Autonomy and Decision-Making Role of Tribal Women: A Case Study of Santoshpur Village in Sundergargh District of Odisha

The objectives of the study were to assess the level of autonomy and decision making power of tribal women. Traditionally women have always been subjugated. True development of a nation is not possible if one half of the population is ignored or marginalized. Therefore the Constitution of India has many rights and acts in favor of them. The present study examines the decision making role of tribal women and to find out the impact of their socio-economic status on their decision making roles. The study was based on primary data collected from three tribal hamlets of Santoshpur village. The major findings state that the tribal women enjoy autonomy at their household level, especially in social aspects and enjoy equal rights along with their husbands in economic matters but their community participation is passive and autonomy level is very low. The major reason behind this is low literacy rate and unemployment. The development of tribal community can not be accelerated without women participation. Therefore the government should focus on developing the literacy rate among the tribal women which would facilitate their economic upliftment. This would surely result in their qualitative participation and decision making among all aspects of their living

Study of relativistic accretion flow around KTN black hole with shocks

We present the global solutions of low angular momentum, inviscid, advective accretion flow around Kerr-Taub-NUT (KTN) black hole in presence and absence of shock waves. These solutions are obtained by solving the governing equations that describe the relativistic accretion flow in KTN spacetime which is characterized by the Kerr parameter ($a_{\rm k}$) and NUT parameter ($n$). During accretion, rotating flow experiences centrifugal barrier that eventually triggers the discontinuous shock transition provided the relativistic shock conditions are satisfied. In reality, the viability of shocked accretion solution appears more generic over the shock free solution as the former possesses high entropy content at the inner edge of the disc. Due to shock compression, the post-shock flow (equivalently post-shock corona, hereafter PSC) becomes hot and dense, and therefore, can produce high energy radiations after reprocessing the soft photons from the pre-shock flow via inverse Comptonization. In general, PSC is characterized by the shock properties, namely shock location ($r_s$), compression ratio ($R$) and shock strength ($S$), and we examine their dependencies on the energy (${\cal E}$) and angular momentum ($\lambda$) of the flow as well as black hole parameters. We identify the effective domain of the parameter space in $\lambda-{\cal E}$ plane for shock and observe that shock continues to form for wide range of flow parameters. We also find that $a_{\rm k}$ and $n$ act oppositely in determining the shock properties and shock parameter space. Finally, we calculate the disc luminosity ($L$) considering free-free emissions and observe that accretion flows containing shocks are more luminous compared to the shock free solutions.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, Submitted for publication in PR

DESIGN AND MOLECULAR DOCKING OF SULFONAMIDE DERIVATIVES

Objective: Sulfonamides are a sulfa-related group of antibiotics, which are used to treat bacterial infections and some fungal infections. Some sulfonamides are also devoid of antibacterial activity, such as thiazide diuretics, etc. In this study, an effort was made to find out some novel and potent Sulfonamide derivatives as diuretic agents. Methods: Here, 30 three-dimensional sulphonamides are designed and docking simulation with PDB ID 1AZM which was downloaded from www. rcsb. org. All the molecules were also screened through a preliminary property filter (Molinspiration Property Calculator). Results: Among the 30 different molecules designed, 5 molecules were found to have a very good affinity towards the target protein. Conclusion: These molecular properties define if a molecule can be orally active in our body

Effect of secondary decay on isoscaling: Results from the canonical thermodynamical model

The projectile fragmentation reactions using $^{58}Ni$ $\&$ $^{64}Ni$ beams at 140 MeV/n on targets$^{9}Be$ $\&$ $^{181}Ta$ are studied using the canonical thermodynamical model coupled with an evaporation code. The isoscaling property of the fragments produced is studied using both the primary and the secondary fragments and it is observed that the secondary fragments also respect isoscaling though the isoscaling parameters $\alpha$ and $\beta$ changes. The temperature needed to reproduce experimental data with the secondary fragments is less than that needed with the primary ones. The canonical model coupled with the evaporation code successfully explains the experimental data for isoscaling for the projectile fragmentation reactions

Survey of Credit Rating Methodologies of Mutual Funds: Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s

Credit rating literature attracted attention of academics since the subprime crisis 2008. In the wake of the crisis hundred billion dollars’ worth securities that were awarded AAA rating by the world’s leading credit rating agencies downgraded to junk. So is the survey on credit rating methodology. This work intends to survey the methodologies Moody’s and S&P follow in assessing the performance of equity funds and debt funds. The authors conclude that in these rating methodologies of S&P and Moody’s the link between equity fund and debt fund, i.e. how downgrade of debt fund can lead to downgrade of equity fund is not captured. Secondly Moody’s shakes off or manages the risk of loss of goodwill in the wake of failure of short term debt fund rating in the case of certain systemic factors like suspending or discouraging withdrawals and redemptions, by prescribing automatic downgrade to junk

Survey of Credit Rating Methodologies of Mutual Funds: Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s

Credit rating literature attracted attention of academics since the subprime crisis 2008. In the wake of the crisis hundred billion dollars’ worth securities that were awarded AAA rating by the world’s leading credit rating agencies downgraded to junk. So is the survey on credit rating methodology. This work intends to survey the methodologies Moody’s and S&P follow in assessing the performance of equity funds and debt funds. The authors conclude that in these rating methodologies of S&P and Moody’s the link between equity fund and debt fund, i.e. how downgrade of debt fund can lead to downgrade of equity fund is not captured. Secondly Moody’s shakes off or manages the risk of loss of goodwill in the wake of failure of short term debt fund rating in the case of certain systemic factors like suspending or discouraging withdrawals and redemptions, by prescribing automatic downgrade to junk

USE OF HIGH RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING DATA FOR GENERATING SITE- SPECIFIC SOIL MANGEMENT PLAN

This present study explores the use high-resolution multi-spectral remote sensing data for generating within-field soil variability map as an inputs required for site-specific management of agriculture. The study was conducted for an experimental plot in Central Potato Research Station of Jalandhar, India. Thirty-five soil samples were collected from the field at regular intervals. The samples were analyzed for soil organic carbon, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium and soil texture. Various soil-related indices were calculated from IKONOS multispectral data, which included Brightness Index (BNI), Hue Index (HI), Saturation Index (SI), Coloration Index (CI), Redness Index (RI) and three principal components (PC1, PC2 and PC3). Variability of soil and spectral parameters were analyzed by estimating coefficient of variation (CV). The correlation analysis was carried out to study the relationship between soil and spectral parameters. Multiple regression models were generated, using stepwise regression technique, to estimate soil properties from RS data. The results showed that, CV of soil parameters was highest for available P (29.9%), followed by silt percentage (20.8%). Among the spectral parameters the CV was highest for PC3 (161.9%), followed PC2 (101.4%) and PC1 (84.0%). The soil organic carbon, available N and silt content were significantly correlated with spectral indices. The multiple regression equation between OC and spectral indices was significant with R = 0.733 and F = 6.277. Available N, silt and sand also formed significant multiple regression equations with spectral parameters. These empirical equations were used to generate soil fertility variability plans. 1

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation