Passenger-friendly timings for Madurai-Villupuram train

Passenger-friendly timings for Madurai-Villupuram train

Departure from Madurai at 8 a.m.; arrival at 7.30 p.m.

12/06/2020

Southern Railway has made changes in timings of Madurai-Villupuram-Madurai special trains with effect from Saturday.

Following feedback from passengers on the timing of the trains on both directions, the departure in Madurai has been delayed by an hour. But the departure from Villupuram has been advanced by 90 minutes.

The changes have been effected so that passengers can reach the railway station in Madurai with ease and go home earlier in the night when public transport is available.

With limited TNSTC bus services in the early morning, passengers found it difficult to reach Madurai station on time and catch the train at 7 a.m. Now, the train will depart at 8 a.m. Similarly, under the new timings, the train will arrive Madurai at 7.30 p.m. instead of 9.20 p.m. The passengers can use the TNSTC buses that are otherwise taken to depots at 9.30 p.m. under the relaxed lockdown conditions.

New timings

The train will leave Madurai at 8 a.m., Dindigul at 9 a.m., Tiruchi at 10.15 a.m., Ariyalur at 11.10 a.m. to reach Villupuram at 1.05 p.m. In the return direction, the train will depart Villupuram at 2.30 p.m., leave Ariyalur at 3.55 p.m., Tiruchi at 5.10 p.m., Dindigul at 6.17 p.m. and reach Madurai at 7.30 p.m.

Online viva voce at Alagappa university

Online viva voce at Alagappa university

12/06/2020

Alagappa University, Karaikudi, has initiated the process of conducting viva voce examinations for Ph.D. scholars through video conferencing.

According to a press release from the institution, till now two Ph.D. scholars have completed their viva voce through online platforms during May and the first week of June.

The viva voce is being conducted through Alagappa University’s online portal and other online platforms in accordance with recent UGC guidelines.

With the objective of helping Ph.D. scholars, Vice-Chancellor N. Rajendran permitted the online viva voce examinations.

The video conferencing was conducted in a dedicated room set up for this purpose.

Personal distancing norms are strictly being enforced during the conduct of the online examination.

More Ph.D. scholars will appear for viva voce online examinations during June and July, the press release added.

IIT-Madras top institution in government ranking

12/06/2020

With regard to medical education, All India Institute of Medical Sciences stands first, followed by Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, and Christian Medical College, Vellore. 

The pharmacy category was topped by Jamia Hamdard University, while the newly introduced dental category had the Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences in the first place.

Overall, 3,771 institutions registered in the ranking framework this year, which is a 20% increase in comparison to last year. All parameters are normalised to keep them size- and age-independent so as to ensure that larger and older institutions do not get any undue advantage.

Change of names of towns, cities sparks criticism

Change of names of towns, cities sparks criticism

Critics say there are several inconsistencies; officials say experts were consulted

12/06/2020

Thangam Thennarasu

The Tamil Nadu government’s notification changing names of 1,018 towns and cities has come in for criticism from various quarters, including a few Tamil language experts, who have questioned the inconsistencies in the process. The change of name from ‘Vellore’ to ‘Veeloor’ was criticised the most.

Senior officials in the Tamil Development Department told The Hindu that the names were finalised after experts looked at various suggestions. The team included linguistic experts proficient in Tamil and English. They clarified that the last column that provides the name changes also mentions “no change”. “This “no change” means that the names suggested by the Collectors will be maintained,” an official said.

When specifically asked how ‘Vellore’ became ‘Veeloor’, an official said, “It was based on ‘Nedil’ (long vowel) and ‘Kuril’ (short vowel) words.

For Vellore, in Tamil the word is ‘Waayloor’, ‘Nedil’, not ‘Wayloor’, ‘Kuril’. Hence in English, it becomes Veeloor,” a top official said.

Another official said once the new names come into effect, people will get used to them. “The Britishers changed a number of names to their convenience. People need to get used to the new names and it will be fine,” the official said.

Thennarasu’s remark

DMK MLA and former School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu asked: “Firstly, is this the right time to make these announcements? Did some astrologer tell this government that changing the names of these places will drive away the COVID-19 virus?”

“You are saying Coimbatore is Koyampuththoor. But for Srivilliputtur, you are saying the correct spelling in English is Thiruvilliputthur. There is no consistency, there are errors” he said. “How can ‘Vellore’ become ‘Veeloor’? If you are going to say you went with ‘Kuril’, ‘Nedil’ words for the English names, why do you need a Tamil ‘Development’ Department,” he asked.

About Krishnagiri, he asked, “It is mentioned as Kirutinagiri district. It’s a gazette notification. How can Krishnagiri become Kirutinagiri? Have you made any announcement changing the name anywhere,” he asked.

Anna University ranked 12th

Anna University ranked 12th

University of Madras placed 41st in NIRF rankings

12/06/2020

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has retained the top rank in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development on Thursday.

Among the engineering colleges in the country, it has secured a score of 85.31, topping the list.

The State-run Anna University is ranked 12th among universities in the country and 14th among engineering educational institutes. In the overall category it is ranked 20th.

Architecture education

The university’s architecture education is ranked 18th among the top 20 institutes.

The University of Madras, however, came 41st in the NIRF rankings.

A total of 16 universities from Tamil Nadu, including private and public, feature among the top 100 institutions.

For the first time the Madras Medical College has figured among the top medical colleges and is ranked 12th. Christian Medical College in Vellore has been ranked third in the country.

Among the top 10 colleges are Presidency and Loyola College, both based in Chennai. The Presidency College’s ranking has, however, fallen from the third to the fifth position this year.

Now, senior doctors, PGs of anaesthesia institute test positive

Now, senior doctors, PGs of anaesthesia institute test positive

Routinely posted on COVID-19 duty in several high-risk wards of RGGGH

12/06/2020

Continuous COVID-19 duty has caused spike in infection among healthcare workers.

After the Department of Cardiology, a number of senior doctors and postgraduates at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital's (RGGGH) Institute of Anaesthesiology have tested positive for COVID-19. A majority of the PG doctors were posted in COVID-19 wards of the hospital.

In April, a number of PG doctors and staff nurses at the Department of Cardiology tested positive, following which the building housing the department was closed for disinfection. Recently, 15 doctors, including heads of department, of the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital also tested positive for the virus.

Sources confirmed that two chiefs of the Institute of Anaesthesiology had tested positive for COVID-19, while a total of 14 PGs, including four who were affected earlier, had been infected.

Doctors said that the anaesthetists, whose services ought to be utilised only for airway management in patients, were posted on COVID-19 duty in several wards, resulting in regular exposure to the infection.

“Anaesthesia PGs are posted on regular COVID-19 duty in eight-hour shifts. This includes wards 205 and 206, where symptomatic patients are received and tested. They are posted on the first floor of the Rheumatology Block (a COVID-19 facility), where sick patients are admitted, emergency operation theatre and at the trauma centre,” an official source said.

No rotation

Every day, at least 25 persons, including PGs and assistant professors of the department, are exposed to the infection.

“At least one-third of the workforce should be kept on reserve but many of the department staff are exposed to the infection at the same time. The chiefs have 24-hour COVID-19 duty once a week, and also go on ward rounds,” the source added.

Ideally, doctors from anaesthesia should be on-call duty for intubation.

Doctors recently performed emergency surgeries on two patients - one COVID-19 positive and another of unknown status. “We cannot wait for swab results for patients in need of emergency life-saving procedures. In the post-operative period, the sample of the second patient returned positive for COVID-19. Two of the PGs who were on the team later tested positive for COVID-19. We have one emergency operation theatre (OT) with two cubicles. If a COVID-19 patient undergoes a surgery, we fumigate the OT and utilise it later. We have been demanding a separate theatre for COVID-19 patients with negative pressure cubicles,” said a doctor, on condition of anonymity.

Tests not done

Apart from anaesthesia, doctors, including PGs, of the urology and neurosurgery departments at RGGGH have also tested positive. “Healthcare professionals/workers should be tested for COVID-19 routinely, but this is not being followed. Unnecessary movement of people into the hospital should be prevented. We find patients' relatives in the Severe Acute Respiratory Infection ward,” another doctor said.

Hospital authorities could not be reached for their comment.

Pulse oximeter – a solution at your fingertip, literally

Pulse oximeter – a solution at your fingertip, literally

It measures oxygen saturation in blood

12/06/2020

One of the answers to COVID-19 is probably at your fingertip, doctors say. With growing experience of dealing with sick people who report to hospitals with breathlessness, experts have recommended the use of a relatively cheap device at home that can forewarn you about any impending crisis – the pulse oximeter.

The small device, which fits into the palm of your hand, measures the oxygen saturation in the blood in a non-invasive manner. All one needs to do is clip the device onto a finger tip, and it will show the SpO2 level (peripheral oxygen saturation), or the oxygen level in the blood. Its role in COVID-19 patients’ health monitoring is significant.

“Silent hypoxia (deprivation of oxygen at the tissue level) has emerged as a major cause of death in COVID-19 patients,” said K. Kolandaswamy, former director of public health. “Usually, when your oxygen falls below 95%, you will have symptoms, breathlessness, a feeling of discomfort certainly. Now, in COVID-19, for some reason, that is not happening. Patients are not feeling the drop in oxygen levels at all until they are dangerously low. When they finally land up in hospital, they sometimes have a SpO2 of 80% or 75%, and are in respiratory distress,” he explained.

The pulse oximeter, priced upwards of ₹1,000, will prevent the patient from reaching this level of distress, he said. Daily monitoring of SpO2 levels will indicate if there is hypoxia, and in case the levels drop below 95%, it would be prudent to seek medical care, he added.

In government hospitals, patients’ SpO2 levels are monitored with a pulse oximeter and recorded at four-hour intervals. At the first sign of a drop in oxygen saturation, the patient is given high flow nasal oxygen in order to improve his or her condition. “We would advise people at home to buy this device and use it to test themselves often. Any drop below 95% is a cause for worry,” said a doctor at the Multi Super Speciality Hospital, Omandurar.

R. Jayanthi, dean, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, said intervention at an early stage, or detection of dropping oxygen saturation levels, could prevent deaths. When a cytokine storm occurs, there is supposed to be an “aberrant release of pro-inflammatory factors” that causes damage to the lungs and hypoxia, among other factors. Hence, noticing the drop in oxygen levels is key, experts pointed out. Unless prevented early, a cytokine storm sets in motion a cascade of events that becomes irreversible, and leads to death.

Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said a pilot project had been initiated at Chengalpattu Medical College, under which Bluetooth notifications would be sent to health workers from the pulse oximeter if the levels drop drastically. “All our hospitals and mobile teams have been instructed to use these devices, and they will also form part of the home kit we provide to people advised to go on home quarantine,” she said.

‘Will procure more’

The government will procure more pulse oximeters for the treatment of patients, especially those who are asymptomatic, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said. He said the government will launch a scheme under which the device will be provided to asymptomatic patients, who are allowed to remain in home quarantine, with conditions.