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Newsletter of Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (Deemed to be University)

January 2018

srubridges@gmail.com2January ’18

From the Editor’s Desk

Letters to the Editor

Memories

Bridges Committee

Patron:

Shri. V. R. VenkataachalamChancellor

Advisory Board:

Prof. P. V. VijayaraghavanVice-Chancellor

Prof. K.V. SomasundaramProfessor of Eminence &Advisor (Academic)

Prof. S. RangaswamiProfessor of Eminence inMedical Education

Editor-in-Chief:

Dr. Sheela Ravinder S.

Editor:

Ms. Hemalatha C. R.

Co-Editor:

Prof. Antony Leo Aseer P.

Editorial Board:

Mr. Abhinand P. A.

Dr. Archana P. Kumar

Dr. Ganesh V.

Dr. Nithya Jagdish

Prof. Prakash Boominathan

Prof. Sandhya Sundaram

Dr. Sreelekha B.

Secretarial Assistance:

Ms. Stella Augustus

Ms. Geetha R.

Photography:

Mr. Anand Kumar A.

Art & Design:

Mr. Arunagiri S.

Printing:

Mr. Velayudam S.

Beloved Readers,

Let us stay connected…

A new year means a perfect time to pursue a fresh beginning. We need to learn to let go of

the past and embrace a new perspective of the future and all the wonderful possibilities

it holds.

The Pongal celebrations in our campus filled the air with joy and festivity where students

and faculty participated enthusiastically in all activities. It was an opportunity for everyone

to learn and promote our culture & traditions.

Your Corner divulges that technology is much more a part of our lives than we realize.

Years ago, relationships were built on in-person contact and conversations took time &

effort that made human interaction more meaningful. Let us not be influenced by the

addictive power of digital technology and give our loved ones our total, uninterrupted

presence.

Sheela Ravinder S. Editor-in-Chief

Dear Editor,

I enjoy reading Bridges and eagerly wait for its arrival every month. The cover page of Bridges

fascinates me and makes me wonder the unseen beauty of Our Campus. Believe it or Not

column truly makes me speculate Believe it or Not, contemplating the marvels of modern

science. Happenings takes me on a tour around our campus and helps me to update and

associate with our campus events. I am pretty sure our entire SRMC family will 'stay connected'

forever through Bridges.

Mr. R. SrihariDemonstratorDept. of PhysiologySRMC & RI (DU)

Dept. of Physiology organized a CME program on 'Respiratory Physiology' in 1998.

The speaker was Dr. A. S. Paintal, AIIMS, New Delhi.

Cover Photo Courtesy:

Mr. Anand Kumar A.Senior Photographer, SRMC & RI (DU)

Bridges

Happenings

srubridges@gmail.com3

Dept. of Physiology

c o n d u c t e d t h e

th stfrom 29 to 31 Jan.

Dr. Venkat Srinivasan,

Internist, Permian Premier Health Services, San Antonio, Texas,

Dr. Avie Grunspan, University of Incarnate, San Antonio,

Texas, Prof. Alex Hankey, Svyasa University, Bengaluru and

Prof. Thyagarajan Ravinder, Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai were

the guest speakers. 157 delegates participated. Two pre-conference

workshops on 'Simple Yoga Practices to Improve Quality of Life'

and 'Heartfulness Meditation' were conducted.

n d2

International Conference

on Stress, Yoga & Mind-

B o d y M e d i c i n e -

SYMMEDCON 2018

Dept. of ENT, Head &

Neck Surgery and Speech

Language & Hearing

Sciences celebrated the t h12 Anniversary of

on th20 Jan. 200 children with cochlear implants along with their

parents participated.

C o c h l e a r I m p l a n t

Program of SRMC & RI

(CLIPS) - 2018

Dept. of Orthopedics thconducted the 19

S r i R a m a ch a n d r a

C o n t i n u i n g

Orthopedic Revision

Education - th from 24 to

t h t h27 Jan . The 8

Prof. S. S. K. Marthandam Oration on 'Clinical Reasoning in an

Uncertain Art' by Dr. Subramoniam Rangaswami, Professor of

Eminence in Medical Education, SRMC & RI (DU) was conducted thon 25 Jan. 150 delegates from various colleges participated.

SCORE

2018

A

followed by a one day

workshop - Attitude and

C o m m u n i c a t i o n

(AT-COM) competencies

on Medical Education

T e c h n o l o g i e s w a s

conducted by SRMC & RI (DU), Nodal Center for Medical th stEducation Technologies from 18 to 21 Jan. The RBCW workshop

and the AT-COM workshop were attended by 30 and 25 faculty

members, respectively.

Revised Basic Course

Wo r k s h o p ( R B C W )

Dept. of Orthodontics c o n d u c t e d t h e

th thfrom 4 to 6 Jan. In

addition to lectures by 20 eminent speakers across the country, an E-poster competition and Quizzical - The Orthodontic Quiz were also conducted. Around 120 students from South India participated.

r d3 R a m a c h a n d r a Orthodontic Accelerated Review - ROAR 2018

F a c u l t y o f

N u r s i n g

conducted the

with

t h e t h e m e ,

'Better Health th thCare: Exploring the Possibilities' on 10 & 11 Jan. Dr. S. S. Prabhu

Deva, Former Dean, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences,

Bengaluru and Dr. S. Ani Grace Kalaimathi, Registrar, Tamil Nadu

Nurses & Midwives Council, Chennai were the guests of honor.

432 delegates participated.

th14 International

N u r s e s

Conference

January ’18

Bridges

Republic Day Celebrations

srubridges@gmail.com4January ’18

Date Event

23.01'18 CPE on 'In silico Design and Development of Novel Cox 2 Inhibitors as Novel Anti Inflammatory Agents' by Dr. A. Puratchikody, Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Pharmaceutical Technology, Bharathidasan Institute of Technology, Anna University, Tiruchirapalli

22.01.'18 Mr. G. Ragesh, Lecturer won the best paper award in the International Conference on

& ‘Novel Antibiotic Resistance Breakers and Diagnostic Biomarkers' organized by the School

23.01.'18 of Life Sciences, B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Vandalur, Chennai

10.01.'18 Dietetics Day 2018Guest lecture on 'Cow's Milk Protein Allergy' by Dr. Ravi Shankar Ayathu Venkata, Pediatrician, M. K. Hospital, Chennai

10.01'18 CPE on 'Chromatographic Techniques' by Dr. Srinivas Patnala, Research & Consultancy, Visiting Fellow, Rhodes University, South Africa

20.12.'17 CDE on 'Clinical Applications of CBCT in Dentistry' by Dr. C. Krithika, HOD, Oral

& Medicine and Radiology, Thai Moogambigai Dental College, Chennai

21.12.'17

20.12.'17 CPE on 'Future Prospects of Pharm. D Curriculum' by Prof. Christine R. Birnie, Dean, St. John Fisher College, Wegmans School of Pharmacy, Rochester, USA

Department/Faculty

Pharmacy Education Unit, Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Pharmacy Practice, Pharmacy

Clinical Nutrition

Pharmacy Education Unit & Pharmcognosy, Pharmacy

Prosthodontics and Oral Medicine & Radiology

Pharmacy Education Unit, Pharmacy

Bridges

Faculty of Pharmacy

conducted the

on

'Microbial Resistance –

A Pharmacist's View' by

Prof. Raghuram Rao

Akkinepally, Director,

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, thMohali, Punjab on 14 Dec. 300 delegates participated.

nd2 Prof. S.

S. K . M a r t h a n d a m

Endowment Oration

Prof. Roopa Nagarajan,

Course Chairperson, Dept.

of SLHS received the

for her

contribution to Indian

Speech and Hear ing thAssociation at the 50

Indian Speech and Hearing thAssociation Conference (ISHACON) held at Mysuru from 5 to

th7 Jan.

Bharath Award

BLS Tra in ing to NSS

Volunteers was held on th20 Dec. 75 NSS volunteers

participated.

Prof. Antony Leo Aseer P. ,

V i c e - P r i n c i p a l , Fa c u l t y o f

Phy s i o th e r ap y r e c e ived th e

in

recognition and appreciation in

the field of Physiotherapy at the s t1 International Physiotherapy

Conference organized by IAP th thMadurai branch held on 8 & 9 Jan.

Significant Achievement Award

Dept. of Patient and

G u e s t R e l a t i o n s

celebrated the th on 12 Jan. to

thmark the 155 birthday

of Swami Vivekananda.

A b o o k t i t l e d

‘Vivekanandarin Sindhanai

Thuligal’ and seeds were distributed to the audience. 80 participants

attended.

