Cultural Identity Shifts in Female Characters of Jhumpa Lahiri

ABSTRACT The idea of identity can be related to the modern study of culture, which has implications for the study of several topics like ethnicity. When something that is taken for granted to be consistent is altered, identity becomes a problem. Desire, such as the desire for safety, association, and acknowledgment over time and distance, can also be linked to identity. Cultural identity, according to Stuart Hall, is a function of “becoming” as much as “being.” It belongs just as much to the past as it does to the future. It is not something that has always been there and spans space, time, history, and cultures. Cultural diversity gives people a past and a place to start from. But they change all the time, just like everything in heritage. They are sensitive of the ongoing “play” of history, culture, and power rather than being firmly fixed in a fundamentally zed past. We use the word “identity” to describe way different narratives position us and how we position ourselves within them. It is not anchored in a simple “recovery” of the past that is expecting discovery and, when found, will ensure our sense of self into eternity. On other hand, because they are created by representations, identities are recognized within the context of cultural circumstances and lack universal characteristics. In her article Comparative Literature and Cultural Identification, Jola Skulj writes that “Cultural identity incorporates the question of the self and of culture” or reflecting the essence of culture, where the self represents an independent subjectivity of every human being. Thus, identity determines a person, and it is in this area that women suffer more than males because they are responsible for upholding traditions. Jhumpa Lahiri, a supporter of women and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000 and 2013 Man Booker Prize nominee, depicts women’s issues and struggles creatively and particularly in foreign settings. Characters in her books struggle with identity, interpersonal connections, feelings of alienation, longing, loss, and hope more frequently. A reader gains a true understanding of the status, conduct, and personalities of Indian women who have settled both in India and abroad through Jhumpa Lahiri. The gender roles of the characters in “The Namesake”, “Interpreter of Maladies” and “The Lowland” have changed, according to a critical interpretation of Lahiri’s writings. The writer thinks that these phenomena indicate shifting status of men and women in society as they shift from conventional types to modern ones. One tactic for unnoticeably limiting women’s space is pre-programming. They are already pre-programmed on customs and traditions, thus they are not aware of the loss of their own areas

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID -19 PANDEMIC IN INDIAN AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION OF TAMIL NADU

This article explains the use of electricity for economic performance in India among other states. In March 2020, the Indian government issued the first lockdown to deal with the rising cases of COVID-19, and energy consumption in India dropped drastically. However, as the lockdown was eased, energy consumption in India and other states began to recover. In this study, we examine the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Indian energy consumption during the COVID-19 crisis, examining whether changes to the lockdown had a positive impact on energy resources and electricity consumption and whether prosperous regions have recovered their energy consumption quickly enough. Using Autoregressive Distributed Regression (ARDL) model, the study shows that there is a long-run relationship between corona cases and energy consumption and that COVID-19 cases have a positive impact on Indian energy consumption. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown between March 2019 and 2020, electricity consumption declined by 9% per cent across the country, while it fell by 14% per cent in Tamil Nadu. that the decline in electricity usage for the entire lockdown period after May 3 may exceed 11,000 million units of electricity consumption. Tamil Nadu's average power consumption was 10,000 million units per month before the lockdown was announced across states and districts in Tamil Nadu. According to the data released by the Central Electricity Authority, the country's total electricity consumption was 1,08,355 million units in March 2019, but it came down to 98,404 million units in March this year

ROLE OF ELECTRICITY SECTOR AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN TAMIL NADU

Energy is a universal measure of all forms of work and its consumption is increasing worldwide. Combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum oils and natural gas produces energy, which is mainly used to improve the quality of life. As these conventional fuels are rapidly depleting, it is necessary to study the existing energy users, consumption patterns and demand, especially in urban areas for efficient use of energy. In this regard, the present investigation is being conducted in Tamil Nadu, the second and fifth largest and most populous city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Energy consumers are identified in these cities and they are classified into industrial segments. The energy requirement of these sectors is measured and the energy consumption for these sectors is analyzed. With increasing energy demand and environmental degradation, it has been concluded that the implementation of energy conservation measures and the implementation of energy consumption including the use of renewable energy sources is necessary not only to match energy demand and supply of energy but also to safe guard the health and wealth of the inhabitants in Tamilnadu

