secure processing. We proposed an innovative new cryptosystem for the processing of aerial images utilizing a chaos-based private key block cipher method so that the images are secure even on untrusted cloud servers. The proposed cryptosystem is based on a hybrid technique combining the Mersenne Twister (MT), Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), and Chaotic Dynamical Rossler System (MT-DNA-Chaos) methods. The combination of MT with the four nucleotides and chaos sequencing creates an enhanced level of security for the proposed algorithm. The system is tested at three separate phases. The combined effects of the three levels improve the overall efficiency of the randomness of data. The proposed method is computationally agile, and offered more security than existing cryptosystems. To assess, this new system is examined against different statistical tests such as adjacent pixels correlation analysis, histogram consistency analyses and its variance, visual strength analysis, information randomness and uncertainty analysis, pixel inconsistency analysis, pixels similitude analyses, average difference, and maximum difference. These tests confirmed its validity for real-time communication purposes

Inventory groups and commodity flows : optimization in a capacitated multicommodity multiple supplier environment

Vita.The multiple supplier inventory grouping problem concerns the minimization of total logistics cost for a firm that has many suppliers. Each supplier may provide multiple items, subject to capacity limitations. Logistics costs included are transportation, inventory holding, ordering, and purchasing (possibly with price discounts). The cost elements interact in complex ways resulting in multiple tradeoffs. The problem is complicated by the need to simultaneously optimize commodity flows, inventory groups, and group cycle times. It is of considerable interest to firms involved in transportation, distribution and manufacturing. The primary background areas are Inventory Grouping, Inbound Consolidation, and Freight Networks. The focus of Inventory Grouping is on finding the optimal inventory groups and associated cycle times for joint orders, in situations where holding costs and ordering costs interact and purchase orders have a header cost component. Inbound Consolidation is concerned with the integration of transportation costs and transshipment terminals into the inventory grouping framework. Finally, Freight Networks typically involve commodity flows with multiple sources and sinks. The model developed in this study may be viewed as a multicommodity freight network with side (complicating) constraints. The problem is formulated as a 0-1 linear integer programming model. Problem complexity grows exponentially with size, and a fast solution algorithm is necessary in order to solve large problems in reasonable time. The model is solved by a specialized method, based on subgradient optimization, that is developed in the dissertation, and also by a state-of-the-art commercial routine (OSL) developed by IBM. The specialized algorithm is able to solve problems in a small fraction of the time taken by OSL. For large problems, OSL's solution time, computer memory and storage requirements are exceedingly high, making it impractical for regular use. It is expected that the specialized algorithm will eventually be embedded in a decision support system for firms involved with transportation, distribution and manufacturing

Inventory groups and commodity flows : optimization in a capacitated multicommodity multiple supplier environment

Vita.The multiple supplier inventory grouping problem concerns the minimization of total logistics cost for a firm that has many suppliers. Each supplier may provide multiple items, subject to capacity limitations. Logistics costs included are transportation, inventory holding, ordering, and purchasing (possibly with price discounts). The cost elements interact in complex ways resulting in multiple tradeoffs. The problem is complicated by the need to simultaneously optimize commodity flows, inventory groups, and group cycle times. It is of considerable interest to firms involved in transportation, distribution and manufacturing. The primary background areas are Inventory Grouping, Inbound Consolidation, and Freight Networks. The focus of Inventory Grouping is on finding the optimal inventory groups and associated cycle times for joint orders, in situations where holding costs and ordering costs interact and purchase orders have a header cost component. Inbound Consolidation is concerned with the integration of transportation costs and transshipment terminals into the inventory grouping framework. Finally, Freight Networks typically involve commodity flows with multiple sources and sinks. The model developed in this study may be viewed as a multicommodity freight network with side (complicating) constraints. The problem is formulated as a 0-1 linear integer programming model. Problem complexity grows exponentially with size, and a fast solution algorithm is necessary in order to solve large problems in reasonable time. The model is solved by a specialized method, based on subgradient optimization, that is developed in the dissertation, and also by a state-of-the-art commercial routine (OSL) developed by IBM. The specialized algorithm is able to solve problems in a small fraction of the time taken by OSL. For large problems, OSL's solution time, computer memory and storage requirements are exceedingly high, making it impractical for regular use. It is expected that the specialized algorithm will eventually be embedded in a decision support system for firms involved with transportation, distribution and manufacturing

A clinical study on role of surgical management of clavicle fractures in adults

Clavicle, the horizontal bone of the body fractures is seen commonly in Road traffic accidents, fall from heights and also in simple falls. The clavicle fractures account for about 5-10% of all fractures. Traditionally it is believed that conservative management is best instead of surgery for clavicle bone. Internal fixation for middle third fractures of clavicle with interlocking will not be ideal choice as the implant cannot be precontoured. Fixation with plates would be a better choice for the said situation. Similarly, fixation of lateral third fractures is also better option suggested by many authorities. To analyze methods of surgical management for the fractures of middle and lateral third parts the current study was carried out at Department of Orthopedics, Government Medical College and Hospital, Anantapuramu. An attempt is also made to study the epidemiological factors associated with fracture of the clavicle. At the end of the study it can be concluded that the middle and lateral third fractures of clavicle are common in younger age group males who met with road traffic accidents. As for as surgical management is concerned, internal fixation with plates and screws for middle third fractures and tension band wiring for lateral third fractures of Clavicle would be ideal choice as they allow for early rehabilitation, less chances for infection and pose least number of complications

The relationship between Indian summer monsoon rainfall and Atlantic multidecadal variability over the last 500 years

Several studies have shown a statistically significant correlation between Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) and Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) since 1871 when instrumental data are available. In the instrumental records, both ISMR and North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have multidecadal variability with a period close to 60 yr, where periods of warm (cold) North Atlantic SSTs are accompanied by periods of wetter (dryer) ISMR and lower (higher) frequencies of dry years. We have studied both AMV and ISMR for the period from 1481 to present using several proxy reconstructions from both regions, as well as an extended instrumental data set for ISMR, to investigate multidecadal variability in the ISMR and the teleconnection to AMV. Previous studies investigating the relationship between AMV and ISMR in instrumental data have only used the period from 1871 onwards, whereas rain gauge data from the year 1844 are studied here, extending the instrumental record by 26 yr. We find that the observed link between AMV and ISMR is present in the extended instrumental data. We also find that multidecadal variability is present in the ISMR in all proxy records; however, all the proxy records for both ISMR and AMV diverge before the 1800s. In addition, the observed correlation between AMV and ISMR has weakened in the last decade. These results emphasise that it is not appropriate to use single proxy reconstructions to study past climates