Analysis of Financial Health of Steel Authority of India Limited

India’s economic growth is contingent upon the growth of the Indian steel industry. India’s GDP growth rate was 7.2% by 2011. The steel sector is contributing about 2% in India’s GDP. Consumption of steel is taken to be an indicator of economic development. India occupies a central position on the global steel map. Steel production in India has increased by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 percent over the period 2002-03 to 2006-07. But the financial progress of this sector is not satisfactory. Thus, the present paper is an attempt to review the financial performance of one of the most popular and renowned company in the field of steel sector. That is Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), one of the leading steel making company of the country. The study is purely based on secondary data. A period of five year from 2005-06 to 2009-10 has been selected for the study. The data have been tabulated, analyzed and interpreted with the help of various financial ratios and Multivariate Discriminate Analysis (MDA) as developed by Prof. Edward I. Altman (1968). It is observed from the analysis of various ratios that the profit earning capacity, liquidity position and long-term solvency position of SAIL is quite good during the study period and the level of bankruptcy position is also very low. Keywords: Financial Analysis, Ratio Analysis, Steel Industry, Multivariate Discriminate Analysis (MDA)

Biodiversity of freshwater rotifers (Rotifera: Eurotatoria) of Mizoram, Northeast India: composition, new records and interesting features

The plankton and semi-plankton samples examined from Mizoram state of northeast India (NEI) revealed speciose and diverse Rotifera assemblage including a total richness (S) of 162 species belonging to 19 families and 35 genera. The reports of six species new to India, four species new to NEI and 76 new records to Mizoram merit biodiversity interest. The occurrence of one Australasian, one Oriental, seven Paleotropical, one Holarctic, one cosmo (sub) tropical and five other interesting species imparts biogeographical value while several species indicate regional distribution importance. Lecanidae > Lepadellidae > Brachionidae > Trichocercidae collectively comprised 69.7% of total richness (S). Lecane > Lepadella > Trichocerca are diverse genera (~52.0% of S) while Brachionus spp. (~8.0%) deserve cautious mention. The rotifer diversity pattern is predominantly ‘tropical’ with a large component of cosmopolitans (~71.0% of S) while tropicopolitan and pantropical species contributed ~16.0%. This study indicated high richness of the littoral-periphytonic and relative paucity of planktonic taxa. Analysis of periphytic, sessile, colonial and benthic taxa, and of cryptic diversity in certain species-groups merit attention for further biodiversity update and we estimate occurrence of 250+ rotifer species in Mizoram

Zooplankton Diversity of a Soft-water and Highly De-mineralized Reservoir of Meghalaya (Northeast India): The Spatio-temporal Variations and Influence of Abiotic Factors

Hydrobiological survey of a ‘soft-water’ and ‘highly de-mineralized’ reservoir of Meghalaya state of northeast India is undertaken to analyze zooplankton diversity with reference to the spatio-temporal variations and influence of abiotic factors. The littoral and limnetic zooplankton assemblages of this subtropical reservoir without aquatic vegetation reveal total 36 species, and record lower abundance, quantitative dominance of Rotifera, sub-dominance of Cladocera and Copepoda and moderate species diversity. Keratella cochlearis, Bosmina longirostris, Polyarthra vulgaris, Mesocyclops leuckarti, Conochilus unicornis and Asplanchna priodonta influence abundance, species diversity, dominance and equitability of zooplankton. We report differential spatial influence of individual abiotic factors with the relatively more importance at the limnetic region, and the canonical correspondence analysis registers 72.5% and 78.8% cumulative influence of 10 abiotic factors on the littoral and limnetic assemblages, respectively. The spatial differences of various diversity aspects and the influence of abiotic factors suggest habitat heterogeneity amongst the two regions. This study is a useful contribution to zooplankton diversity of the subtropical environs, and soft and de-mineralized waters in particular. Our results mark a distinct contrast to the lowest richness and abundance of zooplankton noted from India vide the preliminary 1990-91 survey of this reservoir

The rotifers (Rotifera: Eurotatoria) from the Kashmir Himalayan floodplains and Rotifera biodiversity of Jammu and Kashmir, north India

Our plankton and semi-plankton collections from the floodplain wetlands of the Kashmir valley reveal 140 rotifer species belonging to 43 genera and 22 families. The richness forms ~81% of 173 species, belonging to 51 genera and 23 families, recognized as validly known from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) vide the present biodiversity evaluation. The rotifer assemblages of the Kashmir Himalayan wetlands and J&K comprise ~33% and ~41%, respectively of the Indian Rotifera; their biodiverse nature is hypothesized to habitat diversity and ecological heterogeneity of aquatic environs of this state of north India. One species is new to India and 25 species are new to northwest India. Lecanidae > Brachionidae form ~33% and Trichocercidae = Lepadellidae > Notommatidae > Euchlanidae comprise ~31% of the rotifer fauna of J&K which includes species of global and regional biogeographic interest and, a large component of cosmopolitan species (~81%). Lecane > Trichocerca > Brachionus = Lepadella collectively comprise ~39%; Keratella > Euchlanis > Synchaeta are notable (~12%); and Notholca and Cephalodella species deserve attention from J&K. Rotifera of the Kashmir Himalayan floodplains and J&K indicate the littoral-periphytic character, cold-water elements, small-sized species, and the relative paucity of Brachionus, Lepadella and Lecane richness. We estimate 260+ rotifer species from J&K pending analysis of intensive latitudinal and longitudinal collections including samples from Ramsar sites, high altitude lakes and other water bodies with emphasis on colonial, sessile and benthic taxa, and analysis of likely cryptic diversity of certain species

The Indian species of Testudinella (Rotifera: Flosculariacea: Testudinellidae) and their distribution

Our plankton and semi-plankton collections from India revealed 14 species of Testudinella including two undetermined species yet awaiting descriptions. The Oriental endemic T. insinuata is a new record from India while the Australasian T. walkeri and the palaeotropical T. brevicaudata and T. greeni are other globally interesting species. Testudinella amphora, T. brevicaudata, T. dendradena, T. greeni, T. parva semiparva, T. tridentata and T. walkeri are characterized by distribution restricted till date to northeast India (NEI); T. insinuata is restricted to the floodplains of the Kashmir valley of Jammu and Kashmir state of western Himalayas; and T. incisa and T. mucronata are known for valid reports from Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir, respectively. T. emarginula, T. patina and T. tridentata are believed to be cryptic species-complexes and thus desired ecological and genetic analysis of local populations. This study merits interest vis-à-vis biodiversity and distribution of the Indian Rotifera

Transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) chickpea: India’s most wanted genetically modified (GM) pulse crop

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is grown widely in India because the seeds are rich source of protein for the vegetarian population of country. However, chickpea cultivation is declining over the period of time due to heavy incidences of pests and diseases. Helicoverpa armigera is a major pest in the field and nonavailability of resistant varieties lead to heavy losses of yield per year. Crop management practices such as application of bio-pesticides, insecticides and integrated pest management are less effective to control this devastating pest. Breeding for development of resistant lines is restricted by lack of resistant sources within the gene pool. Therefore, application of gene technology for chickpea improvement appears to be appropriate approach for development of Helicoverpa resistant lines. Genetic transformation of chickpea using various versions of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal genes have been carried out and found to confer resistance to pod borers in the laboratory bioassays. The most preferred genetically modified (GM) chickpea for field release is pyramided lines having two or more Bt genes with diverse mode of action for effective management of Helicoverpa. Here we discuss about the rationale for generation of Bt chickpea to enhance production.Keywords: Chickpea, Bacillus thuringiensis, genetically modified (GM) pulse crop.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(39), pp. 5709-571

Phytoplankton Diversity of a Demineralized Urban Wetland of Meghalaya State of Northeast India: The Spatio-temporal Variations and the Role of Abiotic Factors

The authors analyze phytoplankton diversity of a small urban wetland of Meghalaya to assess biodiversity and limnology interest of small water bodies. This “slightly acidic-circumneutral, demineralized and soft water” subtropical wetland reveals diverse phytoplankton (64 species), indicates high desmid richness and highlights the speciose littoral constellations of up to 55-58 species per sample. Phytoplankton comprises dominant quantitative component of net plankton and registers Charophyta dominance; Chlorophyta > Bacillariophyta > Dinozoa > Chrysophyta > Cyanobacteria depict sub-dominance, and Euglenozoa and Cryptophyta show poor abundance at the littoral and semi-limnetic regions. The richness of phytoplankton and abundance of phytoplankton, Charophyta, Chlorophyta, Dinozoa, Chrysophyta and Cyanobacteria follow bimodal spatio-temporal variations. Closterium, Cosmarium, Staurastrum, Micrasterias, Netrium, Staurodesmus and Scenedesmus are notable genera, and 14 species collectively influence phytoplankton abundance. Phytoplankton registers high species diversity, lower dominance and high evenness. Amongst 15 abiotic factors, only the rainfall and sulphate exert notable influence individually, while the canonical correspondence analysis registers lower cumulative influence of the selected 10 factors on the littoral and semi-limnetic phytoplankton assemblages. This study merits interest for neglected biodiversity and ecology of small aquatic biotopes of India and urban wetlands in particular

