Volume 13 | Issue 8 |

 Abstract

This study investigates the ethnomedicinal practices of indigenous communities in the Kalahandi district of Odisha, India, where access to modern healthcare remains limited. Conducted between July 2023 and January 2024, the research draws on both primary and secondary sources to document traditional plant-based remedies used for the prevention and treatment of various ailments. Fieldwork was carried out across ten villages, involving interviews with 48 informants, including both traditional healers (Kavirajs) and knowledgeable non-healers. Data were collected using structured and semi-structured questionnaires, supplemented by direct observation and guided field visits. A total of 61 plant species--comprising 30 trees, 14 shrubs, and 17 herbs--were recorded for their medicinal applications. The study details preparation methods, routes of administration, and the use of additional ingredients such as milk, sugar, and water. Plant identification was verified using standard botanical literature, and photographic documentation supported the authenticity of the findings. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were employed to interpret the data. This research contributes to the preservation of indigenous knowledge systems and highlights the continued relevance of ethnomedicine in rural health care.

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 Keywords

Ethnomedicine, Indigenous knowledge, Tribal healthcare, Medicinal plants, Kalahandi district, Traditional healing systems, Biodiversity conservation

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Humans are truly unique beings, distinguished by our intelligence, social nature, capacity for love and compassion, imagination, and self-reflection. These qualities set us apart from other species and have enabled us to accomplish incredible things and have a lasting impact on the world. Research shows that spirituality can benefit both the mind and the body. Whether someone is coping with cancer or clinical depression, spiritual exercises help them increase acceptance, decrease negative emotions, find meaning, and deepen their relationships with others. Spiritual well-being and physical health have a much deeper connection than most people would ever know. Spiritual well-being clears the path to better physical health. It removes the blockages that are working as impediments to your overall well-being. It acts as a guide to enhancing your mental and physical health. The Proposed study has revealed significant relationships between spirituality, health-related behaviors, and physical and psychological well-being in terms of the type of acquired education, Family background, Age, Gender etc. The results included both spirituality and health-related behaviors that are associated with psychological well-being. The relationship between spirituality and psychological well-being was stronger in the human mind and spirit group of participants.

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Spirituality, Mental health, physical Health, family person

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Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education: Prospects and Challenges

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Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education: Prospects and Challenges

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Trauma narratives in the ever-evolving domain of queer studies act as critical sites of resistance against conventional ideas of belonging and development of intersectional strategies of well-being in multidimensional sociopolitical contexts. This paper explores the complexities of queer trauma, (un)belonging, and various social forces in the restructuring of well-being models and relies on the classical theories of reparative epistemologies and disidentification strategies by the most prominent queer scholars. The queer traumatic experiences are interpreted as the violation of the norms of belonging, especially boosted by the current policy contexts, that exacerbate marginalization along the dimensions of race, socioeconomic status, disability, and migration histories, which changes the pathway of mental health and communal resilience. Placed in the context of the growing body of research on minority stress, the study builds on traditional conceptual frameworks with narrative approaches in order to shed light on the shifting and contentious quality of (un)belonging. The central assumptions made in queer research agendas such as the idea of the universal trauma recovery are scrutinized, and it is implied that they might not hold in the face of the changing trends in identity in the form of the latest studies showing that 7.6 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+ on the basis of 2024 data, and the increase is the highest in younger cohorts. Driven by the desire to deliver fair well-being practices, the study presents new qualitative outcomes of the deep narrative inquiry among diverse queer participants, which was conducted through reflexive thematic methods to trace the transformational potential of intersectional storying. Among these works is a dialectical account of (un)belonging, which places trauma narratives as spaces of resistance and renewal. The results indicate that stratified unbelonging increases the susceptibility to psychological adversity, but also generates successful adaptations such as online support groups and culturally competent healing practices. These reflections contribute to academic goals by imagining possibilities in which queer well-being is no longer shackled to normativity, demanding that intersectional views be part of policy and practice. The paper ultimately proposes a renewed focus in queer inquiry, centered on empathetic, evidence-based approaches that prioritize marginalized narratives and erode persistent binary structures.

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Queer trauma; (Un)belonging; Minority stress; Reparative epistemologies; Disidentification strategies

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The present study aimed to analyze the level of social phobia among visually impaired adolescents, specifically focusing on gender differences in severity. The sample consisted of 60 participants, evenly split between boys and girls, displaying varying levels of social phobia as measured on a scale ranging from normal to severe. The results show that social phobia is prevalent among visually impaired adolescents, with a significant proportion of participants experiencing mild to severe levels of social anxiety. 43.3% of adolescents meet the diagnostic criteria specified in the DSM-5 for social phobia of which majority were girls. They met the diagnostic criteria of experiencing marked fear or anxiety in one or more social situations. These adolescents reported feeling anxious in a variety of social situations, such as while giving speeches or performing in front of others. Social Phobia was not limited to peer settings but also extended to interactions with authority figures. They also avoided social situations that caused them fear or anxiety such as attending social events, and avoided doing things or speaking to people for fear of embarrassment. Statistically calculations of Chi square values show significant association between gender and severity of level of social phobia at p <0.5.

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Social phobia, DSM-5, Adolescents, Visual impairment

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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The evolution of the payment system from physical to digital is one of the greatest highlight of the 21st century in India. As the main aim of this system was to provide effective, efficient and safe transactions and due to increase need it gained importance in the COVID pandemic. India has made a remarkable progress this field in the recent past, and its journey towards digitization of payment system can be embarked from the Jana Dhan yojana to introduction of UPI and ahead. This road map has led India towards financial inclusion, where physical INR could be supported with eINR. This paper provides the road map of India towards the pilot launch of CBDCs in December 2022 and the milestones it can achieve in the coming years.

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Digital Currency, CBDC, Financial inclusion, SWIFT, UPI, UPI123

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Abstract: The present study aimed to assess the knowledge of antenatal women regarding identification of alarming signs leading to obstetrical emergencies during pregnancy, labour and puerperium. A descriptive research approach was utilized at Florence Nightingale Hospital, Channapora Srinagar. The data was collected from 150 antenatal women by using self structured interview schedule. The most commonly reported risk factor related to alarming signs was present history of obstetric complications, present medical condition, family history of medical condition. Least found risk factor was nutritional deficiency. The mean percentage of knowledge score was 43.46% with median score of 14, mean score was 13.47, S.D of 2.097 .The Chi-square value showed that there was no significant association between the knowledge score and demographic variables(Age, weight, place of residence, educational status, availing use of social media for maternity care information, type of family), except Occupation which showed significant association with the knowledge score. The current findings further presented that there was no significant association between knowledge scores and obstetric variables (Gravida, parity, gestational age , mode of last delivery and number of live children).

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Alarming signs, Obstetrical emergencies, Complications, Puerperium

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Abstract: In the changing landscape of digital healthcare, protecting the integrity and confidentiality of accurate results depend on the quality of medical imagery becoming increasingly important. Watermarking in medical imaging serves as a robust technique to embed critical patient related information through medical imaging to confirm the integrity of medical content, verify ownership, and detect tampering. It is presented as a multi-format watermarking system, capable of digitally marking medical images types: DICOM, PNG, and JPGand also maximizing the trade-offs of watermark capacity and image quality. We executed and evaluated three popular techniques: A tool to separate important features from a dataset, a method to convert image data into frequency components and principal Component Analysis (PCA). The research incorporated the invisibly watermarking the part of non-Interest, allowing the diagnostic integrity of the relevant area to be preserved and retained. The approach consists of preprocessing the images, watermark embedding and extraction using the different algorithms, and evaluating the results using objective measures such as Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), and Mean Squared Error (MSE). The results of the experiment indicate that SVD performs better than both PCA and DCT for most cases in terms of imperceptibility and robustness, meaning SVD showed higher PSNR and SSIM across all image formats. PCA showed similar performance to SVD but slower computation time and DCT showed a faster computation time but more distortion. The comparison across different methods indicates strengths and weaknesses in how each method performs on variations of different image formats and watermark payloads. This research provides a complete and scalable system to protect medical images watermarking along with guidelines for implementation in telemedicine, cloud-based electronic health record systems, and medical archives. The approach minimizes visual degradation while addressing concerns related to secure data storage and the security, authenticity, and traceability of images in digital healthcare systems.

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 Keywords

Medical Image Watermarking, SVD, DCT, PCA, Multi-format Images, PSNR, SSIM, Image Security, Region of Non-Interest (RONI), DICOM, Robustness, Imperceptibility, Digital Healthcare, Telemedicine.

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The structure of rural marketing in Assam and the wider North-Eastern belt of India shows distinct variations from the rest of the nation, largely because of the difficult geographical features of the region. In Assam, the rural marketing framework mainly revolves around three categories: periodic markets (including traditional fairs), everyday bazaars, and itinerant sellers. Among these, the weekly markets stand out as particularly significant within the agricultural exchange system, especially in a state where almost 80 percent of the territory is identified as countryside. Nearly three-fourths of the inhabitants remain dependent on agriculture, either directly through cultivation or indirectly through allied activities, making these markets vital. Close to 85% of cultivators in the state are marginal or small-scale farmers, who rely heavily on weekly haats not only for disposing of their agricultural produce but also for acquiring farm necessities and household items that they cannot produce on their own. For them, reaching nearby haats is both more convenient and less costly compared to traveling to urban trading centers. These markets thus serve a decisive role in determining the commercial value of agricultural surpluses and in sustaining the livelihoods of rural farming families. The present study tries to analyze the scale and form of farmer participation in weekly markets within Assam, with special reference to the Sonitpur district. The researcher employs a descriptive methodology, making use of information collected from both firsthand surveys and secondary references.

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Periodic market, farmers, agricultural marketing

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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The present study investigates the viability of replacing some of the coarse material in concrete with coconut shell and incorporating coconut fiber as an additive to produce lightweight aggregate concrete. This strategy tries to alleviate the high price of traditional building materials. and the excessive exploitation of natural resources. The research objectives involve assessing the properties of coconut shell for use in reinforced concrete, evaluating the workability and strength of concrete with varying proportions of coconut shell and fiber, and analyzing the cost implications of producing eco-friendly concrete. The results of the experiments show that adding coconut fibre to concrete increases its strength by a certain amount, beyond which it decreases. Furthermore, replacing coarse aggregate by 10% coconut shell reduces the density and breaking strength of the concrete, while increasing its slump. These findings suggest that using coconut shell in place of certain coarse aggregate may result in a lightweight concrete material that is less strong and less dense. The study also identifies an optimal amount of coconut fiber that can be added to the concrete mix to maintain its strength. Overall, this study offers insightful information about using coconut shell and fibre to produce concrete, highlighting the need for careful selection and optimization of these materials to ensure the desired properties of the concrete.

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 Keywords

Course Aggregates, Coconut Shell, Coir Fibers ,Cement, Fine Aggregates

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