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Purpose: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)-based English textbooks and question papers in developing second-language higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). Design/methodology/approach: Descriptive analysis establishes a causal relationship between learning objectives and second language (L2) writing proficiency. Content analysis is used to compare and analyze tabulated data for textbooks and question papers for the English language by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and CBSE. This method categorizes the materials and their assessments under HOTS and lower-order thinking skills to ascertain the relationship between learning objectives and L2 writing proficiency. Findings: The study highlights teaching material and assessment shortcomings and their alignment with learning outcomes to enhance students' writing skills. It underscores the need for HOTS-focused materials, discussing their impact on writing skills. The study also explores how textbook-question paper mismatch hampers Bloom's taxonomy-based cognitive skills. Practical implications: This research illuminates the efficacy of teaching and learning English as a second language (ESL) writing skills to improve the quality of education, which has real-world implications. The study highlights flaws in the educational system in India and suggests curricular and pedagogical changes. Originality/value: The research examines NCERT and CBSE ESL textbooks and question papers to align teaching and assessment methods. The results aim to improve education through ESL writers' HOTS.

Background and Aims: Highly cited papers (HCPs) can influence both research and clinical practice. They help to identify core literature and important advances in a field. This study aimed to assess the current status and prospects of South Asia COVID-19 research from the HCPs using bibliometric indicators. Methodology: COVID-19 literature from South Asia published between December 2019 and 29 November 2023 in the Scopus database was analysed. The top HCPs, having more than 200 citations, were evaluated. Information about citation counts, authors and organisations and their affiliations, year of publication, source journal, geographical origin, subject, article type, funding details, etc. were retrieved and analysed. Data and visualisation analysis was undertaken using Microsoft Excel and other bibliometric software. Results: The 298 South Asia HCPs were published from 2020 to 2023 and were cited 200–3,596 times, with a mean average of 413.9 citations per paper (CPP). Around 24.5% and 51.3% of HCPs received external funding support and were involved in international collaboration, respectively. The most productive organisations were the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, and the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, while the most impactful organisations were Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, Mumbai, and Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute, Mumbai. The most productive journals were Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews. Conclusions: This study has identified core and significant authors, organisations, journals, subject fields and significant keywords, collaborators and funding agencies involved in South Asia's COVID-19 research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim and Objectives: Although inclusive education of children with intellectual disability is currently an accepted practice, it is often challenged by negative attitude of schoolteachers. We undertook two surveillance studies aimed at Study A - identifying knowledge and teachers' attitudes towards children with intellectual disability and practices of inclusive education in a semi-urban school of South India. Study B -Determining the effect of educational intervention towards attitudes on inclusive education. Method: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice surveillance questionnaires (KAP and ATPD) were given to ninety-six consenting schoolteachers in Study A and twenty schoolteachers in Study B and analyzed. Results: In Study A, the overall attitude mean indicated a favorable attitude towards the children with intellectual disability. The mean overall attitude score was 77.1 (SD: 9.58), with a normal distribution. Forty to fifty percent were aware of intellectual disability and attributed them to biological causes. Ninety-two percent agreed on the need for education and stepwise training for a child with an intellectual disability. In real-life practice, results of classroom management were inaccurate. In Study B, knowledge, attitudes and practices towards inclusive education improved with educational intervention with a positive change of 7.19% on the ATDP scale. Conclusion: These findings suggest a generally positive attitude towards intellectual disability and inclusive education. Comprehensive training programs improve knowledge and attitudes towards inclusive education.

The pulp and paper industry is critical to global industrial and economic development. Recently, India's pulp and paper industries have been facing severe competitive challenges. The challenges have impaired the environmental performance and resulted in the closure of several operations. Assessment and prediction of the performance of the Indian pulp and paper industry using various parameters is a critical task for researchers. This study proposes a framework for performance assessment and prediction based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Artificial Neural Networks, and Deep Learning (DL) to assist industry administration and decision-making. We presented a case study based on eight industries to demonstrate the methodology's applicability. This study analyses and predicts industry performance based on sample data observations over 30 years. The result suggests the DEA-DL-based efficiency prediction has an overall MSE of 0.08 compared with the actual efficiency. Furthermore, the efficiency rankings are compared between the three techniques. The results suggest that the integrated DEA-DL method is primarily accurate in most scenarios with the actual values. The findings of this study provide a comprehensive analysis of environmental performance for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to recommend the university authorities to build better teaching-learning environment for its students to use variables and multiple note-taking methods in class for best results fundamental in each method. Design/methodology/approach: The study is a case study that follows a 'problem-driven' approach concerned specifically with providing practical solutions to real-world problems. A sample size of 320 respondents was obtained, in which 300 were university students selected from the first, second and third years of study and 20 were professors. Findings: This case study made it very obvious to all that mobile phone note-taking is a regular practice among students at Bankura University. At the same time, the study also reveals that the practice does not significantly differ based on students' sex. Research limitations/implications: Based on the findings, the study recommends for the need to educate students on the importance of paper and pencil note-taking method so that they do not fall prey to such risks. A befitting environment should be created so that students can use various methods of note-taking in classrooms avoiding their negative impacts. Practical implications: It has a wide implication in the modern age where cutting-edge technologies are shaping our course actions every day. We cannot keep ourselves from this technological association and our mobile phones have become our friend, philosopher and guide. In this scenario, this study bears a big implication in itself. Originality/value: This study is based on the authors' ground study and is purely original and unique in the true sense.

Introduction: Conflict is an inevitable fact existing in any organization and it is understood as disagreement between two parties. Conflicts in simple terms may occur when severe issues arise and fury is invoked in the communication process. Conflict arises because of misunderstanding one's words or intentions. Objectives: To analyse and interpret the most preferred and rejected management styles to deal with the industrial conflict. - To explore different conflict management approaches in the study. - To study and analyse the conflict management styles adopted by the management in JK paper mills limited. Hypothesis: - The conflict variables are not varying over the classifications of the Demographic variables of the respondents. - The conflict variables are not varying over the classifications of the Employment variables of the respondents. Need: The production deficit and supply mismatch has made this industry import dependent for finished paper. The demand for paper in India is high and increasing. The supply shortfall for this industry is estimated at 20 million tonnes by 2021. The contribution of the paper industry to the GDP is high. Hence, the researcher felt the need to conduct a study on Conflict management approaches in paper industry with reference to JK Paper Limited, one of the prime organisations in the industry in Visakhapatnam. Methodology: Sample size is 544, Convenient sampling technique is employed for sample collection. To measure the conflict variables over designation, nature of work and classification of departments, ANOVA test is employed to measure its association among variables. Findings: The categorical variables are determinants of the situation in a manufacturing organisation and form a part of internal environment. Therefore, the study concludes the conflict variables determine the style of conflict management. Conclusion: The research study is confined to the employees of select JK Paper Mills Ltd only and it can be extended to other states or cities of India where paper mills industries are situated. It could be further extended to private and public sector paper mills industry of India identifying the conflict management styles adopted in these industries and the effectiveness of conflict management in these industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a system for automatic evaluation of the quality of a question paper. Question paper plays a major role in educational assessment. The quality of a question paper is crucial to fulfilling the purpose of the assessment. In many education sectors, question papers are prepared manually. A prior analysis of a question paper might help in finding the errors in the question paper, and better achieving the goals of the assessment. In this experiment, we focus on higher education in the technical domain. First, we conducted a student survey to identify the key factors that affect the quality of a question paper. The top factors we identified are question relevance, question difficulty, and time requirement. We explored the strategies to handle these factors and implemented them. We employ various concepts and techniques for the implementation. The system finally assigns a numerical quality score against these factors. The system is evaluated using a set of question papers collected from various sources. The experimental results show that the proposed system is quite promising.

In India, cow dung is widely utilized to create formulations that serve as effective plant growth enhancers with antimicrobial properties. The cow dung-derived handmade paper manufacturing process produces two waste-liquor streams, a Raw Liquor (RL) produced through the dewatering of the cow-dung slurry and a Black Liquor (BL) produced during the soda pulping of dewatered cow dung. The present study explored the potential of these waste streams to be used as plant biofertilizers for germination and cultivation of Vigna radiata seeds (mung bean, IPM-02-03 variety). An in vitro assay for seed germination efficiency and a pot study for plant growth promotion (PGP) activity were used to assess this potential. The in vitro assay demonstrated that nutrient-rich RL, with its 100% seed germination efficiency (better than the 85.7% of tap water) was an effective biofertilizer for seed germination. In contrast, BL yielded poor seed germination efficiency. The pot study showed that water irrigation led to good seed germination, survival, plant rooting and shooting, but it was probably deprived of nutrients for inducing good grain yields. When water was replaced with RL, it was able to replicate the results, but with good grain yields. In contrast, BL produced poorer germination, seed survival and PGP results. The poor biofertilization efficiency of BL was most probably due to the nutrient losses and toxic chemicals produced in the harsh pulping process. The results showed that RL, though considered a waste stream, is sufficiently nutrient-rich to act as an effective biofertilizer for germinating mung bean seeds and promoting plant growth and grain yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally perceived that a substantial number of engineering faculty are still unaware of alternative educational methods, and many who are aware of them choose not to incorporate them into their approach to teaching. There are several likely reasons for this inertia, aside from the inevitable human resistance to change. The primary focus of imparting information is restricted to fulfilling the course requirements and, the upcoming term end examination. It is imperative to adopt a change from teaching to learning paradigm engaging the students in Higher Order Thinking Skills. Knowledge and technological advancements are changing the role of engineering and engineering faculty in the society. Engineering Education reforms need to focus on inductive teaching and stimulated learning. Students should be taught critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills to keep pace with the rapidly changing engineering profession. This paper reports the study done to test and explore the faculty awareness of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the cognitive domain and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and to evaluate question papers set by engineering faculty with respect to HOTS as proposed by Bloom's Taxonomy. Various active learning strategies to enhance critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills of the students are recommended for use by the faculty in their interactions with the students.

