Early Harappan interaction between Sindh and Gujarat, as evidenced by lithic tools

The spread and development of the Indus Valley Civilisation, also known as the Harappan civilisation, one of the oldest civilisations of the world, is still an enigma. Indus Valley Civilisation was spread over modern day India and Pakistan. The civilisation has been divided into three phases, Early or Pre-Harappan, Mature or Urban Harappan and Post- or Late Harappan. The Urban phase is very well studied and understood. However, this phase is the culmination of a process that started much earlier. A lot of effort during recent years has led to new discoveries and clues regarding the interactions during the Early Harappan period between now politically divided areas. Unfortunately, this struggle to understand the spread of Early Harappan cultural traits between these distinct regions is one on-going and far from over. Explorations and subsequent excavations at the site of Juna Khatiya, situated in Kachchh district of Gujarat, India have brought to light noteworthy evidence of the Early Harappan period in terms of artefacts and burials. Other than the ubiquitous pottery, these indications include a lithic blade industry comprising of various types of blades, various types of scrapers, points and associated lithic debitage. The tools are made out of locally available raw material (mostly chalcedony). However, the discovery of a few blades of chert imported from the Rohri hills (situated about 500 km as-the-crow-flies from Gujarat) in modern Pakistan is important. Rohri chert blades are significant since they are very distinct and easily identifiable. The wide distribution of standardised Rohri chert blades is also often regarded as a testimony to the Harappan efficiency in long distance trade and craft production. The technique used in the manufacturing of these blades is known as the crested guiding ridge, a technique not observed in Gujarat before this contact between Sindh (in modern Pakistan) and Gujarat (in modern India) developed. This paper highlights the contributions of lithic artefacts to understand the Early Harappan interactions between these two politically divided but culturally united regions

Technical Efficiency in the Indian Textiles Industry: A Nonparametric Analysis of Firm-Level Data

The Indian textiles industry is now at the crossroads with the phasing out of quota regime that prevailed under the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) until the end of 2004. In the face of a full integration of the textiles sector in the WTO, maintaining and enhancing productive efficiency is a precondition for competitiveness of the Indian firms in the new liberalized world market. In this paper we use data obtained from the Annual Survey of Industries for a number of years to measure the levels of technical efficiency in the Indian textiles industry at the firm level. We use both a grand frontier applicable to all firms and a group frontier specific to firms from any individual state, ownership, or organization type in order to evaluate their efficiencies. This permits us to separately identify how locational, proprietary, and organizational characteristics of a firm affect its performance

Technical Efficiency in the Indian Textiles Industry: A Nonparametric Analysis of Firm-Level Data

The Indian textiles industry is now at the crossroads with the phasing out of quota regime that prevailed under the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) until the end of 2004. In the face of a full integration of the textiles sector in the WTO, maintaining and enhancing productive efficiency is a precondition for competitiveness of the Indian firms in the new liberalized world market. In this paper we use data obtained from the Annual Survey of Industries for a number of years to measure the levels of technical efficiency in the Indian textiles industry at the firm level. We use both a grand frontier applicable to all firms and a group frontier specific to firms from any individual state, ownership, or organization type in order to evaluate their efficiencies. This permits us to separately identify how locational, proprietary, and organizational characteristics of a firm affect its performance

Technical Efficiency in the Indian Textiles Industry: A Nonparametric Analysis of Firm-Level Data

The Indian textiles industry is now at the crossroads with the phasing out of quota regime that prevailed under the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) until the end of 2004. In the face of a full integration of the textiles sector in the WTO, maintaining and enhancing productive efficiency is a precondition for competitiveness of the Indian firms in the new liberalized world market. In this paper we use data obtained from the Annual Survey of Industries for a number of years to measure the levels of technical efficiency in the Indian textiles industry at the firm level. We use both a grand frontier applicable to all firms and a group frontier specific to firms from any individual state, ownership, or organization type in order to evaluate their efficiencies. This permits us to separately identify how locational, proprietary, and organizational characteristics of a firm affect its performance.Data Envelopment Analysis; Meta-Frontier; Technology Closeness ratio

Exploring temporal dynamics of spatially-distributed groundwater levels by integrating time series modeling with geographic information system

This study developed a novel framework for integrating time series modeling with geographic information system (GIS). For the first time, procedures of four statistical tests, i.e., t-test of stationarity, cumulative deviation test of homogeneity, autocorrelation technique of persistence, and variance-corrected Mann–Kendall test of trend, are implemented in GIS platform to enable use of raster dataset. Application of developed framework is demonstrated by exploring time series characteristics of pre- and post-monsoon groundwater levels in an Indian arid region. Raster dataset of 22-year (1996–2017) groundwater levels are generated using four best-fit geostatistical models, according to mean absolute error, root mean square error, correlation coefficient and modified index of agreement. Increasing groundwater level trends in central and southern parts are attributed to abrupt change-points in annual rainfall that enhanced groundwater recharge. The developed framework can be adopted in other parts of the world to explore groundwater-level dynamics in spatially-distributed manner

Not Available

Not AvailableThis study developed a novel framework for integrating time series modeling with geographic information system (GIS). For the first time, procedures of four statistical tests, i.e., t-test of stationarity, cumulative deviation test of homogeneity, autocorrelation technique of persistence, and variance-corrected Mann–Kendall test of trend, are implemented in GIS platform to enable use of raster dataset. Application of developed framework is demonstrated by exploring time series characteristics of pre- and post-monsoon groundwater levels in an Indian arid region. Raster dataset of 22-year (1996–2017) groundwater levels are generated using four best-fit geostatistical models, according to mean absolute error, root mean square error, correlation coefficient and modified index of agreement. Increasing groundwater level trends in central and southern parts are attributed to abrupt change points in annual rainfall that enhanced groundwater recharge. The developed framework can be adopted in other parts of the world to explore groundwater-level dynamics in spatially-distributed manner.Not Availabl

Presentations and complications of diabetes patients presenting to diabetic clinic of Eastern Nepal

Objective Diabetes mellitus leads to damage, dysfunction and failure of various organs especially eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart. The latency of occurence of hyperglycemia and diagnosis may be of long duration. This study was aimed to find out the mode of presetation of diabetes mellitus in diabetic patients attending out patients clinic of B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. Associated complications and comorbid condition present at the time of presenation were also studied. Methods The diabetic patients attending the Diabetic Out Patient Clinic of B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences during June 2006 to June 2007 were included in this study.The patients details were collected from the predefined Proforma for diabetes patient from the database. This included demographic data, biochemical parameters and diabetic complications. For the purpose of study a total of 775 patients were randomly selected.The Data collected were entered and analysed using excel and SPSS(version 11.5) Results Out of 775 cases 436 (56.3%) were male and 339(43.7%) were female. Majority of patients 81.55% (n=632) had osmotic sympmtoms or symptoms related to complication of diabetes at the time of presentation to the clinic. Asymptomatic patient constituted 18.45% (n=143). The most common presenting complaints were polyuria (44.58%), followed by polydypsia (39.62%) and polyphagia (24.88%). About 54.97% (n=426) had symptoms of complications related to diabetes. Among them most common complication was neurological (39.67%), followed by renal (10.8%) metabolic (4.93%), cardiac(4.46%), autonomic neuropathy (4.93%) and peripheral vascular disease (3.99%). Conclusion Majority of the patients presenting in our OPD had osmotic symptoms or symptoms related to complication of diabetes. Access to diabetes care and lack of awareness of the disease and its complication might had contributed to this. Community awareness, program for early detection and managemnet may help proper diabetes care and prevention of complications. &nbsp;&nbsp; Journal of College of Medical Sciences-Nepal, 2013, Vol-9, No-3, 25-30 DOI:&nbsp;http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmsn.v9i3.10216 &nbsp;</p

Bacteremia and Urinary Tract Infection Caused by Chromobacterium violaceum: Case Reports from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal

Chromobacterium violaceum is ubiquitous in the environment of tropical and subtropical regions but the infections caused by this organism are rare and the urinary tract infections caused by it are even rarer. Due to the propensity for hematogenous spread leading to fatal sepsis, the infections caused by Chromobacterium violaceum have high mortality rate (65–80%) with death occurring in as less as one week of acquiring infection. So, prompt proper treatment is necessary for successful treatment of the infections but, due to the rarity of the infections caused by the organism, there is limited awareness among the clinicians regarding the infections caused by this organism. Here, we reported a case of urinary tract infection caused by Chromobacterium violaceum in a 84-year-old male, who was a kidney patient, and another case of bacteremia caused by the same bacterium in a road traffic accident patient (22-year-old male), both of which were managed with the timely suitable treatment

From Evidence to Practice: Denosumab in Osteoporosis and Joint Health

Osteoporosis and osteopenia are prevalent conditions in India, particularly among postmenopausal women and the elderly,leading to increased fracture risks and morbidity. Denosumab, a monoclonal antibody, demonstrates superior efficacyover other treatments in reducing fracture risk and enhancing bone mineral density (BMD). Clinical trials highlight itseffectiveness in preventing periprosthetic bone loss, improving implant stability, and mitigating femoral head collapse invarious conditions; combination therapies involving denosumab further amplify BMD gains and reduce fracture risk. Thearticle reviews the efficacy and safety of denosumab in managing osteoporosis, joint replacement therapy, and avascularnecrosis based on a review of clinical evidence and studies. Denosumab emerges as a cornerstone therapy for osteoporosismanagement, offering multifaceted benefits in fracture prevention, joint replacement therapy, and avascular necrosis