From \u27Following\u27 to Going Beyond the Textbook: Inservice Indian Mathematics Teachers\u27 Professional Development for Teaching Integers

Abstract :In this paper we describe four Indian in-service middle school mathematics teachers’ shifts in their roles with respect to the textbook. The shifts occurred through participation in collaborative investigation on the topic of integers in professional development meetings. Analysis of teachers’ talk in these meetings indicated a shift in teachers’ role from reliance on textbook to using the knowledge of integer meanings to establish the connections between contexts and representations. We claim that this change in role occurred as a result of teachers developing knowledge of important ideas and representations in the professional development setting and identifying themselves as a member of a professional learning community which values students’ understanding. We argue that since roles are constitutive of teachers’ professional identity, the shifts in roles indicates how teachers’ identity evolved towards being an empowered mathematics teacher who design tasks and responds to students to support articulation of ideas and developing reasoning in mathematics

To study the existing system of surgical safety for cataract surgery at tertiary care ophthalmic centre to implement WHO surgical safety checklist

Background: Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, named after the first President of India, was established on the 10th of March, 1967 as a National centre for ophthalmic science, to provide state of the art patient care, expand human resources for medical education and undertake research to find solutions to eye health problems of national importance. Average numbers of cataract surgeries performed per month are 700 to 1000.Methods: Anticipating implementation in 50% cases hundred cases of cataract surgery were observed to study the existing system of surgical safety followed at Dr. R.P. Center and gap analysis done, against the WHO surgical safety checklist for cataract surgery. Modified WHO surgical safety checklist for cataract surgery was developed and implemented in the centre. Barriers in implementation of surgical safety checklist were also identified, and remedial measures suggested.Results: Significant improvement was noticed in all the parameters after introduction of modified checklist.  The additional points which were added in modified surgical safety checklist were implemented in almost all the cases by the nursing staff. Overall mean compliance percentage before implementation of modified surgical safety check list at Dr. R.P.C was 37%±10.1 (P=0.001).  While after introduction of modified surgical safety check list the mean compliance has improved to 62.7%±10.3, Wilcoxon rank sum test/Independent test is applied for each domain.Conclusions: Cataract procedure is the most common surgical procedure performed in the population in India. High volume and high turnover increase the potential for errors. Compliance to surgical safety check list before intervention was 32%. After intervention in form of a focus group discussion and introduction of modified surgical safety check list has resulted in increase in the compliance rate to 67%. This study revealed that changes or additional work is not happily accepted by the staff. After six months of intervention of modified surgical safety checklist compliance rate was still high, this suggests that constant supervision and monitoring by senior staff can sustain the compliance rate.

Melt-Spun SiGe Nano-Alloys: Microstructural Engineering Towards High Thermoelectric Efficiency

Silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloys are prominent high-temperature thermoelectric (TE) materials used as a powering source for deep space applications. In this work, we employed rapid cooling rates for solidification by melt-spinning and rapid heating rates for bulk consolidation employing spark plasma sintering to synthesize high-performance p-type SiGe nano-alloys. The current methodology exhibited a TE figure-of-merit (ZT) approximate to 0.94 at 1123 K for a higher cooling rate of similar to 3.0 x 10(7) K/s. This corresponds to approximate to 88% enhancement in ZT when compared with currently used radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) in space flight missions, approximate to 45% higher than pressure-sintered p-type alloys, which results in a higher output power density, and TE conversion efficiency (eta) approximate to 8% of synthesized SiGe nano-alloys estimated using a cumulative temperature dependence (CTD) model. The ZT enhancement is driven by selective scattering of phonons rather than of charge carriers by the high density of grain boundaries with random orientations and induced lattice-scale defects, resulting in a substantial reduction of lattice thermal conductivity and high power factor. The TE characteristics of synthesized alloys presented using the constant property model (CPM) and CTD model display their high TE performance in high-temperature regimes along with wide suitability of segmentation with different mid-temperature TE materials

Feasibility and Complications between Phacoemulsification and Manual Small Incision Surgery in Subluxated Cataract

Purpose. To compare the feasibility of cataract surgery with implantation of endocapsular supporting devices and intraocular lens (IOL) in subluxated cataract in phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS). Design. Prospective randomized intervention case series consisting of 60 eyes with visually significant subluxated cataract. Method. The patients were randomly distributed between the two groups equally. The main outcome measure was implantation of in-the-bag IOL, requirement of additional procedure and complications, if any. Results. Capsular bag retention in subluxated lenses is possible in 90% cases in phacoemulsification versus 76.67% cases in MSICS (=0.16). Both groups, achieved similar best corrected visual acuity (=0.73), although additional procedures, intraoperative, and postoperative complications were more common in MSICS. Conclusions. Achieving intact capsulorhexis and nuclear rotation in MSICS may be difficult in cases with large nucleus size and severe subluxation, but subluxated cataracts can be effectively managed by both phacoemuslification and MSICS

Case Report Unusual Presentation of Phacolytic Glaucoma: Simulating Microbial Keratitis

The differential diagnoses for phacolytic glaucoma are acute angle closure glaucoma, open angle glaucoma with uveitis, neovascular glaucoma, and glaucoma secondary to trauma. We report an unusual case where the dislocated cataractous lens firmly adherent to the corneal endothelium evoked a cellular reaction similar to phacolytic glaucoma but clinically appeared like a deep corneal abscess. The 73-year-old lady presented with severe photophobia, pain, and redness in the left eye for two months despite being on antibiotics and antifungals. Anterior chamber wash revealed a cataractous lens buried within the infiltrate, which was removed and sent for histopathological examination. Postoperatively she was treated with topical ofloxacin, homatropine, dorzolamide, timolol, and tapering dose of steroids. Histological confirmation of inflammation, histiocytic response, and giant cells around the lens material confirmed the ongoing phacolytic process. Photophobia, pain, and redness subsided following removal of the lens and surrounding cellular reaction. At her last visit, four months after surgery, she was comfortable

Improved Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Pilot Scale Pretreated Rice Straw at High Total Solids Loading

Enzymatic hydrolysis at high solids loading has the potential to reduce both capital and operational expenditures. Here, pretreatment of rice straw (PRS) with dilute acid was carried out at a pilot scale (250 kg per day) at 162°C for 10 min and 0.35% acid concentration, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis at different total solids loadings. It showed that although the total sugar concentration increased from 48 to 132 g/l, glucan conversion reduced by 27% (84–66.2%) with increasing solids from 5 to 20% in batch mode. Therefore, two different fed-batch approaches were evaluated to improve the glucan conversion by the sequential addition of a substrate and/or enzyme. At 20% solid loadings and a 3 filter paper units/g enzyme dosage, the highest glucan conversion obtained was 66% after 30 h of hydrolysis in batch mode. However, in an optimized fed-batch approach, the glucan yield was improved to 70% by simply dividing the substrate feeding into three batches, that is, 50% at 0 h, 25% each after 4 h, and 8 h of hydrolysis reaction. The addition of surfactant (Ecosurf E6) further improved the conversion to 72% after 30 h. The role of critical factors, that is, inhibitors, enzyme–lignin binding, and viscosity, was investigated during the course of hydrolysis in the batch and fed-batch approaches. This study suggests a sustainable approach for improved hydrolysis at high solids loadings by fine-tuning a simple process

Field Bund & Border as Alternative Land Use for Forage Production: A Case of Marginal Farmer in Bundelkhand Region of India

In India, if marginal farmers are approached for production of forage grasses in their agricultural lands, the response of the farmers would be straight forward „NO‟ to the forage crops on agricultural lands. The reason is that food grains (cereals & pulses), vegetables, oilseeds, fruits, etc. are grown on agricultural land and get the first preference for family members, while the forage grasses are least preferred, as crops residues are being fed to livestock. More than 60% of the farm produce come from the small farms only. The productivity of the marginal and small farmers is the solution for growing population food needs. Most of the marginal and small farmers cultivate the farm land with the support of their family members and local labour which the quality of the work is higher. They grow multiple crops and sow as soon as they harvest. The last four decades has witnessed a sharp decline in the average size of operational land holdings in India. The average size of operational land holdings has reduced by half from 2.28 ha in 1970-71 to 1.6 ha in 2010-11. Land holdings in the marginal category (less than 1 ha) constitute 67% of the operational holdings in India (2010-11). Marginal and small holdings together, constitute 85% in terms of number of operational holdings and 44% of the operated area in the country. Thus, over the period, the marginal category has emerged as a distinct and dominant class by itself with its average size dwindling to a mere 0.38 ha. (NABARD, 2014). This is the case study of an illiterate & marginal farmer, Shri Vijay Singh Kushwaha (37) S/o shri Dhan Singh resides in Kushwaha Dera at village Parasai (under Babina development block) in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh, Bundelkhand region of central India. He used to cultivate only monsoon crops, was the target of an extension programme initiated by ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi in 2011 under the project “Enhancing groundwater recharge and water use efficiency in Semi-Arid Tropics region through watershed interventions, Parasai-Sindh watershed, Jhansi”. The watershed is being developed in consortia mode with ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi, and International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad. The watershed comprises three villages namely Parasai, Chhatpur and Bachhauni and located between 250 23‟56‟‟ to 250 27‟ 9.34‟‟ N latitude and 780 19‟ 45.71‟‟ to 780 22‟ 42.57‟‟E longitude. The watershed is about 35 km in the West of the district headquarter. Bundelkhand is prone to severe drought leading to huge migration towards cities in search of livelihoods and the scarcity of green fodder posed as one of the major hindrances for dairy and livestock production activity in the region

Osmotic controlled drug delivery system (OSMO technology) and its impact on diabetes care

Recently, focus on the development of controlled release drug delivery system has increased, as existing drugs exhibit certain pharmacokinetic limitations. The major goal of designing sustained release formulations is to improve the drug performance by prolonged duration of drug action, decreased frequency of dosing and reduced side effects by using smallest quantity of drug administered by the most suitable route. Osmotic-controlled release oral delivery system (OSMO technology) is the most promising strategy based system for sustained delivery of drug. Drug can be delivered in a controlled manner over a long period of time by the process of osmosis. Osmotic drug delivery system appears to be a promising solution for the limitations of conventional extended release formulations by virtue of their distinguished technological features. The present review describes briefly about various controlled drug delivery systems with special focus on advantages of osmotic-controlled release oral delivery system related to diabetes therapy and improved compliance

Recent advances made in the synthesis of small drug molecules for clinical applications : An insight

Over decades dependency of humans on the drugs has become indispensable and irreplaceable. Thus, each year many new drugs are licensed. Nonetheless, drugs undergo rigorous testing and analysis to be available globally in economic price for the suitability of patients with different age and physiological conditions. The testing of drugs include phase I clinical trial using small group of 20–100 healthy volunteers for safety, pharmacology and efficacy; phase II clinical trial using 100–500 volunteer patients to optimize effective dose, dose interval, safety analysis and mode of delivery such as oral or intravenous; phase III clinical trial using 1000–5000 in a larger population of patients globally at different international places to collect sufficient safety and efficacy data for patenting and licencing. Moreover, thousands of drugs fail to achieve these objectives. Therefore, this mini-review intends to critically examine and assimilate the clinical applications of selected complex repurposed small drug molecules which are in different phase of trials for treating viral infection including complications due to COVID-19: (a) Remdesivir, (b) Galidesivir, (c) Favipiravir, (d) Baricitinib, and (e) Baloxavir