A Study on the Socioeconomics of Imperata Grassland Managers at Dargakona Village, Barak Valley, Assam, Northeast India

Socioeconomic profile of farmers has great implications in present days for providing insight into demography, education, income and management of bio-resources. The small scale farmers of rural regions have indeed conserved the indigenous and traditional facts since past generations that eventually redefined as traditional ecological knowledge. Hence, keeping in view, the socioeconomic structure of the villages in Barak Valley region, the grassland managers of agricultural communities could be recognized as a great storehouse of traditional knowledge that play a vital role towards various land recuperation processes. The study was carried out at Dargakona village, Barak Valley, Assam, northeast India with an objective to identify factors that regulate the socioeconomic characteristics of rice farmers and measures to be adopted for improvement of their status. Data were collected from 48 households that were randomly sampled through questionnaire survey and structured interview schedule. The dominant inhabitants of the village were Deshawali (56.30%), Bardhamani (36.70%) and Koibarta (7%) in order of their proportionate share of the population. The average family size indicated almost identical size among the population below 14 years as well as above 30 years of age. Education status expressed low rate of literacy with 41% had no experience of school learning. Roofing pattern of houses indicated maximum use of thatch grass as raw material. The age of the grasslands varied from 10 years to more than 40 years. The rice farmers classified four soil types i.e. ‘lal’, ‘balu’, ‘athail’ and ‘citta’. Majority (50%) of the respondents were found with marginal land holdings of one bigha or less. About 23% of the farm natives briefed that the yield of their grasslands amounts to 1000 gollas (a local unit for cash transaction) of dried leaves per annum. Although much of the farmers are in favor of grassland management but still there are people who wants replacement with plantation of economically important species. The Imperata grasslands are generally managed for both subsistence and income generation. The study concluded that there is an urgent need of Government, NGO and other stakeholders to intervene and study the issues and challenges of the small scale farmers. Thereafter, proper policies may be formulated in restoration of the degraded grasslands and improving the socioeconomic status of the village communities residing in Barak Valley, Assam, northeast India

Optimal power management of hybrid electric vehicles through drivetrain analysis

The inefficient performance of gasoline-engine based vehicles along with high emissions and fuel consumption can be improved through utilization of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). The multiple power and energy sources in the hybrid drivetrain can be well managed through an appropriate control strategy that supervises the power distribution. While doing so, the control strategy needs to operate every component optimally in addition to overseeing controlled charge-discharge of battery to obtain efficient energy usage. In this thesis an algorithm has been developed for efficient power division among the various components of a series-parallel (S-P) drivetrain. It has been designed to manage the power flow with the least possible losses while keeping fuel economy at an optimum level and maintaining battery state-of-charge (SOC) in a pre-defined range. The importance of optimizing both engine and motor has been discussed. Analysis has also been presented to show possible benefit of using diesel instead of gasoline engine for hybrid vehicles

A retrospective autopsy study of histopathologic spectrum and etiologic trend of fulminant hepatic failure from north India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is rapidly fatal and liver transplant is the treatment of choice. The condition is known for its heterogeneity of defining criteria, clinical presentation, histologic spectrum and etiologic factors. The etiology of FHF varies widely, some of which includes viral hepatitis, drug overdose and idiosyncratic drug reactions. The identification of the etiology of FHF is critically important, because it influences the management. A histopathological classification of FHF has not been reported earlier in the literature.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The current study was conducted retrospectively on 224 autopsies at a tertiary care hospital in India. In all of these cases the liver was examined grossly and microscopically. Clinical findings, serological data and immunohistochemical findings were correlated with the morphological subtypes and a consensus morphological classification was formulated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Young females, especially those in the reproductive age group were most susceptible to the disease. Hepatotropic viruses and drugs were the likely causes in most of the patients. Clinical presentation is important, as delayed onset of encephalopathy or the subacute FHFs lead to maximum mortality. After careful gross and microscopic examination the morphological findings of FHF were divided into four distinct categories. Histologic typing can sometimes be misleading if solely made on H & E slides without application of special stains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Fulminant hepatic failure is a medical emergency, proper histological categorization can help in deciding the treatment modalities.</p

Role of insurance in the development of India’s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs) / Abhijit Chakraborty and Ashim Kr Das

