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Dimensions and Challenges of the 10th Regional Saras Fair, Agartala: A Geographical Analysis

In post independence time one of the major emphases given by the Government of India was to eradicate the poverty of rural poor through different poverty alleviation programmes like Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). In SGSY scheme the rural people belonging to same economic background having a common desire to work together were organised in small informal groups to start employment generating activities are known as Self Help Groups (SHG). Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India organises annual sale cum exhibition fair in different regions to provide a platform to sale and promote the products produced by the SHG members. Regional Saras Fair, Agartala is an annual phenomenon since 2006 which is playing an important role for the folk artisans of Tripura to sale the products of rural cottage industries in the urban market. The present study tries to highlight the nature and dimension of Saras fair and socio-economic development of the SHG members. Also explain future strategies for development of the Saras fair as well as the participating SHGs.The methodologies that have taken to carry out this study is extensive literature review to gather knowledge about different aspects and dimensions of poverty alleviation programmes, collection of primary data by using structured schedule through stratified random sampling techniques, 86 number of participating SHGs interviewed. Secondary data has been collected from the District Rural Development Office and Govt. websites. Saras Fair have opened a new dimension in promotion of rural products and encouraged the participants and other stakeholders in the development of rural products which has to achieve poverty free nation. Thus, formation of stable market for the SHG products may solve the rural poverty problem. Keywords: Self Help Group, SGSY, Saras Fair, Rural Developmen

A comparison of extra-mucosal single layer interrupted repair vs conventional double layer repair of intestinal anastomosis: a hospital-based study

Background: Intestinal anastomosis is a critical surgical technique used to resect and reconnect segments of the gastrointestinal tract. Traditional double-layered techniques using both absorbable and non-absorbable sutures have been widely used. However, single-layer anastomosis is gaining interest due to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and reduced operating time. This study aims to compare the outcomes between extra-mucosal single-layer interrupted repair and conventional double-layer repair. Methods: A prospective, randomized controlled study was conducted over six months with 42 patients undergoing intestinal resection and anastomosis. Patients were randomized into two groups: single-layer anastomosis (Group A) and double-layer anastomosis (Group B). Both groups were monitored for key outcomes such as anastomotic leak, return of bowel function, surgical site infection, and hospital stay. Results: The single-layer technique showed a significantly shorter operative time (23.8±2.5 minutes) compared to the double-layer technique (33.1±2.6 minutes). There were no statistically significant differences in anastomotic leak rates, re-interventions, or surgical site infections between the two groups. The cost of materials was lower for single-layer anastomosis. Conclusions: Single-layer anastomosis offers a time-efficient, cost-effective alternative to double-layer anastomosis with comparable clinical outcomes. The findings support the broader adoption of the single-layer technique, particularly in resource-limited settings

Maternal correlates of birth weight of newborn: A hospital based study

Background: weight of the baby at birth is considered to be a major determinant of future health and survival of the child. It is one of the important factors which determine the readiness with which the newborn baby adjusts to its surrounding. Many maternal socio-biological factors influence birth weight. Objective: To determine maternal socio-biological factors influencing birth weight of newborn. Methodology: Hospital based cross- sectional study undertaken in Obstetrics and Gynaecology ward of Nehru hospital, Gorakhpur. The study period extended from July 2011 to August 2012. The study subject included recently delivered mothers and data was collected on semi-structured interview schedule to know various socio-biological variables such as mother’s age, parity, inter-pregnancy interval etc, influencing the low birth weight of newborn. Chi-Square test was applied to observe the significance of association.  Results: The overall proportion of low birth weight baby came out to be 32.06%. Out of various socio-biological factors taken the factors which came out to be statistically significant were age of mother, parity, inter-pregnancy interval, SLI, education. The factors which were not statistically significant were father’s education, religion. Conclusions:  It was concluded that teenage pregnancy, non-utilization of antenatal care practices, anaemia, illiteracy are unfavorable predictors of birth weight of newborn babies

Seasonal dynamics of Shatavarin-IV, a potential biomarker of Asparagus racemosus by HPTLC: Possible validation of the ancient Ayurvedic text.

174-181The medicinal property of Asparagus racemosus is primarily attributed to its constituent steroidal saponins, particularly the major component, shatavarin-IV. Thus, it can serve as a biomarker and its level can decide of the utility of the plant cultivar as a drug. Hence, a sensitive, reliable and quantitative High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) method has been established for quantification of shatavarin-IV in the methanolic extracts of the roots collected in both summer and rainy seasons. The extracts of the powders of dried roots were applied to silica gel 60 F254 aluminum-supported precoated TLC plates and developed with n-hexane: ethyl acetate: methanol, 80:10:10 (v/v), as the mobile phase. Shatavarin-IV was detected and quantified by densitometry at λ = 336 nm. The accuracy of the method was checked by conducting recovery studies at three different levels of shatavarin-IV. The average recovery was found to be 101% and 107% for summer and rainy seasons respectively. The shatavarin-IV contents, as estimated by the proposed method were 12.5 μg gm-1 and 10.9 μg gm-1 in summer and rainy roots respectively. The entire method was performed six times (n=6) to check the repeatability. The proposed HPTLC method for quantitative monitoring of shatavarin-IV in A. racemosus roots collected in different seasons strictly adhered to the validation issues laid down by the ICH guidelines. The method is reliable reproducible and highly precise and selective

Seasonal dynamics of Shatavarin-IV, a potential biomarker of Asparagus racemosus by HPTLC: Possible validation of the ancient Ayurvedic text.

The medicinal property of Asparagus racemosus is primarily attributed to its constituent steroidal saponins, particularly the major component, shatavarin-IV. Thus, it can serve as a biomarker and its level can decide of the utility of the plant cultivar as a drug. Hence, a sensitive, reliable and quantitative High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) method has been established for quantification of shatavarin-IV in the methanolic extracts of the roots collected in both summer and rainy seasons. The extracts of the powders of dried roots were applied to silica gel 60 F254 aluminum-supported precoated TLC plates and developed with n-hexane: ethyl acetate: methanol, 80:10:10 (v/v), as the mobile phase. Shatavarin-IV was detected and quantified by densitometry at λ = 336 nm. The accuracy of the method was checked by conducting recovery studies at three different levels of shatavarin-IV. The average recovery was found to be 101% and 107% for summer and rainy seasons respectively. The shatavarin-IV contents, as estimated by the proposed method were 12.5 μg gm-1 and 10.9 μg gm-1 in summer and rainy roots respectively. The entire method was performed six times (n=6) to check the repeatability. The proposed HPTLC method for quantitative monitoring of shatavarin-IV in A. racemosus roots collected in different seasons strictly adhered to the validation issues laid down by the ICH guidelines. The method is reliable reproducible and highly precise and selective

Influence of 36 years of integrated nutrient management on soil carbon sequestration, environmental footprint and agronomic productivity of wheat under rice-wheat cropping system

A long-term field experiment was conducted to study the effects of different combinations of integrated nutrient management (INM) on carbon sequestration and wheat yield in a rice-wheat cropping system. The experiment consisted of 11 treatments that were replicated three times. The organic manures used in the study included farmyard manure (FYM), wheat straw (WS), and green manure (GM) with Sesbania aculeata. The results of the experiment revealed that the application of 50% of the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) along with 50% nitrogen (N) through FYM during rice cultivation, and RDF during wheat cultivation, led to a significant increase in soil organic carbon (SOC). Specifically, the SOC content was enhanced by 46.4% (18.29 Mg ha-1) compared to RDF in rice and wheat, resulting in a C sequestration rate of 0.22 Mg ha-1 year-1. These increases were higher in treatments that combined organic and inorganic inputs. Additionally, the application of 50% RDF and substituting 50% of the nitrogen with FYM during wheat cultivation resulted in a 24.7% increase in grain yield compared to RDF in rice and wheat. The INM treatments, showed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher agronomic efficiency (AE) of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), partial factor productivity (PFP) of N, P and K, and carbon pool index (CPI) compared to the application of inorganic fertilizers at the recommended dose. Moreover, the INM treatments also exhibited lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity. Application of neither chemical fertilizers nor organic manure (T1) resulted in maximum GHG emission intensity (328.1 kg CO2 eq Mg−1 yield). Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the combined use of inorganic fertilizers and organic manures significantly increased crop yield and soil organic carbon sequestration while reducing GHG emissions in a rice-wheat cropping system in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP) of India

HIV-1 gp120 Induces Expression of IL-6 through a Nuclear Factor-Kappa B-Dependent Mechanism: Suppression by gp120 Specific Small Interfering RNA

In addition to its role in virus entry, HIV-1 gp120 has also been implicated in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. However, the mechanism(s) responsible for gp120-mediated neuroinflammation remain undefined. In view of increased levels of IL-6 in HIV-positive individuals with neurological manifestations, we sought to address whether gp120 is involved in IL-6 over-expression in astrocytes. Transfection of a human astrocyte cell line with a plasmid encoding gp120 resulted in increased expression of IL-6 at the levels of mRNA and protein by 51.3±2.1 and 11.6±2.2 fold respectively; this effect of gp120 on IL-6 expression was also demonstrated using primary human fetal astrocytes. A similar effect on IL-6 expression was observed when primary astrocytes were treated with gp120 protein derived from different strains of X4 and R5 tropic HIV-1. The induction of IL-6 could be abrogated by use of gp120-specific siRNA. Furthermore, this study showed that the NF-κB pathway is involved in gp120-mediated IL-6 over-expression, as IKK-2 and IKKβ inhibitors inhibited IL-6 expression by 56.5% and 60.8%, respectively. These results were also confirmed through the use of NF-κB specific siRNA. We also showed that gp120 could increase the phosphorylation of IκBα. Furthermore, gp120 transfection in the SVGA cells increased translocation of NF-κB from cytoplasm to nucleus. These results demonstrate that HIV-1 gp120-mediated over-expression of IL-6 in astrocytes is one mechanism responsible for neuroinflammation in HIV-infected individuals and this is mediated by the NF-κB pathway