Ecosystem diversity of Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) of the floodplain lakes of Majuli River Island, the Brahmaputra river basin, northeast India

Plankton and semi-plankton samples collected from twelve floodplain lakes (beels) of Majuli River Island of the Brahmaputra river basin, Upper Assam reveal rich Cladocera assemblage of 48 species belonging to 32 genera and 7 families. This report assumes biodiversity value as ~65.0% and ~37.0% of the species, and ~78.0% and ~72.0 of genera of the taxon known from Assam state of northeast India (NEI) and India, respectively. Picripleuroxus quasidenticulatus (Smirnov) is a new record from the Indian sub-region. Biogeographically important elements include one Australasian, three Indo-Chinese and two Oriental species. Total cladoceran richness in individual beels ranged between 16-38 (26 ± 6) species while monthly and seasonal richness in six beels each varied between 8 ± 3-13 ± 3 species and 11 ± 4-17 ± 3 species, respectively and showed lack of any pattern of temporal variations. The community similarities (40.1-86.5% vide Sí¸rensen's index) and the hierarchical cluster analysis affirm heterogeneity in Cladocera composition in different beels. Individual abiotic factors indicated insignificant influence on richness except for significant positive correlation with alkalinity only in Khorkhoria beel

Rotifer assemblages (Rotifera: Eurotatoria) of the floodplain lakes of Majuli River Island, the Brahmaputra river basin, northeast India

Our plankton and semi-plankton collections from twelve floodplain lakes (beels) of Majuli River Island, Upper Assam reveal 124 rotifer species (32 genera and 17 families); these merit biodiversity value as ~52.0% and ~30.0% of species, ~68.0 and ~45.0% of  genera and ~74.0 and ~65.0% of the families of the Phylum known from northeast India (NEI) and India, respectively. Two species are new to India with Trichocerca uncinata as new record to the Oriental region.  Eleven species are new to the study area and we provide an updated list (144 species) for following meta-analyses of Majuli Rotifera. Biogeographically important elements include one Australasian, four Oriental, four Palaeotropical and one cosmo (sub) tropical species while several species are of regional distribution interest. The rotifer fauna is predominantly tropical and Lecanidae > Lepadellidae collectively include ~53.0% species but it records paucity of Brachionus species. Individual beels record total richness of 60-100 (77 ± 12) species, monthly richness between 24 ± 7-34 ± 7 species and maximum up to 54 species/sample. The results are characterized by high community similarities (59.7-90.4% vide Sørensen’s index), more rotifer homogeneity amongst beels, lack of any pattern of temporal richness variations and much limited influence of abiotic parameters

A COMPARISON OF INTRAVENOUS ONDANSETRON AND PALONOSETRON IN PREVENTING POST-OPERATIVE NAUSEA AND VOMITING AFTER LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY - A RANDOMIZED DOUBLE-BLIND STUDY

Objectives: Post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a frequently experienced complication following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This study was planned to compare the antiemetic efficacy of palonosetron with ondansetron in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Methods: A total of 100 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomized into two groups. Group O (n=50) received ondansetron (8 mg) and Group P (n=50) received palonosetron (0.075 mg) 3 min before induction of anesthesia. Post-operatively, patients were assessed for the occurrence of nausea, retching, or vomiting at 0–2, 2–6, 6–24, 0–24, and 24–48 h time intervals. The overall incidence of PONV in time frame (0–48 h) was determined. The need of rescue antiemetic, side effect profile, and patient satisfaction scores were also assessed.Results: The incidence and severity of nausea at all the time intervals were comparable in the two groups. The incidence of vomiting was significantly less in Group P as compared to Group O in 0–2 h (2% vs. 14%, p=0.027) and 0–24 h time intervals (10% vs. 30%, p=0.012). The overall incidence of PONV in 0–48h was lesser in Group P as compared to Group O (28% vs. 50%, p=0.024). Rescue antiemetic was required in greater number of patients in Group O as compared to Group P (p=0.038). Side effect profile and patient satisfaction scores were comparable in the two groups.Conclusion: Palonosetron is better than ondansetron in lowering the overall incidence of PONV in 0–48 h time interval, in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy