Study on the attitude of “Tomorrow’s Doctors” towards mental illness: A cross-sectional study

Different studies show different attitudes towards mental illness among medical students. This study was initiated to explore the attitude towards mental illness among medical students in a medical college of Manipur. A cross-sectional selfadministered questionnaire-based study was conducted among medical students in Manipur. Two self rating scales – Social Distance Scale and Dangerousness scale were used to assess attitude towards mental illness. Descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test were applied using SPSS 22 for analysis. The students didn’t keep social distance against the mentally ill, and exposure to psychiatry did not have any effect. However regarding dangerousness scale they had a negative attitude towards mental illness and as overall exposure to psychiatry did not have any effect. Medical students did not keep social distance against the mentally ill, however these students have tendency to feel that mentally ill persons are dangerous.KEY WORDS: Attitudes; Mental illness; Likert scale; Psychiatr

A 10-day ASCA Observation of the Narrow-line Seyfert~1 galaxy IRAS 13224-3809

(Abridged) We present an analysis of a 10-day continuous ASCA observation of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy IRAS 13224-3809. The soft (0.7-1.3 keV) and hard (1.3-10 keV) X-ray band light curves binned to 5000s reveal trough-to-peak variations by a factor >25 and 20, respectively. The light curves in the soft and hard bands are strongly correlated without any significant delay. However, this correlation is not entirely due to changes in the power-law flux alone but also due to changes in the soft X-ray hump emission above the power law. The presence of a soft X-ray hump below 2 keV, previously detected in ROSAT and ASCA data, is confirmed. Time resolved spectroscopy using daily sampling reveals changes in the power-law slope, with Gamma in the range 1.74-2.47, however, day-to-day variations in Gamma are not significant. The Soft hump emission is found to dominate the observed variability on a timescale of a week, but on shorter timescales (20000s) the power-law component appears to dominate the observed variability. Flux resolved spectroscopy reveals that at high flux levels the power law becomes steeper and the soft hump more pronounced. The steepening of the photon index with the fluxes in the soft and hard bands can be understood in the framework of disk/corona models in which accretion disk is heated by viscous dissipation as well as by reprocessing of hard X-rays following an X-ray flare resulting from coronal dissipation through magnetic reconnection events.Comment: 29 pages, 16 figures, To apear in A&

Perspective of Station Uptime on Modeling and Management of the Base Station Energy Consumption

The network availability of the wireless network can be viewed as broader concept of network reliability. Reliability is a unique quality of wireless network and it is regarded as key parameter for business success of the telecom service providers. The network availability however is often compromised with outages caused by various factors and amongst the factors, inadequate energy at the base stations is the major outage-contributing factor. Due to unreliable electrical grid supply at many base stations, diesel generators are deployed to the stations as an alternative source of energy.  The diesel generators incur high operating expenses. This paper presents a quantitative approach for measurement and estimation of diesel fuel consumption based on uptime hours of various equipments installed at the base station site. It also introduces a new parameter called energy conservation factor, which determines amount of energy transfer to the battery-bank while charging the battery with power from an external source such as grid, diesel generator.  This model while presenting a new management perspective for effective utilization of the conserved energy of the battery-bank also attempts to reduce waste such as fuel losses and pilferages. We also describe how the method introduced in this paper can assist management in planning and preparation of fuel budget for a particular base station or the entire wireless network. Keywords: Wireless network availability; Network reliability; Network outage; Base station site; Conserved energy; Energy conservation facto

BLDC motor driven electric skateboard using SVPWM

Several problems are faced by today’s generation. One of them is the increase in pollution in our everyday life. Each of us can play a part in reducing this by using some environmentally friendly method such as cycles which requires mechanical force. Another way to accomplish this is by using electricity to produce this mechanical force i.e. electric motor. In this paper BLDC motor driven electric skateboard is designed with mathematical calculation, verified with simulation and developed as a experimental setup

Morphology and conductivity studies of a new solid polymer electrolyte: (PEG)<SUB>x</SUB>LiCIO<SUB>4</SUB>

A new solid polymer electrolyte, (PEG)xLiClO4, consisting of poly(ethylene)glycol of molecular weight 2000 and LiClO4 was prepared and characterized using XRD, IR, SEM, DSC, NMR and impedance spectroscopy techniques. XRD and IR results show the formation of the polymer-salt complex. The samples with higher salt concentration are softer, less opaque and less smooth compared to the low salt concentration samples. DSC studies show an increase in the glass transition temperature and a decrease in the degree of crystallinity with increase in the salt concentration. Melting temperature of SPEs is lower than the pure PEG 2000. Room temperature1H and7Li NMR studies were also carried out for the (PEG)xLiClO4 system. The1H linewidth decreases as salt concentration increases in a similar way to the decrease in the crystalline fraction and reaches a minimum at around x = 46 and then increases.7Li linewidth was found to decrease first and then to slightly increase after reaching a minimum at x = 46 signifying the highest mobility of Li ions for this composition. Room temperature conductivity first increases with salt concentration and reaches a maximum value (&#963; = 7.3 &#215;10-7 S/cm) at x = 46 and subsequently decreases. The temperature dependence of the conductivity can be fitted to the Arrhenius and the VTF equations in different temperature ranges. The ionic conductivity reaches a high value of ~10 -4S/cm close to the melting temperature

Diversity and distribution of earthworms in a natural reserved and disturbed sub-tropical forest ecosystem of Imphal-West, Manipur, India.

