ICT in Universities of the Western Himalayan Region in India: Status, Performance- An Assessment

The present paper describes a live project study carried out for the universities located in the western Himalayan region of India in the year 2009. The objective of this study is to undertake the task of assessment regarding initiative, utilization of ICT resources, its performance and impact in these higher educational institutions/universities. In order to answer these, initially basic four- tier framework was prepared. Followed by a questionnaire containing different ICT components 18 different groups like vision, planning, implementation, ICT infrastructure and related activities exhibiting performance. Primary data in the form of feedback on the five point scale, of the questionnaire, was gathered from six universities of the region. A simple statistical analysis was undertaken using weighted mean, to assess the ICT initiative, status and performance of various universities. In the process, a question related to Performance Indicator was identified from each group, whose Coefficient of Correlation was calculated. This study suggests that a progressive vision, planning and initiative regarding academic syllabi, ICT infrastructure, used in training the skilled human resource, is going to have a favourable impact through actual placement, research and play a dominant role at the National and International level.Comment: International Journal of Computer Science Issues, IJCSI Volume 6, Issue 2, pp44-52, November 200

The theory of negation in Indian logic.

This thesis is concerned with the problems of negation as they appear in the logical writings of India, In the first chapter, after discussing the paradox of negative judgment, - how can a negative; judgment be descriptive of a positive reality, - we have tried to present the problems discussed mainly in the early writings of the realist systems, namely, the Nyaya, the Vaisesika, and the Purva Mimamsa of the Bhatta school. The realists advocated the acceptance of a real Nonexistence as a corresponding object of a negative judgment. I have suggested that in advancing this theory they also relied upon their doctrines of negative emancipation and their principle of causality - "the not-pre-existent-effect." The second chapter is devoted to the theories of the Buddhist and the Prabhakara logicians. According to these logicians the paradox can be solved by explaining negation in terms of the positive factors involved in it. In the third chapter I have tried to show that the principle of double negation appears to be first applied in India by the Buddhist logicians and that the use of double negation is at least as old as the theory of logical discrimination or Apoha. That is that the affirmation of A implies the denial of not-A. I have also investigated the problem of 'mutual-absence' versus 'constant-absence' and have discussed complex types of negation which are unique to the later (neo-Nyaya) writings of India. The fourth chapter is concerned with the epistemological problem: How do we know the absence of a thing? We have presented Kumarila Bhatta's realistic solution that the absence being real must be known by an independent negative means of its own called "Negation" (abhava). After having investigated the Buddhist theory that the knowledge of absence is only an inferential judgment I have pointed out that the inferential principle of 'anupalabdhi' or Non-perception is originally a Buddhist one and that the view, upheld by some modem scholars, that it was originated by Kumarila, is wrong. Lastly I have tried to describe the later Nyaya-Vaisesika theory according to which all negative cognitions are perceived through a unique relation between the absence and the locus which is in direct contact with the sense organs. The first part of the fifth chapter forms a short introduction to the Buddhist theory of Apoha. In the second part a complete English translation of the Apohasiddhi of Ratnakirti is provided. In the pages under the heading of 'conclusion' I have surveyed the problem of negative judgment and have tried to compare some Indian and Western theories of negation

In Silico characterization of growth hormone from freshwater ornamental fishes: Sequence analysis, molecular modelling and phylogeny

The present investigation includes in Silico sequence analysis, three-dimensional (3D) structure prediction and evolutionary profile of growth hormone (GH) from 14 ornamental freshwater fishes. The analyses were performed using the sequence data of growth hormone gene (gh) and its encoded GH protein. The evolutionary analyses were performed using maximum likelihood (ML) estimate and maximum parsimony (MP) methods. Bootstrap test (1000 replicates) was performed to validate the phylogenetic tree. The tertiary structures of GH were predicted using the comparative modelling method. The suitable template for comparative modeling protein databank (PDB IDs: 1HWG A) has been selected on the basis of basic local alignment search tool (BLASTp) and fast analysis (FASTA) results. The target-template alignment, model building, loop modelling and evaluation have been performed in Modeller 9.10. The tertiary structure of GH is α-helix structure connected by loops, which forms a compressed complex maintained by two disulfide bridges. The resultant 3D models are verified by ERRAT and ProCheck programmes. After fruitful verification, the tertiary structures of GH have been deposited to protein model database (PMDB). Sequence analyses and RNA secondary structure prediction was performed by CLC genomics workbench version 4.0. The computational models of GH could be of use for further evaluation of molecular mechanism of function.Keywords: Growth hormone, in Silico, somatotropin, growth hormone gene (gh) mRNA, freshwater ornamental fis

Interim use of Hyrax Screw Assembly for Single-Step Closure of Small Alveolar Cleft Prior to Anterior Maxillary Distraction Osteogenesis: A technical note

Anterior maxillary distraction osteogenesis (AMDO) is often used for correction of maxillary retrognathia in select cleft lip and palate cases. Restoration of alveolar arch continuity is desirable prior to initiation of AMDO in these cleft maxillary deformities. However, AMDO is technically difficult in a patient with coexisting alveolar cleft where there is a discontinuity of the defect that presents a challenge in terms of adequate vector control of movement of anterior segment and potential risk of tipping of teeth which already have compromised anchorage/bone support on the cleft side. Treatment process becomes further challenging when ongoing management is compounded by failed previous alveolar cleft grafting procedures along with the patient’s reluctance to undergo further grafting of alveolar clefts. Herein, we report a technical note demonstrating a novel application of the modification of the hyrax screw wherein an initially fully opened Hyrax screw was utilized as an interim assembly for accomplishing single-step closure of small alveolar cleft prior to commencement of anterior maxillary distraction osteogenesis. This technique may prove to be feasible for patients presenting with alveolar cleft defects of smaller widths of up to 5 mm and relatively well-aligned upper arches. Keywords: Alveolar Cleft; AMDO; Hyrax Screw; Single-Step Closure

Studying of Acoustical Parameters of Some Binary Liquid Mixture at 303.15 K and 3 M. Hz

The ultrasonic velocity, density and viscosity of 1,4- dioxane with alkanols systems have been measured experimentally at 303.15 K over the frequency 3 M. Hz. From these three values, we have calculated thermodynamic and excess thermodynamic parameters such as adiabatic compressibility, deviation in adiabatic compressibility, molar volume excess molar volume, free length, excess free length, Viscosity, deviation in viscosity, internal pressure ,excess internal pressure, acoustic impedance, excess acoustic impedance, excess sound velocity, Rao,s constant, Wada constant, relaxation time and relaxation strength of binary liquid mixture to interpret the nature of the interactions taking place in the binary liquid mixtures. The results analyzed in the sight of molecular interaction between the components. The interaction resulting in the interstitial accommodation of 1, 4- dioxane into alkanols are the predominant factor over dipole-dipole interaction

From maid to mother: Transforming facilities, staff training, and caregiver dignity in an institutional facility for young children in Nepal

This article provides a case study of a project to improve the health, safety, and development of children birth to 6 years old in a large orphanage in Nepal. Two interventions were conducted: improvement of physical infrastructure and training, mentoring, and support for caregiving staff. As a result of these interventions, positive outcomes in terms of children\u27s health and development have been observed, including reduction of communicable diseases and increased social interactions with caregivers. As part of the new training initiative, the caregivers began to meet regularly to share their ideas and experiences, and came to realize their vital role in the holistic development of the children in their care. One important change was a greater sense of dignity for the caregivers. The caregivers were formerly called Maids(Aaya), but asked to be called Mothers(Aama). The project also faced challenges, including communication barriers related to organizational structure

EISMF

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-130).There are several technological solutions available in the market to help organizations with information security breach detection and prevention such as intrusion detection and prevention systems, antivirus software, firewalls, and spam filters. There is no doubt in the fact that significant progress has been made in the technological side of information security. However, when we study causes of information security breaches, we find that a significant number are caused by non-technical reasons such as social engineering, theft of computing device or portable hard drive, human behavior, and human error. This leads us to conclude that information security should not be viewed through technology perspective only. Instead, a more holistic approach is required. This thesis provides a systems approach towards information security management and include technological, management and social aspects. This thesis starts with introduction especially background and motivation of the author, followed by literature research. Next, Enterprise Information Security Management Framework is presented leading to estimation of an organization's information security management maturity-level. Finally, conclusion and potential future work are presented.by Dhirendra Sharma.S.M.in Engineering and Managemen

Hybrid SFNet Model for Bone Fracture Detection and Classification Using ML/DL

An expert performs bone fracture diagnosis using an X-ray image manually, which is a time-consuming process. The development of machine learning (ML), as well as deep learning (DL), has set a new path in medical image diagnosis. In this study, we proposed a novel multi-scale feature fusion of a convolution neural network (CNN) and an improved canny edge algorithm that segregate fracture and healthy bone image. The hybrid scale fracture network (SFNet) is a novel two-scale sequential DL model. This model is highly efficient for bone fracture diagnosis and takes less computation time compared to other state-of-the-art deep CNN models. The innovation behind this research is that it works with an improved canny edge algorithm to obtain edges in the images that localize the fracture region. After that, grey images and their corresponding canny edge images are fed to the proposed hybrid SFNet for training and evaluation. Furthermore, the performance is also compared with the state-of-the-art deep CNN models on a bone image dataset. Our results showed that SFNet with canny (SFNet + canny) achieved the highest accuracy, F1-score and recall of 99.12%, 99% and 100%, respectively, for bone fracture diagnosis. It showed that using a canny edge algorithm improves the performance of CNN