Performance evaluation of a manually operated paddy drum seeder - a cost saving technology for paddy cultivation

 A study was conducted at farmer field to evaluate performance of mechanized paddy cultivation (T1), mechanized paddy cultivation with incorporation of Dhaincha before direct sowing of paddy seed (T2) and the traditional farmer practice (T3).  Consecutive three years of data were obtained for analysis and different crop growth parameters were measured like panicle length, number of tillers, grain yield etc. for each treatment.  It was found that the average grain yield for three years in different treatments T1 and T2 was enhanced by 10% and 14% respectively when compared with farmer practice.  Average cost of cultivation was reduced by 25% in treatment T2 where green manuring crop (Dhaincha) was grown and incorporated in soil with indigenous plough before paddy seeding.  Study also revealed that due to mechanized cultivation practices, the crop was ready to harvest eight to ten days early than farmer’s practices.  The experiment well proved to raise the socio-economic status of the farmers by changing their strategy towards mechanized organic paddy cultivation.   Keywords: drum seeder, mechanization, green manuring crop, growth parameters

Transverse cervical skin incision and vertical platysma splitting approach for anterior cervical vertebral column exposure

Anterior surgical approaches provide direct access to symptomatic areas of the cervical spine, allow management of the vast spectrum of cervical spine pathologies and there are many articles in the literature that discussed these techniques in detail. Cosmesis is an important issue for patients who undergone surgeryon neck structures as an improperly placed incision attracting significant morbidity and few publications discuss this issue in details. The purpose of the present article is to describe our experience with transverse cervical skin incision and vertical platysma splitting approach for anterior cervical vertebral column exposure

ITIL-Based IT Service Support Process Reengineering

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) supports best practices, reengineering activities and IT service support processes. ITIL framework only provides recommendations, and companies need to utilize this framework to improve their IT service support processes and establish best practices. This study provides a methodology on how to apply the ITIL framework for evaluating the IT service support processes, its reengineering and alignment to best practices, and subsequent integration into a decision support system framework. A case study approach was used to identify a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) which were monitored by a decision support system (DSS) for triggering on-going reengineering of IT service support processes. This paper focuses on the implementation of the ITIL guidelines at the operational level, improvement of the service desk, and incident, problem, change, release, and configuration management. It also presents the implementation of the ITIL guidelines at the tactical level for the improvement of the service level, capacity, IT service continuity, service availability, and security management. We conclude by providing recommendations for future research

Design of ROVAC Air-Conditioning System for a Car

This study investigates the air compression air conditioning system which utilizes a rotary vane compressor that replaces the conventional mechanical compressor in automotives. The awareness for pollution, transportation contributing the major part has lead to measures taken by the Nation, demanding reduction of global warming refrigerants used in mobile air conditioning systems. Much of effort was to refurbish the system to safe operating condition and to evaluate its performance. The result of this study provides the basis for design of improved refrigeration systems for automotives and space conditioning applications.The queer system which is based on the works of Dr. Thomas C. Edwards, has been developed in which an oval shaped housing acts as a compressor and natural substance like air as refrigerant which offers a number of environmental and practical advantages.

Primary hypothyroidism masquerading pituitary macroadenoma

Diffuse and reactive pituitary gland enlargement secondary to primary hypothyroidism is an uncommon occurrence and that can masquerade many pituitary disorders. In present article, we report a case of 19 year female severe hypothyroidism presenting with diffuse enlargement of pituitary gland and hyperprolactinemia and review the clinical importance of this entity. Knowledge of this entity is very important to avoid unnecessary surgery and irreversible complications in this sub-group of patients

Converting a paper proforma template to a user friendly electronic database to collect traumatic brain injury data

A structured reporting system which is based on a uniform template will permit uniform data collection and future statistics and will facilitate and validate independent or comparative audit of performance and quality of care. The successful establishment of a multi-center registry depends on the development of a concise data entry form, data entry system and data analysis to continuously maintain the registry. In the first phase we introduced the paper data collection form, in second phase this data form was converted to an electronic interface. In this second phase of the study the paper proforma which was developed in the first phase was converted into an electronic database by using the FileMaker Pro 13 Advanced®. The FileMaker Pro 13 Advanced® is capable to store the data, provides user friendly interface to enter data and can be converted the standalone runtime program to install in any other computer system. The next step is to explore the possibility whether it would be feasible to use this as a multi-center traumatic brain injury registry

Developing a traumatic brain injury registry: lessons learned from difficulties

Aim: The aim of present article is to share our experiences and lessons learned from a pilot study which was conducted to collect data to serve as a model in establishing a multi-center registry on traumatic brain injury patients.Methods: The present study was conducted from December 2013 to June 2014 in the Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine. All patients with the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (as per the criteria laid by International Classification of Disease injury codes ICD 10) were enrolled in the study. Variables were identified as per the international norms and the data points were selected which included demographic details, pre-hospital characteristics, clinical details in emergency room, injury details, course during hospital stay, treatment and disposition. The data were categorized into master data, data related to pre-hospital events including pre-hospital care, data related to emergency room care offered in the emergency department, data related to hospital stay and patient course, outcome and follow up.Results: A total of 231 patients were admitted with the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. There were 79.1% male and 20.5% female patients. Mean age was 37.19 years (SD±17.02 years, range 4-87 years). Mean hospital stay was 3.66 days (SD±4.46 days, range-1-21 days). Data were collected daily for all the admitted patients on previous day fulfilling the inclusion criteria. The Proforma was easy to comprehend and it was easy to fill.Conclusion: We found that a well-designed Proforma based under supervision data collection in a relatively low volume trauma center. We found that a well-designed Proforma based under supervision data collection in a relatively low volume trauma center and at regular intervals can be cost-effective which can be managed by personnel with basic training

Intraventricular cysticercal cyst

Due to the risk of acute obstructive hydrocephalus and mortality, intraventricular cysticercosis has been considered as a potentially life-threaten-ing emergency that needs an early diagnosis and urgent intervention. In the present article, we discuss the imaging findings in a case of intraventricular cysticercal cyst. Surgical removal of ventricular cysts and establishment of the normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathway is the mainstay of treatment, which can be best achieved by neuroendoscopy