The Verdaland Rissa Landslides — Application of Case Histories in Education

Trøndelag is a region in Mid-Norway with large deposits of quick and sensitive clays. Accordingly, the quick clay sliding activity in the region is rather high. The two best known cases are presented in this paper, the Verdal and the Rissa landslides. These slides have had a significant impact on the teaching and research at the Norwegian University of Technology and Science (NTNU) and on how the communities and authorities relate to risk of new slides. The Geotechnical Group at NTNU has been working extensively with quick clay behaviour through decades, particularly on understanding the progressive failure mechanism and modelling of it, in the latest years through finite element analyses. The paper presents these two specific cases, the Verdal and the Rissa quick clay slides, and how these have contributed to the research work and education at the Geotechnical Group at NTNU. Focus will be on development of thesis work on the soil conditions and slope stability in the Verdal valley and on thesis on quick clay behaviour and failure mechanisms in particular

English Teaching to Engineering Students difficulties and Solutions

Being science student and wondering about robots, electrons, engineering students hardly bother about nouns, verbs and tenses. English no doubt has taken place as first language in the corporate world but heart of an engineering student still resist the panorama of English language in their lives. Subconsciously aware of the importance of communication skills in getting a job, they fail to realize its importance consciously in the class rooms. They fail to realize that the gateway to express their core knowledge is communication skill only. Maximum engineering students neglect this most important skill because of many reasons. Though there might be many argumentations which favor causing lack of interest in English learning process but its importance cannot be neglected. This research basically focus on the reasons ;why engineering /business students lack interest in learning of communication skills and what tentative pedagogies can be adopted to develop their interest in learning of communication skills. This research paper aims to find out the difficulties in teaching, learning of English/communication skills to engineering students and tentative solutions to ease the process of learning. Keywords: communication skills, practical learning, listening skill, improve expression, communication skills in present scenario, Non verbal communicatio

Spilanthes acmella ethanolic flower extract: LC-MS alkylamide profiling and its effects on sexual behavior in male rats

According to Indian Systems of Medicine, Spilanthes acmella (L.) Murr. (Family- Asteraceae), is considered effective in the treatment of sexual deficiencies especially due to aging. In the present study, characterization of ethanolic extracts of the Spilanthes acmella flower and its effect on general mating pattern, penile erection and serum hormone levels of normal male Wistar albino rats were investigated and compared with sildenafil citrate. In-vitro nitric oxide release was also investigated in human corpus cavernosum cell line. N-alkylamides are a promising group of naturally occurring bio-actives in Spilanthes spp. Therefore, N-alkylamide profiling of ethanol extract of Spilanthes acmella flowers was performed, using a gradient reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS) method on an embedded polar column. MS1 and MS2 fragmentation data were used for identification purposes. The extracts (50, 100 and 150 mg/kg body weight/day) and sildenafil citrate (5mg/kg) were administered orally for 28 days. The behavioral parameters were observed at day 0, 15, 28 and after a lapse of 7 and 14 days of discontinuance of drug treatment. Five N-isobutylamides, one 2-methylbutylamide and one 2-phenylethylamide were tentatively identified. The orally administered extract had a dose dependent effect on mounting frequency, intromission frequency and ejaculation frequency. A dose dependent effect was also observed on the FSH, LH and testosterone serum levels. The aphrodisiac potential of an ethanolic Spilanthes acmella extract was demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo. Study lends support to the traditional utilization of S. acmella as a sexual stimulating agent

Surgical and audiological outcome of canal wall down mastoidectomy in Sub Himalayan region: our experience

Background: Pre-operative and post-operative hearing status and status of mastoid cavity were compared in patients undergoing canal wall down mastoidectomy (CWDM) with tympanoplasty.Methods: Forty-three patients who underwent surgery and completed their follow up post-surgery were included in the study. Nineteen patients underwent CWDM with type III tympanoplasty with PORP, 7 patients underwent CWDM with type III tympanoplasty without PORP and 17 patients underwent CWDM with type IV tympanoplasty with TORP.Results: Among enrolled patients, 21 patients were females and 22 patients were male. Right ear (29) was commonly involved than left ear (14). Hearing loss was predominant symptom followed by recurrent ear discharge and other symptoms. Patients underwent three types of surgeries, type III tympanoplasty with PORP (19/43), type III tympanoplasty without PORP (7/43) and type IV tympanoplasty with TORP (17/43) by using Teflon prosthesis.Conclusions: Thirty seven percent (16/43) of patients had hearing threshold 60dB hearing threshold, all belonging to group C. Anatomical results were assessed by examining the mastoid cavity showing 95%, 72%, 70% patients in group A, B and C had well epithelialized cavity

A prospective study of comparison of scoring systems in trauma patients

Background: Trauma is a neglected area of the society. It is a health problem that is responsible for mortality and disability, predominantly among the young generation. Thereupon, the risk stratification of such patients become essential to avoid the mortality, for which various scoring systems are employed.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted among the 300 polytrauma patients who presented in a tertiary care institute over a span of one and half year (March 2018 to December 2019). The severity of injuries of each patient was assessed using various scoring systems (GCS, RTS, AIS, ISS, NISS), and accordingly the outcome (mortality and hospital stay) was recorded.Results: Of the total 300 cases of polytrauma, the young men are most commonly afflicted with road traffic injuries as the leading cause. Most patients presented after a latent period of 2-8 hours since injury with predominantly accidental injuries. Total 21% mortality was observed in this study of which 5% patients succumbed early (<24 hours) despite all possible resuscitative efforts. Mortality was associated with lower GCS and RTS scores but higher ISS and NISS scores.Conclusions: All patients should have their GCS and RTS scores computed on admission along with the primary survey as they are good predictors of outcome and can predict salvageable patients from the non-salvageable ones. Both anatomical scores ISS and NISS can significantly predict the need for emergency life-saving surgery within 24 hours of admission