Topical Fluoride application among Pediatric outpatients - A retrospective study

Widespread use of fluoride has been a major factor towards the decline in both the prevalence and severity of dental caries in economically developed countries. Fluorides prevent tooth decay by promoting remineralization and inhibiting demineralization of enamel. It is recommended as part of a comprehensive tooth decay prevention program. The growing number of parents who refuse topical fluoride in clinical practice warrants attention from dental professionals and the scientific community. The goal of this research is to know the level of acceptance of fluoride treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of topical fluoride application among pediatric dental patients. A retrospective study was conducted using the patient records from Saveetha Dental College, Chennai from June 2019 - April 2020. The study population included pediatric patients with dental caries, selected by non-probability purposive sampling. Data was collected and then subjected to statistical analysis. Microsoft Excel 2016 (Microsoft office 10) data spreadsheet was used to collect data and later exported to SPSS IBM (version 20.0). Descriptive statistics and chi square test were employed with a level of significance set at p<0.05. It has been concluded that the overall acceptance of fluoride application was 20.72%, among which 80.34% of the patients preferred fluoride gel and 19.66% preferred fluoride varnish. Children between 6-13 years of age and children with higher dental caries, especially males, had a more favourable level of acceptance.Thus the most parental acceptance was noticed only after progression of decay in children. There is a paramount need to educate the parents and caregivers about the importance of topical fluoride application as a preventive measure in preventing caries and progression of decay in children

Creating a Climate for Linguistically Responsive Instruction: The Case for Additive Models

As a state with a longstanding tradition of offering bilingual education, Illinois has a legislative requirement for native language instruction in earlier grades through a model called Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE). This model does not truly develop bilingualism, however, but rather offers native language instruction to English learners (ELs) for a few years only to later mainstream them to English-only instruction. Contrasting this approach, culturally and linguistically responsive teaching not only supports EL students’ first language maintenance and second language development, but can also affirm critical aspects of their cultural, ethnic and linguistic identities. Through this framework, we present qualitative data from two elementary classrooms in Illinois enacting a TBE and dual language program model. Findings suggest that while program models are indeed one factor that influences enactment of a culturally responsive approach, societal factors and ability for stakeholders to mediate and address pressures are equally important

Effect of prophylactic tranexamic acid on blood conservation in Indian women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy

Background: The prevalence of anemia in India is so high that majority of women presenting for hysterectomy are already with borderline hemoglobin status and the perioperative blood loss puts them at risk of death and prolongs recovery. Antifibrinolytic agents, mainly Tranexamic acid (TXA) have been demonstrated to reduce blood loss and transfusion requirements in various surgeries. The present study was done to assess the efficacy of TXA in effectively reducing intraoperative blood loss and the need for transfusion in Indian population undergoing abdominal hysterectomy for benign indications.Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted on hundred patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy. Group T (n = 50)- received TXA 15 mg/kg in 100 ml Normal saline and Group N (n = 50)-received the same volume of Normal saline infused over 15 minutes. Estimated blood loss need for blood transfusion, duration of surgery, postoperative hemoglobin and incidence of adverse events were noted.Results: There was statistically significant reduction in mean blood loss in group T when compared to group N (360 ml versus 540 ml). Accordingly, there was significant difference in the number of patients requiring blood transfusion (12% versus 42%) and also the postoperative hemoglobin levels. The group T patients had a significantly shorter operating time (127.86 versus 148.64 minutes). None of the patients developed any major adverse events.Conclusions: The prophylactic TXA safely and effectively reduces the blood loss and transfusion requirements in Indian patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy for benign indications

CLINICO – MYCOLOGICAL PROFILE OF DERMATOPHYTIC INFECTIONS

Objective: The objective of this study was to isolate and identify the dermatophytic infected patients attending Perunduarai IRT Medical College and Hospital, Erode.Methods: The samples of skin, nail and hair from patients having the sign of superficial mycoses were gathered over a period of one year. The clinical material was examined microscopically by KOH mount and the culture was done on Sabouraud dextrose agar, Potato dextrose agar Dermatophyte test agar medium and incubated at 28-30 °C.Results: The demographic data shows that the men (82%) were highly susceptible to the infection; the infected age group is between 15-30 y (74%). In that students, (28%) were highly exposed to Tinea corporis and Tinea cruris infection.Conclusion: The results of the study suggested that the preliminary information on the prevalence and distribution of dermatophytes in the area of sampling. So the knowledge of the efficient screening, management, reduction and treatment of the dermatophytic infection should be fruitful in the future.Keywords: Skin, KOH mount, Dermatophyte test medium (DTM), Tinea cruri

Comparison of active versus expectant management on fetomaternal outcome in patients with placenta previa

Background: Placenta previa is one of the leading cause (31%) of obstetric hemorrhage. It accounts for significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The objective of the present investigation was to compare the effect of active management versus expectant management on maternal and fetal outcome in patients with placenta previa.Methods: This randomized prospective cohort study was conducted on 100 Patients of 32 weeks to 36 weeks of gestation with diagnosis of Placenta previa. Selected patients were randomly divided into Group A- Active management and Group B - Expectant management.Results: In both the groups, majority of women were in the age group of 26-30 years and were multigravidas. The need for blood transfusion and the mode of delivery were similar in both the groups. Group A had higher incidence of PPH (22% vs 10%) and peripartum hysterectomy (18% vs 2%) when compared to group B. The maternal deaths were more in group A (4% vs 2%). Majority of the babies born to group A mothers had a low Apgar, birth weight below 2 kgs and greater NICU admission. The perinatal deaths were more in group A (16% vs 2%) and the difference was statistically significant.Conclusions: The expectant management protocol was concluded to be a better mode of management protocol in patients with placenta praevia, who are either asymptomatic or with mild to moderate bleeding

Does prophylactic tranexamic acid reduce blood loss in Indian women following vaginal delivery?

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) accounts for 25% to 33% of obstetric deaths every year. Anemia is a cause and consequence of PPH. Despite intense efforts to prevent anemia, many Indian women labour with low hemoglobin levels. Tranexamic acid (TXA), an antifibrinolytic, have been demonstrated to reduce blood loss and transfusion requirements in various surgeries including cesarean section. Objectives were to study the efficacy of TXA in effectively reducing blood loss in Indian women following vaginal delivery.Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 200 patients scheduled for vaginal delivery. In addition to oxytocin 10 units, group T received TXA 15 mg/kg and group P received normal saline administered over 5 minutes. Estimated blood loss, Hemoglobin deficit, need for additional uterotonics, need for blood transfusion, incidence of PPH and adverse events were noted.Results: The fall in hemoglobin was significantly higher in group P (p<0.00001). Estimated 24 hour blood loss was significantly higher by a mean blood volume of 86.99 ml in group P compared to group T (p<0.00001). The incidence of PPH was lower in group T (2.8% versus 11.3%). There were no significant difference in the need for supplementary uterotonics (9.9% versus 15.5%) and the incidence of blood transfusion (2.8% versus 8.5%). No adverse maternal and fetal outcomes were noted.Conclusions: To reduce blood loss following vaginal delivery, TXA may be safely recommended as standard adjunct to Oxytocin for regular management of third stage of labour, especially in developing countries like India

DETECTION OF FAKE ONLINE REVIEWS USING SEMI-SUPERVISED AND SUPERVISED LEARNING

Online reviews have great impact on today’s business and commerce. Decision making for purchase of online products mostly depends on reviews given by the users. Hence, opportunistic individuals or groups try to manipulate product reviews for their own interests. This paper introduces some semi-supervised and supervised text mining models to detect fake online reviews as well as compares the efficiency of both techniques on dataset containing hotel review