Children who struggle with reading

In school, learning to read is considered to be foundational for the learning of all the other subjects. It is often seen that some children reach upper primary classes without mastering the skill of reading and as a result, they lag behind. During school visits, this comes up as a concern from teachers that the children are unable to read, ‘Please tell us what can be done?’ Teachers want a strategy which would enable children to read fast. In reality, this requires a well-meditated plan, time and consistent efforts

Literature in Primary Classes

The discourse around language-teaching in primary classes generally centres on methods of teaching children how to read and write, and the effort involved in putting these methods into practice in the class. The dimension of literature in learning to read and write, or the joy of learning is relegated to the background in this discourse, especially since most of the children in our schools are still struggling to ‘learn with understanding’. However, in order to ‘learn with understanding’one must also learn about facets of literature. In this article, I will examine certain basic ideas related to literature in primary classes

The new flavour of language textbooks - ncert initiative

Till some time back, language textbooks had a very set structure that emphasised on making children responsible citizens and inculcating respect for the country. Language was considered merely as means to communicate and not as a medium which helps children explore a variety of information, experiences and insights. Language was being taught in a pre-determined sequence that aimed at making children aware of the alphabet, words and sentences

Retention of mini screws in orthodontics – a comparative in vitro study on the variables

ABSTRACT Objectives: To correlate between the different lengths, angles of insertion and the mini-implant material and find out the most retentive combination. Materials and methods: 48 mini-implants (24 Titanium and 24 stainless steel) of lengths 6mm, 8mm and 1.5 mm diameter were inserted into humerus bone of goat at two different angulations, 600 and 900. To insert the mini-implant in the respective angulations, custom made template was made and the angles were confirmed with digital radiographs. Force was applied on to the mini-implants with a universal testing machine and the compressive load to failure was measured. Results: Results revealed that stability of the implant was positively correlating with the length of implant. A perpendicular angulation produced more stability. Moreover, titanium mini-implants had more resistance to compressive load than stainless steel mini-implants. Conclusion: Length of mini-implant, its angulation in the bone and the material of mini-implant were factors affecting its stability. In this study, titanium mini-implant of 8mm length angulated at 900 were stable than their counterpart

Underground Cordon by Microorganisms-Part-III Role of Soil Inhabiting Actinomycetes

Certain strains of soil inhabiting actinomycetes were found to substantially corrode aluminium alloy (54-S) which has bscn found tobe more resistant to bacterial or fungal corrosion in our earlier studies.These strains did not produce any corrosion on the mild steel and galvanised iron panels which were heavily corroded by bacteria and fungi. The corrosive isolates have been partialiy characterised after their isolation and purification. The extent of corrosion caused by eachstrain has been determined

Is pregabalin better than gabapentin in treatment of neuropathic pain? An observation-based study at tertiary care centre of North India

Background: The present study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of pregabalin and gabapentin in treatment of neuropathic pain at a government tertiary care hospital of Uttar Pradesh, India. Due to indiscriminate use of drugs for treatment of neuropathic pain, selection of an effective drug is need of hour.Methods: Out of 130 patients, 62 patients were given pregabalin and 68 were given gabapentin. Douleur Neuropathique 4 questionnaire (DN4) which was used to diagnose patients of neuropathic pain. Efficacy of drug was based on their capability to decrease neuropathic pain at regular intervals.Results: On comparing the efficacy of drugs by their ability to decrease neuropathic pain, there was a significant difference when comparing pregabalin and gabapentin, pregabalin being statistically significant than gabapentin.Conclusions: On the basis present study efficacy of pregabalin 300 mg once daily brought better improvement of symptoms and sign than that of gabapentin 600 mg administered once daily dose. So pregabalin is a better drug than gabapentin

Clinico-epidemiological study of safe and unsafe chronic suppurative otitis media

Introduction: Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) remains one of the most commonest chronic infectious diseases worldwide particularly in children and adolescents. India has been classified as the high prevalence country with national prevalence of 4%. Knowledge of differential regional prevalence of risk factors is required for adequate health education of masses and for customised preventive and control measures in respective areas. Aims: To study the clinical and socio-demographic profile of patients with CSOM. Methods: The study was carried out in the department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, AMU, Aligarh from November, 2017 to December, 2019. Patients with CSOM attending the otorhinolaryngology OPD and those admitted in IPD were included in the study. Results: A total 200 cases of chronic suppurative otitis media including both safe (mucosal) and unsafe (squamous) type were studied. The mean age of participants was 22.8 ± 15.18 years. Of the total participants, 111 (55.5%, 95% CI 48.6 to 62.2) were males, 89 (44.5%, 95% CI 37.8 to 51.4) were females and the majority (60.5%, 95% CI 53.6 to 67) of them were from rural background. Around one-fourth of the patients were illiterate (23%, 95% CI 17.7 to 29.3) and the patients mostly belonged to lower side (lower middle, upper lower and lower) of the spectrum of Kuppuswamy socioeconomic classification. The distribution of age-group, gender and laterality (side of involvement) was similar (P>0.05) in both safe and unsafe type. Overall, 151(75.5%, 95% CI 69.9 to 80.9) patients were found to have conductive hearing loss, 30 (15%, 95% CI 10.7 to 20.6) with mixed and 19 (9.5%, 95% CI 6.2 to 14.4) did not have any hearing loss at presentation. The distribution of patients with regards to hearing loss was found to be similar in both safe and unsafe groups (P = 0.311). Conclusion: CSOM particularly afflicts younger age populations from rural background with poor socioeconomic status. Appropriate timely interventions in the form of health promotion, education about the risk factors and improvement in the living conditions will result in decrease in incidence and prevalence of the disease. Moreover, knowledge of symptoms and signs of the disease is likely to result in early seeking of healthcare and hence better treatment outcomes and prevention of complications

Hearing Loss in Chronic Otitis Media Mucosal Type, Does This Have a Relation with Patient Demographic Profile, a Study in the Third World Country

The study was conducted to establish a relationship between hearing loss withthe demographic profile in patients with chronic otitis media inactive mucosal disease. Patients with chronic otitis media (COM) inactive mucosal disease, of both sexes and different age groups were assessed and grouped based on unilateral or bilateral ear involvement; rural and urban, and based on the duration of discharge. Hearing loss (HL) was measured by calculating the air-bone gap via pure-tone audiometry. The study included 210 ears, a total of 161 patients. The age group of patients ranged from 15 to 55 years. Maximum proportion (53 %) in younger age groups (15-25 years) but no relation with HL was seen. Incidence was higher in females, with significantly greater HL. Greater HL in bilateral involvement. 51% right ear and 49% left ear involvement; 59 % from the rural area, 41 % from urban areas; no significant difference in HL. Duration of ear discharge varied from2 months to several years; maximum proportion (41%) for more than 10 years, with maximum HL (27.18 dB). Hence, it was concluded that high incidence of COM was in patients in the younger age range, in females, in rural areas, and in unilateral ear involvement. HL was significantly higher with bilateral involvement and in the female population. Greater HL was associated with longer discharging ears.Lattice Science Publication (LSP) © Copyright: All rights reserved

An in-depth study of drugs prescribing pattern in the Surgery Department of a Tertiary Care Teaching Institute in Northern India

Background: In surgical patients, a number of drugs are prescribed to prevent post-operative infections and to relieve pain. Therefore, prescription audit should be periodically performed in Department of Surgery to analyze the present scenario of drugs prescribed for the surgical/post-operative patients. This will help us to use the medicines rationally and decrease the adverse effects in surgical patients. The main aim of the study was to evaluate the drugs prescribing pattern in the Surgery Department in Tertiary Care Teaching Institute.Methods: Patients’prescriptions or case record forms were randomly collected over a period of 1 year from the Department of Surgery at GGS Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab (India) for analysis and rationalization.Results: A total of 900 prescriptions was collected and analyzed for drugs used in surgical patients. Average number of drugs prescribed is 4.26. The most commonly prescribed drugs were anti-microbial agents (AMAs), gastrointestinal tract (GIT) related, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and multivitamins and trace elements, and their percentages were 37.90%, 23.36%, 14.14 %, and 9.11% respectively. About 95% drugs were prescribed by non-generic (Trade) names. Drugs prescribed from National Essential Medicines List (EML) and World Health Organization EML were 69.25% and 45.31% respectively. Average cost per prescription per day was Rs. 610/- (INR) or $10.34 USD in a surgical patient.Conclusions: There is a high tendency and frequency to prescribe four and more than four drugs to post-operative patients. Most drugs prescribed were AMAs, GIT related, NSAIDs and Multivitamins and trace elements. There is an urgent need to develop proper prescription writing skills in budding doctors regarding the use of EML/drugs list and generic medicines to reduce the cost of treatment

Serological and molecular approaches for leptospirosis at a tertiary care centre in northern India

Background: Aims and objectives of the study was to determine prevalence rate of leptospirosis and recognition of common epidemiological situation and clinical manifestations of leptospirosis in patients with pyrexia of unknown origin at a tertiary care centre.Methods: This was a hospital based prospective observational study. The duration of study was from August 2015 to July 2016. Patients with clinical symptoms of pyrexia of unknown origin attending Gandhi Memorial and Associated Hospital, King George’s Medical University Lucknow during the study period were enrolled in this study. We performed the IgM ELISA and PCR for the leptospirosis at our centre and for the Micro Agglutination Test (MAT), we sent the serum samples to regional medical research centre Department of Health Research Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India Port Blair.Results: A Total of 104 symptomatic patients were recruited. Of total, IgM ELISA for leptospirosis were positive in 25 patients, PCR in 20 patients and MAT shows significant titres in 3 samples. The ROC curve analysis revealed significant diagnostic accuracy of IgM ELISA with 100.00% sensitivity and 78.22% specificity however showed less positive predictive value (12.0%) but high negative predictive value (100.0%). Most common presentation were fever, jaundice and rashes (40.4%) followed by fever and jaundice (29.8%).Conclusions: Leptospirosis IgM ELISA and PCR showed good detection accuracy. Age, sex, occupation is not significantly associated to the leptospirosis