A stochastic frontier and corrected Ordinary Least Square models of determining technical efficiency of canal irrigated paddy farms in Tamil Nadu

A comparative study between Stochastic frontier production function and corrected Ordinary Least Square (OLS) were estimated to determine technical efficiency in paddy production. Further, the study has assessed the effect of farm specific socio economic factors affecting the technical efficiency. This study was conducted in Cauvery delta zone of seven taluks about canal irrigation. The number of farmers in canal irrigated region about 109 from seven taluks is considered. The data were obtained from the cost of cultivation scheme of Tamil Nadu centre. The results of Cobb Douglas stochastic production function indicated that fertilizer, seed, pesticide and machine hours significantly influenced yield of paddy. The results also indicated that it will be highly profitable to increase the use of seed, and need to rationalize the labour use and pesticide usage. The effect of qualitative variable namely age and education of the farmer would indicate that the older farmers technical efficiency become less compared to the younger farmer, and also implying that investments on human capital take away their participation from agriculture. As a comparative study in general, COLS produced the lowest mean technical efficiency with 85 percent while the Stochastic frontier analysis produced the highest mean technical efficiency with 90 per cent

An Extreme Learning Machine-Relevance Feedback Framework for Enhancing the Accuracy of a Hybrid Image Retrieval System

The process of searching, indexing and retrieving images from a massive database is a challenging task and the solution to these problems is an efficient image retrieval system. In this paper, a unique hybrid Content-based image retrieval system is proposed where different attributes of an image like texture, color and shape are extracted by using Gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), color moment and various region props procedure respectively. A hybrid feature matrix or vector (HFV) is formed by an integration of feature vectors belonging to three individual visual attributes. This HFV is given as an input to an Extreme learning machine (ELM) classifier which is based on a solitary hidden layer of neurons and also is a type of feed-forward neural system. ELM performs efficient class prediction of the query image based on the pre-trained data. Lastly, to capture the high level human semantic information, Relevance feedback (RF) is utilized to retrain or reformulate the training of ELM. The advantage of the proposed system is that a combination of an ELM-RF framework leads to an evolution of a modified learning and intelligent classification system. To measure the efficiency of the proposed system, various parameters like Precision, Recall and Accuracy are evaluated. Average precision of 93.05%, 81.03%, 75.8% and 90.14% is obtained respectively on Corel-1K, Corel-5K, Corel-10K and GHIM-10 benchmark datasets. The experimental analysis portrays that the implemented technique outmatches many state-of-the-art related approaches depicting varied hybrid CBIR system

EFFECT OF JALAUKAVACHARANA (LEECH THERAPY) IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MUKHADUSHIKA (ACNE): A CASE STUDY

Jaloukauvacharana is the method of removing impure blood from the body. It is considered as the most easy and convenient method of bloodletting therapy which is one among the Panchakarma (fivepurificatory) Procedure. Mukhadushika (Acne) is a most common skin disease in adolescent. Current varies treatment procedures which include oral antibiotic, Topical applications; Surgery, Laser therapy etc. are associated with many side effect, scar & irritation of the skin & recurrence. But Raktamokshana is the most important treatment of the Pitta Dosha. Raktamokshana by Jalouka can provide a simple, painless, OPD basis & economic treatment. A 20 yrs old female patient came in our OPD with complaints of pimple on both cheeks with itching withSrava since 3 yrs. For that jaloukavacharana was planned and result was significant, assessments were observed clinically & recorded

Explainable Machine Learning Techniques in Medical Image Analysis Based on Classification with Feature Extraction

Animals are also afflicted by COVID-19, a virus that is quickly spreading and infects both humans and animals. This fatal viral disease has an impact on people's daily lives, health, and economy of a nation. Most effective machine learning method is deep learning, which offers insightful analysis for examining a significant number of chest x-ray pictures that have a significant bearing on COVID-19 screening. This research proposes novel technique in lung image analysis for detection of lung infection due to COVID using Explainable Machine learning techniques. Here the input has been collected as COVID patient’s lung image dataset and it has been processed for noise removal and smoothening. This processed image features have been extracted using spatio transfer neural network integrated with DenseNet+ architecture. Extracted features has been classified using stacked auto Boltzmann encoder machine with VGG-19Net+. With the transfer learning method integrated into the binary classification process, the suggested algorithm achieves good classification accuracy. The experimental analysis has been carried out for various COVID dataset in terms of accuracy, precision, Recall, F-1score, RMSE, MAP. The proposed technique attained accuracy of 95%, precision of 91%, recall of 85%, F_1 score of 80%, RMSE of 61% and MAP of 51%

The Convergence of Digital-Libraries and the Peer-Review Process

Pre-print repositories have seen a significant increase in use over the past fifteen years across multiple research domains. Researchers are beginning to develop applications capable of using these repositories to assist the scientific community above and beyond the pure dissemination of information. The contribution set forth by this paper emphasizes a deconstructed publication model in which the peer-review process is mediated by an OAI-PMH peer-review service. This peer-review service uses a social-network algorithm to determine potential reviewers for a submitted manuscript and for weighting the relative influence of each participating reviewer's evaluations. This paper also suggests a set of peer-review specific metadata tags that can accompany a pre-print's existing metadata record. The combinations of these contributions provide a unique repository-centric peer-review model that fits within the widely deployed OAI-PMH framework.Comment: Journal of Information Science [in press

