E-learning, or learning and teaching facilitated and supported through the application of technology, is presently being used widely in all fields of education, and also being utilized extensively in medical education. This narrative review aims to introduce the concept of e-learning, and discuss its need and scope in medical education in India. Experience shows that students and faculty are mostly in favor of adopting e-learning side-by-side with traditional learning, and the advantages far outweigh the likely discomfort associated with adoption of this new method.

Objective: Analyze the success rate, complications and overall benefit of ultrasound guided percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) for the relief of obstructive uropathy in benign and malignant diseases. Materials and Methods: PCN was performed in 50 kidneys of 32 patients. It was performed in emergency rooms totally under ultrasound guidance by general surgeons. Seldinger technique was used in all cases. Changes in renal function after the procedure were analyzed using paired t-test. Results: The procedure was successfully completed in 42 out of 50 kidneys (84%). There has been no major complication and 28% minor complications. The renal function improved significantly when PCN was performed for benign conditions (mean creatinine 3.52 mg/dL before and 2.18 mg/dL after PCN), however in malignancy there has been no significant improvement in renal function (before PCN mean creatinine 6.39 mg/dL and after PCN 5.41 mg/dL). Conclusion: We conclude that PCN can be effectively performed under ultrasound guidance and should be the initial procedure in acutely obstructed kidneys with pyonephrosis and poor renal function. In malignant cases, however, improvement in renal function is possible only if the procedure is carried out at an early stage.

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A modified biomass of a novel bacterium, Bacillus aryabhattai ITBHU02, was investigated for the removal of hexavalent chromium [Cr­(VI)] from water. It was found that modification of the biomass had an improved 28.2% higher Cr­(VI) removal and 9.4 mg/g greater uptake capacity as compared to unmodified biomass. At ANN-GA optimized condition of parameters, namely, pH 2.61, biomass dose of 2.8 g/L, temperature of 44 °C, and initial Cr­(VI) concentration of 112 mg/L, the maximum uptake capacity of biomass was achieved as 31.2 mg/g and removal was 93.6%. The residual 6.4% chromium in water was found in the form of Cr­(III) instead of Cr­(VI), which clearly illustrated the reduction of toxic Cr­(VI) into nontoxic Cr­(III) due to the detoxification capability of biomass during the sorption process. Sorption followed pseudo-second order kinetics with a monolayer pattern in an endothermic and spontaneous way. SEM-EDX and FTIR studies were used to confirm the sorption as well as the functional groups involved in the sorption process.

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