Okonkwo: Representing Pre-Colonial and Post-Colonial phase in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

This paper highlights the impact of colonialism on Igbo society. It also shows how Okonkwo, in the earlier phase represents the Igbo culture and e was sent into exile for seven years and  later on when he  returns after seven years , he finds the Igbo society disintegrated and is unable to tolerate it and in the end commits suicide

Designing effective animated icons for children

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Information Technology is an essential part of the National Curriculum in the UK, yet despite the growth of IT in schools that this has generated, there is evidence that children are not to be taken into consideration enough when designing aspects of educational software. The functionality available in education software packages tends to be made available through static icons, yet there are problems with their implementation as they can at times cause confusion for the user in terms of the functionality that they are aiming to represent. In order to make icons in educational software more effective, and to meet the needs of children, of the use of animated icons has been suggested. Animating the function of the icon aims to provide a clarification of its meaning and demonstrate its capabilities, as well as explaining to the user the method of use. However, there is little information available on how to support the design of effective animated icons. Focusing on a target age group of 11 to 12 year olds, this thesis argues that some form of support mechanism should be developed for the design of animated icons to ensure that consideration is being given to the types of object that children find useful and accessible. A set of dimensions where guidance on visual aspects of the icon may be useful are developed through analysis of relevant literature and it is highlighted that they do not provide any insight into what types of object may be helpful in designing the animated icons. This thesis then argues that animated icon design can be usefully informed by psychological theories of learning and that using such theories as a base may provide an understanding of how children identify icon functionality. The thesis introduces and critiques Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology theory, Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory and Leontjev’s Activity Theory, identifying aspects of the theories which may be of relevance to the design of animated icons. By investigating the relationships between the dimensions of animated icons and the concepts from the theories of learning, insights are developed into the impact of visual factors on a child’s identification and understanding of icon functionality. The thesis goes on to report a practical study where the sample is a group of 11 to 12 year old children. The practical study consists of three phases. The first phase gathers data related to the children’s familiarity with computers and the types of software packages that they use. The second phase looks at their use and recognition of static icon functionality. The last phase involves using the findings from phases 1 and 2 to create and evaluate a set of animated icons, the development of which is based on the relationships between the concepts from theories of learning and the identified dimensions of animated icons. The analysis of the evidence from the practical study leads to a small set of design principles being proposed that are aimed to provide advice/guidance on how to design animated icons effectively for this target age group, with an emphasis on the types of object that might be used. The principles are underpinned by the concepts from the theories of learning and presented in a manner that aims to be understandable by, and accessible to, designers

Ameliorative Potential of Aminophylline In Restrain Stress Induced Behavioural and Biochemical Alterations

This study is designed to investigate the attenuating prospective of aminophylline in immobilization stress generated behavioural changes in rats. Animals were exposed to restrain stress before being subjected to varying doses of aminophylline (1mg/kg, 2mg/kg and 4mg/kg). Behavioural changes were analyzed to assess the intensity and the degree of the stress, by estimating the changes in the exploratory behaviour, spontaneous activity and social behaviour using various paradigms. As a consequence of stress, the behavioral patterns so changed were assessed in the terms of changes in the locomotor activity, number of head dips and increased avoidance behaviour. Aminophylline (4mg/kg) modulated the stress produced changes in the behaviour and oxidative stress generated biochemical alterations in a significant manner (p<0.001). The results so obtained suggest that upon exposure to stress, animal behavioural patterns, biochemical markers levels changed and these changes wereefficiently modulated by aminophylline at therapeutic doses

A REVIEW ON THE FIFTH PANDEMIC: CORONAVIRUS

Since the 1918 flu pandemic, the novel human coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 has been the fifth known pandemic. COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, and later spread across the world. It is an infectious disease caused by the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) extreme acute respiratory syndrome virus. The patients exhibit flu-like symptoms, including dry cough, sore throat, high fever, and trouble in breathing. Despite too much affords, there is no appropriate treatment or medication which is a successful COVID-19 therapy. A variety of candidate drugs are being used for the treatment and reviewed. This involves clinically accessible medications that are being repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19, such as chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and lopinavir/ritonavir. This review describes the different aspects of corona such as history, origin and spread, its types, life cycle, epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and precautions. This review makes us understand what type of virus is this and how we can take precautions to protect us from this life-threatening virus. There is an immediate need to prepare our young generation to fight against any such catastrophe in the future, if any, of science and technology. There is no reason to worry and to fight this epidemic, careful prevention and control are necessary. This article can help to create public awareness, knowledge, avoiding, handling, and treating COVID-19

RECENT ADVANCES IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: CAUSES AND TREATMENT

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a destructive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory defeat and impairment in behavior, language, and visuospatial skills. Neuropsychiatric symptoms such as apathy, depression, aggression, agitation, sleep disruption, and psychosis are now recognized as core symptoms of AD that are expressed to varying degrees throughout the course of disease. The neuro pathological features of AD comprise extracellular senile plaques constituted of β-amyloid (Aβ) pledges, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), and cerebral atrophy; others include apolipoprotein E, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and cholinergic hypothesis. Anti-amyloid therapy is available for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, others are anticholinergic therapy, and therapy for mitochondrial dysfunction, γ-secretase inhibitors (GSI) and modulators (GSM), ð›½-secretase (BACE1) inhibitors, Glial modulating drugs includes RAGE receptor antagonists, TNF-α antagonists, neuroprotective drugs such as antioxidants, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, PPARγ agonists, and anti-tau or tau modulators like microtubule stabilizers, kinase inhibitors. This review includes discussion on neurobiological mechanisms and newly developed compounds which have lesser side effects and are proving more efficient for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.Â

