Landscape Mapping and Tree Diversity Assessment of Pangi Valley: A Remote Tribal Area of Himachal Pradesh in Western Himalaya, India

Pangi valley in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh is one of the remote tribal areas in Indian western Himalaya. The plant resources in its landscapes are flourishing under least anthropogenic conditions. For social upliftment of the tribals in this area, a number of developmental activities are being implemented by the government. A study was conducted for mapping of its landuse/landcover using satellite remote sensing to identify major forested landscapes in the region. It was followed by a detailed random stratified sampling of the forested landscapes for phytosociological estimation of its tree species. The 21.97 % of study area was estimated under forests followed by Scrublands and Grassy meadows (18.24 %). Majority of area (54.05 %) was Snow and Scree slopes. Among the forests, maximum area was occupied by Mixed Broad Leaved Forest LSE type (36.08%) followed by Cedrus deodara (26.94%) and Betula utilis (18.07%) forest LSE types. These species, owing to immense medicinal properties and value for their economic utilization, feature in threatened and endangered category list of plants. It is, therefore, recommended that the developmental activities may be implemented in scientific way, which may not pose threat to bioresources in this region

Target costing in construction: a comparative study

Target costing is an approach for the development of new products in the automobile industry, aimed at reducing their life-cycle costs while ensuring quality, reliability and other client requirements, by examining all possible ideas for cost reduction at the product planning, research and development and prototyping phases. Prior studies have attempted to adapt the manufacturing target costing process to the project-based nature of the construction industry. This paper aims to provide insights for future target costing implementations in the public sector projects. A qualitative comparison of three studies is performed through the lens of a set of target costing influencing factors. Similarities and differences revealed in the comparison suggest that factors related to supplier-base strategy and to the nature of customer are potentially relevant to future target costing implementations in public sector projects

Oxytocin and Its Congeners in Obstetrics Practice: An Update on Carbetocin

There are no standardised recommendations for the use of oxytocin in obstetric indications. To prevent postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), the routine administration of oxytocin is standard practice. Failure of prophylactic therapy with oxytocin occurs commonly, necessitating the use of further oxytocin or other treatments to maintain haemodynamic stability. Oxytocin has its limitations as it requires cold storage and transport, and in low-resource settings, the cold chain is not commonly available. By modifying the oxytocin molecule, its half-life has been prolonged and its enzymatic degradation reduced. The modified molecule is named carbetocin. Heat-stable carbetocin is a promising alternative to oxytocin, which can overcome the persistent problems with oxytocin quality as it does not require a cold chain for storage and transport

Non-obstetric vulval hematoma is not so uncommon

Non-obstetric vulval haematoma is infrequently seen following blunt trauma to perineum. We, here present a series of six cases of non-obstetric vulval haematoma which were reported in our institution in recent years. Evacuation of haematoma and repair of lacerated tissues were successfully performed. Our experience confirms that prompt surgical intervention is the best modality in treating such patients as it reduces the associated morbidity and minimize hospital stay

In-silico designing of a potent ligand molecule against PTEN (Phosphatase and tensin homolog) implicated in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer has been attributed to be the second most common malignancy in females worldwide after skin cancer associated with a significantly high mortality rate. Tumor suppressor genes have an indispensable role in maintaining genomic integrity as well as cell cycle regulation. Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) is one of the most frequently mutated human tumor suppressor genes, implicated in cell growth, survival, and suppressing tumor formation. As the tumor progresses to more advanced stages, genetic alterations tend to increase one such alteration is the mutation of the PTEN gene which is linked to programmed cell death and maintenance of cell cycle regulation. There is a syndrome known as Cowden syndrome associated with a high risk of breast cancer which is a result of an outcome of germline mutations in the PTEN gene. Loss of PTEN activity, either at the protein or genomic level, has been related to many primary and metastatic malignancies including breast cancer. This study focuses on developing a potential bioavailable ligand inhibitory molecule for PTEN, using a computer-aided drug design approach (CADD). A library of developed ligands consisting of 50 potential molecules was screened to find a potential candidate to be used for second generation drug development. Among them, LIG28 was adjudged as the most effective and potential PTEN inhibitor given its maximum binding affinity of ΔG -5.96Kcal/mole with a lower RMSD value. Carmer’s Rule of toxicity further revealed the compatibility and non-toxicity of the molecule. These observations underscore the importance of PTEN as a target in the development of tumorigenesis and the prognosis of breast cancer

MASC: A Tool for Mutation-Based Evaluation of Static Crypto-API Misuse Detectors

While software engineers are optimistically adopting crypto-API misuse detectors (or crypto-detectors) in their software development cycles, this momentum must be accompanied by a rigorous understanding of crypto-detectors' effectiveness at finding crypto-API misuses in practice. This demo paper presents the technical details and usage scenarios of our tool, namely Mutation Analysis for evaluating Static Crypto-API misuse detectors (MASC). We developed $12$ generalizable, usage based mutation operators and three mutation scopes, namely Main Scope, Similarity Scope, and Exhaustive Scope, which can be used to expressively instantiate compilable variants of the crypto-API misuse cases. Using MASC, we evaluated nine major crypto-detectors, and discovered $19$ unique, undocumented flaws. We designed MASC to be configurable and user-friendly; a user can configure the parameters to change the nature of generated mutations. Furthermore, MASC comes with both Command Line Interface and Web-based front-end, making it practical for users of different levels of expertise.Comment: To be published in Proceedings of the 31st ACM Joint European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineerin

Intramedullary Mature Teratoma of Cervical spine in an Infant: A rare case report

Spinal Teratomas are rare tumor and cervical intramedullary location in infancy still rarer. Only eleven cases of cervical intramedullary teratoma in pediatric patients is reported in available literature (1, 11).We are reporting a case of an infant presenting with cervical mature teratoma with associated dysraphism, adding the next in this rare case series. Arising as a result of dysembryogenesis, these lesions by virtue of their content are difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Heterogeneous intensities on MRI produced by intralesional lipomatous and osseous elements are helpful but rarely enough to diagnose the tumor. Histology is confirmatory. Mature teratomas generally have good prognosis and a timely intervention can prevent further neurological deterioration. However a strict clinical and radiological follow up is recommended