Land Degradation – Its Extent and Determinants in Mountainous Regions of Himachal Pradesh

The study has been undertaken with the objectives of finding the extent of land degradation and its determinants in the mountainous regions of Himachal Pradesh by dividing the state into four zones. Multistage random sampling technique has been adopted to select the sample farmers from each zone. Logit analysis has been carried out to find the probability of different factors affecting land degradation. The factors whose effect on land degradation has been reported are: total owned land, land fragmentation, family labour, non-farm income, farm income, migration, leasing-out of land and education level of members in a household. The study has suggested some measures to minimize land degradation and consequently increase production and income levels in this difficult terrain of the country.Agricultural and Food Policy,

THE GREEN SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL EFFICACY OF SILVER&GOLD NANOSPHERES SYNTHESIZED FROM WHEAT BRAN

AbstractIn the present scenario, biogenic production of gold and silver nanoparticles has evoked considerable interest in terms of their diverse biomedi0058cal applications because of their extremely small size and large surface to volume ratio. Hence, the aims of the current study were to use plant extract for the biosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles and to evaluate their antibacterial and antioxidant activity in vitro. First, aqueous silver nitrate and chloroauric acid solutions have been treated with Wheat bran extract;reduction of the silver and chloroaurate ions is witnessed resulting in the formation of highly stable silver and gold nanoparticles in solution. Characterization of synthesized silver and gold nanospheres is made using UV-visible,SEMandTEManalysis, indicated that they ranged from 30 to 55 nm and 45 to 70 nm in size respectively.  The free radical scavenging potential has been investigated using DPPH assay, examined by a UV-visible spectrophotometer and found that AgNPs AuNPs exhibited exceptional potential- compared to wheat bran extract alone. Antimicrobial efficacy against dental disease causing pathogens - Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC 7443) and Streptococcus mutans (MTCC 497) was tested using agar diffusion method. The synthesized AgNPs and AuNPs efficiently inhibited the growth of respective pathogens. It could be concluded that these nanospheres can be act as potent antioxidant and antimicrobial agents for commercial application.                                                                                                  Keywords: AgNPS, AuNPS, Wheat Bran, DPPH Scavenging Assay, Antioxidant Activity, Antimicrobial Activity, SEM, TEM    Â

Technical Efficiency in North-Western Himalayan Region: A Study of Himachal Pradesh Agriculture

The technical efficiency of Himachal farmers, studied using the frontier production function, has been found to vary widely across cereal crops in the state. It has been found that the average yield of all the major cereal crops is below the national average, except the maize crop, which has been found in surplus in the state. Maize → wheat and paddy → wheat have been noted as the major crop rotations being followed in the study area. The analysis of cross sectional data has revealed inefficiency in terms of inputs application. The mean technical efficiencies have revealed that a considerable portion of frontier output is left untapped, it is 35-42 per cent in maize, 44-50 per cent in paddy and 61-67 per cent in wheat. The ratio of marginal value productivity (MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC) has been found to be more than one in case of 50 per cent inputs for all the crops. However, the female labour for most of the crops has values less than one and with negative signs as most of the work (agricultural operations) in the hills is being performed by women. The results have indicated that there is a scope to increase the returns from wheat production by using more farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour, female labour and bullock labour in zone I. Similarly, in the case of maize (local) in zone I, the yield could be increased by increasing the use of more of farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour and seeds. The analysis has also revealed that a majority of the farmers operate at low level of efficiency due to practising of traditional cultivation methods. It is felt that there is a need to educate females in resource management, preferably through female extension workers.Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

A comparative study between electrocautery and steel scalpel in making abdominal wall incision in caesarean section

Background: Electrocautery is commonly used in surgical practice. However, its use has been limited in skin due to the fear of tissue scarring, impaired wound healing and wound infection due to damaged tissue. To evaluate and compare the use of electrocautery and steel scalpel in making abdominal skin and deeper tissue incisions in caesarean section pfannenstiel incision with regard to operating time and postoperative wound complication rate.Methods: The study was a prospective randomized type conducted in the Department of Gynaecology, Government Hospital, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu. 120 patients undergoing caesarean section were divided into two groups, scalpel group in which skin and deeper tissue of abdominal wall were cut by scalpel and cautery group with electrocautery. Comparison was made between the two groups based on the above objectives.Results: In this study, we find that the operating time was less in electrocautery group and postoperative wound complications were comparable between two groups.Conclusions: The study demonstrates that electrocautery can be used as an alternative to steel scalpel for making abdominal skin incisions

