NEW ETHNOMEDICINAL INFORMATION FROM LEPCHA COMMUNITY OF DZONGU, SIKKIM

The Lepcha community of Sikkim is primarily confined to the Dzongu area of the state. The people of this community are mostly dependent on the forest produces for their livelihood since the ancient times and used plant resources to cure daily ailments. In the present work, extensive field surveys conducted in different corners of Dzongu to document the ethnomedicinal plants and their uses from the traditional practitioners as well as the local people. As a result of which new information on the ethnomedicinal uses of 40 plant species have been recorded and these are presented here for future reference. The uses of plants have been validated statistically following Use Value (UV) and Fidelity Level (FL) methods

Economics of Flower Cultivation with Special Reference to Orchid in Hilly Areas of West Bengal

The present study is an attempt to assess the cost of cultivation and economic viability of orchid cultivation in the hilly area of West Bengal with a unique set of primary data collected purposively during 2017-18 from the farm level. Based on farm size, farmers were categorised into three i.e. category-I (500 ft2), category-II (640 ft2) and category-III (1000 ft2). Returns from different categories were found to increase with the time as Orchid usually shows significant boost in yield with time. The estimated costs of establishment of orchid farm for Category- I (500 sq. ft), Category- II (640 sq ft) and Category-III (1000 sq ft) were ` 67117.89, ` 69870.67 and ` 159746.51 respectively. The average net income in absolute term had been worked out to be ` 46,354.2, ` 34,143.2 and ` 1, 97,760 respectively. The values of financial feasibility analysis with Net Present Value (` 97,971.3), Benefit-Cost Ratio (1.76) and Internal Rate of Return (25.38%) also proved that Orchid was a financially viable enterprise. Pay-back-period (3 to 5 years) was also reliable for investment though it varied little with size of farm. Keeping the commercial prospect of Orchid, it may be suggested for concerted efforts and more investment towards R&D, infrastructure, extension for further development in this sector

Precursor-Derived Rare Earth Metal Pyrochlores: Nd2Sn2O7 Nanofibers and Thin Films As Efficient Photoabsorbers

Single phase rare earth pyrochlores, Ln(2)M(2)O(7), were produced as nanofibers and thin films by electrospinning and spin-coating of chemical sols obtained from bimetallic metalorganic precursors, Ln(III)M(II)((OBu)-Bu-t)(5)Py (Ln(III) = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Er, Yb; M-II = Ge, Sn, Pb; Py = pyridine). Compatibility of the metal ratio in the single-source compounds was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses and the ratio was preserved during the processing as the crystalline pyrochlore materials originated from an amorphous preceramic aggregate as confirmed by powder XRD and TEM studies. The photocatalytic activity of the Nd2Sn2O7 nanofibers was found to be significantly higher than that of TiO2. Nd2Sn2O7 thin films deposited on F:SnO2 as bilayered Nd2Sn2O7//Fe2O3 photoanodes showed superior photoelectrochemical (PEC) efficiency for water splitting reaction with an over 3-fold higher photocurrent density than bare Fe2O3 photoanodes

Not Available

Not AvailableExponential autoregressive (EXPAR) and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH) models are usually employed for fitting of cyclical and volatile data respectively. However, in practical situations, there may be data which embodies both this phenomena at the same time. To tackle such situations, a new form of parametric nonlinear time-series model, EXPAR-GARCH is proposed. Methodology for estimation of parameters of this model is developed by using a powerful optimization technique called Genetic Algorithm (GA). Entire data analysis is carried out using SAS and MATLAB software packages. For illustration, monthly price series of edible oils in domestic and international markets is considered. The individual models as well as the proposed model were assessed on their ability to predict the correct change of direction in future values as well as by computing various measures of goodness-of-fit and forecast performance.Not Availabl

Extracts from The Cochrane Library

The "Cochrane Corner" is a quarterly section in the Journal that highlights systematic reviews relevant to otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, with invited commentary to aid clinical decision making. This installment features a Cochrane Review entitled "Intranasal corticosteroids for nasal airway obstruction in children with moderate to severe adenoidal hypertrophy," which finds limited evidence of a short-term improvement in nasal symptoms with a reduction of adenoid size.