Public Good Provision in Indian Rural Areas: the Returns to Collective Action by Microfinance Groups

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are the most common form of microfinance in India. We study the impact of collective actions undertaken by these groups, composed of women only, on the variety of public goods the elected local authorities deal with. We provide a simple model that suggests two hypotheses that we test and confirm using first hand data. The rst hypothesis states that local authorities provide a larger variety of public goods when SHGs undertake collective actions, compared to a situation with exclusive provision by the local authority. The second hypothesis states that local authorities begin or increase the provision of public goods preferred by SHGs and that these might include goods that exert a negative externality on other villagers. We provide evidence of an important non-financial benefit of microfinance: it provides a platform that allows socially disadvantaged women to meet regularly and discuss problems. When they undertake collective actions to solve those problems, these are recognized by the local authorities. Problems that are closer to the needs of women seem to find their way into the political agenda.

Public Good Provision in Indian Rural Areas : The Returns to Collective Action by Microfinance Groups

Self-help groups (SHGs) are the most common form of microfinance in India. The authors provide evidence that SHGs, composed of women only, undertake collective actions for the provision of public goods within village communities. Using a theoretical model, this paper shows that an elected official, whose aim is to maximize reelection chances, exerts higher effort in providing public goods when private citizens undertake collective action and coordinate their voluntary contributions towards the same goods. This effect occurs although government and private contributions are assumed to be substitutes in the technology of providing public goods. Using first-hand data on SHGs in India, the paper tests the prediction of the model and shows that, in response to collective action by SHGs, local authorities tackle a larger variety of public issues, and are more likely to tackle issues of interest to SHGs. The findings highlight how the social behavior of SHGs can influence the governance of rural Indian communities

Influence of row spacing on canopy and seed production in grain amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.)

A new crop recently introduced in Italy is amaranth. Studies involving agronomic techniques on this plant are limited. The aim of the present research was to assess the effect of distance between rows on both seed yield and ground cover in Amaranthus cruentus L. Sowing treatments included two single row spacing designs (18 and 60 cm) and one double row spacing design (18 + 60 cm). At the six true leaf stage, in the single row design of 60 and 18 cm row spacing, ground cover was 16% and 47% respectively. An intermediate coverage of 31% was evident in the double rows. At the ten true leaf stage, plants cultivated in single rows at 18 cm covered the ground early, thereby attaining a ground cover of 85%. Regarding yield, a seed production of 0.92 t ha-1 was obtained from plants in the double row design compared to the respective single row spacing designs of 18 and 60 cm, where yields were 0.85 and 0.70 t ha-1 respectively. The selection of one mode of sowing over another will largely depend on the type of equipment available to the farm. Whilst single row spacing distances of 18 cm displayed a net of advantage against weeds, difficulties were encountered in the case of managing weeds by mechanical equipment. The use of double rows permitted taking advantage of a slightly better ground cover than single rows, together with the possibility of mechanical intervention for the control of weeds, and importantly also provided a higher yield

Amaranthus cruentus L. is suitable for cultivation in Central Italy: field evaluation and response to plant densities

The aim of this study was to determine the possibility of amaranth cultivation in Central Italy and to determine the optimum plant density. Field trials were carried out in 2011 and 2012 under non-irrigated conditions in Tuscany (43° 18’ N, 11° 47’ E). Twelve accessions of two amaranth species (Amaranthus cruentus L. and A. hypochondriacus L.) were utilised. Genotypes were evaluated over a two-year period using a RCB design with three replicates. The effects of plant density were investigated in 2012. A with a split-plot design was used, where the A. cruentus accessions (AMES 5148, PI 511719 and PI 643045) constituted the main plots. Plant densities (7.5, 15, 30 and 60 plants m–2) constituted the subplots. Plants were transplanted at the 3-4 true leaf stage. Morphological traits were determined using 5 plants selected from the two central rows of the sampling area. Plots were hand-harvested and cleaned with a mechanical grid with appropriate sieve diameters. A. cruentus was shown to be more suitable to the Central Italy agro-ecological conditions than A. hypochondriacus. The accessions derived from Mexico (PI 477913, PI 576481, PI 643045, PI 643053, and PI 6495079), Guatemala (PI 511719) and Puerto Rico (AMES 5148), had both higher grain yields and a greater stability over the two-year period, with a mean grain production ranging from 2.8 to 3.2 t ha–1. The severe climatic stress in 2012 (high temperatures and aridity), resulted in a 43-60% reduction in seed production compared to that of the previous year. Under these conditions, PI 511719, AMES 26015, AMES 5386, AMES 5148, PI 477913 yielded on average 1.9 t ha–1. Yields of A. hypochondriacus were negligible in both years, probably attributable to greater photoperiod sensitivity, resulting in reduced flowering and delayed maturity. By increasing density up to 60 and 30 plants m–2 for PI 511719 and AMES 5148, respectively, grain production was increased by 55%. As the plant population increased, plant height, panicle length and diameter, basal stem diameter and branches per plant were reduced. AMES 5148 plants were composed of one single stem with apical panicles at a density of 30 plants m–2, whilst the other two accessions were similar at the highest plant density. Branch number per plant was negatively correlated with grain production (r=–0.536**). Hence, A. cruentus may be grown in Central Italy even under arid conditions, using a density of either 30 or 60 plants m–2 according to the genotype used

Experimental damage evaluation of open and fatigue cracks of multi-cracked beams by using wavelet transform of static response via image analysis

In this study, a method for crack detection and quantification in beams based on wavelet analysis is presented. The static deflection is measured at particular points along the length of (i) real damaged structures, using few displacement transducers and a laser sensor, and (ii) simulated structures, using closed-form analysis, for a given location of a concentrated load along the beam. Furthermore, the measurement of the beam displacements in a large number of spatially distributed points is made by processing digital photographs of the beam. The smoothed deflection responses of the cracked beams are then analyzed using the wavelet transform. For this purpose, a Gaus2 wavelet with two vanishing moments is utilized. The wavelet transform spikes are used as indicators to locate and quantify the damage; furthermore, the multi-scale theory of wavelet is employed, in order to eliminate or at least reduce the spurious peaks and enhance the true ones. Simply supported beams with single and double cracks are used to demonstrate the devised methodology. Open and fatigue cracks of different sizes and locations have been used in the examples. In a closed-form analysis, the damage is modeled as a bilinear rotational spring with reduced stiffness in the neighborhood of the crack location. Damage calibration of simply supported steel beams with open and fatigue cracks has been carried out experimentally using this technique. A generalized curve has been proposed to quantify the damage in a simply supported beam. Based on the experimental study, the spatial wavelet transform is proven to be effective to identify the damage zone even when the crack depth is around 3% of the height of the beam

Production performance of dairy cows after the dietary addition of clinoptilolite

Clays are frequently proposed for the addition to dairy cattle diets to reduce the transfer of mycotoxins in milk. This study examined the effect of the addition of Clinoptilolite to the diet of lactating dairy cows on milk production and milk com- position. Thirty-two lactating Holstein cows (average lactation length: 142 d) were blocked according to milk production, parity, and days of lactation for assignment to one of two dietary treatments: control diet; control diet + Clinoptilolite, 200g/d. The control diet was based on corn and alfalfa silages, hay and concentrates, and did not contain aflatoxins above the safe level. The experimental period lasted 76 days. The Clinoptilolite supplementation did not affect milk yield and milk composition other than urea contents. The urea level in milk was negatively affected by Clinoptilolite addition (con- trol group 29.7 mg/100 ml vs Clinoptilolite group 31.3 mg/100ml). The dietary addition of Clinoptilolite did not change pH, ammonia content and VFA molar percentages in the rumen. No dietary effect on mineral contents of blood plasma (Na, K, Zn, and Ca) was observed. In case of clinoptilolite use in dairy cattle feeding, scarce negative effect on milk pro- duction and quality are expected

Endocrine cells distribution in human proximal small intestine: an immunohistochemical and morphometrical study

Atrophy of the pancreatic remnant after pancreaticoduodenectomy might be consequent to deregulation of pancreatic endocrine stimuli after duodenal removal. Relative technical surgical solution could be the anastomosis of the 1st jejunal loop to the stomach and the 2nd to the pancreatic stump. Data on the distribution of endocrine cells within the proximal intestine might represent the lacking tile of the problem. Our aims were to investigate the distribution pattern of serotonin, cholecystokinin and secretin cells in the duodenum, the 1st and 2nd jejunal loops of humans. Bowel specimens of ten patients submitted to pancreaticoduodenectomy were collected; immunohistochemical reactions and morphometric analyses were performed. A general ab-oral decrease of enteroendocrine cells was found. The rate of serotonin cells showed a significant 30.67±8.13% reduction starting from the 1st jejunal loop versus duodenum. The rate of both cholecystokinin and secretin cells in the duodenum was superimposable to that in the 1st jejunal loop, with a significant 62.88±4.80% loss of cholecystokinin and 39.5±9.31% of secretin cells in the 2nd loop. After removal of duodenum, preservation of the 1st jejunal loop could impact the function of pancreatic remnant maintaining the physiological enteroendocrine stimulus for pancreatic secretion that can compensate, at least in part for the abolished duodenal hormonal release