This paper investigates the role of Insurance in the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. MSMEs have been accepted as a crucial component of an economy irrespective of the phase of development it is in. It is estimated that more than 95% of the enterprises across the world are MSMEs, employing around 60% people in the private sector. The MSMEs are considered key elements in the development of every nation. In India, MSME sector contributed 28.77% in GDP in 2016-17 with 63 million enterprises and employment of 110 million people. Despite its size, MSMEs cumulatively act as foundation of a stable economy and plays a significant role in the sustainable economic growth of a nation. However, the inherent features of MSMEs including limited financial and managerial capability cause them to face financial and strategic risks. Sustainability of the MSMEs can be supported by eliminating the credit gap and ensuring enhanced access to finance. The provision of financial support by financial intermediaries like banks can be augmented with proper risk management by the MSMEs with the help of Insurance Sector. The study concludes that insurance can play a significant role in the development of MSMEs by providing them adequate risk protection and thus enhancing their access to financ

Postauricular congenital alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma- a case report of an unusual entity

BACKGROUND: Congenital alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is an extremely uncommon and invariably fatal tumor with the current therapy. Less than 25% of patients present with evidence of cutaneous metastasis. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of congenital alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in an 18-month-old male who presented with a progressively increasing mass lesion in the left post-auricular region since birth. Radiological examination did not show any intracranial involvement of the mass lesion. Upon resecting the mass that was 10-cm in largest dimension, the gross, microscopic, and ultrastructural findings were consistent with congenital alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. CONCLUSION: The suspicion of alveolar subtype on histological grounds and proper evaluation of this tumor by immunostain and ultrastuctural examination is necessary. In the Medline literature search, there is no report of large congenital alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in the post-auricle region

Colonization behaviour of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and phosphorus uptake pattern of mycorrhizal sensitive upland paddy using hydroponics culture

Three upland rice cultivars namely Vandana, Brown Gora and Kalinga collected from the Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station (CRURRS), Hazaribag, Jharkhand of the Central Rice Research Institute, are mycorrhiza sensitive genotypes. Their affinity towards mycorrhizal colonization varied. The cv. Kalinga had the highest colonization followed by Vandana and Brown Gora. Variation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi affinity of the rice genotypes might be due to the variable demands of phosphorus nutrition of the different genotypes. To justify these variable demands of phosphorus among these three cultivars of rice, four different doses of phosphorus (5, 10, 15 and 20 ppm) were imposed to them in a system of hydroponics. Overall, among the three cultivars, the highest uptake efficiency (34% at 30 days, 57% at 45 days, 68% at 60days and 70% at 75 days interval) throughout the growth period was noticed in the cv. Brown Gora, followed by Kalinga and Vandana. The physiological demands of phosphorus of these cultivars were finally estimated as the contribution of uptake phosphorus to the total dry matter production of the plants with respect to available phosphorus. The overall results of these estimations gave the highest value in cv. Kalinga followed by the cv. Vandana and Brown Gora. Therefore, the cultivars Brown Gora and Kalinga could be recommended for the cultivation of the vast upland rain-fed areas of the country for higher yield and increased phosphorus use efficiency which could ultimately contribute significantly to the food grain production of the country

Renal cell carcinoma metastasizing to duodenum: a rare occurrence

BACKGROUND: Duodenal metastasis is rare in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and early detection, especially in case of a solitary mass, helps in planning further therapy. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case report of a 55 year old male with duodenal metastasis of RCC. This patient presented with jaundice and abdominal lump one year after nephrectomy. On upper gastrointestinal endoscopy a submucosal mass lesion was noted in the duodenum, the biopsy of which revealed metastasis. CONCLUSION: In a nephrectomized patient presenting with jaundice and an abdominal mass, the possibility of metastasis should be suspected and a complete evaluation, especially endoscopic examination followed by biopsy, should be carried out

6,6′-Diamino-1,1′,3,3′-tetra­methyl-5,5′-(4-chloro­benzyl­idene)bis­[pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione]

The title compound, C19H21ClN6O4, is a 1:2 adduct of p-chloro­benzaldehyde and uracil. It crystallizes with two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. The two uracil units in the same mol­ecule are connected by a pair of strong N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The packing is stabilized by N—H⋯O, C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N inter­actions