Path (or cycle)-trees with Graph Equations involving Line and Split Graphs

H-trees generalizes the existing notions of trees, higher dimensional trees and k-ctrees. The characterizations and properties of both Pk-trees for k at least 4 and Cn-trees for n at least 5 and their hamiltonian property, dominations, planarity, chromatic and b-chromatic numbers are established. The conditions under which Pk-trees for k at least 3 (resp. Cn-trees for n at least 4), are the line graphs are determined. The relationship between path-trees and split graphs are developed

Socio-economic Impact Assessment of Livelihood Security in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Aquaculture on the Tsunami-hit Lands of Andaman

Indian subcontinent is highly vulnerable to major natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts, landslides and bushfires. Tsunami, which is a recent addition to this list, had occurred in the early morning of 26th December 2004, after a massive earthquake of 9.2 magnitude on the Richter scale in Andaman & Nicobar islands, resulting in the submergence of large area of farmland, and subsequent drying up of water bodies. It caused moisture stress for the standing crops, livestock and fisheries and affected the livelihood of the people to a large extent. In this context, the present study has been carried out to make the socio-economic impact assessment of livelihood security in agriculture, animal husbandry and aquaculture on the tsunami-hit lands of Andaman. Data have been collected from 150 sample respondents and the survey has been conducted for two periods, pre-tsunami and post-tsunami. The results have indicated that tsunami has ravaged the households, standing crops, farm inputs such as seed, feed and implements, livestock and poultry population, their sheds, fish ponds, etc., thereby affecting the basic livelihood security of the people in Andaman. The rehabilitation measures taken by the government and NGOs have improved their livelihoods by reviving agriculture considerably in the subsequent years and by creating employment opportunities in various farm and non-farm activities. The paper has suggested creating profitable livelihood security to vulnerable sections of the society in the existing socio-economic penury with holistic intervention of the community, government and NGOs.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Resonant Raman of OH/OD vibrations and photoluminescence studies in LiTaO3 thin film

Resonant Raman spectra (RRS) of O-H and O-D vibration and libration modes, their combinations and higher harmonics have been observed in LiTaO3 polycrystalline thin films. RRS peaks are superimposed on photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. Monochromatic light from a xenon lamp is used as excitation source. PL spectrum shows two broad peaks, first near the band gap in UV (4.4-4.8eV) and another in the sub band gap region (< 4.0 eV). Band gap PL along with RRS peaks are reported for the first time. Photoluminescence excitation spectrum (PLE) shows a peak at 4.8 eV. Peak positions and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of RRS peaks depend upon the excitation energy. Dispersions of the fundamental and the third harmonic of the stretching mode of O-H with excitation energy are about 800 cm-1/eV and 2000 cm-1/eV respectively. This dispersion is much higher than reported in any other material.Comment: 20 page

Cell-mediated immunity in chyluria

Cellular immune response to mitogens phytohemaggluthin (PHA) and poke weed mitogen (PWM) was assessed in 13 patients with chyluria and 32 healthy controls. The mean stimulation Index of the patient group was significantly lower than the control group. The degree of depression was neither related to the duration of excretion of chyle nor to the microfilaraemic status

Prevalence and pattern of PCOS in women presenting with acne, a hospital based prospective observational study

Background: Acne is one of the most common dermatological conditions encountered in day to day practice. Many recent studies have reported a strong association between acne and underlying systemic endocrine disorders, more particularly Poly cystic ovarian syndrome. But there is scarcity of literature on the subjects in Indian population. Hence the present study was conducted with an objective of studying the association between acne and polycystic ovarian syndrome, in women presenting with adult onset acne to a tertiary care teaching hospital.Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in department of dermatology, Dhananalakshmi Srinivasan medical college and hospital, Permabalur from January 2016 to August 2017. The study population included women above 18 years of age clinically diagnosed with acne vulgaris. The presence of polycystic ovarian syndrome was assessed using Rotterdam criteria.Results: The final analysis had included 100 women with acne. The most common type of lesion observed was comedone in 91% of women. The other most common lesions were papule seen in 73%, pustule in 35% of women. The proportion with grade I, Grade II and grade III acne was 58%, 29% and 13% respectively. The prevalence of PCOS was 30% (95% CI 21.89% to 39.58%). PCOS had shown no statistically significant association with age, marital status and regularity of menstrual cycle. The factors which have shown statistically significant association were higher BMI, presence of Hirsutism and higher waist circumference.Conclusions: PCOS is highly prevalent among women with acne. Presence of hirsutism, obesity are strong risk factors for PCOS

Cutaneous markers of obesity

Background: The prevalence of obesity is increasing rapidly all over the world. Obesity is accompanied by increasing mortality and morbidity due to conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other metabolic complications. Obesity has multiple psychological impacts as well due to discrimination and bias. Cutaneous manifestations of obesity are common due to factors such as mechanical stresses, hormonal imbalances and insulin resistance. Understanding the epidemiology of cutaneous manifestations among obese individuals will aid in better patient management.Methods: A cross sectional descriptive observational study was conducted over a period of 2 years from August 2010 to August 2012 in the Dermatology outpatient Department of a tertiary care hospital. Information on socio-demographic variables such as age, gender was collected along with anthropometry and biochemical parameters. Individuals were classified based on their type of obesity and health risk assessed using waist-hip ratio. Cutaneous manifestations of obesity were assessed using appropriate methods wherever applicable.Results: The study population consisted predominantly of individuals 20 to 40 years of age. The proportion of females were twice than males. Co-existing illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and polycystic ovarian disease were present. Only 21% of the individuals reported exercising regularly. Most individuals had mild obesity and elevated waist-hip ratio. Acanthosis nigricans was the most common cutaneous manifestation present among 95% individuals. The other common cutaneous manifestations were striae distense, acrochordons, intertrigo, dermatophytosis and folliculitis.Conclusions: The cutaneous manifestations of obesity are due to multiple factors such as mechanical stresses and hormonal imbalances. This study indicates a high prevalence of cutaneous manifestations among obese individuals. Understanding the etiopathogenesis will facilitate in screening the high-risk individuals who present with cutaneous manifestations for other underlying illnesses. In addition, management of cutaneous manifestations will prevent the cosmetic side effects among obese individuals thus limiting the psychological effects