Farhat Hasan, Paper, Performance, and the State: Social Change and Political Culture in Mughal India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021, xv+155 pp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)-based English textbooks and question papers in developing second-language higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). Design/methodology/approach: Descriptive analysis establishes a causal relationship between learning objectives and second language (L2) writing proficiency. Content analysis is used to compare and analyze tabulated data for textbooks and question papers for the English language by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and CBSE. This method categorizes the materials and their assessments under HOTS and lower-order thinking skills to ascertain the relationship between learning objectives and L2 writing proficiency. Findings: The study highlights teaching material and assessment shortcomings and their alignment with learning outcomes to enhance students' writing skills. It underscores the need for HOTS-focused materials, discussing their impact on writing skills. The study also explores how textbook–question paper mismatch hampers Bloom's taxonomy-based cognitive skills. Practical implications: This research illuminates the efficacy of teaching and learning English as a second language (ESL) writing skills to improve the quality of education, which has real-world implications. The study highlights flaws in the educational system in India and suggests curricular and pedagogical changes. Originality/value: The research examines NCERT and CBSE ESL textbooks and question papers to align teaching and assessment methods. The results aim to improve education through ESL writers' HOTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years in India, fly ash-lime-gypsum (FaL-G) brick production has been adversely affected by the scarcity of fly ash and lime. Consequently, the current study aims to mitigate this problem. It delves into leveraging incinerated paper mill sludge ash (IPMSA) as a supplement to fly ash and lime in FaL-G brick production, aiming to present an eco-conscious alternative to conventional burnt clay bricks. It focuses on two blends: blend 1, replacing fly ash with IPMSA (2.5–30 wt%), and blend 2 substituting lime entirely with IPMSA (2.5–15 wt%). A thorough material analysis preceded brick manufacturing, involving techniques like energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry differential thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. Subsequent tests evaluated compressive strength, water absorption, weight density, percentage of voids, initial rate of suction and chemical resistance of the resulting bricks. According to the XRD results, the higher IPMSA levels didn't induce any phase transformation. Remarkably, bricks incorporating IPMSA in blend 1 (2.5–20 wt%) and blend 2 (2.5–7.5 wt%) met the mechanical properties specified for 'class 10' bricks according to Indian and ASTM standards. Incorporating IPMSA increases the porosity of bricks, making them lighter. This aids in minimizing construction expenses by reducing labour and transportation costs as well as lowering expenditure on foundation construction. This sustainable approach efficiently uses resources, reduces landfill wastes, shows potential for industrial-scale production, making eco-friendly bricks a promising alternative to traditional methods and promoting greener construction practices. • Ecofriendly FaL-G bricks were developed using incinerated paper mill sludge ash (IPMSA). • Reusability of IPMSA in FaL-G brick production poses both economic and environmental benefits. • Use of IPMSA in FaL-G brick production reduces landfill waste and addresses waste management issues. • IPMSA is suitable for up to 20 wt% for fly ash and 7.5 wt% for lime in FaL-G brick production, meeting relevant standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterial diversity in terms of structure and community profile, with special reference to water quality in the wastewater treatment plant of Indian paper industries, is poorly understood. In the present work, characterization of bacterial diversity using 16S (V3-V4 region) rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data with reference to physicochemical parameters in the wastewater treatment plant of two paper industries has been carried out. Amplicon data analysis revealed the presence of bacterial taxa belonging to the phylum such as Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Patescibacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, etc. Further, taxonomic classification upto genus level and functional analysis data indicated that genera such as Cloacibacterium, Aerococcus, Chryseobacterium, Microbacterium, Acinetobacter, Sphingobium, etc., were involved in the predicted metabolic pathways like carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid and aromatic compounds biosynthesis as well as degradation. Canonical correspondence analysis confirmed a significant correlation between the microbial pollutions loads and physicochemical parameters. Further, the chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids exceeded the acceptable limits prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board New Delhi, Government of India, for discharge of wastewater. This study finds the correlation between the bacterial community residing in the polluted water of wastewater treatment plant and their environmental preferences. The presence of these bacterial diversity in the wastewater treatment plant of paper industries may affect the maintenance as well as paper quality. In future, it will provide a benchmark for the better understanding and management of wastewater treatment plant in paper industries across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Productivity improvement is key to sustainability performance improvements of organizations. In a real-world scenario, the nature of inputs and outputs is likely to be imprecise and vague, leading to complexity in comparing firms' efficiency measurements. Implementation of fuzzy-logic based measurement systems is a method for dealing with such cases. This paper presents a fuzzy weight objective function to solve Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) CCR model for measuring paper mills' performance in India for 15 years. Design/methodology/approach: An integrated methodology is proposed to solve DEA models having fuzzy weights. The fuzzy DEA methodology is an extended version of the DEA approach that researchers have used for performance measurement purposes in imprecise and vague scenarios. The ecological performance of the paper industry is evaluated, considering some desirable and undesirable outputs. The effect of non-discretionary input on the performance of a paper mill is also analyzed. Findings: Analysis suggests that the productivity of the paper industry is improving consistently throughout the period. The comparative evaluation of methods suggests that a diverse cluster of DMUs and integration of DEA with the fuzzy logic increases the diversity in the efficiency score while DEA-DE imitates the results of CCR DEA. Originality/value: Proposed a fuzzy DEA-based analytical framework for measuring the paper industry's ecological performance in an imprecise and vague scenario. The model is tested on data from the paper industry in a developing country context and comparative performance analysis using DEA, fuzzy DEA and DE algorithm is done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advancements in technology-based payment methods have prompted central banks all over the world to consider the possible advantages and hazards of issuing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) in order to keep up with the current innovation trend. The Indian payment system is no exception to this fintech innovation trend. As a result, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) must begin considering related patterns and develop a phased implementation plan that progresses gradually through the pilot project. The present research is proposing a Pilot project on the issuance of retail e-rupee first. The research is primarily based on the normative method presenting a qualitative analysis of the creation of a digital rupee possibly like paper money and its smooth implementation. The study examines the potential effects of retail e-rupee implementation on the banking industry, monetary policy, technology architecture options, potential retail e-rupee applications, issuance methods, etc., as well as privacy issues. Thus, it will assist RBI in making policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation is one of the most difficult areas of educational pursuits. The most common type of evaluation and assessment is through a written examination. The majority of the time, questions is drafted right before the examination without going through a quality control process, which might cause confusion or incorrect interpretation of the questions by the students. Students' self-confidence and self-esteem grow as a result of their increased understanding of the question paper's structure, and they then affirm their ability to complete the task. The design of the question paper is prepared, with consideration given to the objectives, the various forms and types of questions, and the various content areas, a projected time, Level of difficulty anticipated. In order to enhance the standard of student evaluation and assessment, this article focuses on offering instructions and a scientific technique for creating effective question papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Indian pulp and paper industry is one of the fastest emerging business sector of the country which has shown tremendous growth in last few years. Governments policies are creating sustain pressure on paper industries to preserve the clean and pollution free environment at any price. As a result industries are pondering to replace the chemical bleaching processes with facile bio-based cost effective technologies. Eco-friendly bleaching enzymes like xylanases and laccases have the potential for biobleaching of wood and agro-based pulps at industrial scale. In India, enzymatic prebleaching of pulp is widely being investigated and has achieved favorable outcomes but at laboratory scales only and commercial application of enzymes for the delignification of pulp is still at budding stage. This article tends to draw the attention on significant efforts which have been continually attributed by indigenous research laboratories and industries to replace the chemical bleaching with enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retracted articles by Indian scholars have received significant attention in recent times. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted to analyse the citations of retracted papers authored by Indian researchers. This study aimed to assess the citations to retracted works published between 2001 and 2020 pre‐ and post‐retraction. The study found that there was an increase in retractions over time, with empirical data suggesting that the number of retractions has increased significantly, from 72 papers between 2001 and 2010 to 365 papers between 2011 and 2020. Duplication (n = 128) and plagiarism (n = 119) were the primary reasons for retraction. Notably, 90% of the retracted articles continued to receive citations after retraction. Among the retracted papers, eight received more than 50 post‐retraction citations, 39 received 20 to 50 citations, 347 received one to 19 citations, and 43 were not cited at all post‐retraction. There was an overall 8% decrease in citations after retraction. Retractions were observed across journals of varying impact factor, with a higher number of retractions observed in journals with an impact factor of less than 5 (n = 286; 65%). Furthermore, smaller research teams of two to five authors accounted for 72% of the total retractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources (IJNPR) is a publication of the CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR). This study makes a bibliometric assessment of the papers published in the journal from 2010 to 2020. The data was collected from the website of the journal and was analysed using MS Excel. The bibliometric assessment examines the nature and distribution of documents by their types, the geographical distribution of the papers by countries, Indian states, institutions, and authors and the impact of their productivity as reflected by the citation indicators. In addition, the trend in authorship, citations and national and international collaboration was also examined. A total of 587 documents were published during the study period, of which the majority were original research articles. Analysis revealed that during the study period, contributions from 35 countries including India were published in the journal. Maximum contributions from India were from the state of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The study also found that only a small number of papers didn’t receive any citations but a substantial number of papers (17.7%) received 6-10 citations and about 1.7% of papers received 100 or more citations. Most of the highly cited papers were reviews. The multi-authored articles were predominant, whereas the least contribution was by single authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological advancements and emergence of new kinds of communication mediums, especially social media and networks, have brought an era of unprecedented connectivity, which can be leveraged for better science communication. This paper explores social media activity around Indian research papers with the objective of evaluating if the quantum of activity is sufficient enough to indicate that social media can be an effective medium of science communication in India. In the absence of any existing survey of social media usage by scientists in India, the paper uses altmetrics as a proxy measure to capture; science communication activities around two major classes, namely, science-science connect and science-society connect. Results indicate that social media activity around Indian research papers is relatively low as compared to the developed countries and also the world average. There is a higher activity in science-science connect (Mendeley) whereas science-society connect is less pronounced (other social media and news). The paper argues that there is a need to expose Indian research community to the opportunities that social media presents and that an appropriate use can be helpful for improved science-science and science-society connects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reserve Bank of India, not to be left behind, played its part in this transformational journey, by issuing regulations and recommendations on banking mechanization and computerization. Financial sector in general and banking industry in Particular is the largest spender and beneficiary from information technology. According to John Finnerty, "Financial Innovation involves the design, the development, and the implementation of innovative financial instruments and processes, and the formulation of creative solutions to problems in finance". The various innovations in banking and financial sector are ECS, RTGS, EFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper exploits the information obtained in Annual Survey of Industries during 1999–2010 to gauge the degree of value-added owing to the use of traditional inputs (capital, labor, energy, indigenous materials, and imported materials) and advanced industrial production technology (services, information and communications technology, and pollution control equipment) in two main sub-sectors of the Pulp and Paper (P&P) industry in India categorized according to use of different types of raw material. The panel data econometric exercise confirms that the use of traditional inputs and advanced industrial technologies, and industry level determinants of the two sub-sectors have varied effects on value-added within them. These findings are important for promoting higher value-added production in different sectors within the