Technical Efficiency in North-Western Himalayan Region: A Study of Himachal Pradesh Agriculture

The technical efficiency of Himachal farmers, studied using the frontier production function, has been found to vary widely across cereal crops in the state. It has been found that the average yield of all the major cereal crops is below the national average, except the maize crop, which has been found in surplus in the state. Maize → wheat and paddy → wheat have been noted as the major crop rotations being followed in the study area. The analysis of cross sectional data has revealed inefficiency in terms of inputs application. The mean technical efficiencies have revealed that a considerable portion of frontier output is left untapped, it is 35-42 per cent in maize, 44-50 per cent in paddy and 61-67 per cent in wheat. The ratio of marginal value productivity (MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC) has been found to be more than one in case of 50 per cent inputs for all the crops. However, the female labour for most of the crops has values less than one and with negative signs as most of the work (agricultural operations) in the hills is being performed by women. The results have indicated that there is a scope to increase the returns from wheat production by using more farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour, female labour and bullock labour in zone I. Similarly, in the case of maize (local) in zone I, the yield could be increased by increasing the use of more of farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers, male labour and seeds. The analysis has also revealed that a majority of the farmers operate at low level of efficiency due to practising of traditional cultivation methods. It is felt that there is a need to educate females in resource management, preferably through female extension workers.Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Recent results from the GRAPES-3 experiment

The GRAPES-3 is a dense extensive air shower array operating with ~400 scintillator detectors and a 560 m2 large tracking muon detector (Eμ > 1 GeV), at Ooty in India. The muon detector has been used to observe acceleration of muons during thunderstorm conditions. The muon multiplicity distribution of the EAS is used to probe the composition of primary cosmic rays below 1 PeV, with an overlap with direct measurements. More recently we have explored the possibility of using the angular distribution of >1 GeV muons to identify the best from among several low- and high-energy hadronic interaction models. We have major expansion plans to enhance the sensitivity of the GRAPES-3 experiment in all of the areas listed above

Classical supravalvar aortic stenosis and peripheral pulmonary stenosis

Supravalvar aortic stenosis as well as peripheral pulmonary stenosis are rare forms of congenital heart disease, which occur, however, relatively frequently in association. This article reports and discusses the classical findings of SVAS and PPS upon clinical examination and imaging in a sixyear-old girl that presented with repeated respiratory tract infections and failure to thrive.peer-reviewe

On Nash Equilibrium Strategy of Two-person Zero-sum Games with Trapezoidal Fuzzy Payoffs

AbstractIn this paper, we investigate Nash equilibrium strategy of two-person zero-sum games with fuzzy payoffs. Based on fuzzy max order, Maeda and Cunlin constructed several models in symmetric triangular and asymmetric triangular fuzzy environment, respectively. We extended their models in trapezoidal fuzzy environment and proposed the existence of equilibrium strategies for these models. We also established the relation between Pareto Nash equilibrium strategy and parametric bi-matrix game. In addition, numerical examples are presented to find Pareto Nash equilibrium strategy and weak Pareto Nash equilibrium strategy from bi-matrix game

Spheroidisation Treatment for Steels

The materials used in components are now highly diversified with many applicationshistorically reserved for steels now taken by plastics, composites, and ceramics. There are, ofcourse, many applications for which steels are still the most suitable material. Presently, it isimportant that the type of steel chosen for a given application and the heat treatment given toit be critically examined to justify its use. This study highlights the selection of steels forspheroidisation treatments and their commercial uses

Effect of Non-uniform Temperature Gradient on Marangoni Convection in a Relatively Hotter or Cooler Layer of Liquid

The effect of non-uniform temperature gradient on the onset of convection driven by surface tension gradients in a relatively hotter or cooler layer of liquid is studied by means of linear stability analysis. the upper boundary is considered to be free and insulating where surface tension gradients arise on account of variation in temperature and the lower boundary is rigid. the single-term Galerkin technique is used to obtain the eigenvalue equation. Eigenvalues are obtained and presented for both thermally conducting and insulating cases of the lower boundary. this analysis predicts that in either case the critical eigenvalues for different non-uniform temperature gradients are greater in a relatively hotter layer of liquid than the cooler one under identical conditions otherwise. this qualitative effect is quite significant quantitatively as well

Roof above the head : A qualitative assessment of rural housing in India

The development of rural housing in a manner that results in adequate, quality shelter for inhabitants of Mahatma Gandhi’s “real India” is a challenge before the nation. What are the issues confronting rural housing development in India? The litany of its woes is endless. At first impression, rural housing is vulnerable to weaknesses in the delivery system for housing materials and services. Gradually, it dawns on the observer that the sector is deeply affected by the infrastructure deficit – roads, electricity supply, drinking water and sanitation. It has been bypassed by the numerous economic revolutions that have made India a vibrant economic superpower. For instance housing finance, which played a key role in the urban housing explosion, is conspicuous by its absence in the rural setting. Additionally, the limited mobility of rural households, the lack of vibrancy in the market for village properties and the marked volatility in agricultural incomes combine to dampen the prospects of this nebulous sector.Housing

Segmentation and Descriptors for Pattern

Image segmentation is an essential preliminary step in most automatic pictorial pattern recognition. The purpose of representation and description is used to be the application of Pattern. In the application of image processing, we have to choose an approach and to do description, just like recognition of the image. Keywords: image processing, Patter

A note on higher-order nondifferentiable symmetric duality in multiobjective programming

AbstractIn this work, we establish a strong duality theorem for Mond–Weir type multiobjective higher-order nondifferentiable symmetric dual programs. This fills some gaps in the work of Chen [X. Chen, Higher-order symmetric duality in nondifferentiable multiobjective programming problems, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 290 (2004) 423–435]