FOM Chronicle Deepavali FOM 21st Anne Issue

Lastly but not least ICS organizing team is thanking our club Advisor Dr M Bala Sundaram for his
support, cooperation, and guidance in every aspect.
Once again, We, the Indian Cultural Society – AIMST University is gratefully thanking you all
for the support given to us by the faculties and administrative staff and students and hope to see you
again in the next event.

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Participation in International Physiology Quiz
Organized by University Malaya

Unit of physiology, FOM, AIMST University team participated in the Physiology Quiz organized by
the University Malaya on the 20th to 22nd September 2022. The competition was conducted online via
Socarates and Zoom. A total of 82 teams from different universities around the world participated in
this competition. FOM Physiology team consisted of three 2nd year medical students from Batch 26,
Aiswariyaa Arul, Gokila Meganathan and Leenasri Rajendran, who were shortlisted for the team after
an internal qualifying round conducted by Physiology Unit. Dr. Dinesh organized and conducted
several revision sessions with the help of unit members for Quiz preparation.

Learning Outcome Based Physiology
Volume III – GIT and Renal System
Editors: Neena Bhattacharya and Usha Kumari
Contributors: Neena Bhattacharya, Usha Kumari, Sherly Deborah
and Farzana Rizwan.
In continuation of our project Learning Outcome Based
Physiology, Volume III is devoted to Gastrointestinal and Renal
Physiology with two sections. Section I deals with mechanisms
involved in digestion and absorption, motility and hepatic
functions. Section II deals with mechanisms involved in formation
and excretion of urine, pathophysiology of nephrotic syndrome and
renal failure. Although subject has been dealt in view of learning
outcomes, yet the contents are not compromised with the information
required by the MBBS students. Additional useful information has
been added in boxes. To encourage self-directed learning questions
added at the end of every chapter. One of the innovations in teaching –
learning methodology has been implementation of learning outcome
based curriculum, is currently being implemented in several
medical institutions across the globe. This approach makes
“Learning need based” and reduces unnecessary burden on the
undergraduate students. The authors plan to bring out next
volumes pertaining to other systems on similar lines.
Blue rose Publishers, New Delhi. Publication date: February 2022.
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Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica

Dr. Neoh Chin Boon
Surgery, AIMST University

Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica, subspecies javanica
Previously, called the Resident Swallow, it is the commonest resident swallow seen around houses and
buildings in Malaysia.
Traditionally, swallows are expected to be migratory. In temperate countries, the more well-known
Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, fills this role. So, spring is heralded by the return of the Barn Swallow
and is a very welcome sight. However, in Malaysia, the pattern is reversed.
The Barn Swallow migrates southward to Malaysia in September each year and returns to the northern
part of the continent by April. Compared to the Pacific Swallow, the Barn Swallow is slightly larger,
has elongated outer tail feathers and a whiter belly. Seeing them together is easier to make out the
differences. The Pacific Swallow will build nests of clay stuck to the corner of walls. Even the
buildings in the campus are not spared, much to the annoyance of the Maintenance staff. And their
droppings stain the walls, pillars, cars, floors add to the misery of our cleaning staff.
Nevertheless, swallows are always regarded as good omen. They catch flying insects while flying to
and fro, keeping the insect population in check.Their high-pitched chirping actually helps in
echolocation of obstacles and prey during their acrobatic flights.
Their legs and toes are small and delicate, just strong enough for them to perch on small tree branches
or overhead wires or cling onto the surfaces of walls. Occasionally, they may come down to the ground
to drink water or carry mud to build their nests. So, their nests are not the edible type, that would be the
saliva nests of the Edible-Nest Swiftlet, Aerodramus fuciphagus; a totally unrelated species.
The range of this resident swallow is very wide, from the islands in the Andaman Sea, across the whole
of South-East Asia, eastwards across the southern Pacific islands and as far as Tahiti; as what its
scientific name suggests.

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Ms. Norhidayah Binti Rosman
Pathology, AIMST University

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A Prayer in Pink

Dr. Jayita Poduval

ENT, AIMST University

This picture was taken just outside the FOM block. Today being the first day of the Navratri
season, the white in the background denotes the colour of the day. It also is a reminder of the
solid foundation of our existence here, and the seat of learning. The pink of the flowers (colour
for the last day) symbolises joy and prosperity, just like the abundance of the blooms seen here,
and thus it is what we strive for in our students and all those who work here. Hope it helps

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AIMST University by Night

Dr Kamal Narain

Medicine, AIMST University
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A Prayer in Pink

Dr. Jayita Poduval

ENT, AIMST University

The short verse is meant to accompany the Picture “A Prayer in Pink”

Fortitude ad fame and glory
Often elusive yet within reach
May this season pen a new story
And may we learn more than we teach,
In silent supplication we seek
More wisdom, more patience, more peace
So let them be our guiding light
Today is good; tomorrow is in sight.

