RECAPITALIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON BANK’S STABILITY, COMPETITIVENESS AND PROFITABILITY: EVIDENCE FROM INDIAN PSBs

There is a current argument relating to the capital infusion to the banks for strengthening capital on one side, without taking prudential measures to reduce the strains already present in the credit quality of banks on the other. The regulators thought that recapitalization of banks will be used to effectively reduce the cost of funds in the regular business provided when there is a higher lending demand. The capital infusion may turn out ineffective if there is less loan demand. On this background, this paper examines the effect of recapitalization of Indian public sector banks, and its impact on banks stability, competitiveness and profitability. Out of 21 banks, 18 banks reacted positively in case of one indicator, but failed in regard to overall indicators. Finally, the study reveals an interesting outcome that, there is no relationship between the size of the infusion and the performance of the bank. Hence, the study concludes that the capital infusion will help the banks significantly to improve the stability, competitiveness and profitability only when the banks’ fundamentals are strong, combined with the deployment of fresh funds and their managerial capability

Investigation on the Influence of Basalt Fiber on Thermal properties of Al7075/ Basalt Fiber Metal Matrix Composites.

This paper reports a study of the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) of Al7075/basalt short fiber Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) as a function of temperature and reinforcement. The percentage of reinforcement was varied from 2.5 to 10 wt. % in steps of 2.5% and the composites were prepared by the liquid metallurgy technique. Using Thermal Mechanical Analyzer (TMA) model DuPont 943 equipment, the changes in the linear dimension as a function of temperature is recorded as Percent Linear Change (PLC). The temperature of the tests ranged from 50 °C to 300 °C in the steps of 5 °C both in the heating and cooling cycles. The results show that the CTE significantly increased with increasing temperature but decreased with increasing basalt fiber. These phenomena are explained

Effect of TEA on the structural and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles

Ferromagnetic ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by surfactant assisted hydrothermal method using different amount of triethylamine (TEA). The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. The formation of single phase ZnFe2O4 was investigated by addition of different amount of TEA. Regular spinel structure was obtained for all synthesized product except for lower amount of TEA, owing to the less alkaline atmosphere. All the synthesized nanoparticles were spherical in shape with a small aggregation. Observed size of the nanoparticles was 10 nm as determined from TEM measurement for the sample synthesized with a higher amount of TEA. Room temperature ferromagnetic behavior was observed in all the samples

Morphological and molecular analyses of Rosa damascena x R. bourboniana interspecific hybrids

Rosa damascena Mill is the most important scented rose species cultivated for rose oil production. Rosa bourboniana L. (Edward rose), a related species, is popular on account of its longer blooming period and ease of propagation. With an aim to combine the oil quality of R. damascena and recurrent flowering habit of R. bourboniana, two cultivars (Jwala and Himroz) of R. damascena were crossed with R. bourboniana. The F1 hybrids obtained were evaluated using morphological, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and microsatellite (SSR) markers. Twenty-two selected RAPD and three SSR primer pairs were utilized for hybrid identification. According to presence or absence of bands RAPD and SSR markers were classified into seven types of markers. The bands specific for the pollen parent and occurring in the hybrids were good markers to confirm the hybridity. The non-parental bands expressing uniquely in hybrids were effective in distinguishing the hybrids from each other. Cluster analysis, based on Jaccard's similarity coefficient using unweighted pair group method based on arithmetic mean (UPGMA), reliably discriminated the hybrids into two main clusters. These results indicate the practical usefulness of RAPID and SSR markers in hybrid identification in scented roses. The approach is advantageous for its rapidity and simplicity, for identification of hybrids at the juvenile stage. One of the studied morphological traits - prickle density, can also complement in the identification of interspecific hybrids between R. damscena (female) and R. bourboniana (male)

Variability and molecular diversity of wild sugarcane germplasm collected from low temperature regions Lohit and Changlang of Arunachal Pradesh

159-168Saccharum spontaneum L. is a perennial grass representing the most genetically diversified species in Saccharum genus. It has the potential to withstand severe biotic/abiotic stresses and frequently used as donor of stress tolerant genes in sugarcane improvement program through gene introgression. In this study, the phenotypic variation and molecular diversity of forty nine S. spontaneum accessions collected from Lohit and Changlang regions of Arunachal Pradesh, North Eastern India were investigated for morphometric traits and polymorphic STMS marker. The phenotypic coefficient of variation showed ample variability for the traits viz., plant height (27.19%), stalk diameter (28.21%), single cane weight (48.97%), internode number (22.60%) and internode length (29.15%). Further, twenty nine sequence-tagged microsatellite site (STMS) markers generated 495 bands with an average of 14.06 polymorphic bands. The accessions specific bands in respect to specific marker combinations were identified. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficients among these accessions ranged from 0.42 to 0.78 with an average of 0.58 and clustering using unweighted pair group method of arithmetic-average (UPGMA) showed two major clusters with subclusters. Similarly polulation structure analysis based Bayesian approach grouped the individuals into two subpopulations, with alpha value of 0.112. The study shows that S. spontaneum accessions collected from Arunachal Pradesh is highly diverse, most of them will be harbouring the genes for cold tolerance and biomass. The set of markers which produced specific bands for the specific accessions identified in the study will help in identification of the particular accessions. The accessions studied are potential source for cold tolerance and high biomass, the results obtained in the present study will definitely help in planning and utilising them in sugarcane improvement programme

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Effect of surgical experience and spine subspecialty on the reliability of the {AO} Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System

OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to determine the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility of the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System based on surgeon experience (< 5 years, 5–10 years, 10–20 years, and > 20 years) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine surgery, neurosurgery, and "other" surgery). METHODS A total of 11,601 assessments of upper cervical spine injuries were evaluated based on the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System. Reliability and reproducibility scores were obtained twice, with a 3-week time interval. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine the percentage of accurately classified injuries, and Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used to screen for potentially relevant differences between study participants. Kappa coefficients (κ) determined the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility. RESULTS The intraobserver reproducibility was substantial for surgeon experience level (< 5 years: 0.74 vs 5–10 years: 0.69 vs 10–20 years: 0.69 vs > 20 years: 0.70) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine: 0.71 vs neurosurgery: 0.69 vs other: 0.68). Furthermore, the interobserver reliability was substantial for all surgical experience groups on assessment 1 (< 5 years: 0.67 vs 5–10 years: 0.62 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.62), and only surgeons with > 20 years of experience did not have substantial reliability on assessment 2 (< 5 years: 0.62 vs 5–10 years: 0.61 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.59). Orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons had substantial intraobserver reproducibility on both assessment 1 (0.64 vs 0.63) and assessment 2 (0.62 vs 0.63), while other surgeons had moderate reliability on assessment 1 (0.43) and fair reliability on assessment 2 (0.36). CONCLUSIONS The international reliability and reproducibility scores for the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System demonstrated substantial intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability regardless of surgical experience and spine subspecialty. These results support the global application of this classification system

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Argostemma timorense Benn. — a New Addition to Indian Rubiaceae from Great Nicobar Island

Argostemma timorense is reported as new record for India from Great Nicobar Island. This species, so far considered as endemic to Java, was collected from inland evergreen forests of Great Nicobar Island. Detailed descriptions, illustration and photograph are provided