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An Approach of Initiating Geriatric Screening OPD at the Rural Health Training Centre of SMVMCH, Pondicherry
No full textObjectives: To study the common chronic health problems among the elderly patients attending in recently initiated geriatric screening OPD at the RHTC. Material and Methods: Since one year, screening OPD has been started at RHTC of SMVMCH, for old patients (>60 years), twice a week. A team of trained medical interns, a post-graduate, a faculty in Community Medicine and a counselor screen and counsel the elderly patients for common medical and mental health problems. The screening tool is structured and has been adopted for patients of geriatric OPD at RHTC. The screening tool consist of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-5), Psychosis screening, Alzheimer’s disease (AD8) questionnaire and checklist of common medical conditions. Patients were screened for early detection of health problems followed by counseling them/their caregivers and referral to specialty OPD for further care. Results: Total 512 elderly patients were screened over 4 months period from the start of geriatric OPD. Out of them, 276 (54%) and 117 (23%) were between the age group of 60-65 years and 66-70 years respectively. Among them 387 (75%) were below poverty line and 68 (13.3%) were having some kind of health insurance. GHQ score indicates that 255 (50%) patients had a score more than one and it was significantly higher among females compared to males. About 76 (16.8%) elderly had a score of > 1 for psychosis, out of which only 12 (14%) were referred to the higher centre. AD8 score shows 204 (40%) patients attended the clinic having a score more than 1 and it is significantly higher among females compared to males. Counseling for caregivers was given only in 13 (6%) of the patients with high AD8 score. Common chronic conditions present among them were joint pains (310, 60%), visual disturbances (247, 48%), hearing difficulty (120, 23.4%) and hypertension (107, 21%). Conclusion: The proportion of people with AD8 score more than 1 is high and most common chronic condition seen is joint pain. The action component of the clinic such as referral of dementia patients, psychosis patients and counseling of their care-givers need to be strengthened
What About Feedback?
No full textThe role of immediate feedback in-group conversations has received scant attention in the recent literature. While studies from the early 1990’s suggested that “added information” in the form of non-verbal cues would allow video conferencing to “augment” the audio-only conference in terms of effectiveness, stunningly little follow-on research has been done reflective of the current state of computer mediated communication, video conferencing, “live walls”, etc. This article contrasts three studies of immediate feedback in in-person settings as the basis for suggesting a new research program – research to look at potential effects of augmenting video-conferencing with an immediate feedback channel
Universal Grammar Is a Universal Grammar
No full textIs Universal Grammar a universal grammar? From Chomsky's hierarchy we deduce that for each grammar there is a Turing machine, and conversely. Following this equivalence, it is immediate to conclude that a universal Turing machine is equivalent to a universal grammar. Meanwhile, in linguistics, Universal Grammar is the human brain circuitry that implements the faculty of language. So the definitive answer is achieved only when we show that the human brain is Turing complete, and that language uses this capability. So yes: Universal Grammar is a universal grammar, because the human brain circuitry that implements the faculty of language is Turing complete
Structure and Dynamics in Implementation of Computations
No full textWithout a proper restriction on mappings, virtually any\ud
system could be seen as implementing any computation. That\ud
would not allow characterization of systems in terms of\ud
implemented computations and is not compatible with a\ud
computationalist philosophy of mind. Information-based criteria for independence of substates within structured states are proposed as a solution. Objections to the use of requirements for transitions in counterfactual states are addressed, in part using the partial-brain argument as a general counterargument to neural replacement arguments
Structure and Dynamics in Implementation of Computations
No full textWithout a proper restriction on mappings, virtually any\ud
system could be seen as implementing any computation. That\ud
would not allow characterization of systems in terms of\ud
implemented computations and is not compatible with a\ud
computationalist philosophy of mind. Information-based criteria for independence of substates within structured states are proposed as a solution. Objections to the use of requirements for transitions in counterfactual states are addressed, in part using the partial-brain argument as a general counterargument to neural replacement arguments
Himalayan P waves in COPD - A Rare Feature
No full textHimalayan or giant P-waves (amplitude =5 mm) are often known to be classically associated with congenital heart diseases with right to left shunt like tricuspid atresia, Ebstein anomaly, combined tricuspid and pulmonic stenosis, etc, where they indicate a dilated right atrium and tend to be persistent. These type P waves are rarely seen in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in this condition it may be due to structural right atrial changes or hypoxemia or combination of both. Here we report a case of COPD with Himalayan P waves which is a rare entity
Do All Cases of Diagnosed Carcinoma Cervix Need HIV Screening?
No full textBackground: This observational study was aimed to determine the frequency of existence of sero-positivity for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among women of age between 25 to 75 years with invasive cervical carcinoma and to decide whether HIV testing should be included as part of the initial routine work-up of cervical cancer patients. Methods: Histologically proven 120 cases of invasive carcinoma cervix, who came for treatment between 2009-2013, in the department of radiotherapy, after counselling gave consent were investigated for HIV by immunochromatography based rapid test. Results: Out of 120 patients investigated, reports revealed that only two patients (1.67%) were HIV seropositive. Both of these patients were already HIV seropositive and on gynaecological screening were found to have malignancy of cervix. No patient of diagnosed carcinoma cervix was found seropositive for HIV. Most patients (106/120) were above 40 years of age, from rural background (92/120) and housewives (80/120). Only 15% (18/120) were smokers. 95.8% (115/120) were of stage II and III. None presented with metastasis. Most common pathology was moderately differentiated carcinoma, in 76 patients (63.3%). Conclusion: Screening for HIV, as part of the initial work up for cervical cancer is not necessary in countries with limited resources and low HIV prevalence
Primary Eosinophilic Obliterative Appendicitis
No full textPrimary eosinophilic appendicitis is a rare condition of unknown etiology having vague and unexplained symptoms. Histopathological hallmark of this entity is eosinophilic infiltration of the muscularis propria with accompanying edema separating the muscle fibers, and absence of neutrophilic infiltration. Preoperative correct diagnosis of this entity is not possible in view of lack of specific imaging technology. Histopathological examination is the gold standard for the diagnosis. Here, we present an unusual case of Eosinophilic Obliterative appendicitis in a 25 years old male patient
Retroperitoneal Ancient Schwannoma
No full textSchwannomas are rare tumors which arise from nerve sheath and are mostly benign in nature. They are usually located in the head, neck and flexor surfaces of extremities. Schwannomas are very rare in the retroperitoneal region. Amongst all schwannomas 0.7% of benign ones and 1.7% of malignant ones are located in the retroperitoneum. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult because of vague symptoms. We report a case of retroperitonal schwannoma in a 70 years female patient because of its rarity and unusual location
English Surnames: DNA, plural origins and emigration
No full textSince the turn of the millennium, DNA testing has helped with establishing the sizes of biological descent families within surnames. Some surnames have a dominant family: their remaining populations can be ascribed either to NPEs (non paternity events)or to smaller separate-origin families. Previously, there was no direct evidence as to how large each male-line family could grow within a surname,\ud
considering that real-life plural-origin surnames could contain a few or many separate-origin families of various sizes. However, DNA testing is providing evidence to help indicate in particular the size of the largest male-line medieval descent family in a surname. We here perform statistical analyses of some relevant DNA results. This allows us to compare the DNA results with some predicted findings from our computer simulations.\ud
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