Negocios bancarios en el límite: la crisis de las hipotecas basura y la novela de R. K. Narayan, The Financial Expert

According to Umberto Eco, «every story tells a story that has already been told» (Eco, 1985: 19). In this context, The Financial Expert, a novel written by R. K. Narayan in 1952 shares interesting analogies with significant events and persons in the postmodern world of finance during the last twenty years or so. Narayan’s understanding of the world of finance echoes recent phenomena like the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers on 15 September 2008, the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff, a swindler during the 1990s, the Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis, etc. This paper traces analogies among them and thus opens up a fascinating world of intersections and cross-references. In this intricate world, the present and the past, the real and the fictional, the existing and the evolving – all interact with each other; and the pathways thus created invite our attention to the recurring economic phenomenon of bubble formation and its eventual burst. This paper rests on the premise that the exploration of the deeply-rooted analogical relationship between various texts can make the understanding of the world of finance more comprehensible.Según Umberto Eco (1985: 19), «todas las historias cuentan una historia que ya ha sido contada». The Financial Expert, escrita en 1952 por R. K. Narayan, presenta interesantes analogías con acontecimientos y personas significativas en el mundo financiero posmoderno de los últimos veinte años. El conocimiento del mundo financiero por parte de Narayan resuena con los recientes fenómenos de la bancarrota de Lehman Brothers el 15 de septiembre de 2008, el esquema Ponzi del estafador durante los años 1990, Bernard Madoff, la crisis de las hipotecas basura, etc. Este artículo explora las analogías entre tales hechos para descubrir un fascinante mundo de intersecciones y referencias cruzadas. En ese complejo mundo, el presente y el pasado, lo real y lo ficticio, lo existente y lo emergente, interactúan, invitándonos a reflexionar sobre el fenómeno recurrente de la formación y estallido de las burbujas financieras. El análisis de la profunda relación entre textos diferentes puede ayudar en la comprensión del mundo financier

Study of Leopard Menace, Food Habits and Habitat Parameters in Mandi District, Himachal Pradesh

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Effect of process parameters and VC content on structural and mechanical properties of WC-20Co nano composites

58-66The effect of process parameters and vanadium carbide on hardness, toughness and structural properties of the tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) nanocomposite has been investigated using micro-hardness tester, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with attached energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. To suppress grain growth, a high percentage (upto 10 wt. %) of vanadium carbide (VC) has been taken as a grain growth inhibitor as well as a hardener. WC-20Co composite with 7.5 wt% VC, heat treated at 1100 °C holding time for 2 hours, possesses high hardness (1687 HV) when the volume fraction of tungsten carbide (WC) and Co6W6C phases have been taken in the ratio of 2:1. High hardness and toughness have been obtained at 1100 °C for 2 h heat-treated sample. High VC content with 8 h holding time has increased the porosity in the samples

Mode of Operation and Performance of Contract Farming of Cottonseed in Haryana

The quality of cottonseed matters most for the successful product development. The quality cottonseed production is monitored by the Haryana State Seed Certification Agency in the state. The study has reviewed the prevailing contract cotton farming models; has studied mode of operation of cotton contractual arrangements; has analyzed the production matrix, growth and contributions; and has discerned and quantified variations in intensive structure of public and private seed firms. It has used both primary and secondary data. Appropriate statistical tools, viz. exponential growth model, index, etc., have been used to study the data. All categories of farmers have been brought together under the management of private seed agency for production of cottonseed of a single variety on a large homogeneous block. Contract cotton farming has fully vetted the legal agreements with their growers. The public and private agencies pay incentive price to farmers which is higher than the prevailing market price. Farmers of private agency are free from the intricacies of input and output markets, receive all technology and technical know-how and have facilities for production and consumption loans, whereas farmers of public agency are trailed far behind in terms of these benefits. Private agency has flourished at the expanse of public agency since contract cotton is incentivised by private contractors under flexible and farmerfriendly production regime. The latest production technology, strong capital and management base of private seed agency have left the public agency behind in the competitive race. The study has concluded that favourable changes in socio-economic and legal framework of government policies have to be encouraged for the active participation of private sector in cottonseed business and contract cottonseed farming has emerged as a viable alternative farming in the post-WTO regime.Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management,

Developing Model for Fuel Consumption Optimization in Aviation Industry

The contribution of aviation to society and economy is undisputedly significant. The aviation industry drives economic and social progress by contributing prominently to tourism, commerce and improved quality of life. Identifying the amount of fuel consumed by an aircraft while moving in both airspace and ground networks is critical to air transport economics. Aviation fuel is a major operating cost parameter of the aviation industry and at the same time it is prone to various constraints. This article aims to develop a model for fuel consumption of aviation product. The paper tailors the information for the fuel consumption optimization in terms of information development, information evaluation and information refinement. The information is evaluated and refined using statistical package R and Factor Analysis which is further validated with neural networking. The study explores three primary dimensions which are finally summarized into 23 influencing variables in contrast to 96 variables available in literature. The 23 variables explored in this study should be considered as highly influencing variables for fuel consumption which will contribute significantly towards fuel optimization. Keywords: Fuel Consumption, Civil Aviation Industry, Neural Networking, Optimizatio

