Land Rental Markets in India: Efficiency and Equity Considerations

Despite the fact that land rental is restricted to varying degrees in India, the participation in this market is widespread and it is observed to operate relatively efficiently in 12 villages studied in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The estimated probit models predicted that the rental market transferred land to those with relatively smaller holdings, but greater ability to make productive use of land, more assets to invest, more adults available for labour and fewer off-farm opportunities. Also land is rented out predominantly to younger farmers and to farmers not involved in off-farm jobs. Renting in is predicted to be relatively higher in the villages which are remote and weakly integrated into mainstream infrastructure and institutions. Land rental markets make an important contribution towards land use redistribution in the villages where land rental is high and where land distribution without land rental is relatively more unequal. The study recommends that existing policies restricting land rental should be eased, and investment towards infrastructure development and off-farm employment generating projects expanded.land rental markets, economic efficiency, equity, India, Land Economics/Use,

Assessing the Feasibility of Soil Infiltration Trenches for Highway Runoff Control on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii

The coastal waters of Hawaii are extremely important for recreation as well as for the health of the marine environment. Non-point source pollution from storm runoff poses a great threat to surface water quality in Hawaii. The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) includes infiltration trenches as a best management practice (BMP) option to reduce pollution caused by stormwater runoff. HDOT guidelines state that the implementation of BMPs is needed to reduce sediment and pollutant loads to streams and the ocean. In this study, the suitability of soils adjacent to highways on Oahu for the siting of infiltration trenches was examined. In addition to field surveys and in-situ tests, laboratory investigations on soil properties, infiltration experiments on undisturbed soil columns, and mathematical modeling of hydraulic functioning of the infiltration trench were conducted. Dissolved metal concentrations in highway stormwater runoff were observed to exceed the groundwater environmental action levels for all heavy metals tested, but the soils had high sorption capacity for these metals. The results of the simulations indicated that all the sampled Oahu soils, with one exception, would require less than two hours to drain a filled hypothetical trench. Therefore, these soils are suitable for construction of infiltration trenches as a possible BMP, even when clogging of soil is considered in the simulation

Prevalence and Outcome of Preterm Neonates Admitted to Neonatal Unit of a Tertiary Care Center in Western Nepal

Introduction: Preterm deliveries contribute to major morbidity and mortality in developing countries. They are a leading cause of admission in neonatal care units. Advances in the management have ensured better survival of preterm births, however cost, care and resource limitations influence the outcome.This study was conducted to determine the prevalence, risk factors, morbidity patterns and outcome of preterm admissions to a neonatal unit of a tertiary care center. Methods: This was a retrospective study where all preterm admissions over a period of two years were evaluated for maternal risk factors and morbidity pattern. Outcome was measured in terms of survival rate and case fatality rate. Mann Whitney U test and Fisher's Exact test were used to see the association between various parameters and clinical outcome. Results: Preterm admissions constituted16.48% of all neonatal unit admissions with a male to female ratio of 1.32:1. Common risk factors for preterm births were Prelabour Rupture of Membrane (31.2%) followed by Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy (15.1%) and Antepartum Hemorrhage (8.6%). Common morbidities were Sepsis (40.9%), Jaundice (28%) and Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) (14%). Case fatality rate was significantly high in RDS (45.1%) and perinatal asphyxia (11.1%). Overall survival rate was 75.26%. Conclusion: Preterm births were an important cause for admissions in neonatal unit. Sepsis, jaundice, RDS and necrotizing enterocolitis were common morbidities observed. Since clinical outcome was related to gestational age, improving antenatal care, timely interventions and early referral of high risk pregnancies to tertiary level centers might improve the survival rat

Online Learning Management System and Analytics using Deep Learning

During this pandemic we have seen rise in popularity of online learning platforms. In this paper, we are going to discuss E-Learning using analytics and deep learning focusing on mainly four objectives which are login systems for teachers and students, Gamification to engage learners, AR contents to increase the involvement of learners and learning analytics to develop competency. We will use Data Mining and Buisness Intelligence to extract high level knowledge from the raw data of students. To predict engagement of students we have used several ML algorithms. This study provides an introduction to the technology of AR and E-Learning systems. The main focus of this paper is to use research on augmented reality and integrate it with Buisness Intelligence and Data Mining(DM). Engaging student till the end of the course became really difficult for traditional E-Learning Platform. Therefore, Gamification in E-learning is good way to solve this problem

Unruptured left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following inferior wall myocardial infarction

Left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm is a rare but potentially lethal complication of acute myocardial infarction (MI). We report a very rare case of a 60 year-old woman with a ruptured myocardial wall, and a non-ruptured LV pseudoaneurysm. The patient presented with acutely worsening shortness of breath and exertional dyspnea of one month’s duration, and palpitation. She had an inferior wall MI nine months previously. Coronary angiography showed severe stenosis at right coronary artery. Echocardiography, LV angiography, and computed tomography angiography revealed a large pseudoaneurysm postero-inferior to the LV. Surgical resection of the pseudoaneurysm was performed and repair of the ruptured LV wall done, with good results. (Cardiol J 2012; 19, 5: 539-542

A comparative evaluation of properties of zirconia reinforced high impact acrylic resin with that of high impact acrylic resin

AbstractStatement of the problemPoly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) acrylic resin, although being the most popular denture base material, is associated with poor mechanical properties. It has been documented that acrylic resin can be strengthened with an addition of structural component (filler) added in the acrylic matrix, to form a composite structure.ObjectiveTo evaluate and compare the transverse strength, impact strength, surface hardness and water sorption of 10% and 20% zirconia (ZrO2) reinforced high impact acrylic resin with that of high impact acrylic resin (Trevalon HI, Dentsply India).Materials and methodsThere were 30 specimens in each of the four tests, amounting to a total of 120 specimens. Each of the tests had 10 specimens fabricated from high impact acrylic resin (control); 10 specimens fabricated from 10% zirconia (ZrO2) and 10 specimens fabricated from 20% zirconia (ZrO2) reinforced high impact acrylic resin. Specimens were subjected to the test of transverse strength in Universal Testing Machine, impact strength in Izod pendulum impact testing machine and surface hardness by Vickers Microhardness tester according to ISO Specification No. 1567. Water sorption was assessed according to ADA Specification No. 12. Data were analyzed by means of a one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni multiple comparison test.ResultsA significant increase in the transverse strength was observed in the reinforced specimens when compared to the control group. Impact strength and surface hardness were found having lesser values compared to the control group. Water sorption was found to increase on the addition of 10% and 20% zirconia (ZrO2) but the value lied below 0.8mg/cm2 i.e. within the limit of ADA Specification No. 12.ConclusionReinforcement of acrylic resin with zirconia powder affects its physical and mechanical properties significantly

Descriptive study of functional outcome and complication of fracture calcaneum treated with locking calcaneum plate

Background: Fracture of calcaneum accounts for about 2% of all fractures and 75% of all calcaneum fractures are intra-articular. Numerous controversies existed regarding optimal treatment of displaced intraarticular calcaneum fractures. In this study evaluate post-operative functional outcome and complication of fracture calcaneum treated with locking calcaneum plate.Methods: This hospital based prospective descriptive study was conducted on 108 patients (120 calcaneum fracture) operated between July 2016 to December 2018 by open reduction and internal fixation with locking calcaneum plate through extensive lateral approach at Department of Orthopaedics, SMS Medical college and hospital, Jaipur. All close displaced intraarticular calcaneal fracture was included in the study.Results: Average duration between injury and surgery was 8.3±2.97 days. Out of 120 calcaneum fracture 52 fractures (43.33%) were Sander’s type II, 52 fractures (43.33%) were Sander’s type III, and 16 fractures (13.33%) were Sander’s type IV. Pain on weight bearing was noted in 20 patients (16.66%) implant prominence was noted in 8 patients and delayed wound healing was seen in 4 patients. Maryland foot score was excellent in 44 fracture (36.67%), good in 56 fractures (46.67%), fair in 8 fractures (6.67%), and poor in 12 fractures (10%).Conclusions: Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with locking calcaneum plate in an indicated case, with respect to soft tissue envelope and early rehabilitation, leads to better therapeutic results as compared to other operative technique

Machine learning driven prediction of lattice constants in transition metal dichalcogenides

Machine learning represents an emerging branch of artificial intelligence, centering on the enhancement of algorithms in computer programs through the utilization of data and the accumulation of research-driven knowledge. The requirement for artificial intelligence in materials science is essential due to the significant need for innovative high-performance materials on a large scale. In this report, the gradient boosting regression tree model of machine learning was applied to predict the lattice constants of cubic and trigonal MX2 systems (M=transition metal and X=chalcogen atoms). The theoretical/experimental values of the materials were compared to the predicted values to calculate the standard errors such as RMSE (root mean square error) and MAE (mean absolute error). The features used to predict lattice constants were ionic radius, lattice angles, bandgap, formation energy, total magnetic moment, density and oxidation states. The features versus contribution barplot has been drawn to reveal the contribution level of each parameter in the degree of [0,1] to obtain the predictions. This report provides a precise account of the prediction methodology for lattice parameters of the transition metal dichalcogenides family, a process that was previously not reported

Rapalogs can promote cancer cell stemness in vitro in a Galectin-1 and H-ras-dependent manner

Currently several combination treatments of mTor- and Ras-pathway inhibitors are being tested in cancer therapy. While multiple feedback loops render these central signaling pathways robust, they complicate drug targeting. Here, we describe a novel H-ras specific feedback, which leads to an inadvertent rapalog induced activation of tumorigenicity in Ras transformed cells. We find that rapalogs specifically increase nanoscale clustering (nanoclustering) of oncogenic H-ras but not K-ras on the plasma membrane. This increases H-ras signaling output, promotes mammosphere numbers in a H-ras-dependent manner and tumor growth in ovo. Surprisingly, also other FKBP12 binders, but not mTor- inhibitors, robustly decrease FKBP12 levels after prolonged (> 2 days) exposure. This leads to an upregulation of the nanocluster scaffold galectin-1 (Gal-1), which is responsible for the rapamycin-induced increase in H-ras nanoclustering and signaling output. We provide evidence that Gal-1 promotes stemness features in tumorigenic cells. Therefore, it may be necessary to block inadvertent induction of stemness traits in H-ras transformed cells by specific Gal-1 inhibitors that abrogate its effect on H-ras nanocluster. On a more general level, our findings may add an important mechanistic explanation to the pleiotropic physiological effects that are observed with rapalogs.Peer reviewe