A prospective study on the role of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy on surgical outcome in resectable oesophageal carcinoma

Background: Initial results of the chemo-radiotherapy for oesophageal cancer followed by surgery study (CROSS) comparing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) plus surgery versus surgery alone in patients with squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus or oesophagogastric junction showed a significant increase in 5-year overall survival in favour of the NACRT plus surgery group after a median of 45 months' follow-up. In this study we will interpret the short-term results of NACRT on resectable, locally advanced oesophageal carcinoma.Methods: Patients with clinically resectable, locally advanced cancer of the oesophagus or oesophagogastric junction (clinical stage T1N1M0 or T2-3N0-1M0, according to the AJCC, 8th  edition) were assigned to receive weekly administration of four cycles of NACRT (intravenous carboplatin [AUC 2 mg/mL per min] and intravenous paclitaxel [50 mg/m 2 of body-surface area] for 23 days) with concurrent radiotherapy (41·4 Gy, given in 23 fractions of 1·8 Gy on 5 days per week) followed by McKeown’s oesophagectomy from 01 January, 2020 to 31 May, 2021.Results: It was observed in our study that 38.46% patients had achieved a CPR after the administration of NACRT as per the CROSS-trial protocol which is comparable to PCR achieved in CROSS trial (29%). All the patients underwent an R0 resection during surgery (100%) which is comparable to CROSS trial (92%).12Conclusions: In our study which had collected data over a period of 17 months we learnt that the administration of NACRT in locally advanced oesophageal cancer was effective in reducing the tumor burden and achieving a satisfactory CPR of 38.46%

Agronomic efficiency and productivity of transplanted kharif rice (Oryza sativa) as influenced by fertilizer briquettes

An experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) season of 2022 at the research farm of Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam to evaluate the effect of fertilizer briquettes on growth and productivity of transplanted rice. The field experiment was laid out in RBD comprising of 13 treatments, replicated thrice. Growth of rice, panicles/m2 and yield were subjected to significant variation under different fertilizer management practices. Higher plant height, tillers/ m2, panicles/m2, yield and agronomic efficiency were recorded under FDP, 120% RDN + 100% P and K + ZnSO4 @10 kg/ha + biofertilizer (T12). This might be owing to reduced losses  of nutrients and efficient uptake by plants compared to broadcasted method of fertilizer application where most of the applied fertilizers were susceptible to various losses availing lesser amount of nutrients for crop uptake

Long-term management of rice agroecosystem towards climate change mitigation

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognize to agriculture the responsibility for about 15 % of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to global warming. The increasing nutrient inputs in industrial agriculture affect the GHG concentration in the atmosphere and varies substantially due to rate and type of fertilizers applied to the crops, making the management more or less sustainable. In this perspective, this study has investigated at small scale the effect of different adjusted agricultural management practices, based on different nutrient dosage, to optimize the effect of rice cropping systems on carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Farmyard manure (FYM), rice stubbles and Azolla integrated with chemical fertilizers have been correlated with microbial and enzymatic activities, and with different carbon and nitrogen fractions in acid Inceptisol. Results have revealed that the integrated nutrient management used in rice-rice agroecosystem yielded a peak for CO2 and CH4 emissions, whereas two peaks for N2O emission. This study has shown an increase in greenhouse gas emission intensity (GHGI) and grain yield of rice in the following order: rice stubbles > FYM > Azolla and it has confirmed CH4 emission as the dominant contributor to GHGI from the rice-rice agroecosystem. When analyzed together GHGs emission and soil properties, a positive correlation was found with biological properties as well as with the different carbon and nitrogen fractions in soil. The highest GHGI has been highlighted in the treatment where recommended dose of chemical fertilizers has been combined with rice stubbles, primarily due to the increase in CH4 emissions. In contrast, the lowest GHGI has been exhibited in Azolla treated plot, probably due to the cumulative effects of the photosynthetic rate of Azolla, the release of oxygen from the Azolla roots, and the physical protection capacity of the Azolla cover, which partially avoid the CH4 diffusion from the standing water. The seasonality did not affect the estimated rates of GHGI that have been lower both in case of winter and autumn rice compared to previous studies, probably for dissimilarities in management practices. Further research is required in other cropping sequences for addressing the ecological contribution of smallholder agriculture to help reducing GHG emissions, thus, mitigating global warming with actions at local scale