Desert locust and its management in Nepal: a review

Locusts are among the most dangerous agricultural pests. They are a group of short horned grasshoppers belonging to Acrididae family and are hemimetabolous insects. This group of grasshoppers have a unique character of changing habits and behaviors when they aggregate in a group and this habit is catalyzed by different environmental factors. In the adult stage, gregarious locusts migrate from one place to another in a swarm. Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forksal), is one of those locusts which cause damage to different types of crop which fly in the direction of wind up to a distance of 150 km. Because of polyphagous feeding habits and swarming in a plague (large group of adults), this pest is considered as the hazardous migratory pest. These pests entered Nepal for the first time in 1962 and then in 1996. In 2020 the pest entered the country from India on three different dates 27th June and continued till 29th (5 districts), 12th July (1 district), and 16th July (2 districts). The swarms migrated to 53 districts and caused the considerable loss in agricultural and field crop in 1118 hectare. These pests are monitored on the basis of environmental factors and many tools and practices such as eLocust3, SMELLS (Soil Moisture for Desert Locust Early Survey), P-locust and SUPARCO Disaster Watch Desert Locust Situation Alert are being used. Their control is critical to food security. Many tools and techniques are integrated for prevention and management of these pests to minimize damage in the existing crops where they migrate. These are physical methods, cultural methods, use of botanicals, green muscle, PAN (phenylacetonitrile) and chemicals. Effective preventive management strategy relies on an improved knowledge of the pest biology, more efficient monitoring and control techniques

Prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs among 12–15-year-old schoolchildren of fishermen of Kutch coast, Gujarat, India

Background: Malocclusion is one of the most common dental problems in mankind. Planning orthodontic treatment as well as an interceptive approach within a public health system requires information on the prevalence of malocclusions.Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs among 12–15-year-old school children of fishermen of Kutch coast, Gujarat, India.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 947 school children offishermen of Kutch coast, Gujarat, India aged 12–15 years. The prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs was assessed using Dental Aesthetic Index. General information on demographic data was also recorded. A c2 test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Sheffe’s test were employed for statistical analysis.Results: Malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need was reported among 33.4% of the participants. Younger age group and female gender had significantly greater treatment need. Males and older age groups had significantly lesser prevalence of anterior crowding and largest anterior maxillary irregularity.Conclusions: Orthodontic treatment need among 33.4% calls for developing school based oral health promotion programmes for children with an inculcation of orthodontic treatment and educational programmes for parents (fishermen) addressing prevention and early interceptive treatment of malocclusion

Behavioural science principles for scaling-up zero tillage wheat and maize in the Eastern Terai region of Nepal

Farmers have a set of convictions and tend to do what their forefathers had practiced. By identifying their beliefs and designing appropriate ways of upscaling to convince them of new and improved practices, we can improve the adoption of zero tillage technology for maize and wheat. Small and fragmented landholdings that resulted from the cultural system of distributing land to heirs are diverse in their cropping requirements. Moreover, farmers are risk-averse and do not believe easily in new technologies. Traditional extension approaches have not been effective in upscaling these technologies. A new way of thinking based on behavioural science can provide some insights and guidelines for improving the effectiveness of technology adoption. Understanding farmers' socioeconomic circumstances and their decision-making system at the household and society level can help in designing upscaling approaches. Approaches such as capitalising on social bonding, use of established technology leaders, and use of farmers' organizations can improve adoption. Recommended strategies include encouraging a comprehensive contracting system of service provision, using active community influential local leaders in technology expansion, taking group and social identity approaches in technology extension, and capacity building programs for service providers/operators and farmers to help raise confidence and to remove perceived barriers to technology adoption. &nbsp

Understanding Environmental and Social Reasons Towards Abnormal Menstruation Cycle in Indian Women

The human female reproductive system is by far the most complex biological system, abnormal menstruation cycles is directly associated with type 2 diabetes and they have shown to be associated with cardiovascular disorders as well. The underlying reasons for abnormal menstruation cycle in Indian women is just not stress, birth control pills and or disease symptoms but signs of social and environmental factors are clearly evident now in form or traditional societal practices. This paper aims to understand the abnormal behavior of the menstruation cycle in Indian women

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum