MARKET STRUCTURE AND THE DYNAMICS OF RETAIL FOOD PRICES

The effect of retail grocery market structure on the speed of adjustment of retail food prices to changes in producer prices, real wages, and the cost of energy was examined for SMSAs. Evidence failed to support the implication of the Mason-Bain paradigm that increased concentration reduces market efficiency as reflected in speed of retail price adjustment. Evidence of strong intertemporal relationships between change in producer prices and retail prices found for the categories meat, poultry, fish, eggs and cereal and baker products provide support to the hypothesis of cost-push inflation.Marketing,

Charged basal stacking fault (BSF) scattering in nitride semiconductors

A theory of charge transport in semiconductors in the presence of basal stacking faults is developed. It is shown that the presence of basal stacking faults leads to anisotropy in carrier transport. The theory is applied to carrier transport in non-polar GaN films consisting of a large number BSFs, and the result is compared with experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Synthetic Polymer Based Coating of Fodder Cowpea Seeds Enhances Germination and Vigour

In Indian arid and semi-arid conditions, comparatively less fertile lands are allotted to forage crops. In addition, erratic weather condition makes the situation more complex where proper seedling emergence and establishment of pastures with economic use of input remains a big question. Our view is that crop seedling production from seed sown into arid or semiarid environments could be significantly enhanced by the use of simple seed coating technologies. Such approaches would make use of newly synthesised seed coat-applied polymers that could be used to hold the desired supplements like powerful germination enhancement chemicals and plant protectants with seed to support both germination and seedling establishment under the crucial stages. This approach would be expected to increase the rate and speed of germination, thereby bringing the uniformity in plant population even under stressful (drought) growing conditions. On the other hand, cowpea seed are highly susceptible to insect pest during storage in addition to seed borne diseases. Hence, coating of seed was envisaged in order to protect the seeds from pest attack and boost initial seedling vigour

Comparative evaluation of traditional and improved cultivation practices and cultivars of Colocasia esculenta (L.) H. W. Schott in the Borail Hills Range of India

Present work was focused on the comparative evaluation of the Taro tuber productivity by using improved cultivation practices versus traditional cultivation practices. Initially, passport data of all the collected 27 cultivars and wild edible aroids were prepared and their Indigenous Collection Numbers (IC) were procured from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi. All the collections were phytochemically evaluated and five variants of Colocasia esculenta (L.) H. W. Schott were found to be superior and their IC Numbers are 0631527, 0631529, 0631536, 0631544 and 0631546. Following the randomised block design method for crop productivity evaluation, data of five nutritionally superior cultivar and one check variety were taken in three replications (R1, R2, R3) from eighteen plots of measuring 5×5 m2 (25 m2). Taro tuber productivity in kg/plant from the first and second year’s data from the ICAR-NBPGR, Umiam and also the farmer’s data from Borail Hills Range were analysed by using SPSS software, and that shows significant difference among all the six treatments/variants under Critical Difference at 5% (CD 5%). Total of the data replications (R1+R2+R3) from first, second year data from ICAR-NBPGR, Umiam and also farmer’s data from Borail Hills Range are 18.24 kg, 19.45 kg and 12.69 kg respectively; clearly showing the tuber productivity enhancement of improved cultivation practices over the traditional agro- practices

Safety and efficacy of ferric carboxy maltose in pregnant women- a pilot study

Background: Iron deficiency is a common nutritional deficiency amongst women of childbearing age. It is associated with significant maternal, fetal and infant morbidity. Current options for treatment include oral iron, parenteral iron and red blood cell transfusions. Ferric carboxy maltose is a newer i.v. iron formulation which can be used at high doses with rapid administration. This study was undertaken to assess the safety and efficacy in pregnant women.Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted in VIMS Ballari. 50 pregnant women between 28-36 weeks of gestation having moderate anemia with confirmed iron deficiency were administered with 1000 mg of ferric carboxy maltose (FCM). These women were followed after 2 weeks, 4 weeks and till delivery. Safety and efficacy were assessed.Results: There was significant improvement in both hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels (p<0.01). None of them had significant reactions.Conclusions: Ferric carboxy maltose is well tolerated. Ability to transfuse in single high dose makes it a preferred drug for faster and higher replenishment of iron stores and correction of hemoglobin levels during pregnancy especially in third trimester

Anisotropic charge transport in non-polar GaN QW: polarization induced charge and interface roughness scattering

Charge transport in GaN quantum well (QW) devices grown in non-polar direction has been theoretically investigated . Emergence of anisotropic line charge scattering mechanism originating as a result of anisotropic rough surface morphology in conjunction with in-plane built-in polarization has been proposed. It has shown that in-plane growth anisotropy leads to large anisotropic carrier transport at low temperatures. At high temperatures, this anisotropy in charge transport is partially washed out by strong isotropic optical phonon scattering in GaN QW.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure