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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]

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]

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 extended frozen semen (EFS) batches produced from infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) sero-positive cattle and buffalo bulls housed in various semen stations in India are transported to the testing laboratory in liquid nitrogen (LN 2 ) for screening bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1). This procedure is laborious and poses LN 2 related hazards. An alternative logistics for transportation of samples was investigated. Use of Flinders Technology Associates (FTA ® ) elute card was evaluated for transportation of extended bovine semen to screen BoHV-1 DNA by real-time PCR targeting gB gene and the method was compared with the OIE approved Chelex resin based method. A protocol for extraction of BoHV-1 DNA from FTA ® card spotted with extended semen was optimized. The viral DNA was found to be stable on FTA ® card for at least 28 days when the cards are stored at 4°-37 °C. The analytical sensitivity for the assay was determined using variable dilutions of BoHV-1 spiked semen and positive plasmid harbouring gB gene (97bp) spotted onto FTA ® card and it was found to be 10 0.8 TCID 50 /ml or 100 copies respectively in real-time PCR. The test could detect as low as 10 0.008 TCID 50 /ml or 1 copy of positive plasmid when more number of replicates (n = 6) of the same sample were tested. This sensitivity was found to be comparable to Chelex method and both the methods demonstrated a very strong correlation (r = 0.9774; 95% CI: 0.9620-0.9860) in terms of Ct value (p < 0.0001). The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the FTA method in comparison to the Chelex method was 83.08% (95% CI: 71.73%-91.24%) and 93.23% (95% CI: 89.38%-96.01%) respectively when 316 samples were screened by both the methods. The degree of agreement between these two tests was good (Kappa value: 0.738; 95% CI: 0.646-0.829). The method was found to be robust and highly repeatable in inter-assay and intra-assay precision testing. The result suggests that the FTA ® card holds promise as an alternative system for transportation of EFS for downstream screening of BoHV-1 DNA., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: This study aimed to assess the current status of India's COVID-19 research from the top 100 most cited papers, using bibliometrics methods and indicators and suggest strengths and weaknesses., Methodology: Publications on COVID-19 research from India between December 2019 and 22 August 2023 were retrieved from the Scopus database. From 37101 studies retrieved, the first top 100 Highly Cited Papers (HCPs) having received 270 to 2931 citations, were identified., Results: The top 100 most cited Indian papers were published from 2020 to 2023, with the majority (75) in the year 2021, followed by 24 in 2022. They were cited a total of 56661 times (average - 566.61 times). The 242 authors of these HCPs were from 159 Indian organizations, and the articles were published in 60 journals. 29 % and 59 % of these HCPs received external funding support and were involved in international collaborations, respectively. There was poor collaboration among Indian research institutions and a dearth of funding from India. None of the Indian HCPs figured in the global 100 HCPs., Conclusions: Although citations of research papers published from India increased during COVID-19, limited collaboration, inadequate funding, and subpar publications hindered Indian scientists. To enhance India's research landscape, we propose dismantling barriers, nurturing collaboration, and encouraging knowledge exchange among domestic institutions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All the authors hereby declare that there is conflict of interest regarding this manuscript & no funding was received from any source. We declare that this manuscript has been solely submitted to this journal and is not under consideration by any other journal. All the research presented in this paper is original., (Copyright © 2023 Research Trust of DiabetesIndia (DiabetesIndia) and National Diabetes Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation (N-DOC). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a debilitating viral infection causing a dermatomal vesicular rash. Many known risk factors exist in India and adults >50 years of age may be especially susceptible to HZ. However, HZ is not a notifiable disease in India and data on incidence and disease burden is lacking. An Expert Consensus Group meeting was conducted with experts from relevant specialties to discuss HZ disease, its local epidemiology, and suggestions for implementing HZ vaccination in the Indian healthcare system. Currently, there is lack of patient awareness, poor reporting practices and general negligence in the treatment of the disease. HZ patients generally approach their general physicians or specialists for diagnosis, which is usually based on patient history and clinical symptoms. Recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) has >90% efficacy and is recommended in adults ≥50 years of age to prevent HZ in the United States. Despite RZV being approved for use, it is not yet available in India. India has a growing elderly population with known risk factors for HZ like immunosuppression, and co-morbidities like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This indicates the need for a targeted immunization program in India. Meeting also emphasized adult vaccine availability and accessibility in the country.

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]