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Natural radionuclide levels are studied in alluvial sediments upto the depth of 900 cm. Eighteen profiles are selected from agricultural and undisturbed areas and analysed by gamma-ray spectrophotometer. Levels were found to vary significantly with depth and higher concentration is observed in agricultural samples till the depth of 600 cm and values are comparable after this depth, indicating role of anthropogenic activities on radionuclide enrichment in agricultural areas. However, value is higher than global average at both sites, indicating their geogenic presence. Elemental ratio and multi-statistical analysis are utilized to assess the behaviour of radionuclides involved. Radiological hazard risk assesment is also carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The healthcare system of a country is primarily responsible for delivering essential health services to its population. This commentary attempts to review the adequacy of the current Indian healthcare system in light of secondary data. It seemed that the existing system is still lacking behind in terms of infrastructure, manpower as well as utilisation of available services, the result of which is clearly visible through the poor health outcomes. With several new initiatives at present times, there is still hope for improvements. Considering the fiscal constraints and the trend of the epidemiological transition witnessed in India, it seems the only key for accomplishing the Universal Health Coverage goals is efficient management of resources. A strong collaboration between public and private sector for effective resource management will address the existing gaps in the system in a more efficient manner. In addition to that the government will have to play the role of facilitator as well as strict regulator in order to maintain proper balance in the health care system and trim out the conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The farm accounting practice in India is said to be in its infant stage. This paper seeks to examine the rationale for a full-fledged farm accounting practice in the country. Literature reveals a strong relationship between the degrees of commercialization with that of the adoption of accounting practices. Therefore, the study attempts to examine the commercial traits in Indian farms, which genuinely envisage such practices in the sector. Thereafter, the existing practices of accounting in India are discussed by underscoring the measurement and valuation techniques of different farm account heads. Lastly, the study tries to draw attention to certain lacunas in the existing system. These are drawn using the authors' own observations, supported by past research. As outcomes of the study, a considerable commercial appeal is seen in the Indian farm sector. Certain farm accounts heads and their respective treatments are provided to explore the existing system of farm accounting in the country. The drawbacks of present practice are found in terms of recognition, measurement and presentation of financial data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, many highly leveraged companies in Indian corporate sector followed the route of disposal of their non-core assets to reduce the debt burden. 'Non-core assets' means the assets not used in core business operations. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework about the non-core assets, its relevance and fill the gap in disclosure requirement in companies' financial statements in this regard. Existing disclosure requirements limit the information availability regarding the holding of non-core assets on the face of the balance sheet statement as well as in notes to accounts. The paper using the existing literature, in addition to information available in Revised Schedule VI to the Companies Act 1956 and Indian Accounting Standards 1, 6 and 10, finds that disposal of non-core assets during the turbulent times are one of the common practices. However, there are lacunas in the disclosure requirements regarding the noncore assets in company's financial statements. The findings of the present study may attract the attention of various users of financial statements and may form the base for revising the disclosure norms in this regard to bring greater transparency. The study is a pioneering attempt to examine the possibility of showing each class of fixed tangible asset under the heads 'core assets' and 'non-core assets' to facilitate better decision making and compliance with the conventional wisdom of transparency, corporate governance and full disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the financial sustainability of the Indian Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) post-Andhra Pradesh (AP) crisis Design/methodology/approach -- Regression analysis is used to test the significance of the independent variables on the variable of interest, i.e. the operational self-sustainability. Three-stage regression analysis, i.e. Partial F-test, residual analysis and Box-Cox-type transformations is applied to see the impact of the variables on financial sustainability of the Indian MFIs. The study is based on the data of the Indian MFIs during three fiscal years from 2010-2011 to 2012-2012 reported in the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX). Findings -- The authors' results indicate that in 2010-2011, the linear regression model seems to be good fit to the data, whereas in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, the appropriateness of the linear regression models seems questionable (the error distribution seems to