Wavelet Based on Satellite Image Resolution Enhancement

Satellite images are being used in many fields of research. Satellite images are being used in many applications like Meteorology, Agriculture, Geology, Forestry, Landscape, Biodiversity, Planning, Instruction, Area and oceanography. The Image Enhancement is the main technique for improving the resolution and visual appearance of the image. One of the major issues in Image Enhancement is Wavelet Transform. The Wavelet Transform is the technique which decomposes an image into a set of basic functions called Wavelets. A new satellite image resolution enhancement technique based on the interpolation of the high-frequency sub-band images obtained by discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and the input image. DWT is applied in order to decompose an input image into dissimilar sub-bands. Then the high frequency sub-bands as well as the input image are interpolated. All these sub-bands are combined to generate a new high resolution image by using inverse DWT (IDWT). The quantitative peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and root mean square error (RMSE) and visual results show the superiority of the proposed technique over the conventional bicubic interpolation, wavelet zero padding and state-of-art image resolution enhancement techniques

Replica Placement on Directed Acyclic Graphs

The replica placement problem has been well studied on trees. In this paper, we study this problem on directed acyclic graphs. The replica placement problem on general DAGs generalizes the set cover problem. We present a constant factor approximation algorithm for the special case of DAGs having bounded degree and bounded tree-width (BDBT-DAGs). We also present a constant factor approximation algorithm for DAGs composed of local BDBT-DAGs connected in a tree like manner (TBDBT-DAGs). The latter class of DAGs generalizes trees as well; we improve upon the previously best known approximation ratio for the problem on trees. Our algorithms are based on the LP rounding technique; the core component of our algorithm exploits the structural properties of tree-decompositions to massage the LP solution into an integral solution

Replica Placement via Capacitated Vertex Cover

In this paper, we study the replica placement problem on trees and present a constant factor approximation algorithm (with an additional additive constant factor). This improves the best known previous algorithm having an approximation ratio dependent on the maximum degree of the tree. Our techniques also extend to the partial cover version. Our algorithms are based on the LP rounding technique. The core component of our algorithm exploits a connection between the natural LP solutions of the replica placement problem and the capacitated vertex cover problem

Assessing the Indo-US deal on civil nuclear cooperation: Forging a new partnership (NIAS Report No.R2-2006)

The Indo-US nuclear deal has generated a heated debate in India. The political establishment is divided, many in the scientific community seem to think that the deal will erode India’s strategic autonomy and a number of strategic analysts seem to feel that the deal will be inimical to India’s long term strategic interests. The rhetoric behind the debate does raise certain fundamental issues about the costs and benefits of this major bilateral initiative. The debate so far has been characterized more by ideological posturing rather than by an objective assessment of the pros and cons of the deal

Assessing the Indo-US deal on civil nuclear cooperation: Managing risks and opportunities (NIAS Report No. R1-2007)

There has been a lot of debate in India on the risks associated with entering into civil nuclear cooperation with the US. The deal raises interrelated political, strategic and operational risks. The Henry J. Hyde Act passed by the US Congress lays down the legal framework within which the US must negotiate the bilateral 123 Agreement with India.1 This critical analysis of the Indo-US deal assesses the risks associated with entering into this deal and suggests strategies to manage these risks. This report also contains two annexures. Annexure I analyses the major provisions of the Hyde Act. Annexure II examines the economic implications of creating and maintaining a strategic fuel reserve over the lifetime of each imported reactor

An assessment of China's ballistic and cruise missile programme (NIAS Report No. R4-2007)

The primary objective of this study is to provide an independent assessment of Chinese ballistic and cruise missile capability. The study also addresses the organisational, strategic and political links in China that impact upon its missile programme. Our study on the Chinese Ballistic and Cruise Missiles uses images of these missiles available in the public domain to make an independent assessment of their capabilities. Length and diameter measurements on the images of these missiles are used to estimate propellant and stage masses. These estimates are used along with trajectory and range models to assess the performance of the missiles. This methodology has been applied to the DF-1, the DF-2, the DF-3, the DF-4, the DF-5, the JL-1 / DF- 21, the JL-2 / DF-31, the DF-15 and the DF-11 ballistic missiles. The scope of our study also included the longer range cruise missiles. Since there were not many images of these missiles available in the public domain we were not able to extend these methods to cover them. However, we have taken stock of developments in Chinese cruise missiles. As and when images become available we believe that our approach can be used to assess their performance as well