Promotive and Preventive Eye Care in Ayurveda and Morden view

Your eyes are an important part of your head . Most people rely on their eyes to see and make sense of the world around them , but some eye disesse can lead to vision loss , so it’s important to identify and treat eye disease as early as possible. There are five sense organs i.e. eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin. Among these sense organs, Ayurveda gives prime importance to the eye. It says “SarvendriyaanamNayanamPradhanamâ€. Eyes allow to understand and navigate the world around you. Suffering from eye disorders with uncorrected refractive error in children result into adverse effect on quality of life & signiï¬cantly affect their vision, education and psychosocial development. Most of people pay attention to their eyes only if they have eye problems. However, the hours spent in reading, writing, watching TV, using multimedia mobile and working on computers take their toll on eye health. Working in artificial light (either dim light or bright light) is another  culprit for deterioration of eye health. If 100 students of Indian school aged more than seven years are screened, 14 of them are likely to need spectacles. In Ayurveda, selected classical daily regimens like Netraprakshalna(eye wash), Anjana(Collyrium), Snana(Bath), Padabhyanga(Foot massage with oil), Nasya(nasal application of drugs), wholesome and unholsome dietetic are promoted as high-end measures for the maintenance of eye health. Various NetraVyayamas(eye exercises), Yogasanas, Pranayamas, Netiand Tratakaare also said to be beneficial for the same cause. Major Ayurvedicpromotive measures and perceptions regarding maintenance of eye health and prevention of eye disorders are explored in this article. The aim of this review is to spreads the awareness of simple visual health promotive procedures in Ayurveda

An advanced draft genome assembly of a desi type chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse legume crop. We previously reported a draft genome assembly of the desi chickpea cultivar ICC 4958. Here we report an advanced version of the ICC 4958 genome assembly (version 2.0) generated using additional sequence data and an improved genetic map. This resulted in 2.7-fold increase in the length of the pseudomolecules and substantial reduction of sequence gaps. The genome assembly covered more than 94% of the estimated gene space and predicted the presence of 30,257 protein-coding genes including 2230 and 133 genes encoding potential transcription factors (TF) and resistance gene homologs, respectively. Gene expression analysis identified several TF and chickpea-specific genes with tissue-specific expression and displayed functional diversification of the paralogous genes. Pairwise comparison of pseudomolecules in the desi (ICC 4958) and the earlier reported kabuli (CDC Frontier) chickpea assemblies showed an extensive local collinearity with incongruity in the placement of large sequence blocks along the linkage groups, apparently due to use of different genetic maps. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based mining of intra-specific polymorphism identified more than four thousand SNPs differentiating a desi group and a kabuli group of chickpea genotypes

Priority Medicines for Maternal and Child Health: A Global Survey of National Essential Medicines Lists

BACKGROUND: In April 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of "priority medicines" for maternal and child health based on 1) the global burden of disease and 2) evidence of efficacy and safety. The objective of this study was to examine the occurrence of these priority medicines on national essential medicines lists. METHODS AND FINDINGS: All essential medicines lists published since 1999 were selected from the WHO website collection. The most-up-to date list for each country was then selected, resulting in 89 unique country lists. Each list was evaluated for inclusion of medicines (chemical entity, concentration, and dosage form) on the Priority Medicines List. There was global variation in the listing of the Priority Medicines. The most frequently listed medicine was paracetamol, on 94% (84/89) of lists. Sodium chloride, gentamicin and oral rehydration solution were on 93% (83/89) of lists. The least frequently listed medicine was the children's antimalarial rectal artesunate, on 8% of lists (7/89); artesunate injection was on 16% (14/89) of lists. Pediatric artemisinin combination therapy, as dispersible tablets or flexible oral solid dosage form, appeared on 36% (32/89) of lists. Procaine benzylpenicillin, for treatment of pediatric pneumonia and neonatal sepsis, was on 50% (45/89) of the lists. Zinc, for treatment of diarrhoea in children, was included on only 15% (13/89) of lists. For prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage in women, oxytocin was more prevalent on the lists than misoprostol; they were included on 55 (62%) and 31 (35%) of lists, respectively. Cefixime, for treatment of uncomplicated anogenital gonococcal infection in woman was on 26% (23/89) of lists. Magnesium sulfate injection for treatment of severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia was on 50% (45/89) of the lists. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that countries need to urgently amend their lists to provide all priority medicines as part of the efforts to improve maternal and child health

Diagnosis of depression among adolescents – a clinical validation study of key questions and questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of the study is to improve general practitioners' diagnoses of adolescent depression. Major depression is ranked fourth in the worldwide disability impact.</p> <p>Method/Design</p> <p>Validation of 1) three key questions, 2) SCL-dep6, 3) SCL-10, 4) 9 other SCL questions and 5) WHO-5 in a clinical study among adolescents. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) is to be used as the gold standard interview. The project is a GP multicenter study to be conducted in both Norway and Denmark. Inclusion criteria are age (14–16) and fluency in the Norwegian and Danish language. A number of GPs will be recruited from both countries and at least 162 adolescents will be enrolled in the study from the patient lists of the GPs in each country, giving a total of at least 323 adolescent participants.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The proportion of adolescents suffering from depressive disorders also seems to be increasing worldwide. Early interventions are known to reduce this illness. The earlier depression can be identified in adolescents, the greater the advantage. Therefore, we hope to find a suitable questionnaire that could be recommended for GPs.</p

Promoting Quality Use of Medicines in South-East Asia: Reports from Country Situational Analyses

Irrational use of medicines is widespread in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), where policy implementation to encourage quality use of medicines (QUM) is often low. The aim was to determine whether public-sector QUM is better in SEAR countries implementing essential medicines (EM) policies than in those not implementing them