be skewed). It is observed that square root of the dependent variable exhibits adequate fit for 2011 and 2012. Therefore, a substantial change in the model for estimating sustainability of Indian MFIs is observed in the post-AP crisis era. It is observed that portfolio quality and capital management are important determinants for the financial sustainability of the MFIs. Practical implications -- This study identifies the factors affecting the sustainability of the Indian MFIs, especially after the reforms following the AP crisis in India. The study suggests that from 2012-2013, the factors such as write-off ratio, capital-to-asset ratio, ratio of financial revenue to assets and provision for loan impairment-to-asset ratio are the main factors which have significant impact on the operational self-sufficiency (OSS) of Indian MFIs. This indicates that the quality of portfolio must be improved to reduce the vulnerability of the Indian MFIs. Social implications -- After the AP crisis, the performance of Indian MFIs is stabilized to a greater extent. The various performance indicators are improving. Originality/value -- The paper provides a detailed comparative analysis of the factors effecting financial sustainability of the Indian MFIs, before and after the regulatory reforms in 2011. A substantial change is observed after 2011-2012. Such a study on the Indian microfinance sector seems to be new (to the best of the authors' knowledge). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberalization of the insurance market in India gave entry to many private insurers, resulting in drastic changes in respect to people's choice of companies. With the expansion of the market, insurance penetration and density of the country are getting better, leading to a competition within the companies in terms of policies sold, collection of premium income, settlement of claims and others. Companies are employing different marketing channels, apart from the conventional channel of marketing through individual agents, to stay in the competition. The present paper is thus an attempt to highlight the performance of life insurance market in terms of different parameters, and also to throw light on the different marketing channels employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rise in temperature is a cause of major concern across the globe. Through this study an attempt is made to project the corresponding carbon dioxide emissions and temperature variation in India using Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average Model on past 44 years' data for predicting the future demand of petroleum oil, coal and natural gas in India. It is anticipated that the total demand for petroleum products will double by the year 2020 growing at a rate of 3.5 percent per year. The consumption of coal has witnessed an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent and the growth of natural gas is likely to be highest among all at 5.1 percent. In total, the fossil fuel consumption seems to grow at the rate of 4 percent per annum. This may cause the CO2 level to rise to one and half times by the year 2020 in comparison to that of 2008 level thus causing an increase in the surface temperature by 0.0008 percent per annum. However, the level of carbon dioxide emission and the increase in temperature can be controlled by replacing the petroleum oil and coal consumption with natural gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to forecast the level of car ownership in Delhi, the capital city of India up to the year 2021. The in-sample forecasting is based on estimation of logistic and Gompertz distributions using annual data of car ownership from the year 1965-66 to 2000-2001 under three alternative saturation levels viz. 25, 33 and 50 cars per 100 persons, the saturation levels being evolved from household size. It is observed that, by the year 2020-21, the car ownership level will touch the mark of 14 and 17 cars per 100 persons in Delhi under the saturation levels 25 and 50 respectively. This study will be useful for planners, policy makers and researchers in the area of transport, energy and road for realistic view of the subject and for the planning of appropriate strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to estimate the future growth of personal vehicles and to project the subsequent increase in petrol demand and carbon monoxide emission in Delhi. Based on the data from 1965-1966 to 2005-2006 of four-wheelers and two-wheelers, a long-term trend in the growth of personal vehicles is projected up to the year 2020-2021. The logistic model fits well in projecting the growth of four-wheelers, and the Gompertz model is better in the case of two-wheelers. It is found that the total number of personal vehicles will increase from 4.5 million in 2005-2006 to 10.62 million in 2020-2021, with increasing share of four-wheelers. In 2020-2021, the projected growth of personal vehicles will demand nearly double the quantity of petrol in comparison with the level of 2005-2006. Similarly, carbon monoxide emission will increase to 2.5 times more than the 2005 level. The conversion of four-wheelers from petrol engine into compressed natural gas engine will reduce the petrol demand marginally, but carbon monoxide emission will decrease significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SMEs around the globe are often challenged by the issues related to productivity enhancement, material usage, waste management and sustainability. Material flow cost accounting (MFCA) is considered as a green productivity tool that can be utilised by SMEs to overcome these challenges. Despite the benefits, its adoption among SMEs, especially in developing countries, remains low. The purpose of this research is to examine how MFCA can be suitably implemented in an SME set-up to improve the financial and environmental performance of the enterprise. This study utilises case based research methodology to exemplify the application of MFCA tool in an Indian steel pipes and tubes manufacturing SME. As a part of MFCA analysis, material cost, system cost and energy cost at each quantity center was calculated to identify inefficiencies in the production process of the SME. Thereafter, several solutions were implemented to address these inefficiencies. The result of the MFCA implementation showed an overall annual savings of 21,028,452 INR (USD 302,350) through an investment of 495,400 INR (USD 7123). The present study reveals that the application of MFCA tool leads to higher productivity, better energy efficiency and improved environmental performance. The SME's performance was also monitored for five years to study the long-term benefits of MFCA implementation. The findings suggest that, post MFCA implementation, the return on invested capital of the SME increased by 29.37% and the material usage cost reduced by 26.58%. This research would be beneficial to managers, practitioners, and policymakers for effectively implementing MFCA in SMEs. • The study exemplifies application of MFCA tool in an Indian SME through a case-based research. • MFCA implementation resulted in improved financial and environmental performance. • The SME had an overall savings of USD 302,350 with an investment cost of USD 7123. • Return on capital investment (ROIC) of the SME improved by 29.37%. • Material usage during manufacturing operations of the SME reduced by 26.58%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to develop a PAN India database of medicinal plants along with their phytochemicals and geographical availability. The database consists of 6959 unique medicinal plants belonging to 348 families which are available across 28 states and 8 union territories of India. The database sources the information on four different sections – traditional knowledge, geographical indications, phytochemicals, and chemoinformatics. The traditional knowledge reports the plant taxonomy with their vernacular names. A total of 27,440 unique phytochemicals associated with these plants were curated from various sources in this study. However, due to the non-availability of general information like IUPAC names, InChI key, etc. from reliable sources, only 22,314 phytochemicals have been currently reported in the database. Various analyses have been performed for the phytochemicals which include analysis of physicochemical and ADMET properties calculated from open-source web servers using in-house python scripts. The phytochemical data set has also been classified based on the class, superclass, and pathways respectively using NPClassifier, a deep learning framework. Additionally, the antiviral potency of the phytochemicals was also predicted using two machine learning models – Random Forest and XGBoost. The database aims to provide accurate and exhaustive data of the traditional practice of medicinal plants in India in a single platform integrating and analyzing the rich customary practices and facilitating the development and identification of plant-based therapeutics for a variety of diseases. The database can be accessed at https://neist.res.in/osadhi/. [Display omitted] • OSADHI is a PAN India database of medicinal plants and phytochemicals. • OSADHI reports highest number of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals in India. • Traditional knowledge, physiochemical properties, ADMET, classification, structures, are some major insights. • State-wise and Union Territory-wise availability of each medicinal plant has been reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fly ash can be used for neutralization of acid mine drainage (AMD). • AMD neutralization was tested in experiments with fly ash from India and the U.S. • The effectiveness of AMD neutralization depends on oxides contents in fly ash. • AMD neutralization by fly ash removes cationic but mobilizes oxyanion elements from fly ash. • The magnitude of effluents contamination depends on trace metals in the fly ash. • Class-F Appalachian and Illinois fly ash can effectively neutralize AMD but would induce water contamination. Subsurface coal mining often induces the formation of acid mine drainage (AMD) in active and abandoned coal mines while coal combustion generates coal combustion residuals (CCR), including fly ash (FA), with elevated levels of toxic metals. Decades of AMD and CCR production have caused major environmental and human health impacts. Given the typically elevated level of oxides in FA, previous studies have examined its potential to neutralize AMD and remove the associated metals. While the neutralization of AMD through reaction with FA has been demonstrated to successfully remove cationic metals, the fate of oxyanion forming elements are less well studied and is the focus of this study. Here we conducted 49 different experiments in which simulated AMD solutions were interacted with representative U.S. (n = 7) and Indian (n = 6) FA samples through controlled liquid to solid ratios in short-term (24 h) and long-term (up to 5 weeks) lab-scale experiments. We show that Class-F FA, originating from Gondwana and Northeastern Tertiary coals in India, has limited neutralization capacity, while Class-C FA, with high CaO and MgO contents from Powder River coals in the U.S. has the greatest AMD neutralization capacity among the studied fly ashes. The neutralization experiments show that AMD-FA reactions cause the removal of cationic elements (i.e., Fe, Mn, and Al) from solution, while at the same time, leaching oxyanion forming elements (i.e., As, Se, Mo, Cr, B, Tl, and Sb) from the FA, increasing the potential environmental risks from the treated leachates. The magnitude of mobilization of these elements depends on their concentrations in the FA and the pH conditions. We show that using FA from the Appalachian and Illinois coals efficiently neutralizes AMD, but also results in secondary contamination of the treated effluents with oxyanion forming elements to levels exceeding drinking water and ecological standards, which could contaminate the ambient environment, whereas neuralization with Powder River Basin Class-C FA induces only limited contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rich biodiversity of North East India is one of the recognized biodiversity hotspots of the world. This region comprises of eight states (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura) with diverse ethnic communities having invaluable traditional knowledge/practices, passed through genesis. The medicinal plants in this region are rich in natural products/phytochemicals and have been used extensively by pharmaceutical industries. The present study is an attempt to develop a comprehensive resource of the medicinal plants with a quantitative analysis of the phytochemicals which can enhance knowledge on therapeutic indications and contribute in drug discovery and development. The database is a collection of 561 unique plants comprising of 9225 phytochemicals. The physiochemical properties of the phytochemicals were analyzed using indigenous python scripts whereas for the ADMET properties, open access servers were used. The data available in NEI-MPDB will help to connect the cutting-edge approach of various research groups and will help to translate the information into economic wealth by the pharmaceutical industries. The database is openly accessible at https://neist.res.in/neimpdb/., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Proton ( 1 H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy based analytical method for the quantification of capsaicin (major pungent principle of chili) has certain advantages including short data acquisition time and better structural authentication. Earlier NMR methods are associated with either of the bottlenecks such as low or lack of information on the sensitivity and scope for the quantification of total capsaicinoid., Objective: To develop a sensitive 1 H quantitative NMR (qNMR) technique for capsaicin and total capsaicinoid in dry chili and chili oleoresin and to demonstrate its applicability in a real sample set., Method: A 1 H qNMR method was developed using benzene as the internal standard for the quantification of capsaicin (terminal methyl signal) as well as total capsaicinoid (benzyl methylene signal) in dry chili and oleoresin and validated in terms of specificity, linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision., Results: The developed 1 H qNMR method was specific, sensitive (limit of detection 4.4 μg/mL and limit of quantitation 14.8 μg/mL), linear in the range 0.083-8.33 mg/mL of capsaicin, accurate and precise. The credibility of the developed method was showcased in the morpho-chemical characterisation of commercially available 15 chili land races from northeast India. The analysis identified the land races with a wide range of capsaicin (trace to 1.49% in the dry fruit and trace to 6.21% in the oleoresin w/w) and oleoresin content (3.35-26.78% w/w)., Conclusion: The standardized 1 H qNMR method facilitated the findings of chemical basis for the selection of chili land races from this region, capable of producing high-yielding oleoresin with intended degree of pungency., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) associated Head and Neck Cancers (HNCs) have generated significant amount of research interest in recent times. Due to high incidence of HNCs and lack of sufficient data on high-risk HPV (hr-HPV) infection from North -East region of India, this study was conceived to investigate hr-HPV infection, its types and its association with life style habits such as tobacco, alcohol consumption etc., Methods: A total of one hundred and six primary HNC tumor biopsy specimens were collected. These samples were analyzed for hr-HPV DNA (13 HPV types) using hybrid capture 2 (HC2) assay and genotyping was done by E6 nested multiplex PCR (NMPCR)., Results: The presence of hr-HPV was confirmed in 31.13% (n = 33) and 24.52% (n = 26) of the HNC patients by nested multiplex PCR (NMPCR) and HC2 assay respectively. Among hr-HPV positive cases, out of thirteen hr- HPV types analyzed, only two prevalent genotypes, HPV-16 (81.81%) followed by HPV-18 (18.18%) were found. Significant association was observed between hr-HPV infection with alcohol consumption (p <0.001) and tobacco chewing (p = 0.02) in HNC cases. Compared to HPV-18 infection the HPV-16 was found to be significantly associated with tobacco chewing (p = 0.02) habit., Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that tobacco chewing and alcohol consumption may act as risk factors for hr-HPV infection in HNCs from the North-East region of India. This was the first study from North-East India which also assessed the clinical applicability of HC2 assay in HNC patient specimens. We suggest that alcohol, tobacco and hr- HPV infection act synergistically or complement each other in the process of HNC development and progression in the present study population.

Background: Acute leukemia is a heterogenous disease having diverse phenotypes. Immunophenotyping by flowcytometry is essential for diagnosis of myeloid and lymphoid subtypes. Aberrant phenotype incidence is controversial and dissimilar results have been reported by different groups., Objectives: Purpose of the study was to determine the incidence of aberrant phenotypes in North East Indian patients with acute leukemia., Methods: We analysed a total of 100 cases (AML = 36, ALL = 61, MPAL = 3) by multiparametric flow cytometry using an acute panel of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs). The MoAbs were selected to identify differentiation-associated antigens of both myeloid and lymphoid lineages., Results: Aberrant phenotypes were found in 21 (58.3%) cases of AML, 36 (59.2%) cases of B-ALL and 6 (66.7%) cases of T-ALL. CD7 was the most frequent lymphoid associated antigen found in 33% of AML cases while CD117 was the myeloid antigen most frequently detected in ALL (54%) cases. Aberrant expression of CD 117 is highly significant by Fischer's exact test (P< 0.0001)., Conclusion: We conclude that aberrant phenotypes are present in a great majority of acute leukemia patients of North East India. Future studies will be directed to correlate of these markers with prognosis and therapeutic response.

Background: High risk HPV (HR-HPV) testing has been recommended as an effective tool along with cytology screening in identification of cervical intraepithelial lesions (CINs) and prevention of their progress towards invasive cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the HR-HPV DNA status by Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) assay in healthy asymptomatic women of North-East India., Materials and Methods: This study examined cervical cell samples of forty three (n=43) healthy women by HC2 assay. A High Risk HPV DNA kit (Qiagen) was used which can detect 13 high risk HPV types: 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 and 68., Results: The mean relative light units (RLU) for samples was in the range of 141-5, 94, 619. HR-HPV DNA was confirmed in 16% (7/43) of participant women samples. Among demographic and clinical parameters, menstrual irregularity (p=0.039) and infection history (p=0.028) has shown statistically significant differences between the HR-HPV-positive and negative groups. In the HR-HPV positive group, two women were confirmed for CINs after colposcopy and histopathologic examination., Conclusions: We suggest that there may be an association between irregular menstruation and infection history of the urogenital tract with HR-HPV DNA prevalence in North-East Indian asymptomatic women. HC2 assay can be a valuable tool for HR-HPV screening.

Background: Persistent infection of one or more of about 15 high-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPVs), most commonly HPV types 16/18, has a significant role in cervical cancer initiation and progression. There are limited data available from north-east India about HPV prevalence though this region has high incidence rates of cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the HPV genotypes prevalent in cervical cancer patients of north-east India., Materials and Methods: We analyzed 107 cervical cancer patient samples. Nested multiplex PCR assays were employed for detection of 13 high risk and 5 low risk HPV types., Results: HPV was confirmed in 105 samples. The presence of 6 'carcinogenic' HPV types, HPV-16 (88%), -18 (15%), -31(4%) ,-45 (3%), -59 (4%), -58(1%), and one non carcinogenic, HPV-6/11 (6%), was recorded. Among various demographic and clinical factors only tumour stage showed a statistically significant association with HPV type infection (P=0.019)., Conclusions: We suggest that the most prevalent genotype is HPV-16 followed by HPV-18 in cervical carcinoma patients of the north-eastern region of India. Advanced tumour stage may be associated with increased possibility of harbouring multiple HPV genotypes.

Eye diseases in childhood are important causes of medical consultation and it affects learning ability, adjustment in school and personality. To determine the pattern of ocular morbidity a cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 714 children, attending Ophthalmology department at a tertiary eye care center in Kolkata, West Bengal. All the children less than 15 years of age, attending in Unit II outpatient department were selected by complete enumeration method for duration of one year (January-December 2010). Distribution of association was analyzed by Chi-square test and difference between two proportions was calculated by z test for proportions. The common ocular morbidity were refractive errors (23.67%) followed by allergic conjunctivitis (17.23%), infection of the eye and adnexa (15.13%), ocular trauma (12.74%), and congenital eye diseases (13.59%). Majority of ocular morbidity is treatable and need early attention through eye screening cum intervention program beginning right from the childhood.