National

Youth Day

t h6 Sri Ramachandra

Annual Rapid Review

Course (SPARRC) was

conducted by the Dept. thof Pathology from 5 to

th11 Jan. The Handbook

o f P a t h o l o g y f o r

Postgraduate Students

was released by our Vice-Chancellor. 300 delegates from all over the

country participated.

srubridges@gmail.com5January ’18

Bridges

Date Event07.12.'17 MIDAS 2017 - All India Students Dental Conference organized by Faculty of Dentalto Sciences, SRMC & RI (DU) and Indian Dental Association 09.12.'17

AwardsBest Poster:

· Ms. Riddhi V., Mr. Sanjo Cherian John & Ms. Arundhati Rao, II yr. - I Place & Overall best poster

· Ms. Aishwarya S., Ms. Kaavya P. M. & Ms. Jenie Rosna A., CRI – II place · Ms. Geerthana M. & Ms. Yogalakshmi D., III yr. - III place· Ms. Kritheka K. & Ms. Sushmita Shan, II yr. - II place · Ms. Aafreen B. & Ms. Aarthi S., IV yr. - I place · Ms. Annie Sylvea V. & Ms. Akshaya Venkatesan, III yr. – I Place · Mr. Mithun G., Ms. Muthulakshmi C. & Ms. Niranjana R., CRI – III place · Ms. Anushka & Ms. Anupama J., CRI – II place · Ms. Aysha Afifah Binti Mohamed Kassim Azari & Ms. Azmina Iddayath, CRI – II place · Ms. Dharani D. & Ms. Divya Mohan – I place

Table Clinic:· Ms. Ahana S. Rajan, Ms. Mirunalini Dhananjayan, Ms. Sembaga Lakshmi T. &

Ms. Preethi Shankar, CRI – I Place Best Paper Presentation:· Ms. Raashmi Ramani, II yr. - II place · Ms. Visaali S., IV yr. – III place · Ms. Nisshitha Rao Setvaji, III yr. – II place · Mr. Abrar Ahmed, CRI – II place · Mr. Shrenik A. Jain, CRI – III place · Ms. Aksshaya R., IV yr. – II place · Ms. Manini Nagi, III yr. – II Place · Ms. Nadia Ahmed, III yr. - III place · Ms. Misba Afreen S., III yr. - III Place · Ms. Sembaga lakshmi T., CRI – I place · Ms. Abilasha Jain M., II yr. - II place · Mr. Basim, CRI – II place · Ms. Pamila Mary Sabatini M., III yr. – III Place · Ms. Manonmani Pavithra R., CRI – I Place & Overall best paper (Periodontics) · Ms. Zainab Zuzer Lal, CRI - II place · Mr. Lokesh Sundaram B., II yr. – III place · Ms. Tharunya Gowthaman & Mr. Sabari Nathan Rajamoorthy, CRI – I place · Ms. Visalachi M. R. & Ms. Harini K., III yr. – III place

Department/Faculty

Faculty of Dental Sciences

The fact that when someone is sick, it is written all over their face is the conclusion of a new study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which

finds that sick people share facial features—pale skin, swollen faces, droopy eyelids, and looking tired—that reveal they might be contagious.

Although those signs may seem obvious, no one has explicitly tested them until now. Researchers took mug shots of 16 Caucasian volunteers a

few hours after injecting them with a placebo or a piece of bacteria that made people feel sick and caused their immune systems to respond as

if they had an infection. They then showed the photos to 62 people, who rated the faces (pictured above as composite images with non-

infected individuals on the left and infected on the right) as “sick” or “healthy” in 5 seconds or less. Raters identified 81% of sick people better

than chance. But, what is it about our faces that give away whether we are feeling under the weather? To find this out, a separate group of 60

people assessed how sick and tired the people in the photos looked and the extent to which each trait—pale skin and lips, droopy eyelids and

corners of the mouth, how puffy their faces looked, eye redness, and tiredness—publicized illness. The researchers found pale skin and

hanging eyelids were the best predictors of sickness. So, if staying healthy is part of your New Year's resolution, perhaps give pallid and tired

looking friends and colleagues a wide berth.

Source: Social Sciences, doi:10.1126/science.aas8988 by Roni Dengler Jan. 2, 2018.

Believe it or NotTwo ways you can tell someone is sick just by looking at them

srubridges@gmail.com6January ’18

Global NewsBacteria Driving Colon Cancers

Bridges

Reach Out

rdNSS organized BLS Training for 200 adolescent students at Satyalok, Porur on 23 Jan.

Dr. Athiban I., Reader and Dr. Maheshwaran K. S., final yr., PG, Dept. of Prosthodontics thconducted a one day Denture Check-up Camp at Rasipuram on 29 Dec. for the

individuals who received removable prosthesis during the camp conducted earlier from nd th22 to 24 Sep. 2017.

About 5 percent of colon cancers are caused by a hereditary syndrome called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), in which an inherited mutation launches a series of genetic changes that develop over time and eventually prompt the epithelial cells to turn malignant. However, Prof. Cynthia Sears, Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy says, it was unclear whether enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (ETBF) or other bacteria played a role in the progression to colon cancer in FAP patients.Tests on colon samples from FAP patients showed that the B. fragilis strain was a subtype, called ETBF, which makes a toxin that triggers certain oncogenic, or cancer-promoting, pathways in colon epithelial cells and causes colon inflammation. The E. coli strain produced a substance called colibactin which causes DNA mutations. "It is the combination of these effects, requiring coexistence of these two bacteria, that creates the 'perfect storm' to drive colon cancer development," says Sears. Patients with an inherited form of colon cancer harbor two bacterial species that collaborate to encourage development of the disease, and the same species have been found in people who develop a sporadic form of colon cancer, a study led by a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy(JHU) research team finds. A second study in mice published concurrently by the same researchers shows a possible mechanism behind how one of these species spurs a specific type of immune response, promoting -- instead of inhibiting -- the formation of malignant tumors. Together, these findings could lead to new ways to more effectively screen for and ultimately prevent colon cancer, a disease that kills more than 50,000 people each year in the U.S. and is on the rise among younger adults aged 20 to 50.These new findings by Cynthia Sears are built upon her earlier research showing that particular strains of bacteria can invade the colon mucus in at least half of patients who get colon cancer but who have no inherited predisposition for the disease. Unlike most bacteria, which do not make it past the colon's protective mucus layer, these bacteria that invade the mucus form a sticky biofilm right next to the colon epithelial cells that line the colon, where colon cancer usually originates. Sears and colleagues propose that these bacterial communities may eventually help the epithelial cells to become cancerous.These findings suggest a change in the standard of care for people who carry both types of bacteria. "More frequent colon cancer screening than the currently recommended once every 10 years should be considered," says Drew Pardoll, Director, JHU. Ultimately, once better understood, administering drugs or vaccines to prevent colonization of the bacteria in the colon, and potentially even probiotics to chase the bugs from the colon, are preventive measures that could be explored to interrupt the cancer-promoting process.Sears says that the studies suggest a variety of strategies that researchers could test to prevent or even combat colon cancer. For example, it may be possible to prevent this disease by keeping the colon from becoming colonized by these two problematic bacteria, or by devising drugs or vaccines that target their toxins. Source: Source: Christine M. Dejea, Payam Fathi, John M. Craig, Annemarie Boleij, Rahwa Taddese, Abby L. Geis, et al. Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis harbor colonic biofilms containing tumorigenic bacteria. Science, 2018; 359 (6375): 592.

Dept. of Clinical Nutrition in collaboration with the Dept. of Community Medicine observed the thDietetics Day 2018 on 9 Jan. by conducting an outreach program on the theme, 'Ensuring Safety and

Nutritious Food' at Vayalanallur. The events included:

· Chart display by the students on safe methods of handling food

· Food display on low cost recipes for diabetes, obesity, anemia and balanced diet About 150 patients including school children and adults were benefited.

srubridges@gmail.comJanuary ’18 7

Participants in this dialogue:

Jaak Panksepp (JP), Roald Hoffmann (RH) & Hugh Thomson (HT)

HT: My first glimpse of the high Himalayas was out of an airplane window. It was one of the most spectacular flights from Kathmandu to Paro in Bhutan. But in our expedition, it was only when we approached the box canyon that protects the Nanda Devi sanctuary that I experienced the true scale of their immensity. I remembered your description of the 'sublime.' I started feeling at that moment that it must be very rare for any man-made structure to create such an overwhelming feeling – beautiful and fearsome.

RH: I would agree with you. Even Kant who gave us his interpretation of the sublime and the beautiful in his 1790 work Critique of Judgment wrote about the rarity of such experience.

HT: Immanuel Kant, the German Philosopher?

JP: Yes; Kant seemingly derived his views from the Irish philosopher Edmund Burke's 1757 essay A Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful.

RH: “A feeling comes home to him” says Kant describing a visitor's emotion as he enters St. Peter's in Rome “of the inadequacy of his imagination for presenting the idea of a whole within which that imagination attains its maximum, and, in its fruitless efforts to extend this limit, recoils upon itself, but in doing so succumbs to an emotional delight.”

HT: You could say that that was my kind of feeling then: succumbing to an 'emotional delight,' partly awesome, partly fearsome. This was the way you got to know a mountain, obliquely and with respect. By the way, I hesitate to call any mountain 'beautiful': it is difficult to call anything beautiful that has the potential to kill.

RH: Is that how the sublime is different from the beautiful?