Mobile Media SPL creation by Feature IDE using FODA

Software Product Lines are used in many areas, combining to form new technologies and products. A product line is a group of products that share a common development platform and vary by the composition and implementation method for the functionalities. This paper describes the implementation or creation of MobileMedia feature model using FODA (Feature Oriented Domain Analysis) methodology using FeatureIDE eclipse plug-in. The feature model created in this depicts various outlines as feature model as visual model, collaboration diagram view of model, its configuration, FeatureIDE Statistics. Basically the paper shows the concept how SPLs can be viewed as feature diagrams using various tools in order to deal with them. This modelling has been widely used by software product line communities and a number of extensions have been proposed

Perception of educational ambiance among undergraduate medical students at Geetanjali Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Background: The quality of education provided by any institution depends on many factors and perception of all the stakeholders involved in it. The students are the most important stake holders and their perception means a lot in shaping and refining the standards of medical education. There are many tools to find out the students perception about the educational ambience and DREEM’s questionnaire is one such tool, which is valid and reliable. It has been used by many institutes in India and abroad to find the students perception but its use in this region was not reported.Methods: The students of first and second MBBS were divided into groups FY and SY, using the validated DREEM questionnaire. The data obtained from the two groups was analysed using Levene’s test of variance in SPSS version 16. A p-value less than 0.05 were considered significant.Results: The students from both the batches participated in study with n=130 and 64 in group FY and SY respectively. Group FY feels significantly (p=0.08) more positive about educational environment as compared to group SY with total score 118.39 and 112. 46 out of 200 respectively, for group FY and SY. Both groups are highly positive about their perception of learning and academic self-perception whereas they are not satisfied with their social self-perception.Conclusions: The study concludes that the first MBBS students have better perception of educational environment as compared to second MBBS and the unsatisfactory social self-perception could hint towards much needed curricular reform for holistic development of our young professional

To study the association between e-cigarettes use and altered taste/smell disorders in the U.S. population

METHODS: Data from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) was analyzed for adults above age 40 with 3669 participants with taste and 3691 participants with smell disorders. Smoking status, based upon the history of smoking in the past 5 days was classified as ‘No tobacco smoking’, ‘E-cigs’, ‘Cigarettes’, and ‘Cigar/Hookah/Pipe’ and ‘Smokeless tobacco’. The outcome measure was having taste disorder or smell disorder determined by answering ‘yes’ to self-reported taste or smell questionnaires respectively. This information was collected by trained interviewers using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) system. Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done with SAS 9.4 using survey weights to account for the complex sampling design. Odds ratios (OR) for taste or smell disorder to those without the respective disorder were compared within different smoking categories. RESULTS: Individuals with taste disorders were more likely to be Mexican American, 40-49.5 yrs., with a history of persistent cold/flu, dry mouth, or cancer. Both smokeless tobacco (OR =2.59) and E-cig (OR =2.30) users showed significantly higher odds of having taste disorders compared to non-smokers. Participants with smell disorder were more likely to be female, non-Hispanic black/other Hispanics with a history of dry mouth, tonsillectomy, head injury, or sinus infections. For smell disorders, Cigar/Hookah/Pipes showed significantly higher odds compared to non-smokers (OR = 2.13). CONCLUSION: This cross-sectional study suggests that E-cigs use is significantly associated with taste disorders, whereas Cigar/Hookah/Pipe use is found to be significantly associated with higher odds of having smell disorders

The Novel as Anti-colonial Counter Narrative: Interpreting Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

This paper will explore and analyse the distinct aesthetic modes/stratigies through which Achebe negotiates and contests the European stance on Africa, Africans and African culture. In detailing the textual aspects and their significance, the paper will also argue how Achebe created an alternate historiography, challanging existing versios by colonial texts/ideology

[A Review of Book] Perspectives on Innovations and Development

Singh, Lakhwinder, K. J. Joseph, and Daniel K. N. Johnson (eds.) (2015). Technology, Innovations and Economic Development: Essays in Honour of Robert E. Evenson. New Delhi: Sage Publications.In the rapidly changing global scenario, with the emergence of innovations and technological progress, the direction of the economic development of the countries are now being determined by nature of these technological innovations and institutional arrangements. Earlier this direction of the economic development was directed by innovation policies framed by the government keeping in view the objectives of economic development of nations. Now, globalization has brought a substantial change in the nature and scope of interactive learning carried out under various institutional arrangement and as well as in the rules of game. This changing context mostly favors the developed world. The adoption of strong intellectual property rights (IPRs), adherence to fiscal prudence by state government and viability towards the environmental sustainability has created a considerable obstacle for developing economies to further spur their innovations or imitate the developed economies in the process of catch up