Community Ophthalmology articles list

A comparative study of social and economic aspect of migration

India is a country of immense diversity. It is home to people of many different racial, languages, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. Groups of people in India differ from each other not only in physical or demographic characteristics but also in distinctive patterns of behavior and these patterns are determined by social and cultural factors like language, region, religion, and caste. Apart from behaviour, economic development, level of education and political culture of the people in various social segments differ from region to region. More you can say that economy and cultures have been enriched by the contributions of migrants from round the globe. In an increasingly globalised world, migratory movements is continuously shaping the countries all over the world. Some countries like India and Ireland, which set the example of economic development and social integration, have the positive impact of the migration by globalisation and some countries like USA, which recently witness racism, xenophobia and discrimination have the negative impact on the migrants. It does not mean India do not face fragmentation and USA do not have cohesion. USA have many stories which show successful integration process, that facilitated the lives of immigrant communities, but being a developed country it still suffers from cultural alienation. In these countries, borders are built within borders to create cultural divides that do not allow people to integrate. Recently, this problem has become more prominent due to the rise of terrorism, clash of cultures in the world, leading to the glorification of stereotypes. People are becoming less accepting towards anyone who does not belong to their region. Migration does not stop after people move from one place to another place. The main question start after that ‘now what’ they will do. That is why this topic needs to be discussed thoroughly in order to find better solutions. This paper will begin with an analysis of different approaches to Migration, discuss the target groups for integration policies, provide indicators of the current situation of migrants and proceed to an analysis of integration tools: legislation, social policies and participatory processes. It will focus not only on the impact of migration but also on social integration, mix culture like indo-western culture in a comparative basis.

Ekta Meena

A comparative study of social and economic aspect of migration

India is a country of immense diversity. It is home to people of many different racial, languages, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. Groups of people in India differ from each other not only in physical or demographic characteristics but also in distinctive patterns of behavior and these patterns are determined by social and cultural factors like language, region, religion, and caste. Apart from behaviour, economic development, level of education and political culture of the people in various social segments differ from region to region. More you can say that economy and cultures have been enriched by the contributions of migrants from round the globe. In an increasingly globalised world, migratory movements is continuously shaping the countries all over the world. Some countries like India and Ireland, which set the example of economic development and social integration, have the positive impact of the migration by globalisation and some countries like USA, which recently witness racism, xenophobia and discrimination have the negative impact on the migrants. It does not mean India do not face fragmentation and USA do not have cohesion. USA have many stories which show successful integration process, that facilitated the lives of immigrant communities, but being a developed country it still suffers from cultural alienation. In these countries, borders are built within borders to create cultural divides that do not allow people to integrate. Recently, this problem has become more prominent due to the rise of terrorism, clash of cultures in the world, leading to the glorification of stereotypes. People are becoming less accepting towards anyone who does not belong to their region. Migration does not stop after people move from one place to another place. The main question start after that ‘now what’ they will do. That is why this topic needs to be discussed thoroughly in order to find better solutions. This paper will begin with an analysis of different approaches to Migration, discuss the target groups for integration policies, provide indicators of the current situation of migrants and proceed to an analysis of integration tools: legislation, social policies and participatory processes. It will focus not only on the impact of migration but also on social integration, mix culture like indo-western culture in a comparative basis.

Ekta Meena

Study of temperature variation in human peripheral region during wound healing process due to plastic surgery

In this paper, investigations are made to analyze the human body temperature during wound healing process due to surgery. Wound is considered after the skin graft. Skin graft is a technique used in plastic surgery. Skin is the first line of defense between the human and environment, it is very susceptible to damage. Internal body or core temperature (Tb) is one of the clinical vital signs along with pulse and respiratory rates. Any disturbance in body temperature will drive complexities in wound healing process. These studies are important in the mechanism of establishing the limits of thermal regulation of human body during the healing process in different situations and conditions. The Finite element method is used to analyze tissues temperature for normal tissues (donor site) and abnormal tissues (tissues after surgery). Appropriate boundary conditions have been framed. Numerical results are obtained using Crank Nicolson Method.

Manisha Jain

Metapuf: a challenge response pair generator

Physically unclonable function (PUF) is a hardware security module preferred for hardware feature based random number and secret key generation. Security of a cryptographic system relies on the quality of the challenge-response pair, it is necessary that the key generation mechanism must unpredictable and its response should constant under different operating condition. Metastable state in CMOS latch is undesirable since it response becomes unpredictable, this feature used in this work to generate a unique response. A feedback mechanism is developed which forces the latch into the metastable region; after metastable state, latch settle to high or state depends on circuit internal condition and noise which cannot be predicted. Obtained inter hamming variation for 8 PUF is 51% and average intra hamming distance is 99.76% with supply voltage variation and 96.22% with temperature variation.

Abhishek Kumar

Intersection of caste and gender based subjugation

One of the unique features of Indian society is prevalence of caste system which was originated thousands of years back to demarcate the people engaged in different occupation or jobs. Initially it was not much rigid but gradually people belonging to upper castes for their own selfish means to maintain their monopoly made this arrangement hereditary and started treating people of lower castes disgracefully. For preservation of this system, people started controlling their women to prevent inter-caste marriages and the concept of endogamy came up. This robbed away many types of freedom from women. For women belonging to lower castes, this situation is worse as they are doubly subjugated on the basis on caste as well as gender. Men belonging to their own caste treat them as secondary beings. This paper throws light on this intersection. How intersection of these two kinds of inequalities place them at the lowest position in Indian society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rises as their leader who all his life worked for empowerment of downtrodden section of society. He argues that education is the primary tool for evading these differences among people. He further emphasizes to adopt the concept of exogamy to break the backbone of Indian caste system and to immediately leave a religion or culture which legitimizes such system of inequality among people of the same land.

Swati sharma

Intersection of caste and gender based subjugation

One of the unique features of Indian society is prevalence of caste system which was originated thousands of years back to demarcate the people engaged in different occupation or jobs. Initially it was not much rigid but gradually people belonging to upper castes for their own selfish means to maintain their monopoly made this arrangement hereditary and started treating people of lower castes disgracefully. For preservation of this system, people started controlling their women to prevent inter-caste marriages and the concept of endogamy came up. This robbed away many types of freedom from women. For women belonging to lower castes, this situation is worse as they are doubly subjugated on the basis on caste as well as gender. Men belonging to their own caste treat them as secondary beings. This paper throws light on this intersection. How intersection of these two kinds of inequalities place them at the lowest position in Indian society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rises as their leader who all his life worked for empowerment of downtrodden section of society. He argues that education is the primary tool for evading these differences among people. He further emphasizes to adopt the concept of exogamy to break the backbone of Indian caste system and to immediately leave a religion or culture which legitimizes such system of inequality among people of the same land.

Swati sharma

Role of demodex infestation in blepharitis and coconut oil as a treatment option

Purpose: To assess incidence of demodex species, correlate ocular symptomatology, evaluate efficacy of coconut oil as treatment method in all types of blepharitis. Materials and Methods: 30 patients with anterior & mixed blepharitis, meibomian gland dysfunction & non-specific irritation were enrolled for study. History taken & examined clinically. 2 lashes/lid were sampled & mounted on slides with normal saline & observed under light microscope. Number of mites counted. Patients positive for demodex were treated with coconut oil application over lid margins & reviewed after 3 weeks. Results: Incidence of demodex was 40% & it increased with age. Demodex was commonly associated with meibomian gland dysfunction, non-specific irritation, madarosis, cloudy & toothpaste like meibum quality. Burning sensation and itching were common complaints. At 3rd week, all patients were symptom-free. Mite count dropped by 52.8% but were not eliminated. Conclusion: Demodex infestation is often overlooked but it is associated with about half of blepharitis cases. Hence further evaluation should be considered. Coconut oil is an easily available mode of treatment & helps reduce symptoms and mite counts.

Kamal Singh

"awareness and knowledge about refractive errors and strabismus in south indian population

Background: To assess the awareness, knowledge about refractive errors and strabismus among the general public in southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Methods: A cross sectional population-based survey used a semi structured questionnaire on awareness, knowledge on refractive errors and strabismus done as part of knowledge, attitude and practices study (KAP). Stratified multistage cluster random sampling method was used with a sample size of 867 adults- ≥16 years. Having heard of refractive error and strabismus was defined as awareness and having knowledge of the type of error for which spectacles were worn, was considered as knowledge. A pilot study was conducted to validate the questions used in the main study. Statistical package SPSS (version 19) was used for analysis to calculate logistic regression and odds ratios for gender, age, education and urban-rural areas. Results: A total of 782/867 (90.1%) subjects participated in the survey with females 47.4%. 581 subjects (74.3%) were aware of refractive error. 690 subjects (88.2%) were aware of squint. With multiple logistic regression about awareness of refractive error to various variables, subjects who were educated 11th class to degree had a higher awareness (OR: 2.40; CI: 1.25-4.60). With multiple logistic regression about awareness of squint to various variables, females had a higher awareness of squint (OR: 1.98; CI: 1.19-3.31). Conclusions: Awareness of squint and refractive error was high among the general public, but the knowledge of it was limited.

Srinivasa reddy pallerla

Methodology to investigate the impact of blindness control activities in the southern indian population

To describe the methodology used to investigate the impact of blindness control activities in the southern Indian State of Andhra Pradesh. The blindness control activities in Andhra Pradesh have been implemented since 1976 through the National Program for Control of Blindness (NPCB) by the Government of India through District Blindness Control Societies (DBCS). Besides Government eye care facilities, many local, national, international Non Governme*ntal Organizations (NGOs) and private sector eye care facilities are active in controlling blindness in the state. In the year 2002 Andhra Pradesh Right to Sight Society (APRTSS) was established as part of a global initiative of VISION 2020 The Right to Sight to coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders in eye care. The present study investigated the impact of blindness control activities in the state of AP in general and with special reference to the activities of APRTSS The study was based on the six building blocks of the health care system for all the stakeholders in eye care. The baseline data for the year 2002-03 were collected from sources such as State Blindness Control Society, District Blindness Control Societies and major stakeholders in eye care in the state and also by questionnaire to managers of eye care facilities and eye care professionals. The current data are being collected for the year 2012-2013. Interviews based on Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat (SWOT) analysis were conducted with policy makers in the Government, Managers of the eye care facilities and NGOs. The outcomes of the study will provide information regarding the trends in blinding eye diseases, human resources and infrastructure facilities in the last decade and information on the deficiencies in eye care service delivery that may provide the basis to formulate strategies for implementation of the VISION 2020 program in the state for coming years.

Srinivasa reddy pallerla

Awareness and knowledge about refractive errors and strabismus in south indian population

Background: To assess the awareness, knowledge about refractive errors and strabismus among the general public in southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Methods: A cross sectional population-based survey used a semi structured questionnaire on awareness, knowledge on refractive errors and strabismus done as part of knowledge, attitude and practices study (KAP). Stratified multistage cluster random sampling method was used with a sample size of 867 adults- ≥16 years. Having heard of refractive error and strabismus was defined as awareness and having knowledge of the type of error for which spectacles were worn, was considered as knowledge. A pilot study was conducted to validate the questions used in the main study. Statistical package SPSS (version 19) was used for analysis to calculate logistic regression and odds ratios for gender, age, education and urban-rural areas. Results: A total of 782/867 (90.1%) subjects participated in the survey with females 47.4%. 581 subjects (74.3%) were aware of refractive error. 690 subjects (88.2%) were aware of squint. With multiple logistic regression about awareness of refractive error to various variables, subjects who were educated 11th class to degree had a higher awareness (OR: 2.40; CI: 1.25-4.60). With multiple logistic regression about awareness of squint to various variables, females had a higher awareness of squint (OR: 1.98; CI: 1.19-3.31). Conclusions: Awareness of squint and refractive error was high among the general public, but the knowledge of it was limited.

Srinivasa reddy pallerla

Public knowledge, attitudes and practices related to eye diseases in southern indian population

Background: This study was conducted to determine the level of the public knowledge, attitudes and practices related to common eye diseases in the southern Indian population. Methods: A cross sectional population-based survey used a semi structured questionnaire on awareness, knowledge, attitude and practices related to eye diseases. Stratified multistage cluster random sampling method was used with a sample size of 867 adults >16 years based on, estimated awareness of cataract 70%, assuming an expected rate of 85%, design effect of 1.5, margin of error 4% with 95% confidence interval with 25% from urban areas and 75% from rural areas. A pilot study was conducted to validate the questions used in the main study. SPSS (version 19) used for analysis. Results: A total of 782/867 (90.1%) subjects participated in the survey, with females 47.4%. Awareness of major eye diseases for cataract 81.5%, glaucoma 47.8%, refractive error 74.3%, squint 89.0%, diabetic retinopathy 65.0% and age-related macular degeneration 36.7% respectively. 41.8% subjects reported wearing glasses either for distance, near or for both. Of the 777 subjects only 294 people underwent an eye examination by an ophthalmologist in the last two years (37.8%). 57.5% subjects had knowledge of the nearest eye care facility within five kilometers of their residence. Electronic media were the major source of information on eye health. Conclusions: Though the awareness levels of common eye diseases were quite high, the knowledge of cataract (10.4%) was poor. There is a need to increase the level of awareness for eye diseases like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.

Srinivasa reddy pallerla