resource-based industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The pulp and paper industry has been the focus of government policies ever since independence. This is the only industry where government plays a multi-dimensional role – not only as the regulator but also as the supplier of raw material and as the buyer. Despite the government's omnipotent role, there is evidence that industry is not very competitive, as it has very high energy and water intensity and poor productivity. A potent factor identified in the literature for the underperformance of the industry or for that matter any economy is the kind of technology used by the firms in the sector. This paper aims to look into the role of government policy in affecting the growth of the industry and what role embodied technology has played in influencing the efficiency of firms in Indian pulp and paper industry. Design/methodology/approach: For the first question, the study uses 66 years of production data of the industry from 1951 to 2016 and tests for the structural break. For the second question, the study uses cross-section plant-level data for the year 2011-2012 of 160 paper manufacturing units to first estimate the stochastic production frontier (stochastic frontier analysis [SFA]) and then uses the output of SFA to find an association between embodied technology gap (TG) and technical efficiency. A methodological problem in earlier literature is the use of the productivity gap as a proxy for embodied TG. The present study uses technical parameters of papermaking – machine deckle and operating speed – to construct an index of TG. Findings: The results show a structural break in the production trend occurring in 1999 with the delicensing in July 1997 as the possible cause. The SFA results show that the average technical inefficiency (TE) of the firms in the sector is 74 per cent with half of the firms having TE higher than 76 per cent. The study, however, does not find any impact of embodied TG on technical efficiency; rather it is the age, size, ownership and location that have an impact on it. Originality/value: This is an original research, as the author has not come across any study in Indian context or elsewhere using technical parameters to construct TG variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actinomycetes are a suitable microbial group for the synthesis of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. Enzymes that may degrade organic material, including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, are released by actinomycetes. The aim of this research was to isolate actinomycetes from Rajkot, Gujarat, India’s soil and evaluate the activity of their cellulase and Xylanase enzymes. Starch Casein Agar (SCA) was used to identify a total of 30 isolates of actinomycetes. A qualitative plate assay (CMC-Na, Congo red) revealed that the highest zone of catalysis for MMD1 was 36 mm. Five strains were discovered to be effective for quantitative quantification of endoglucanase utilising filter paper and CMC as substrates: MMD1, MMD2, MMD3, MMD4, and MMD8. Following MMD 1 (endoglucanase 5.4 IU; FPase 4.4 IU), MMD 2 (endoglucanase 4.5 IU; FPase 3.4 IU) has demonstrated considerable endoglucanase and FPase activity. Beechwood xylan was used to treat sugarcane bagasse in order to test Xylanase, and 45% of the xylan (hemicellulose) fraction was obtained. MMD1 and MMD2 measured the xylanase enzyme activity (4.8IU and 4.2IU) in quantitative and qualitative assays (34 mm and 22 mm for BWX and 32 mm and 14 mm for agro-waste xylan). The strain MMD1 was identified as Streptomyces chartreusis through morphological, biochemical, and finally molecular characterization by 16S rRNA sequencing. It was then submitted to NCBI GenBank with the accession number MT254830. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organ donation following circulatory determination of death (DCDD) has contributed significantly to the donor pool in several countries, without compromising the outcomes of transplantation or the number of donations following brain death (BD). In India, majority of deceased donations happen following BD. While existing legislation allows for DCDD, there have been only a few reports of kidney transplantation following DCDD from the country. This document, prepared by a multi-disciplinary group of experts, reviews the international best practices in DCDD and outlines the path for furthering the same in India. The ethical, medical, legal, economic, procedural, and logistic challenges unique to India for all types of DCDD based on the Modified Maastricht Criteria have been addressed. India follows an opt-in system for organ donation that does not allow much scope for uncontrolled DCDD categories I and II. The practice of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) in India is in its infancy. The process of WLST, laid down by the Supreme Court of India, is considered time-consuming, possible only in patients in a permanent vegetative state, and considered too cumbersome for day-to-day practice. In patients where continued medical care is determined to be futile following detailed and repeated assessment, the procedure for WLST, as laid down and published by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy in conjunction with leading medical experts is described. In controlled DCDD (category-III), the decision for WLST is independent of and delinked from the subsequent possibility of organ donation. Once families are inclined toward organ donation, they are explained the procedure including the timing and location of WLST, consent for antemortem measures, no-touch period, and the possibility of stand down and return to the intensive care unit without donation. While donation following neurologic determination of death (DNDD) is being increasingly practiced in the country, there are instances where the cardiac arrest occurs during the process of declaration of BD, before organ retrieval has been done. Protocol for DCDD category-IV deals with such situations and is described in detail. In DCDD category V, organ donation may be possible following unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation of cardiac arrest in the intensive care. An outline of organ-specific requisites for kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplantation following DCDD and the use of techniques such as normothermic regional perfusion and ex vivo machine perfusion has been provided. With increasing experience, the outcomes of transplantation following DCDD are comparable to those following DBDD or living donor transplantation. Documents and checklists necessary for the successful execution of DCDD in India are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have collected the data about the 507 high-cited (citations ≥ 25) papers on Covid 19 published by India using Scopus database. Within small span of time many papers have received considerable number of citations. Further we have analyzed in terms of types of papers, major funding agencies, major collaborating countries, prolific authors, productive organizations and cluster analysis of author supplied keywords. Most of the papers were research articles. Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India has funded considerable numbers of papers on Covid 19 and K. Dhama form Indian Veterinary Research Institute has contributed highest numbers papers and USA was major collaborating country and PGIMER-Chandigarh was most contributing organization. This study will be useful to the scientist/researchers to know the characteristics of high cited papers on Covid-19 from India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs about three distinct topics in pathology it discusses about the development of a lab-developed test (LDT) for multiplex HR-HPV genotyping in cervical precursor lesions, offering a cost-effective and sensitive screening test. Topic include it presents a comparative study of a rapid, economic acetic acid, Papanicolaou stain (REAP) over conventional Papanicolaou stain in oral cytology, demonstrating the efficacy of REAP as a cost-effective and rapid alternative.