A comparative analysis of earthworm communities was carried out in sub-tropical forest ecosystem to understand the impact of biotic disturbances. Three sites selected were: natural mixed reserved forest, disturbed oak dominated sub-tropical forest ecosystem and managed oak plantation sector. We evaluated the presence and diversity of various earthworm genera and species in selected forests sites. Our investigation revealed the presence of at least 7 species of earthworms belonging to 5 genera and 4 families: Megascolecidae (Metaphire houlleti, Metaphire anomala, Amynthas corticis, and Amynthas morrisi.), Glossoscolecidae (Pontoscolex corethrurus) and Moniligastridae (Drawida sp.), Octochaetidae (Eutyphoeus sp.). Glossoscolecidae and Megascolecidae were generally found in disturbed forest ecosystem. Drawida sp. had a mean density of 65 ind. m-2 in a natural reserved forest whereas in the disturbed oak dominated forest it showed maximum mean densities of only 15 ind. m-2. Our results showed the great adaptability of Glossoscolicidae to various levels of disturbances and suggested the possibility of a large occurrence of this worm species in sub-tropical forest ecosystem of Imphal, Manipur

Enteric parasitosis and its correlation with CD4 count in human immunodeficiency virus infected patients

Background: The gastrointestinal tract of the HIV/AIDS patient (s) is harboured by a number of luminal extracellular and intracellular parasites. These parasites are responsible for deteriorating and worsening the general health condition(s) of these immunocompromised groups of patients. Moreover, these parasitic infections are often correlated with the CD4 counts of the individuals. Therefore, with a view to assess the relationship between the presence of parasitic infection and that of the CD4 count, the present work is being undertaken.Methods: The study was conducted in the Parasitology section of the department of Life Sciences, Manipur University and CD4 count unit of Microbiology Department, RIMS hospital Imphal from 34 HIV positive Antiretroviral treatment (ART) naive patients, aged between 19 to 50 years. The samples were taken from the patients only after obtaining a signed consent form . Techniques like normal saline method, iodine wet preparation method, formol ethyl acetate concentration technique, Baermann modified funnel technique, modified Ziehl Neelsen staining technique and adhesive cellophane tape method were employed for the present investigation.Results: The present study reveals that patients with CD4 count &lt;200 cells/μl were harbouring only two parasites (Cryptosporidium sp and G. lamblia) whereas individuals with CD4 count within the range of 200-500 cells/μl were observed to have harboured G. lamblia, Cryptosporidium sp, E.histolytica, hookworm, S. stercoralis and A. lumbricoides. On the other hand, enteric parasites associated with CD4 count &gt;500 cells/μl included G. lamblia, hookworm, E. vermicularis and S. stercoralis.Conclusions: The present study shows that occurrence of intestinal parasitism is independent of CD4 count in HIV infected patients. Therefore, based on the present findings, it may be suggested that irrespective of CD4 count(s) and whether the patient experiences diarrhoea or not, regular monitoring of the HIV patient(s) for the presence of enteric parasitosis by adopting standard laboratory protocols should be encouraged for maintaining a healthy life of the people living with HIV/AIDS

EFFICACY OF ANTI-BACTERIAL AND ANTI-FUNGAL ACTION ON THREE MEDICINAL PLANTS EXTRACT THE Rosa gallica, Psidium guajava AND Vitis vinifera AGAINST Streptococcus mutans AND Candida albicans -AN In-vitro STUDY

Introduction: World health organization has been an initiative for the widespread practice of herbal medicine been practiced in developing countries and created a scientific basis to treat infection. Aim: The aim of the study was to test the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity of three medical plant extract the Rosa gallica, Psidium guajava L and Vitis vinifera against the streptococcus Mutans and Candida albicans organisms. Settings and Design: An in-vitro study was conducted collaborated with the department of microbiology and the Department of Public Health Dentistry in SRM Dental College and Hospital for a period of four months. The extract of medical plant of Rosa gallica, Psidium guajava L and Vitis vinifera was tested in different concentration to find out the effective anti-bacterial and anti-fungal action. Methods and Materials: Extract obtained from the medicinal plant of Rosa gallica, psidium guajava L and Vitis vinifera was procured and powdered. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the obtained extracts was determined by using the tube dilution method and the bacterial strains of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans was cultured into the extract obtained at concentration of 1 mg/ml, 500 µg/ml, 250 µg/ml, and 100 µg/ml respectively. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics was done to analysis the bacterial count in different concentration. Results: The extracts obtained from Rosa gallica and psidium guajava L had a better anti-bacterial property when compared to the other medicinal plants and the extracts obtained from Rosa gallica and psidium guajava L had a better anti-fungal property when compared to the other two medicinal plants. Conclusions: These plants extracts showed anti-bacterial property in previous studies to add on to the review of literature in our study it proved that Rosa gallica and psidium guajava L had a better anti-fungal activity when compared to another two medicinal plant extract. The clinical significance of the medicinal plant extract can be effectively used as anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent as it was compared with the gold standard values of kanamycin and Ketoconazole