Cleanest cities in India 2017: Indore's meteoric rise to no. 1 spot

The Indian government initiated “Cleanliness Survey” of Indian cities in 2014 to promote clean cities. Under this initiative cities are ranked based on certain parameters. Indore city was ranked poorly at 149 in 2014 survey. The newly appointed Indore Municipal Corporation commissioner was confronted with the task of turning around the situation. The task was huge, required meticulous planning and flawless execution to achieve the mission. To the surprise of many including the citizens of the city, Indore achieved no. 1 rank in the cleanliness survey, 2017. We discuss the challenges faced by the Indore Municipal Corporation authorities, the response to these challenges, and critical success factors and make recommendations to sustain the top rank. Indore's success was a result of several activities that constitute a part of public affairs. The study identifies change management, corporate social responsibility, employee communications, external communication, and stakeholder management as important organizational activities that contributed in Indore's success. Learning from the study may be useful for urban local bodies and governments in other developing countries.     

（Re）Integrating spirituality into higher education

This article examines the issue of accountability and governance among higher learning institutions in discharging their duties to inculcate good behaviour and mould their graduates into human business leaders. In order to appreciate the role of higher education and the requirement of the market place for graduates, we go backward in origin into the past to learn the education philosophy that has shaped today＇s vocation. The distinctiveness of this article is that we review the advances in the science of quantum physics to understand the current worldview of reality. The way forward for higher learning institution to reintegrate spirituality in molding young generation who actualize authentic leadership and rightness-of-action founded upon the interconnectedness model of the universe is deliberated.     

Double Hanging with Single Ligature: An Unusual Method in Suicide Pact

A married casual labor couple was found hanging in their makeshift bedroom with each end of a single chunni (a cloth worn around the neck by Indian women) spread across an iron bar below the roof. They left their two children, daughter, and son of 4 and 3 yrs age, respectively, with their grandmother living separately nearby, and went to attend cremation of one of their relatives. They returned late in the evening and found hanging in their bedroom next morning by neighbors.     

Primary intimal sarcoma of the pulmonary artery misdiagnosed as pulmonary thromboembolism: A case confirmed at medicolegal autopsy

Misdiagnosed PAS confirmed at medicolegal autopsy Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a rare disease and usually indistinguishable from acute or chronic thromboembolic disease of the pulmonary arteries. We present a case of pulmonary artery sarcoma in a 54‐year‐old male, who was clinically misdiagnosed as pulmonary thromboembolism. The patient died of disease; however, the actual diagnosis of PAS was made after a medicolegal autopsy. PAS can be a diagnostic challenge for both clinicians and pathologists. In an autopsy case with a clinical suspicion of pulmonary thromboembolism, if there is an abnormal gross appearance in the pulmonary artery, the forensic pathologist should have a high index of suspicion of PAS, which should be ruled out by a histopathologic examination.     

Mitigating CH4 and N2O Emissions from the Rice Crop System in IGP Region in India

Abstract

Rice cropping system as an agriculture practices is considered as one of the major emission source of methane (CH₄) and nitrous Oxide (N₂O). In agriculture, man-made activities contribute CH₄ (77%) and N₂O (60%).This article reports on emission measurements from the Indo Gangetic plains (IGP) of India from four different treatment methods. Implementation of biogas spent slurry (BSS) method was most effective in reducing GHGs emissions. The findings should help in regulating and implementing management strategies regarding the reduction of GHGs from the agricultural fields and avoid environmental losses and claims.     

Local preferences of mung bean qualities for food autonomy in India

The concept of food autonomy draws attention to qualities of local food and food networks that can facilitate connectivity between local food production and consumption. This article reports on a study conducted in Hisar, India, that reveals how rural producer, processor, and consumer preferences of mung bean quality interact with their aim to maintain and develop a territorial mung bean connectivity so as to reinforce food autonomy. The study showed that local mung bean food qualities related to suitability in the local cropping system, processing requirements, and consumption choice. It suggests that local preferences be integrated into a reorientation of research and scientific development agendas, and should become an essential consideration of development and extension efforts, which also carries implications for the food autonomy of local producers, processors, and consumers.     

Beyond toilets and targets: sanitation mission in India

In an attempt to address Sustainable Development Goal 6, the Government of India’s initiative, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), aims to make India open-defecation free by 2018. This viewpoint analyses the consequences of SBM from the perspective of women and water in the context of toilets. With the construction of toilets for 2.4 million people, the vulnerability of women is expected to worsen as available water is scarce. The viewpoint concludes that construction of toilets as a target is difficult to achieve and sustain without green technology design that overcomes the constraints of water and women.     

Perceived Discrimination and Mexican-Origin Young Adults’ Sleep Duration and Variability: The Moderating Role of Cultural Orientations

Perceived ethnic discrimination is central to the experiences of Latino young adults, yet we know little about the ways in which and the conditions under which ethnic discrimination relates to Latino young adults’ sleep patterns. Using a sample of 246 Mexican-origin young adults (M _age  = 21.11, SD = 1.54; 50 % female), the current study investigated the longitudinal links between perceived ethnic discrimination and both sleep duration and night-to-night variability in duration, while also examining the moderating roles of Anglo and Mexican orientations in the associations. The results revealed that perceived discrimination predicted greater sleep variability, and this link was not moderated by cultural orientations. The relation between perceived discrimination and hours of sleep, however, was moderated by Anglo and Mexican orientations. Individuals with high Anglo and Mexican orientations (bicultural) and those with only high Mexican orientations (enculturated), showed no association between discrimination and hours of sleep. Individuals with low Anglo and Mexican orientations (marginalized) displayed a positive association, whereas those with high Anglo and low Mexican orientations (acculturated) displayed a negative association. The results suggest that discrimination has long term effects on sleep variability of Mexican-origin young adults, regardless of cultural orientations; however, for sleep duration, bicultural and enculturated orientations are protective.