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Introduction: Summative assessments play a major role in shaping the student's learning. There is little literature available on validity of summative assessment question papers in Forensic Medicine & Toxicology. This study analyses 30 question papers from 6 reputed universities for content validity. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional record-based observational study was conducted where 30 university summative question papers in Forensic Medicine & Toxicology from 6 universities across India were evaluated for content validity. The learning domain assessed, the type of questions asked, and sampling of the content was compared and presented in the results. Results: From the results of the study, it was noted that 80% weightage was allotted to recall in most papers and only one paper tested for application. 70 to 80% of the marks were allotted to Forensic Pathology leading to disproportionate sampling. Core areas in Toxicology and Medical Jurisprudence were sparsely assessed. Conclusion: The content validity of the summative question papers in Forensic Medicine and Toxicology was unsatisfactory, emphasising the need for evaluation of the clarity and efficacy of the blueprints being used by the universities. Faculty training to motivate and influence a change in the mindset is necessary to bring about a course correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crypto currency has become the buzzword these days. Accounting is yet another field where cryptocurrency has occupied its space. In India, the status of accounting for cryptocurrency still remains unclear even though few of the additions have been made in IAS. A list of varied elements exists in the accounting process, where accountants deal in the real world as there is presently no accounting standard regulated for them; one such example is crypto currency. The U.S. GAAP (General Accepted Accounting Principles) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS) has recognized Crypto currency in the present times for public firms as an account for a digital currency as an intangible asset with an unlimited life. Companies will first record crypto on the balance sheet at their cost basis in both scenarios. The goal of this research paper is to assess if there are adequate justifications for the establishment of IFRS accounting rules for crypto-assets (liabilities) and to make suggestions for possible directions in which they may go. A clear insight into the accounting and taxation is attempted in the present research paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study aims at to make a heuristic analysis of energy efficiency performance of Indian paper industry in a non-parametric production theoretic approach. Using the data for 2004–05 to 2013–14, radial and non-radial variants of DEA were employed to estimate energy saving potential and identify the relative position of paper industry across the states. Preliminary analysis in terms of energy intensity scores showed declining trends of energy intensity over the period of analysis for most of the states except states like Assam, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Punjab where it does not decline much. Assuming a variable returns to scale (VRS) technology under the conditions of inherent heterogeneity and market imperfection, the slack-based measure (SBM) reported a much higher energy saving potential than reported by other measures in the study. Further by taking scale efficiency into account, the study documented the higher contribution of pure energy inefficiency in explaining the total energy inefficiency within the paper industry relative to scale inefficiency. Finally, the study recommends the propagation of energy efficiency program through a market-based and regulatory mechanism along with consolidation and technological advancement of individual units, in order to tap vast energy saving potential and thereby ensure the growth and environmental sustainability. Highlights • The paper examined the energy efficiency performance of Indian paper industry. • Both radial (BCC) and the non-radial (SBM) measures of energy efficiency, were applied. • BCC measure reported an energy saving potential of 16%. • SBM measure reported an energy saving potential of 24%, higher than BCC measure. • Scale efficiency implied the relatively higher contribution of pure energy inefficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major cause of chronic liver disease globally and in India. The already high burden of NAFLD in India is expected to further increase in the future in parallel with the ongoing epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Given the high prevalence of NAFLD in the community, it is crucial to identify those at risk of progressive liver disease to streamline referral and guide proper management. Existing guidelines on NAFLD by various international societies fail to capture the entire landscape of NAFLD in India and are often difficult to incorporate in clinical practice due to fundamental differences in sociocultural aspects and health infrastructure available in India. A lot of progress has been made in the field of NAFLD in the 7 years since the initial position paper by the Indian National Association for the Study of Liver on NAFLD in 2015. Further, the ongoing debate on the nomenclature of NAFLD is creating undue confusion among clinical practitioners. The ensuing comprehensive review provides consensus-based, guidance statements on the nomenclature, diagnosis, and treatment of NAFLD that are practically implementable in the Indian setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Screening of hemoglobin (Hb) before blood donation is one among the vital tests. It is performed to select a blood donor to prevent the collection of blood from an anemic person. However, no accurate, cost-effective, reliable, and standardized method is available to estimate Hb. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to evaluate the efficacy of filter paper cyanmethemoglobin (FPCH) method with the automated hematology analyzer in the estimation of Hb concentration for screening of a suitable donor. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional study in which the blood samples of 2000 patients visiting KLE's Dr. Prabhakar Kore Charitable Hospital, Belagavi, were collected in vials and directly estimated for Hb using automated hematology analyzer. To evaluate the efficacy of FPCH, 20 μL of blood sample was transferred onto Whatman filter paper and dried at room temperature. After drying, it was placed in 5 mL of Drabkin's solution for 30 min. Optical density was estimated by measuring the absorbance. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The correlation coefficient, paired t-test, and difference between the means of both the methods were calculated. RESULTS: The mean Hb estimated by FPCH was 11.25 g/dL and automated hematology analyzer gave 11.35 g/dL. The difference in the means of both the methods was 0.1 g/dL. Paired t-test was done to test the level of significance and the result was 8.151 (95% confidence interval: 0.08–0.13 g/dL, P < 0.001). The correlation coefficient was found to be 0.976 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: FPCH is an efficient method, which is comparable to the automated hematology analyzers for Hb estimation. It could be used as an alternative screening tool for detection of Hb in a blood donation camp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrarian investment behavior on paper or Demat gold by private investors, India as a country cherishes the status of holding a large number of private investors in gold. Gold as a common term usually takes to the picture of multiple shaped ornaments made up of shiny yellow metal carrying huge value in society since ages to explore the search bit wider gives the option of Gold available in paper or Demat format. The concept of paper gold which has value without physical existence is quite a new concept to the current existing trend. The study focuses on such contrarian investment and their behavioral science on financial investment in the Indian Market amidst COVID-19 Pandemic. The objective of the study is to identify independent factors influence on contrarian investment on paper gold and investor's psychological behavior on decision making when rejecting the current trends over new instrument or investment pattern. This paper also identifies the role of gender in gold investment pattern and knowledge on gold being private investors who care higher rate of risk. The study has been conducted with the sample of 110 individuals through structured questionnaire and with the help of statistical tools "two way anova and correlation" has been carried. The study concluded how the contrarian investment was not based on the age of a private investor but qualification makes much difference on their behaviorin the Indian Market amidst COVID-19 Pandemic and the same type of influence on gender over preference of gold is limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Every year the scientific sessions of Annual National Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS) are marked by presentation of free papers, posters, and award paper sessions, which are usually meant for presentation of new research which is not yet published. Hence, it is expected that these papers will be published in near future so that the scientific literature is distributed and shared with wider audience. Aim: This paper aims to evaluate the abstract to publication rate of papers presented during ANCIPS in the years 2012–2014. Materials and Methods: For this study, all the free papers, posters, and award papers presented during the ANCIPS of 2012–2014 were listed, and electronic searches were carried out to search for published articles. In addition, one of the authors of papers not found in the electronic searches were contacted through E-mail. Results: A total of 1081 papers were presented during the ANCIPS in the 3 year period under study. Of these, 64 were award papers, 622 were free papers, and 395 were posters. Majority (n = 807; 74.6%) of these could be categorized as research data-based presentations; this was followed by case reports/series (203; 18.8%), review of literature (n = 35; 3.3%), and others (n = 36; 3.3%). Overall, only 27% of the papers were published after at least 5 years of the presentation. Of all the award papers, 69.6% of papers were published, whereas only 26.8% of free oral papers and 22.5% of free posters were published. About half (45.6%) of the papers were published in national journals. In terms of indexing, among those which were published, 62.8% were published in Medline-indexed (PubMed-listed) Journals with a mean impact factor of 1. Conclusion: The present study shows that only 27% of the abstracts presented during the ANCIPS are ultimately published as full text articles in the next 5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to bring out the contributions, funding and un-funding publications in the field of Mechatronics in global scenario. The study focuses on country-wise distribution, funding and un-funding in the field of Mechatronics paper publications, type of documents, top funding agencies and top funding journals. Compared to other subjects of science and technology the field of Mechatronics has seen considerably less number of papers being published. Statistics shows that approximately 1% of publications are done in the world as compared to 30 to 35 percent in other fields. The total number of published papers in the said field is3,359 with 46,043 citations. USA shares the highest portion with a total of 413 (12.27%) published papers and 7,157 (15.55%) citations, India stands twenty-fifth with total paper publications of 53 (1.58%) and 693 (1.51%) citations during a period of 20 years from 2001 to 2020. Out of 3,359 papers with 46,034 citations, 1,446 (43.05%) papers with 17,972 (39.04%) citations received funding and the remaining 1,913 (56.95%) papers with 28,062 (60.96%) citations received un-funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nutrient deficiency after malabsorptive bariatric procedure is a common phenomenon. The study aims to determine the prevalence of nutritional insufficiencies (specific with Ascorbic acid, Cobalamin, calciferol and calcium) in obese population opting for One Ananstomosis Gastric Bypass surgery (OAGB), and also to understand the association of these nutrients with change in Body Mass Index (BMI) after the surgery. Methods: One hundred fifty subjects comprising males and females aged 20-60 years were randomly selected at a bariatric center in India. Subjects belonged to both grade III and grade II obesity. Plasma aa, serum vitB12, serum VitD3 and serum calcium concentrations were prospectively assessed at 0m, 3m, and 6m of surgery through high-performance liquid chromatography. Result: The values of nutrients beyond the standard levels are considered as deficiency. Both follow up values showed a significant increase in cobalamin, Calciferol, and ascorbic acid levels compared to baseline data. Conclusion: Nutrition depletion and deficiency are often seen in post bariatric cases. The contributing factors included high BMI, food intolerance, and non-adherence to supplements and correct dietary regimens. With the correction of weight and comorbidities, the levels also showed a stable and positive level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's scenario of India most of the youth is preparing for some competitive exam. If we think behind 15–20 years the number of candidates appearing for competitive exams were in thousands but as the population is increasing exponentially in India day by day the number of candidates is increasing in lacks. We can observe by daily newspapers that most of the competitive exams are facing paper leak problems. Although online examination systems are more effective and secure as compared to offline examination systems because it's not easy to open the question paper before the time starts. On the other hand there are also various consequences where the examination process can be hacked online. But the main issue with online examination process is to lack of resources to conduct parallel examination of millions of candidates, lack of techno enabled exam centers in small cities etc. Our focus is to propose a system in which offline examination can be conducted at most of the govt. and private centers in metro cities as well as small techno backward cities with reduced possibility to leak the paper before commencement of examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to find the quality of research papers published in the domain of entrepreneurship in India. This study covers 100 research papers. A standardized measurement tool developed by the earlier researchers was used to evaluate the research quality. The data compiled using the measurement tool were analyzed with the support of the SPSS. The statistical tools such as descriptive statistics, Friedman's test, factor analysis, two-sample 't' test, and ANOVA are applied to analyze the data. The study findings reported that the quality of research papers published in the field of entrepreneurship is not up to the quality standards. The quality of multiple-author papers is better than single-author papers. Similarly, the quality of papers published by foreign authors is comparatively better than Indian authors. Further, the quality of papers published with the combination of foreign and Indian authors is substantially good. The quality of papers published in foreign journals is higher as compared with Indian journals. Further, the standard of papers published under the qualitative approach was comparatively better than the quantitative approach. The authors developed a Conceptual Model of Process and Product of Research (YOVA model). This model clearly shows that the whole research process yields six levels of research products. The study recommended that the researchers need to go for international collaborations to improve the quality of the publication. The funding agencies, higher learning institutions and research institutions should focus on enhancing research infrastructure. The study examined the validity of research articles searched by novice researchers in India in Google by using keywords related to entrepreneurship and, as such this non-focused approach is a big impediment to quality research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in the medical field and healthcare sector during the last few decades have resulted in increased longevity. Increased lifespans have in turn led to a rapid global rise of the elderly population. However, ensuring the health and quality of life, especially in the context of chronic age-related ailments, among the growing geriatric population is a challenge. Ageing is associated with several changes in body composition including a decline in the lean body mass usually accompanied by an increase in body fat content which have a bearing on the nutrient requirements for the elderly. The nutrient requirements currently recommended for Indian adults are primarily computed using a factorial approach, that considers the cumulative loss of nutrients and is adjusted for optimal body weights and bioavailability. It is logical that physiological and metabolic changes associated with ageing influence several of these factors: body weight, lean mass, energy expenditure, nutrient retention and bioavailability and thus alter nutrient requirements compared to the adult population. Acknowledging these age-related changes, some international organizations have suggested nutrient requirements specific to the elderly. Given the contextual differences in physiology, caution needs to be exercised in adopting these guidelines for the Indian elderly. In addition, in the Indian context, there is sparse information on the diet and nutrient intakes vis-à-vis nutritional status and physiology of the elderly. This status paper highlights some of the pertinent issues related to nutritional requirements for the elderly that advocate a need for deriving nutritional requirements for the elderly in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes 5046 research publications in physical science that Haryana had published during the last ten years (2005-14). The publications data was sourced from Scopus International database. The findings reveal that Haryana registered 14.28% growth per year and citation impact of 6.0 citations per paper. Haryana's research output in physical science accounted for 19.42% state share and 1.72% country share in S&T during 2005-14. Nearly 13.5% of Haryana's output appeared as International collaborative papers. Chemistry and physics & astronomy accounted for the largest share (37.38% and 33% respectively). The top 20 most productive organizations of Haryana accounted for 83.25% and 86.12% publication and citation share, registered average productivity of 210.5 papers per organization, averaged 6.20 citations per paper, h-index of 13.85, and averaged 10.95% share as international collaborative papers of during 2005-14. The top 20 most productive authors from Haryana-based organizations accounted for 22.39% publications share, 31.75% citations share, registered average productivity of 56.5 papers per author, averaged 8.50 citations per paper, h-index of 11.85%, and 8.67% share as international collaborative papers during 2005-14. Nearly 18% of Haryana's papers in physical science were reported in top 20 journals during 2005-14. Haryana contributed 18 highly cited papers with 100 + citations per paper. Together these 18 papers cumulated 3129 citations, with an average of 173.83 citations per paper during 2005-14. In all, 135 authors (19 foreign) and 66 organizations (13 foreign) had participated in contributing these 18 highly cited papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a quantitative and qualitative description of machine learning research in India using measures such as growth rate, global publication share, national-level share of international collaborative papers, citations per paper, and highly cited papers. The data for the study was sourced from Scopus database covering 12-year period 2006-17. The study finds that the United States is the world leader in the machine learning research, followed by China, United Kingdom, Germany, and India. India registered 52.46% annual growth in the subject, more than twice that of the world (22.03%). India's citation impact was 5.34 citations per paper and its national share of highly cited papers was 0.68% (27 papers). The leading Indian research organizations in machine learning research include Vellore Institute of Technology, Anna University, Chennai, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Bangalore, and so on. The top 15 journals that accounted for 31.46% of India's output include International Journal of Machine Learning and Cybernetics (with 82 papers), International Journal of Applied Engineering Research (77 papers), Journal of Machine Learning Research (46 papers), Neurocomputing (44 papers), and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The word inventory in accounting language refers to the stocks of the product (finished goods) of a firm offering for sale. In a manufacturing concern, it may include raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods and stores. Raw materials consist of those units or input which are used to manufacture goods that require further processing to give a shape of finished goods. Finished goods are products ready for sale. Inventory should neither be too low to effect the production adversely nor too high to block the funds unnecessarily. About 90 per cent part of working capital is invested in inventories. Therefore, it is necessary for management to give proper attention to inventory management. A proper planning of purchasing, handling, storing and accounting should form a part of inventory management. In India, there are 759 pulp and paper mills in India as on March, 2014 with an installed capacity of 12.7 MTPA (Million Tons Per Annum), producing around 10.90 MTPA paper, paper board and newsprint. The production is anticipated to grow up to 14.0 MTPA by the year 2016. The average annual turnover of the industry is approximately ₨ 30,000 crores, which accounts for approximately 0.37% of the national GDP. It contributes ₨ 3000 crores to exchequer and provides direct employment opportunities to about 0.37 Million people and indirect employment of over 1.2 Million people. The Indian paper share in World's production is just 2.6% only. In this connection, inventory is the major role play in the production process. Hence there is need to study the inventory management in paper industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this response to commentaries by Ali Sammel, Jhumki Basu and Alberto Rodriguez, I present my perspective on three important issues raised by the commentators. These issues relate to the role of a researcher in her field settings and society, the critique of science and science education as oppressive dominant discourses, and co-opting participants as researchers. I argue that researchers should work actively for progressive change in discursive fields such as educational research, in which they are firmly embedded rather than playing an interventionist role in field settings where their discursive positionality maybe temporary and not that rooted. Regarding the critique of science and science education, my response favors a perspective wherein an understanding of the marginalization and oppression of non-western communities caused by western science and science education is counterbalanced by an appreciation of the ways in which marginalized communities can use science and science education for affecting progressive change. Lastly, I recognize the value of co-opting participants in writing and communication of research. [Abstract presented in both English and Hindi.]

A Bibliometric Study of Communications Published in Journal of Informetrics from 2012 to 2016. This research study demonstrates a bibliometric study of scholarly communication published by Ahmedabad Library Network (ADINET) in proceedings of annual conference (seminar). ADINET celebrates Librarian's Day every year to commemorate the birthday of Dr. S R Ranganathan by organizing seminar in Gujarat, a leading state of India. This bibliometric study is intended to bring out the results of seminar proceedings published by ADINET from 2005 to 2019. This study investigated 176 papers published in Proceedings of ADINET seminar during 15 years. Study revealed that most of authors prefers to write for this seminar as a single author and out of 176 research papers 119 papers are written as single author whereas 36 papers found with double author and 21 papers published with three authors. It is also found from the study that Rashmi Kumbar and Shailesh Yagnik both are prominent authors whereas Gujarat is leading state published a maximum number of papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]