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Cold desert regions of Uttarakhand are one of the least explored remote ecosystems in the Himalaya with fragmented database. To address the issue, the task of documenting the floristic diversity of cold deserts of Uttarakhand was taken up in the present study. A total of 932 taxa (908 species, 05 subspecies and 19 varieties) belonging to 371 genera and 76 families of angiosperms and gymnosperms were recorded. In view of conservation of plant diversity, methods such as in-situ conservation, popularizing cultivation of endemic, threatened and high value medicinal plants and controlling the livestock grazing can be adopted.

In real world, we come across transportation problems, wherein the associated data involves some sort of uncertainty, which at times can be most appropriately represented in the form of interval numbers. Since ordering of intervals involves complexity, hence, we have used fuzzy concept to solve Interval-Valued Transportation Problems (IVTPs). We have proposed new fuzzification methods for conversion of interval number to trapezoidal, pentagonal, hexagonal and heptagonal fuzzy numbers, thereby converting IVTP to Fuzzy Transportation Problem (FTP). Further, we have proposed new ranking functions for conversion of these fuzzy numbers to crisp numbers, which can also be used in other fields of decision making. The crisp-valued transportation problem is then solved using Vogel’s Approximation Method followed by Modified Distribution method. Numerical illustration for the proposed algorithm is given in a later section. The solutions obtained for these examples are used to approximate the solutions for octagonal, nonagonal and decagonal FTPs corresponding to IVTP, using Newton’s Polynomial. On the basis of these solutions, ordering of effectiveness of various types of fuzzy numbers in solving IVTP is done. Lastly, comparison is made between the optimal solutions obtained by various methods. The proposed method can be applied to industrial transportation problems in which the difference between the actual and the proposed demand and supply is quite significant.

Holmskioldia sanguinea Retz. is a Sub-Himalayan plant that has been cultivated in the Americas, Europe, Indo-china, Asia-Pacific, and Southern Africa. It has been used traditionally to treat rheumatism and rheumatoid arthritis, dysentery, headaches, hypertension, boils, blain, ulcers, and gynaecological problems, as well as a blood purifying concoction. The botanical description of the plant, its phytochemical constituents, and its pharmacological activities are discussed, with an emphasis on antibacterial, antihepatotoxic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, analgesic, central nervous system depressant, diuretic, oestrogenic, anti-implantation, and anticancer properties. Most pharmacological effects are a result of plant constituents such as alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides and phenols, to name a few. Conventional wisdom should be confirmed through in vitro and in vivo studies, as well as clinical trials. Herb's anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties have generated significant interest.

The communication assesses the high-value medicinal plants reported in Pindari Valley, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Uttarakhand, using a score-based method for prioritization and conservation. A total of 42 high-value medicinal plants were assessed, prioritized and scored on the basis of rapid threat assessment. Maximum threat was recorded for Aconitum heterophyllum followed by Picrorhiza kurrooa and Nardostachys jatamansi given their limited number of individuals observed in the study area as well as high utilization patterns. Minimum threat status was recorded for Epilobium angustifolium, where the species was found in higher density in its natural habitat. Among the recorded species, 64% were observed growing in grassland/alpine pastures and open/alpine slopes. 55% of species were native/endemic to Himalaya and 48% were extracted by the inhabitants. Underground portions (roots/rhizomes/tubers) of 40% of the species were utilized leading to destruction in natural habitat. Out of 42 medicinal plants, 16 species have been prioritized for conservation and recognized in different threat categories and most of these species are collected from natural habitat without scientific knowledge. Conclusion of the study might helpful for identifying threatened plants in the region so as to initiate sustainable use and conservation practices of high-value medicinal plant resources.

Introduction: Health care workers act as front-line heroes during the pandemic, but during this period, they are facing problems from the society and families as everyone is thinking they are carriers of the disease. Such an unfavourable situation can develop bad social behaviour, social loneliness, social isolation, anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, frustration, and low esteem towards work, because of the fear of infection.Objectives: The study was conducted to assess the social challenges faced by COVID-19 warriors posted at a COVID-19 care unit and to seek the association between social life challenges faced by them and selected demographic variables.Methodology: The quantitative approach using a descriptive research design was incorporated to conduct the study. 60 COVID-19 warriors posted at a COVID care unit were selected using purposive sampling. The tool used for conducting the study was a rating scale to assess the social challenges faced by them. Online Google survey forms were distributed to samples using their e-mail ids. Result: For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The study shows that 58.3% experienced bad behaviour from society (Figure 1 and Table 2), 55.0% experienced severe social loneliness (Figure 2 and Table 2) and 25% experienced moderate social loneliness (Figure 2 and Table 2). 61.67% of study subjects were severely anxious (Figure 4 and Table 2) and 76.7% were in severe fear (Figure 5 and Table 2). There exists a statistically significant association between social challenges and selected demographic variables (Table 3).Conclusion: The study concluded that COVID-19 warriors posted at a COVID care unit experienced social challenges associated with their demographic variables.

World is full of uncertainties. In decision-making problems, uncertainty occurs in many forms such as fuzzy, rough, interval, soft and researchers use data in one of these forms for presenting uncontrollable factors. This paper aims to develop an effective method for solving bi-matrix game problem with interval payoffs assuming that the players know the upper and lower bounds on payoffs. First, bi-matrix game model with interval payoffs is considered. This model is then transformed to another model with fuzzy payoffs. Finally, ranking approach is used to convert the model to crisp-valued bi-matrix game model. Further, due to correspondence between games and programming problem, the Nash equilibrium of interval bimatrix game is obtained by solving a deterministic nonlinear programming problem with nonlinear objective and linear constraints. Finally, a real-life problem of marketing management is solved to validate, approve and illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed model and its solution method. The results derived are compared with some previously defined methods and conclusions are drawn further.

In this article, we propose a method based on a new ranking technique to find optimal solution for a pentagonal fuzzy transportation problem. Firstly, the proposed ranking method which is based on the centroid concept is applied. This transforms the pentagonal fuzzy transportation problem to crisp transportation problem and then the proposed algorithm is applied to find optimal solution of the problem in crisp form. Also, a new method to find initial basic feasible solution (IBFS) of crisp valued transportation problems is introduced in the paper. Further, we give two numerical illustrations for the newly proposed algorithm and compare the solution obtained with the solutions of existing methods. The proposed method can easily be understood and applied to real life transportation problems. Moreover, the proposed ranking method can be used to solve various other fuzzy problems of operations research.

Rosmarinus officinalis L. (family Lamiaceae; common name rosemary) is an aromatic, evergreen, medicinally important plant species. The species is widely used for cooking, consumed as an herbal tea, preparation of cosmetics, as well as traditional and modern medicine system (viz. cold, cough, rheumatism, etc). In addition, essential oil of the species has antibacterial and cytotoxic properties and reported good sources of 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, linalool, myrcenol, camphor, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, α-terpineol, verbinone, piperitone and β-pinene. Due to the presence of several secondary metabolites species showed antimutagenic properties, antiinflammatory, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, antiatherosclerotic, antithrombotic, hepatoprotective, and hypocholesterolemic effects. Numerous reports highlighted the importance of the species and suggested utilization for to treat depression, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, etc. Besides this, further studies and clinical trials are needed for knowing the impact of rosemary on CNS-related diseases or disorders. Therefore, detailed investigation of pharmacological and clinical studies is essentially required for future utilization.

Meconopsis aculeata Royle (Family: Papaveraceae) is an important medicinal herb of the Himalayan region, used in the preparation of various traditional medicines by the local inhabitants. In the present study, diverse solvent systems (i.e., ethanol, methanol, acetone, acetonitrile, diverse concentration 50% and 80%, respectively) were used for extraction of bioactive constituents and revealed varied range of total phenolics (1.68–3.76 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (1.02–2.3 mg QE/g), flavonols (0.69–1.46 mg QE/g), tannins (1.25–3.83 mg TAE/g) and proanthocyanidin (0.34–0.81 mg CE/g). Similarly, in vitro antioxidant activity (i.e., ABTS 1.57–3.37, DPPH 1.03–2.35, FRAP 0.95–1.76, OH· 0.57–1.76 and NO· 0.33–0.92 mM AAE/100 g dry weight) was also recorded. The authors conclude that the species exhibits maximum bioactive constituents in the solvents of medium polarity and can be scaled up for further industrial applications.

Objectives To determine the socio-economic factors affecting access to antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum healthcare in the rural Western Indian Himalayas over the past 20 years. Methods Face-to-face surveys were conducted with 197 women in Chamoli District, Uttarakhand from October 2011 to May 2012. Participants who gave birth within the past 20 years were included in the final analysis (n = 158). Stratified odds ratios and analysis of variance were calculated. Results Among women who delivered in the prior 7 years, there was a nine-fold increase (95 % CI 4-20.8) in institutionalized births compared to women who delivered 8-20 years before the study. Among women who delivered 7 years prior to the study, low income increased the risk of home delivery (OR 3.07, 95 % CI 1.15-8.54). Low caste (OR 2.79, 95 % CI 1.04-7.72) and low level of education (OR 3.93 95 % CI 1.41-11.81) decreased the use of antepartum medications (vitamins and vaccines). Remote location among all participants was a risk factor for not seeking care for obstetric morbidities (OR 0.44 95 % CI 0.2-0.95). Conclusions The incidence of institutionalized delivery has increased over the past decade in rural Uttarakhand. Income, caste, education, and remote location correlated with poor access to antepartum and intrapartum healthcare. These correlations have increased in statistical significance over the past 20 years, except for location. This indicates that the Western Himalayas face similar challenges to obstetric service utilization as the north Indian plains and that several of these inequalities in healthcare access have become more pronounced in recent years.

Floristic diversity of Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand, a world heritage site in Indian Himalayan Region has been documented. A total of 614 taxa (609 species, 3 subspecies and 2 varieties) belonging to 277 genera and 70 families have been recorded. Among these, 31 plant species are under different threat categories, 05 endemic and one plant namely Cuscuta europaea recorded as invasive. The paper, for the first time, records 72 plant species as additions to flora of Valley of Flowers National Park. Importance of floristic diversity and conservation needs are also discussed.

The state of Uttarakhand was created with a view to provide more administrative support and political will for the development of the people of the hills of the erstwhile Uttar Pradesh. However, the fragile geological and geographical conditions of the state compounded with the inexperienced political leadership that ensued after its creation and mismanagement has aggravated the impacts of the natural calamities. The present paper while discussing the geology of the Uttarakhand describes the nature of natural disasters that occur in the state. It investigates the factors both natural and human-induced that are responsible for the occurrence of a natural disaster or aggravation of it. Further, the paper describes the cascading effects of the development processes that have led to environmental degradation, which in turn often precipitate into disasters. The paper also presents some instances of extreme climatic events from history to the most recent ones in the state of Uttarakhand that led to natural disasters.

The purpose of this research is to identify the effectiveness drivers contribute to managerial effectiveness in Indian information technology (IT) professionals through empirical study. Effectiveness assessments were administered to 2,080 IT professionals working as technical managers, their respective reporting officers, peers and subordinates. Intended as a comprehensive inquiry into the competencies of technical managers, three factors determined the design: repository of critical competencies through literature, 360 degree feedback on effectiveness attributes and empirical analysis to unearth underlying factor structure for effectiveness. Nineteen variables were found to be contributing to the effectiveness of the IT managers. They belong to competency areas such as technology management, business management, project management, domain know how, emotional intelligence (EI) and the value system. Inferences include emotional intelligence is key to effective management of technical managers; technical ability alone is not enough to be an effective manager; domain and business skills are critical and robust individual value system contributes in achieving effectiveness. Given the growth, uncertainty and rapid change of technology associated with IT industry, findings provide organisations with specific competency development areas for their technology talents. It is expected to provide a guiding force for technology leadership development in times to come.

With the advent of technology, the role of technical managers has been keenly researched. Technology industries, such as information technology (IT) industry, award special significance to the role of technical managers. By analysing a sample size of 520 technical managers in 19 IT organisations in India, this empirical study offers six key competencies directly or indirectly affecting effectiveness. The extent of effect is measured along with inter-relationships using structural equation modelling (SEM) method. This study possibly offers for the first time, a focused take on effectiveness of technical mangers in IT industry. The objective of this study is to measure the effect of constituent competencies and provide theoretical and managerial implications. The findings from this study will help organisations in selection and development of techno-managerial talent. It will also help individuals towards self-realisation and self-development in achieving effectiveness.