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Love Your Heart

Dr. Madhumita Sen

Clinical Skills Centre, AIMST University

We all seem to instinctively know that our emotions lie in our hearts. We blow hearts (or
send emojis!) to the people we love, we say our heart is broken when we are sad and call our
feelings heartfelt when we really mean something.

Since William Harvey, an English physician first described the circulatory system and the
importance of the heart as a pump in 1628, science has accepted that the heart is necessary for
life. The workings of the heart have been studied in great detail, its intricate functions
elucidated in hundreds of careful experiments, and its diseases examined exhaustively, to
figure out the causes of malfunction and how to manage them.

Doctors can now, with the magic of stethoscopes and ECGs, angiograms and MRIs, tell a
person exactly how a healthy heart works, and what is wrong if it isn‟t. With the wizardry of
keyhole surgeries and stents and remotely controlled gadgets, a faulty blood vessel can be
opened up or a damaged valve repaired or replaced. Technology has brought us a long way,
but our heart is still the one we give to the ones we love and the place we put our faith and
trust and hopes!

So, this begets the question, “is the heart also the seat of our emotions?”

It has long been known that some people actually die of intense stress without any actual
injury to the heart. In 1991, a Japanese scientist called Sato noticed that the hearts of people
with severe stress became bowl shaped (like a takotsubo – a round trap made to catch
octopuses). He called it “broken heart syndrome,” or “Takotsubo‟s cardiomyopathy.” This is
seen more commonly in women who have been crossed in love, or in men who have
experienced wartime stress. Fortunately, broken heart syndrome is usually treatable, and most
people make a full recovery within weeks.

Yogic philosophy has always accepted that the heart and our emotions are entwined. When
we are calm, our heart beats slower, and when we are angry or upset, it speeds up and has to
work harder! Therefore, yoga teaches us how to calm the mind through deep breathing,
meditation or prayers. We can control our heart by controlling our emotions.

So, there is some truth in the saying that „heart is love‟!

So now that we have established how important our heart is, let us look into some ways that
we can show our own heart some love.

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The American Heart Association (AHA) has created a framework to maintain cardio-vascular
(heart and circulation) health that can be used for both individual patients and larger public
health efforts. The “Life's Simple 7” plan uses seven important domains for cardiovascular
health:

1. Healthy diet
2. Physical activity. The exercise should be enough to double one‟s resting heart rate.
3. Avoidance of nicotine
4. Healthy weight
5. Healthy levels of blood lipids
6. Healthy levels of blood pressure
7. Healthy levels of blood glucose
In 2010, the AHA added Sleep as a health metric for cardiovascular health. In 24 hours, it is 7
to 9 hours daily for adults and from 10 to 16 hours daily for children, depending on age.
And last, but definitely not the least, is happiness! For over 80 years, Harvard University‟s
Grant and Glueck study tracked the well-being of 268 Harvard students compared to 456
poor men growing up in Boston. Robert Waldinger, director of the study, said, “the surprising
finding is that how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health.”
It is not our education, social status or financial stability, but the quality of our relationships
that keeps us well. In other words, happiness is health!

This Deepawali, show your heart the love it deserves! Eat well, sleep well, and most of all,
spend time with your friends and family, creating healthy relationships to keep your heart
happy!
Happy Deepawali!

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Deepavali vs Diwali

Dr. Vinnith Pullavarayar

Orthopaedics, AIMST University

An annual vocabulary dispute inevitably surfaces among netizens with the celebrative
'festival of lights'.
The term comes from dīpa and āvali .The former denotes 'light' while the latter refers to a
continuous line. Hence, dīpāvali means ' a row of lights '
Its meaning can be expanded and perceived in many ways. Today, many see it as a
representation of light over darkness - a sign of illumination.
What about Diwali then?
There are many samskṛta terms which are conventionally adapted in accordance to one‟s
native language. For example, the nasalization of words by adhering them to a suffix happens
commonly in Tamizh. To quote an instance, rāma becoming rāman.
By the same token, dīpāvali became Diwali over the timeline of history and it is very well
used elaborately.
Let us not demonise its usage as it means the same thing. The message and significance these
terms carry are mutual.
Therefore, let us put aside our differences and ensure that our wishes are impregnated with
care and hospitality.
Let us all be illumined and let us celebrate this yearly grandeur in exuberance.
Dr.Vinnith
Faculty of Medicine
www.mayiliragu.com

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Re-Writing My Childhood Essay

Dr Kallyan K Debnath

ENT, AIMST University

During this Deepavali-Navratri festival, our respected dean sir distributed some writing pens
among the devotees/learners who were present at a particular time of the prayer. Fortunately, I was
there, and received one!