Comparative evaluation of FESS and septoplasty with FESS in cases of DNS with chronic maxillary sinusitis

Background: Present study compares basic FESS and septoplasty with FESS alone in DNS with maxillary sinusitis.Methods: Sixty patients of DNS with chronic maxillary sinusitis were divided into two groups alternatively. After pre-operative symptoms score and computerized tomography (CT scan), twenty patients underwent FESS with septoplasty (group A) and other 20 underwent FESS alone (group B) under local anaesthesia and topical 4% lignocaine with 1:1000 adrenaline. At 6 weeks, post-operative symptom score and CT scan findings were documented and compared statistically by using unpaired student t-test.Results: Ninety six percent of patients in group A and 87.6% in group B have shown complete improvement in facial pain/pressure. Ninety three percent of patients in group A and 83.3% in group B have shown complete improvement in headache. Ninety percent patients in group A and 63.3% in group B has shown complete improvement in nasal obstruction. Seventy six percent of patients in group A and 63.3% of patients in group B have shown complete improvement in nasal discharge. Eighty six percent and 63.3% of patients in group A and group B respectively were satisfied from the surgery. Ninety three percent of patients in group A and 70% in group B were found to have normal maxillary sinus mucosa on HRCT nose and PNS after 6 weeks following surgical treatment. Hundred percent patients in group A and 96.7% of patients in group B were found to have normal OMC on HRCT nose and PNS 6 weeks after surgery.Conclusions: It was observed that FESS with septoplasty is effective for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with deviated nasal septum on VAS as well as radiologically (the Lund and Mackay staging system: radiologic staging) than FESS alone

Giant pressure sensitivity in piezo/ferro-electric ceramics

We report the fabrication of single-phase polycrystalline Pb0.85Bi0.10(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 (PBiZT) ceramic which shows large polarization, i.e., similar to 40 mu C cm(-2) and piezoelectric coefficients similar to 130 pC N-1 and giant linear change in capacitive reactance and dielectric properties with increasing and decreasing pressure in the range of 1 kHz to 5 MHz. Nearly 70% change in dielectric constant and 56% change in capacitive reactance were obtained in the pressure range of 20-200 MPa, which makes it suitable for applications as a capacitive pressure sensor/gauge. The sensitivity of the device is calculated as 0.66 MPa-1 and 18.2 MPa-1 at 1 MHz and 5 MHz, respectively, which is the highest ever reported value so far for any bulk polycrystalline ceramic. The compressive stress of the device was tested according to the standard test method as a function of linear and volumetric strain, which yields the Young's modulus, Bulk modulus, and Poisson's ratio of the device. These values were further utilized to calculate actual stress in the sample and energy density using ANSYS software, which indicates at least four orders smaller pressure in the sample compared to the applied pressure

Awareness about cervical cancers among health workers in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh, India

Background: Cervical cancer, although largely preventable, remains the most common cause of cancer mortality among women in low-resource countries. Aim of this study was to assess knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer prevention among health workers in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among multipurpose health care workers (both males and females) in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh. A self-administered close ended questionnaire was used. The questionnaire, consisted of two parts. The first part comprised of questions relating to demographic data and the second part had questions on knowledge about cervical cancers. The data was analyzed using the statistical analysis program SPSS version 16.0.  Tests used were Chi square, t test and ANOVA. A p-values <0.05 were considered  statistically significant.Results: Out of 122 subjects, there were 45 (36.9%) males and 77 (63.1%) females. The mean knowledge percent of the population was 55.9+16.4. Among the age groups it was highest for the age group of 21-30 years (62.5+23.6) and lowest for the age group of 51-60 years (53.6+16.4). Knowledge about risk factors was correctly reported by 44.3% of population. Who should be screened for cervical cancers was reported correctly by 29.5% and at what interval screening should be done was reported by 14.8%.Conclusions: Half of the population had moderate overall knowledge about cervical cancers, but the knowledge about risk factors and screening eligibility and screening interval was inadequate. So, education programs should be arranged for the health workers in order to prevent cervical cancers

Assessment of clinical epidemiology, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes in epithelial ovarian cancer: a retrospective analysis from a tertiary cancer centre in North India

Background: Ovarian cancer stands as the daunting third most prevalent cancer among females. The aim of this study is to assess the clinical epidemiology, treatment patterns (including end-of-life care), and survival outcomes among patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: This retrospective analysis encompassed all patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer and enrolled at the tertiary cancer center, IGMC Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. The study included patients registered between January 2014 and December 2018, spanning all age groups. Results: During the aforementioned period, ovarian cancer accounted for 18.7% of gynaecological cancers among females out of which epithelial ovarian cancer accounted for 14.8% of the cases. The median age of patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) was 54.5 years. Most patients hailed from Shimla, followed by Mandi and Kullu districts, among the twelve districts in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The majority of patients were diagnosed at advanced stages FIGO III and IV, comprising a total of 77.1%. Chief complaints included abdominal pain, followed by abdominal distention, heaviness, or bloating. The median duration of follow-up was 27 months (with a standard deviation of ±9.175). The median overall survival (OS) for stage I, II, III, and IV was 92.59 months, 87 months, 82.17 months, and 52.5 months, respectively, and these differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: Ovarian cancer patients are often diagnosed in advanced stages III and IV, primarily due to late diagnosis and the presence of vague symptoms. Achieving optimal cytoreduction significantly improves overall survival. Therefore, it's crucial to raise awareness among general physicians in rural healthcare settings and the public about the symptoms of ovarian cancer to facilitate early detection. Additionally, there's a notable deficiency in end-of-life discussions and palliative care management, which should be accessible to every patient