A Study to Assess the Knowledge Regarding Prevention of Pneumonia among Middle Aged Adults in Selected Rural Areas of Moodbidri with a View to Develop an Informational Booklet

Introduction:Pneumonia is an inflammation of lung parenchyma caused by various micro-organisms including bacteria, micro bacteria, Chlamydia micro plasma, fungi & parasites & viruses. It is usually associated with upper respiratory tract infections Methodology: The research design selected for this study was descriptive survey design. 60 middle age adults were selected using non-probability purposive sampling technique. Study was conducted in selected rural areas of moodbidri. The instrument used for the study was structured knowledge questionnaire. Results: The result showed that most of the of the subjects (55%) had poor knowledge, 41.67% of the subjects had average knowledge, 3.33% had good knowledge regarding prevention of pneumonia. the mean percentage of level of knowledge is 40.66. Conclusion: the study concluded that the knowledge regarding prevention of pneumonia among middle age adults was low and there is a need to improve it. Keywords: pneumonia, knowledge

Estimation of ICRISAT Sorghum Research Spillover Benefits – Strategies for Research Prioritization. Research Report No 72.

ICRISAT is working on sorghum crop improvement primarily in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa since 1972. Diversified regional focuses and collaborations with different national and international institutes marked the sorghum genetic enhancement research at ICRISAT to a six phase strategy beginning from 1972 to the present. In the initial years, the main focus was on development of improved populations, composites and open pollinated varieties of sorghum. But with rapid development of the hybrid seed industry in Asia and re-orientation of research programs in sub-Saharan Africa, emphasis was laid on developing improved hybrid parents (intermediate products) at ICRISAT, Patancheru for Asia, and finished products (varieties and hybrids) at other ICRISAT locations in Africa, through partnership research from 1995. The Hybrid Parents Research Consortium (HPRC) is a new initiative started in 2000 at ICRISAT, Patancheru with the objective of increasing the scope of accessibility to improved hybrids for poor farmers through effective public-private partnerships. So far, 270 improved sorghum cultivars were released using breeding materials by NARS across 45 countries in Asia, Africa and America between 1975 and 2016. These research products aimed at a given location may spill across regions, nations or even across traditional agro-ecological zones. The potential for such spillovers depends on several factors like bio-physical and socio-economic similarities between locations. Earlier attempts made by ICRISAT have documented the potential of inter- and intra-regional sorghum technology transfers. But, very little has been done in terms of assessing and systematically quantifying the potential and actual inter-regional spillovers from its own research and development efforts. The global sorghum research domains identified during the ICRISAT Mid Term Plan (1994-1998) were more than two decades old and there is a need to upgrade them for better targeting of sorghum crop improvement research at ICRISAT. The Multi-region, single commodity economic surplus model developed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research was adapted and modified for estimation of ICRISAT sorghum spillover benefits. Gross benefits were estimated with an assumption that the global research investments being made at ICRISAT on international public good nature of innovative research. Based on these results, potential research domains, regions and countries were identified for better targeting of ICRISAT research. The findings emanated from this study will not only help in sorghum research prioritization at ICRISAT but also guide the future sorghum research investments portfolio

Rainy Season Sorghum Technology Adoption and Impact Study in Maharashtra. Research Report 70