It was a simple and single thin object, but at that precious moment, it felt like something special to me
carrying some divine value and enormous significance. So, I felt compelled to do something special.
As a result, not unsurprisingly, I came up with the idea of writing this short article.

But then, how to start?

Immediately, a piece of my childhood learning flashed through my mind - “Pen is mightier than the
sword” - a famous saying, indeed, and seems suitable to be placed here. The saying which was first
indited by Edward Bulwer Lytton in 1839 is still always worth keeping in mind. So, with no more
hesitation, I immediately dived into it and tried to write something about this, again, after so many
years since I passed my childhood. But now, I‟m in the second half of my adulthood, and my views
and perspectives are quite different now. So, the purpose of this writing is no more to pass the exam,
it‟s now meant for conveying a sincere message to the community we are living in.

We all know the simple meaning of this metonymic adage - „writing is a more powerful, meaningful,
and acceptable way of solving a problem than going for violence‟. If I like to expand it further, I can
say, writing is a powerful way of learning and practicing knowledge and pen is an excellent tool that
makes writing possible. So, the metonymic meaning of the pen is actually robust, signifying the value
of knowledge.

Becoming knowledgeable and educated is essential to establish a civilised society where problems
will be solved mutually and peacefully. Only gaining knowledge is not enough. The ability to
understand and apply that knowledge in a meaningful way is the required process that can make us
really educated.

Making a lethal virus in a sophisticated lab for the purpose of using it as a biological weapon against
humanity cannot be an example of being educated with science. Here, the word „meaningful‟ may
refer to a number of acceptable attributes that are consistent with our humanistic values and quality of
life. The word „acceptable‟ is again required to be defined clearly following a set of standard criteria.

The acceptability or meaningfulness of knowledge/education may vary widely as it has a subjective
component (interpretive view) that is intimately related to one‟s own perspectives and apperception.
This is probably the reason why generalisability is sometimes hard to achieve. We‟ve noticed that
clearly during this pandemic when many population groups failed to reach a consensus regarding
masks, vaccines, and social distancing issues.

Some people like to bring religious factors to set the standard criteria as well as rubrics to measure the
attributes of educated behaviour whilst remaining adhered to science. It seems to be a good effort for
those who have the ability to accept things simply and remain serene. But unfortunately, many others
may succumb to serious emotional and intellectual conflicts leading to chaos. Let me come out of this
highly controversial area (science & religion) of discussion.

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Let‟s ask ourselves about how or on what standard we are setting the criteria to measure our
observed/working behaviour that we are developing through our lifelong learning/education. As well,
to what extent are we successful to make our pens mightier than the swords? If I focus on our own
working field, medical education, the progress (of favourable change) seems much slower compared
to other areas of science.
One may say, thousands of books and articles are being published every day which are enough to
change our lives based on evidence. Yes, it may be true to some extent but is it really happening?
Because of the „publish OR perish‟ obligation, a good business has been growing around the
publication industry. Lots of writings are just burdening our digital media or libraries that are only
read by the authors (sometimes, not even all the authors) and the editors at their pre-publication stage.
Post-publication, some works are fortunately picked up by some reviewers and get life whilst most
others undergo hibernation (practically remain ineffective) before being thrown into the e-waste bin
(physical papers probably perish more quickly). Even though some pens write well; address our real
needs genuinely; we, the practitioners, often fail to appreciate (to identify, swallow and assimilate)
them rightly. However, good pens contribute significantly to our future research, I must say.
Research has no value if it cannot make a positive change in our present and/or future, and for that,
we first need to study our past where we were. Again, we must not ignore what has already been
achieved, and only then, we‟ll be ready to discover ourselves in our present - who/where we are, and
what our needs to define our future. Otherwise, we may get back our „past‟ again in the future.
Finally, from a professional point of view, we need reliable evidence that is applicable/translatable to
meet our practical needs and to change our professional/working behaviour. On the other hand, the
practitioners, as well, must accept this responsibility to extract and apply the information
enthusiastically in their evidence-based practice, and only then, pens will be glowing in a mightier
way. Otherwise, we will be ending up with a „publish AND perish‟ battle.

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