Mefenamic acid and diclofenac in the treatment of menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea in dysfunctional uterine bleeding: a randomized comparative study

Background: There is a perception that Mefenamic Acid should be the preferred NSAID for menorrhagia. However, there are insufficient evidences to prove this. Further RCTs are required to compare individual NSAIDs.Purposes of the study were to assess and compare the efficacy of mefenamic acid and diclofenac in control of menorrhagia in patients with DUB, to assess and compare their analgesic effects in dysmenorrhea associated with DUB and to study their adverse effects.Methods: Sixty-eight patients were randomized into either Mefenamic Acid (n=34) or Diclofenac (n=34) group. Efficacy variables (Pictorial Blood loss Assessment Chart quantification, Number of pads used, Number of days of menstrual bleeding, Visual Analog Scale score) and adverse effects were recorded over three menstrual cycles.Results: The median reduction of menorrhagia with Mefenamic Acid was 43.39% (Range: 2.86% to 94.4%) and for Diclofenac was 57.5% (Range: 9.9% to 93.58%). The Diclofenac group showed a statistically significant decrease in median bleeding volume, median number of pads used and median number of days of bleeding compared to the Mefenamic Acid group (p<0.05, CI = 95%) but did not show a statistically significant decrease in median VAS score compared to the Mefenamic Acid group. Adverse effects with both groups were mild.Conclusions: Mefenamic Acid and Diclofenac individually managed to significantly reduce excessive bleeding compared to baseline. Diclofenac fared better than Mefenamic Acid in terms of control of excessive menstrual bleeding. Both these agents were able to reduce the menstrual pain and on comparison, were found to be equi-efficacious

Banking on the Brink: The Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis and R. K. Narayan’s Novel The Financial Expert

According to Umberto Eco, «every story tells a story that has already been told» (Eco, 1985: 19). In this context, The Financial Expert, a novel written by R. K. Narayan in 1952 shares interesting analogies with significant events and persons in the postmodern world of finance during the last twenty years or so. Narayan’s understanding of the world of finance echoes recent phenomena like the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers on 15 September 2008, the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff, a swindler during the 1990s, the Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis, etc. This paper traces analogies among them and thus opens up a fascinating world of intersections and cross-references. In this intricate world, the present and the past, the real and the fictional, the existing and the evolving – all interact with each other; and the pathways thus created invite our attention to the recurring economic phenomenon of bubble formation and its eventual burst. This paper rests on the premise that the exploration of the deeply-rooted analogical relationship between various texts can make the understanding of the world of finance more comprehensible

Recurrent decidual cast with membranous dysmenorrhea

Decidual cast is the entire sloughed endometrium that takes the form of the endometrial cavity. It causes membranous dysmenorrhea because the intact cast passes through an undiluted cervix. It may be associated with ectopic pregnancy, incomplete abortion, non-pregnant state with use of progesterone, Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), rarely with oral contraceptive pills. Authors are reporting a case of recurrent decidual caste formation with membranous dysmenorrhoea in 33 years old women P3L3 who was on norethisterone acetate treatment for a typical uterine bleed (AUB). She presented with heavy menstrual bleeding with severe dysmenorrhea in Gynae causality of ESI Basaidarapur medical college, Delhi. She expelled decidual caste and required therapeutic Dilation and Curettage (D and C) to control bleeding per vaginum. Her histopathology report showed marked decidua like change of the stroma but no villi suggestive of endometrial caste

Synthesizing and Reviewing Research Trends in Automation

The objective of this paper is to develop a thorough understanding of the evolution of automation techniques throughout its time span. To achieve this, a literature review followed by classification schemes and simple Meta analysis have been presented in this paper. The literature review was based on journals collected for the study. A total of 234 articles were selected for the study. The study yielded 37 variables which formed the basis of classification schemes. The first classification scheme was conceptual while the second was functional. The entire study was grouped into these classification schemes. The classification schemes were the foundations for performing simple Meta analysis. The analysis was done under three categories, according to classification schemes, according to year of publication and according to journals. The results show various trends of automation throughout the years. In the end, the results are discussed in detail and future areas of research are identified. Keywords: Automation techniques, Classification schemes, Meta analysis, Primary dimension

Cryptanalysis and Improvement of a Two-Factor User Authentication Scheme

Recently, Wang-Wang have discussed a two birds with one stone: two-factor authentication with security beyond conventional bound. We find that this scheme is vulnerable to the password exposure attack and also does not offer user anonymity, which is an important feature for some of the applications like e-healthcare services, e-banking, etc. In this paper, we provide the solution to these problems