Enrolment rates are climbing. So what explains the sorry state of India's education sector?

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2017 will shortly be up for discussion among policy experts. Based on household-based surveys that cover children in the age group 3-16 across almost all rural districts of India, ASER provides estimates of children's schooling status and their ability to do basic reading and arithmetic tasks. Aniruddha Ghosh and Sujan Bandyopadhyay analyse the prior survey findings and conclude that innovative intervention is required over boosting enrolment

Clues for India: looking at the puzzle of total factor productivity and capital flows

While examining previous trends and research on capital flows and total factor productivity, Aniruddha Ghosh and Sujan Bandyopadhyay write that India must be careful to continue to maintain the positive correlation between growth and net foreign capital flows

As scaling effects of research productivity diminish, India must step up R&D investment

Advanced economies may be facing declining returns on research effort. This makes it all the more imperative that the Modi government gets its house, with regard to R&D, in order write Aniruddha Ghosh and Sujan Bandyopadhyay

MAIZE YIELD ESTIMATION IN KENYA USING MODIS

Abstract. Monitoring staple crop production can support agricultural research, business such as crop insurance, and government policy. Obtaining accurate estimates through field work is very expensive, and estimating it through remote sensing is promising. We estimated county-level maize yield for the 37 maize producing countries in Kenya from 2010 to 2017 using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Random Forest (RF) were used to fit models with observed county level maize yield as a function of vegetation indices. The following five MODIS vegetation indices were used: green normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference moisture index, gross primary production, and fraction of photosynthetically active radiation. The models were evaluated with 5-fold leave one year out cross-validation. For SVR, R2 was 0.70, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 0.50 MT/ha and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) was 27.6%. On the other hand for RF these were 0.69, 0.51 MT/ha and 29.3% respectively. These results are promising and should be tested in specific applications to understand if they are good enough for use

Two cases of severe neonatal dengue fever during an outbreak in Kolkata city

Neonates with transplacentally acquired dengue infection often present with subtle features. We report two cases of severe neonatal dengue admitted during an outbreak in Kolkata. Both the mothers tested positive for dengue. Both neonates had thrombocytopenia, elevated liver aminotransferases, progressive pallor, and third space fluid loss. One neonate required inotropic support (dopamine infusion) to manage the shock while the other neonate had to be put on continuous positive airway pressure to manage the increasing respiratory distress. Both patients were successfully managed. Neonatal dengue is an important differential diagnosis of neonatal sepsis during an outbreak. Early diagnosis and appropriate fluid resuscitation can help in avoiding complications

Electroencephalogram and first episode afebrile seizure in children

Electroencephalogram has long been an integral part of evaluation of a child with first episode of afebrile seizure. Several studies have backed up its routine use in pediatric neurology till date and management guidelines also have adopted it. But as evidences are accumulating, it has been shown that some researchers are opining against its routine use due to reasons like need for sedation in uncooperative smaller children, inter-observer variability, abnormal tracings found in normal children, normal tracings observed in epileptic children etc. In this article authors have tried to discuss evidences showing different aspects of the debates in support and against the use of electroencephalogram in first afebrile seizure episode in children

ANALYSIS OF TIME-DELAYED NON-LINEAR EQUATIONS USING HF FUNCTIONS

The paper deals with the analysis of non-linear time delayed differential equations solved using HF functions. The analysis is first performed on Mackey-Glass Equation, which is a standard model for quantitative characterization of chaotic dynamics. The procedure is then performed on a generalized Human respiratory control model, where for different simulation parameters the analysis of Cheyne-Stokes Breathing is done. Both models are simulated in MATLAB. The graphs thus generated are used to provide suitable conclusions

Prediction and optimization of yield parameters for submerged arc welding process

Ova studija je provedena kako bi se predvidjela geometrija zavarenog sloja, mehanička svojstva i dimenzija zone oko zavara u kojoj toplina uzrokuje trajne promjene, razvojem matematičkih modela slijedeći statističke metode. Razvijeni matematički modeli u kojima su predstavljeni podaci mogu biti programirani, učitani u računalo i rabljeni za razvoj ekspertnih sustava za zavarivanje. MATLAB i MS Excel rabljeni su za potpunu analizu. Na kraju su istražene optimalne postavke izlaznih odgovora pomoću grafičke metode.This study is conducted to predict the weld bead geometry, mechanical properties and HAZ dimensions by developing mathematical models following statistical methods. The developed mathematical models in which the data is represented can be programmed, fed to a computer and used to develop an expert welding system. MATLAB and MS Excel are used for the complete analysis. Finally optimum setting of output responses was investigated through graphical method

Prediction and optimization of yield parameters for submerged arc welding process

Ova studija je provedena kako bi se predvidjela geometrija zavarenog sloja, mehanička svojstva i dimenzija zone oko zavara u kojoj toplina uzrokuje trajne promjene, razvojem matematičkih modela slijedeći statističke metode. Razvijeni matematički modeli u kojima su predstavljeni podaci mogu biti programirani, učitani u računalo i rabljeni za razvoj ekspertnih sustava za zavarivanje. MATLAB i MS Excel rabljeni su za potpunu analizu. Na kraju su istražene optimalne postavke izlaznih odgovora pomoću grafičke metode.This study is conducted to predict the weld bead geometry, mechanical properties and HAZ dimensions by developing mathematical models following statistical methods. The developed mathematical models in which the data is represented can be programmed, fed to a computer and used to develop an expert welding system. MATLAB and MS Excel are used for the complete analysis. Finally optimum setting of output responses was investigated through graphical method