Diffusion of Bt Cotton in India: Impact of Seed Prices and Technological Development

Recent studies in the literature examining impact of government seed price intervention on adoption of Bt cotton get different results depending on the specifics of the situation analyzed. According to one study, reduction in seed prices enables farmers to buy seeds at lower prices and this can result in surge of area sown under Bt cotton. The other view holds that seed price interventions have little impact on the adoption rates rather these interventions may adversely affect firms’ incentives to innovate. Which of the two views characterize adoption of Bt cotton in India? Using three variations of dynamic logistic model, this paper analyzes the impact of certain economic factors like seed prices, technological development, and cotton prices on the diffusion of Bt cotton in India. It uses panel data set covering 9 major cotton growing states over the years 2002 to 2008 and finds that although seed prices were significant in impacting the diffusion rates, its impact was limited. The study also sheds light on the significance of technological development in impacting diffusion rates.Diffusion of technology, Bt cotton, Seed price interventions, Technological development., Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O33, Q16,

Retrospective study of cases of rupture uterus

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors, clinical presentation, management, maternal and perinatal outcome of patients with rupture uterus.Methods: In this study, clinical records of 14 cases of rupture uterus occurring between January 2001 to August 2004 were reviewed.Results: During this period 17312 deliveries were conducted and 14 cases of rupture uterus were managed. Incidence of rupture uterus was 0,8/1000 deliveries. In 10/14 (71.4%) of cases, rupture occurred in scarred uterus (either of cesarean delivery or of any surgery).9/14 (64.2%) women had rupture of previous cesarean section scar and 4/14 (28.5%) women had rupture of unscarred uterus .7/14 (50%) women had more than one risk factor responsible for rupture uterus. 10/14 (71.4%) women were unbooked.10/14 (71.4%) women had subtotal hysterectomy; 4/14 (28.5%) had repair of scar site. Invariably blood had to be transfused in every case per and post-operatively.6/14 (42.8%) of fetuses could be salvaged; in 7/14 (50%) women; there was intrauterine death, while another (7.14%) woman had preterm neonatal death.Conclusions: Uterine rupture is a preventable complication. In our study, most of women had no antenatal check-up and/or managed initially by untrained personnel. Antenatal and intranatal care, identification of high-risk cases and education of the people about supervised pregnancy and delivery will reduce the occurrence of uterine rupture

Bayesian and Semi-Bayesian Estimation of the Parameters of Generalized Inverse Weibull Distribution

Bayesian and semi-Bayesian estimators of parameters of the generalized inverse Weibull distribution are obtained using Jeffreys’ prior and informative prior under specific assumptions of loss function. Using simulation, the relative efficiency of the proposed estimators is obtained under different set-ups. A real life example is also given

Imaging in phenytoin induced neurotoxicity: a case series

Phenytoin is a commonly used anti-epileptic drug for various types of seizure disorders except for absent seizures. Long term dose dependant neurological side effects of phenytoin therapy include cerebellar atrophy, cerebral atrophy and brain stem atrophy. Skull hyperostosis, gum hypertrophy and megaloblastic anemia are other known effects of Long term therapy. We present four cases depicting clinical and neuroimaging findings of Phenytoin induced Toxicity

Comparative Assessment of Some Target Detection Algorithms for Hyperspectral Images

Target detection is of particular interest in hyperspectral image analysis as many unknown and subtle signals (spectral response) unresolved by multispectral sensors can be discovered in hyperspectral images. The detection of signals in the form of small objects and targets from hyperspectral sensors has a wide range of applications both civilian and military. It has been observed that a number of target detection algorithms are in vogue; each has its own advantages and disadvantages and assumptions. The selection of a particular algorithm may depend on the amount of information available as per the requirement of the algorithm, application area, the computational complexity etc. In the present study, three algorithms, namely, orthogonal subspace projection (OSP), constrained energy minimization (CEM) and a nonlinear version of OSP called kernel orthogonal subspace projection (KOSP), have been investigated for target detection from hyperspectral remote sensing data. The efficacy of algorithms has been examined over two different hyperspectral datasets which include a synthetic image and an AVIRIS image. The quality of target detection from these algorithms has been evaluated through visual interpretation as well as through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The performance of OSP algorithm has been found to be better than or comparable to CEM algorithm. However, KOSP out performs both the algorithms.Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(1), pp.53-62, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.376

Evaluation of maternal serum levels of cell adhesion molecules and endothelial inflammatory markers in normal pregnancy, gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia

Background: Hypertensive disorders complicate 5 to 10% of all pregnancies. Despite the still unexplained pathogenesis, endothelial dysfunctions and inflammatory mediators are thought to be responsible for the pathogenesis gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Aims and objective of the study was to determine the serum levels of cell adhesions molecules - VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 and endothelial inflammatory markers TNF-α and homocysteine in normal pregnancies, Gestational Hypertension and in Pre-eclampsiaMethods: The cross-sectional study was carried out in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Biochemistry, ESI-PGIMSR, New Delhi between October 2013-April 2015. 150 patients who gave informed written consent were enrolled and were divided equally in three groups of 50 each (normotensive, gestational hypertensive and pre-eclamptic patients). Three groups have been compared in terms of variables such as age, BMI, gestational age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, platelet count, AST, ALT, mode of delivery, neonatal weight, VCAM-I, ICAM-I, homocysteine and TNF-alpha concentrations.Results: We found the higher concentrations of vascular cell adhesions molecules (VCAM-1 and ICAM-1) and inflammatory mediators (homocysteine and TNF α) in gestational hypertensive patients and in pre-eclamptic patients. Out of four markers, concentrations of ICAM-1 was found in largest proportions and it was also statistical significant. P value was <0.001. Though in our study concentration VCAM-1, homocysteine and TNF-α were also high in gestational hypertensive groups as compared with normotensive patients, but they were not statistical significant.Conclusions: We conclude that higher concentrations of vascular cell adhesions molecules and inflammatory mediators may be responsible for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy suggesting the role of endothelial dysfunction as a central pathogenic feature in development of preeclampsia

SAFETY OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE FOR COVID-19 PROPHYLAXIS AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Objective: Indian Council of Medical Research recommended hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for prophylaxis of COVID‐19 for healthcare workers and the Food and Drug Administration approved its use in the treatment and prophylaxis of COVID‐19 disease. Even though HCQ is adequately tolerated in usual circumstances, still questions about the harmful effects of the drug remain a cause for concern in adults treated with HCQ. The objective of this study was to evaluate the major and minor adverse effects of prophylactic HCQ for COVID-19 among healthcare workers. Methods: Our analysis was intended to analyze HCQ’s adverse drug reaction profile for COVID‐19 prophylaxis in prophylactic doses in health-care staff. This was a cross-sectional study carried out among healthcare workers taking HCQ prophylaxis for COVID‑19. The study was carried out over 08 weeks period from April to May 2020. The data were obtained regarding age, sex, comorbidities, and possible adverse effects. A pretested and validated online questionnaire was provided to the participants to assess the harmful effects that they experienced when taking HCQ. Furthermore, pre and post 8 weeks prophylaxis, individuals underwent general and systemic examination, along with ECG and blood sugar level monitoring. Results: The research group comprised 70 previously healthy and health-care staff. In 70 patients, 27 minor adverse effects were reported (18.9%). Headache was the most frequently reported symptoms followed by nausea and vomiting, itching, and skin rashes. There was no statistically relevant variation in harmful effects due to age or number of doses administered. However, none of the adverse effects was serious or debilitating. Conclusion: With adequate pre-prophylaxis evaluation, health education, and regular monitoring, HCQ prophylaxis is safe and devoid of any serious adverse effects in previously healthy individuals

HAAR WAVELET TRANSFORM FOR SOLUTION OF IMAGE RETRIEVAL

ABSTRACT: An efficient algorithm based Haar Wavelet approach for image retrieval solution, is proposed. This method is applicable for different kinds of image extraction features. Wavelet Transformation is a powerful tool for many problems. It can be used in numerical techniques. Here we proposed a new technique of wavelet transformation trough which a feature vector of size ten, characterizing texture feature of image is constructed from only three iterations of Wavelet transform. Mask technique is used to group images based on feature vector of images by considering the minimum Euclidean distance. Experiments are performed on texture images, and successful matching results are found

Drivers of circular economy for small and medium enterprises: Case study on the Indian state of Tamil Nadu

The present paper highlights the growing relevance of the Circular Economy (CE), its adoption by Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and the relationship between the drivers of CE. Using a case study of CE adoption by Tamil Nadu state in India, we analyse the interactions between the drivers and examine the challenges and benefits of CE adoption. Using Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (TISM) this paper identifies 10 main drivers relevant for SMEs in Tamil Nadu based on literature and discussions with 78 industrial-academic experts, comments on the driving, dependent and linking elements that impact the uptake and adoption of CE. The modelling results confirm that three drivers, namely urbanisation, funding availability and resource consumption, are relevant and support the successful adoption of CE. The paper is among the first that uses the TISM technique to establish a contextual linkage between CE drivers and relationship between the different drivers