HT: Well, yes I suppose. The 'beautiful' no doubt, was there as we approached Nanda Devi. And, as sunset approached, the mountain seemed to change its aspects every second. And that was more than just 'beautiful.' Like I said the feeling went deep within my soul and I succumbed to an emotional delight.

JP: I think the sublime has meant many things over its long history as it was applied to the emotional impact of that which is beyond beautiful.

RH: It's interesting how you talked about your soul, Hugh. Would you describe the feeling as 'soulful'?

HT: Yes, that's what I'd describe it as – soulful and sublime. Like I said, partly awesome, partly fearsome. The whole thing is, it's an emotional experience, a feeling that goes deep … beyond your mind and touches your very soul. May be it was my literary imagination that invited me to partake in that kind of soulful delight.

Prof. S. Rangaswami,Professor of Eminence in Medical Education, SRMC & RI (DU)

(will be continued…)

Soul to Soul

Health GlanceWeak bones: Strong facts

Bridges

Osteoporosis is defined as a disease of compromised bone strength predisposing to increased fracture. The bone strength is assessed by comparing the bone mineral density of a person with people of the same age and of young people.

Dual energy X ray absorptiometry (DXA scan) is the best of all the available modalities for measuring bone density. X rays do not show any significant changes till almost half of the density is lost, but they are very useful in detecting asymptomatic vertebral fractures. Ultrasound measurement of heel density is used often in osteoporosis awareness camps but lacks specificity especially in younger age group.

DietAfter menopause, a daily calcium intake of atleast 1200 to 1500 mg/day is required to retard the rapid decline in bone mass. An average diet would contain only around 600 mg of calcium. Hence routine supplementation of calcium in the form of calcium carbonate (500 mg atleast twice daily) is recommended. Recent controversies on calcium supplementation and coronary calcification may not be applicable to our Indian population as many studies from our country have confirmed calcium deficiency. More importantly, vitamin D supplementation of atleast 800 I.U per day is necessary for the calcium absorption to prevent fractures which have been proved in many epidemiological studies. Though the optimum level of vitamin D necessary for non-skeletal benefits is controversial, from bone health point of view, there is no doubt that alteast 20 ng/ml of 25-hydroxy vitamin D is required.

ExerciseRegular weight-bearing exercise like walking atleast 30 minutes every day should be encouraged to stimulate bone remodeling and improve gait & balance. This will go a long way in preventing falls and fractures.

HabitsAvoidance of risk factors such as smoking and alcohol is important in the prevention of osteoporosis.

DrugsSeveral drugs are available for the treatment of osteoporosis. They work either by reducing the loss of bone or by forming new bone. Bisphosphonates belong to the former group and teriparatide is the most prominent member of the latter group.

Courtesy: Dept. of Endocrinology

Himalayan journeys: Meta-dialogue – 16

8January ’18 For internal circulation only

ColorsAbode

Pinnacle

Bridges

rdThe 83 Bridges Monthly Book Review was held on 19.01.'18

Book : The Present: The Gift that makes you Happier and more Successful at Work and in Life, Today!

Author : Spencer Johnson

Reviewed by : Ms. Ranjeni S., II yr., MBA

Forthcoming Bridges Monthly Book Review

Feb. 2018 : Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Reviewer : Prof. K. Vignesh, Dept. of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dental Sciences

Alumni Corner

Your Corner

Ms. J. M. Jency, Lecturer, College of Nursing

Mr. G. Praveen Kumar, III yr., B. Sc. (A.H.S)

Alumni were invited for an interaction with the UGC External Peer thReview Expert Committee members which was held on 7 Dec.

55 members participated.

'Best Alumni Awards' were given during the University Day which thwas held on 16 Dec.

· Dr. Sharmila Anand (Alumna, MBBS 1997-'98) - Managing

Director, SEHPL Institute, Chennai

· Dr. Kannan Gireesh (Alumnus, MBBS 1998-'99, MD Psychiatry

2005-'06) - Founder & CEO, Live Life Education Private

Limited, Chennai

· Mr. R. Ranjith (Alumnus, BASLP 1995-'96, MASLP 2004-'05) -

Principal, Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai

· Mr. S. Raja Pandian (Alumnus, BASLP 2000-'01) - Senior

Audiologist, Managing Director Hearing Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,

Hyderabad

It's a while since we went our ways,Things seemed so simple back those days;Never an extra effort to keep contactNor did we need to make any pactAs time flies, our memories scale,With growing love, memories will never fade.

Mr. Tusharindira LalI yr., MBBS

Golden Days…