Population based prevalence of community acquired methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus in community settings of Srinagar Garhwal, India.

The present study was done to determine the prevalence of community acquired MRSA in the healthy population of Srinagar Garhwal. Population dwelling 200m away from the tertiary healthcare centre was chosen as target group and 212 samples in all from different anatomical sites were obtained after informed consent. Multiplex PCR was done to study the SCCmec gene type to confirm MRSA of community origin and prevalence in percentage was deduced thereafter to get clear picture. 108(50.94%) individuals were reported to have s. aureus and nasal colonization was reported to be most prevalent. Of s. aureus isolates 19 (17.59%) were methicillin resistant. Nasal carriage was the most prevalent anatomical site with 12 (63.15%) colonization of CA MRSA followed by upper respiratory tract and skin 5 (26.31%) and 2 (10.52%). Overall prevalence of CA MRSA was 8.96%. Keeping in mind the geographically distinct hilly region, although not very high but alarming prevalence of CA MRSA was observed. Our findings thus have serious implications for the rationale and judicial use of antibiotics

Spiritual Tourism and its Contribution to Psychological Wellness in the Post-Pandemic Era

The ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic have manifested adversities not just to the physical health of the people but have severe consequences on their psychological well-being. The earlier research bespeaks the ministration of spirituality and religion in the life of a psychologically troubling human as an efficient way of adding to their coping mechanism. In the same vein, the restorative powers of tourism have been widely recognised. The research aims to examine the psychological and emotional consequences of the pandemic and its associated measures, such as confinement, social distance, and mobility restrictions, on the people. Further explores the effect of the pandemic on travel intentions and motivations, with particular attention to tourism for spiritual purposes. The ontology of critical realism was effectively adopted for this qualitative study. Thirty-six travellers were interviewed through purposive sampling to understand the nature of the destination the tourists will opt for after the pandemic and their motivation behind the travel. The authors created a phenomenological connection between a person\u27s well-being and spiritual tours. A gap is filled in the literature on the inclination of tourists towards spirituality and will further lay premises for the discussion on the rise of spiritual travel after calamities

Tourist Guides’ Perspectives of Demarketing the Taj Mahal

A UNESCO world heritage site since 1983, the Taj Mahal, located in the city of Agra in India is an important contributor to tourism in India. In the year 2018 alone, approximately 280 million tourists visited the monument. However, the popularity of the site has several negative impacts such as yellowing of the structure, pollution and overcrowding which endangers this built cultural heritage. Due to this, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is the national authority entrusted with managing heritage sites, has initiated steps to check overcrowding in the Taj Mahal. One of the widely adopted strategies is demarketing. This paper discusses the impact of different demarketing techniques implemented at Taj Mahal on the tourist guides operating in the monument. To do this, investigative research was conducted with a total of 17 tourist guides who offer their services at the Taj Mahal. A thematic analysis based on semi-structured in-depth interviews was carried out. The study found that though the tourist guides at Taj Mahal are not directly affected by the demarketing measures yet, they face the reverberations of these initiatives. They appreciate the strategies adopted by the authorities to curtail overcrowding and emphasise the need for conservation of the monument as well. The study suggests that demarketing measures not only help in conserving the monument but also prove beneficial for stakeholders. The findings of the study are helpful for policymakers, and monument leadership in taking such measures to control the excessive tourism activities without affecting local stakeholders’ income. As demarketing is a delicate measure, it should be considered carefully on a case-by-case basis, taking important stakeholders into confidence. Various destinations have applied demarketing strategies in western countries, however, in India, the Taj Mahal is the first monument which has decided to implement such techniques to curb excessive flows of tourists. This study provides a fresh perspective on the effectiveness of this strategy. Further, the concept of demarketing is novel to stakeholders in India in general and the Taj Mahal in particular

Mushroom cultivation: Substantial key to food security

The worldwide sustenance and wholesome security of the expanding population is a generous test, which searches for new harvest (better yield from conventional ones) as a wellspring of nourishment sustenance and recoveries from malnutrition and food scarcity. Alluding to it, mushrooms discover some help which can be developed even via landless individuals, that too on decaying material and could be a source for proteinaceous sustenance. Metric huge amounts of natural waste and buildups are created every year which can possibly be reused as a substrate for mushroom cultivation. Mushroom cultivation being an indoor movement, requires less work and benefit adventure gives abundant chances to jobless

Impact of Conservation and Development on the Vicinity of Nanda Devi National Park in the North India

Both the hydropower and the conservation sectors are concentrating their focus on the Himalayas, which have high hydropower potential and rich bio-cultural diversity. The aim of this present study, carried out in villages adjacent to the Nanda Devi National Park in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India, is to understand the linkages between conservation- and development-induced displacement and the process of designing compensation packages for the local community. The study also examines the various gender-specific impacts of displacement, and the results suggest significant gender-specific differences regarding the impact of displacement in critical respects. The findings further indicate that, despite an early recommendation to do so, no impact assessment study had been conducted prior to the notification of the area as a national park. Furthermore, there appears to be no systematic linkage between the compensatory schemes and the grievances of the impacted communities

Stability investigation of road cut slope in basaltic rockmass, Mahabaleshwar, India

Slope failures along hill cut road slopes are the major nuisance for commuters and highway planners as they put the human lives at huge risk, coupled with immense monetary losses. Analysis of these vulnerable cut slopes entails the assessment and estimation of the suitable material strength input parameters to be used in the numerical models to accomplish a holistic stability examination. For the present study a 60 m high, basaltic and lateritic road cut hill slope in Mahabaleshwar, India, has been considered. A number of samples of both basalt and laterite, in their natural state were tested in the laboratory and the evaluated maximum, minimum and mean strength parameters were employed for the three cases in a distinct element numerical model. The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion has been incorporated in the numerical model for the material as well as the joints. The numerical investigation offered the factor of safety and insights into the probable deformational mechanism for the three cases. Beside, several critical parameters have also been judged from the study viz., mode of failure, factor of safety, shear strain rate, displacement magnitudes etc. The result of this analysis shows that the studied section is prone to recurrent failures due to the capping of a substantially thick layer of weaker lateritic material above the high strength basaltic rock mass. External triggering mechanisms like heavy precipitation and earthquake may also accelerate the slope failure in this area. The study also suggests employing instant preventive measures to avert the further risk of damage

Rock mass assessment along the right bank of river Sutlej, Luhri, Himachal Pradesh, India

The study involves the characterization of rock mass along the right bank of river Sutlej, Luhri, Himachal Pradesh. This road connects to several important locations and therefore blockage due to slope failure may cause several problems. Lack of proper geotechnical/geological investigations has led to cutting of the natural hill slopes with improper design. The subsequent road cut slope has made this zone highly vulnerable and a threat to local commuters. The concerned area has varying lithology which are highly jointed and exposed all along the road cuts. The unrestrained slope in this zone is prone to recurrent failures due to high precipitation and seismicity, eventually causing loss of life and property. Therefore, the study helps in understanding the behaviour and mode of failure of the cut slope through geometrical relationship between structural discontinuities and surface topography. Several important parameters were determined to quantify the region based on available and widely used rockmass characterization techniques to develop a proper understanding. This will ultimately help in designing appropriate remedial measures to such vulnerable zones that will prevent further slope failure and resulting damage

Estimation of elastic constant of rocks using an ANFIS approach

The engineering properties of the rocks have the most vital role in planning of rock excavation and construction for optimum utilization of earth resources with greater safety and least damage to surroundings. The design and construction of structure is influenced by physico-mechanical properties of rock mass. Young's modulus provides insight about the magnitude and characteristic of the rock mass deformation due to change in stress field. The determination of the Young's modulus in laboratory is very time consuming and costly. Therefore, basic rock properties like point load, density and water absorption have been used to predict the Young's modulus. Point load, density and water absorption can be easily determined in field as well as laboratory and are pertinent properties to characterize a rock mass. The artificial neural network (ANN), fuzzy inference system (FIS) and neuro fuzzy are promising techniques which have proven to be very reliable in recent years. In, present study, neuro fuzzy system is applied to predict the rock Young's modulus to overcome the limitation of ANN and fuzzy logic. Total 85 dataset were used for training the network and 10 dataset for testing and validation of network rules. The network performance indices correlation coefficient, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE), and variance account for (VAF) are found to be 0.6643, 7.583, 6.799, and 91.95 respectively, which endow with high performance of predictive neuro-fuzzy system to make use for prediction of complex rock parameter. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved