Unification of Multimedia with Techniques of Art and Vedic Aphorisms for Development of Mathematical Skills: A Study of Indian and UK School Students

Multimedia programs having a number of elements like Texts, spoken words, sound & music, graphics, animations and still pictures provide different stimuli in their presentations. Art is the field of education that provides a platform for rigorous investigation, representation, expression, and reflection of both scholastic content and the art form itself. The integration of art with other subjects of school curriculum can open new pathways of learning for students, particularly for those who are at risk and have special needs. Vedic Mathematics is an approach to resolve the crisis in education especially in the field of mathematics. It is not simply a collection of new computational techniques; rather, it provides an entirely different approach to mathematical computation based on pattern recognition. It has been shown that the system is applicable to up-to-date aspects of mathematics both at an elementary level as well as in more sophisticated fields. The present paper deals with the development of multimedia packages using techniques of art and Vedic aphorisms on some selected common topics of curriculum of UK and Indian elementary mathematics and the effectiveness of multimedia packages for the development of mathematical skills. The study was conducted using quasi experimental design for research in both the countries. The quantitative analysis of data revealed that the multimedia packages developed by using techniques of art and Vedic Aphorisms have significantly improved the mathematical skills of UK elementary school students

Diversity of species assemblages of islands: predictions and their test using tree species composition of shola fragments

Based on all possible combinations of species that can theoretically exist on islands of different sizes, we estimated similarities among islands of equal size in their species compositions. We found that similarity coefficients among islands of equal sizes increases and the coefficients of variation for similarities decreases with increase in the size of islands. Accordingly, it can be predicted that the species compositions of small fragments shall be more diverse compared to large fragments. We tested this prediction using the tree species composition of the shola fragments at BR Hills, Western Ghats. Similarities among sholas were measured as coefficients of correlation between the frequencies of species in them and also as proportions of species shared among sholas. Small sholas were less similar and shared fewer species among themselves, compared to medium and large sholas. Also, small sholas showed higher coefficient of variation for the correlation coefficients and for proportion of species shared than medium or large sholas. In other words, species assemblage diversity among sholas was found to decrease with their size and large islands appeared to converge towards a common assemblage of species. Based on our results, we argue that small fragments add structural and functional heterogeneity to the ecosystem and hence are as important as are the large fragments in conserving biodiversity

Instructional Design and Strategies for Multicultural Education: A Qualitative Case Study

With more people moving abroad for education and work, many countries are becoming multicultural in population. Hence, developing multicultural attitudes is becoming imperative to prevent negative thoughts and feelings toward minorities that may translate into discriminatory behaviors toward them. One way to ensure this is through multicultural education. The aim of multicultural education is to ensure that students from diverse racial, ethnic, and social-class groups will experience educational equality. This qualitative case study analyzes the course design and instructional strategies implemented by a professor in a multicultural education course offered in a U.S. university. We have examined how the professor taught about multicultural education, ensured educational equality in her class, and also successfully produced multicultural attitudes among her students

A novel multiplex PCR system for the detection of virulence associated genes of E. coli O157:H7 from food system

In view of the importance E. coli serotype 0157:H7 in human diseases, an easy and quick system is desirable to detect toxin producing strains. In this report, we describe standardization of a novel multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (mPCR) assay for simultaneous detection of four important genes associated with the organism E. coli 0157:H7 viz., stx 1, stx 2, eae A, hly A along with an internal amplification control (IAC). The mPCR method developed in the present study is sensitive enough to detect cells as low as 103 CFU ml-1 or g-1 of the food samples. The E. coli 0157:H7 strains having been identified to contain the gene in the mPCR were unequivocally detected positive for the serological and conventional culture method.  As E. coli 0157:H7 is qualified as biowarfare agent; this mPCR system is of immense help in detecting them during emergencies of biological war and suspected outbreaks.&nbsp

A comparative study of efficacy and safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose versus iron sucrose in the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia of pregnancy in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Anaemia is a global public health problem. To optimize iron delivery in pregnancy, new intravenous complexes like Ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) have been developed in the few years. This study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of FCM vs the iron sucrose during pregnancy.Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (S.M.G.S.) Hospital, Government Medical College Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir over a period of 1 year. 100 pregnant females with haemoglobin (Hb) in the range 7-9.9 g/dl between 28 to 36-week gestation, were selected randomly out of which 50 were administered FCM (Group A) and 50 were administered Iron Sucrose (Group B). Hb and serum ferritin were assessed 2 weeks and 4 weeks after treatment and side effects of each drug was studied.Results: The rise in mean Hb level at 2 weeks and 4 weeks in FCM group was significantly higher as compared to Iron Sucrose group (1.09 versus 0.52 g/dl and 1.80 versus 1.09 g/dl, respectively). Similarly, the rise in mean serum ferritin level at 2 weeks and 4 weeks was more in FCM as compared to Iron Sucrose group (144.25 vs 95.84 mcg/L and 121.31 vs 84.46 mcg/L, respectively). The adverse reactions were observed in 30% of patients in FCM group and 48% patients in iron sucrose group.Conclusions: Ferric carboxymaltose was found to be more safe and efficacious as compared to iron sucrose