This study on ‘Rainy season sorghum technology: Adoption and impact in Maharashtra’ was attempted to estimate the adoption of improved varieties and hybrids of rainy season sorghum in the three major regions of Maharashtra and its impact on the yields and incomes of the farmers and consumers in the state. The study was focused on the 13 major districts of Maharashtra where rainy season sorghum is grown and on 91 tehsils where the area under rainy season sorghum was at least 5000 ha per tehsil. These 91 tehsils together accounted for 77.2% of the total rainy season sorghum area in the state. A sample of 20 tehsils was drawn by giving weights to sorghum area and 360 farmers were chosen randomly as sample from 60 villages in 20 tehsils. One-half of the sample was drawn from Marathwada region, while Western Maharashtra and Vidarbha regions accounted for one-fourth of the sample each. The field survey was carried out during 2013 and the household data was pertained to the cropping year, 2012-13. The analysis of data revealed that rainy season sorghum was quite important in the cropping patterns of the sample farmers. The farmers were largely dependent on farming for their incomes; were in their middle age; had long experience with the rainy season sorghum; and had families with adverse sex ratios. Their size of holding averaged 3.16 ha, with irrigation coverage for about one-fourth of the holding. The survey showed that improved varieties spread is insignificant, while hybrids are popular with farmers. Hence, the study concentrated on hybrids adoption and their impact in the state. The first adoption patterns revealed that the hybrids took about 10 to 15 years to reach peaks of first adoption after their formal release. The cumulative adoption data endorsed the popularity of CSH 9, despite the arrival of private sector hybrids like Mahyco 51, MLSH 296, JKSH 22 and ProAgro 8340. In spite of the availability of information from research and extension departments, farmers predominantly accessed both information as well as seeds from local seed shops before adopting new hybrids. In the latest years, MLSH 296 (Dev Gen), CSH 9, ProAgro 8340, Mahyco 51 and JKSH 22 were the most popular hybrids in Maharashtra. Despite a depressing policy scenario and discrimination against sorghum, the public and private research investments in sorghum research were productive in increasing the yields of sorghum by 1% per year. Rainy season sorghum area in Maharashtra was nearly saturated with hybrids by the end of the 20th century itself. In this study, the performance of the hybrids released before the year 2000, and those released after were compared to judge whether the new hybrids had shifted the production function to the right and resulted in reduction in the unit cost of production. It was found that the weighted average unit cost of the hybrids released before 2000, was higher by USD 27 per ton when compared with the same of hybrids released after 2000. By reducing the unit cost of production by about 15%, the new set of hybrids resulted in substantial welfare benefits to the society. Using the ex-post framework developed by Bantilan et al. (2013), the welfare benefits of new hybrids in Maharashtra were estimated as USD 150 million during 30 years period ie, between 1993 and 2022. Thus, the new production technology of rainy season sorghum has benefitted the farmers as well as the consumers and also seed companies, seed dealers and other actors in the input delivery and output marketing channels

Development and Diffusion of Sorghum Improved Cultivars In India: Impact on Growth and Stability in Yield

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is one of the major staple foods for the poorest and most food-insecure people across the semi-arid tropics of the world. Sorghum bicolor ssp. Verticilliflorum is believed to be the progenitor of cultivated sorghum (Harlan, 1972). It is cultivated in wide geographic areas in Africa, Asia, Americas and the Pacific regions. While it is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world after wheat, maize, rice and barley, in India, sorghum is the fourth largest cereal crop after rice, wheat and pearl millet and the second major food crop in Africa after maize. Sorghum is often a recommended option for farmers operating in harsh environments where other crops do poorly, as it can be grown with limited rainfall (400-500 mm) and often without or with limited application of fertilizers and other inputs. In India, sorghum is grown in both rainy (2.6 million ha) and postrainy (3.5 million ha) seasons. An estimated 2 million ha is under forage sorghum, grown in the summer season. Nearly 30-40% of the rainy season sorghum is grown as the sole crop while the rest is cultivated as an intercrop with pulses and oilseeds in India. On the other hand, 90% of postrainy season sorghum is grown as a sole crop, which is most preferred for food purposes

Relationship between occupational stress and coping strategies among physical education teachers

The study aimed to examine the relationship between occupational stress and coping strategies adapted by physical education teachers. The sample consisted of 288 physical education teacher respondents working in secondary schools of Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka State. The respondents were responded to the Occupational Stress Index (Shrivastava and Singh, 1984) and Coping checklist by Rao et al.(1984). This Occupational Stress Index and Coping checklist are used with some modifications. The data were analyzed with the help of SPSS 17.0. Results revealed that five coping strategies out of 8 were best predicted occupational stress of the teachers. They are spiritual related coping, unproductive coping mechanism, unhealthy coping habits, social support coping, and physical activity related coping. Other coping strategies like problem solving coping strategy, healthy cognitive coping and high risk coping were less predicted

Antibacterial activity of Litsea glutinosa bark

The methanol extract of the bark of Litsea glutinosa showed antibacterial activity, comparable to chloramphenicol, against all 16 tested microorganisms. Q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve