TRAINING NEEDS OF FARMERS ABOUT IMPROVED OPIUM PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY IN PRATAPGARH DISTRICT OF RAJASTHAN

ABSTRACT The opium (Papaver somniferum L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants. Opium is highly paying cash crop owing to the pricing policy of the Government of India. The opium latex is extracted from green but fully grown capsules which contain several alkaloids like morphine, codeine, thebaine, narcien, naroctine and papaverine etc. Opium dominantly contains analgesic, anti-tissue and antispasmodic properties, which are utilized in majority of the medicines. This study was conducted in in villages of two Tehsils Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan state on a sample of 120 opium growers. Findings reveal that opuim growers required more training needs in some of crucial training area viz; "Plant protection measures", "Method of lancing", "New techniques for latex collection", "Opium storage", "Quantity and method of manure and fertilizer application" and "Time of lancing". The "Processing", "Weed control management" and "Post-harvest technology" were least needed training areas of opium growers about improved opium production technology

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Not AvailableTrends in rainfall, rainy days and 24 h maximum rainfall are investigated using the Mann- Kendall non-parametric test at twenty-four sites of subtropical Assam located in the northeastern region of India. The trends are statistically confirmed by both the parametric and non-parametric methods and the magnitudes of significant trends are obtained through the linear regression test. In Assam, the average monsoon rainfall (rainy days) during the monsoon months of June to September is about 1606 mm (70), which accounts for about 70% (64%) of the annual rainfall (rainy days). On monthly time scales, sixteen and seventeen sites (twenty-one sites each) witnessed decreasing trends in the total rainfall (rainy days), out of which one and three trends (seven trends each) were found to be statistically significant in June and July, respectively. On the other hand, seventeen sites witnessed increasing trends in rainfall in the month of September, but none were statistically significant. In December (February), eighteen (twenty-two) sites witnessed decreasing (increasing) trends in total rainfall, out of which five (three) trends were statistically significant. For the rainy days during the months of November to January, twenty-two or more sites witnessed decreasing trends in Assam, but for nine (November), twelve (January) and eighteen (December) sites, these trends were statistically significant. These observed changes in rainfall, although most time series are not convincing as they show predominantly no significance, along with the well-reported climatic warming in monsoon and post-monsoon seasons may have implications for human health and water resources management over bio-diversity rich Northeast India.Not Availabl

Letter to the Editor

[Immune boosting properties of zinc are known, and its role in diarrhea is well established. Studies on role of zinc in pneumonia have shown variable results. However literature is scarce regarding its role in bronchiolitis.] Aims [To compare the efficacy of zinc versus placebo for treatment of severe bronchiolitis.] Method [Setting: Pediatrics department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Study duration: April 2010 to March 2011 Type of study: Double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Participants and intervention: 100 children between 3 months to 2 years of age with clinical diagnosis of severe bronchiolitis were randomized to receive oral zinc (10 mg/day for 3-6 mo, and 20 mg/day for > 6 mo) or placebo in once daily dose for 7 days in addition to standard supportive care. Outcome measures:Time to resolution of severe bronchiolitis; Secondary outcome variables: Resolution of individual signs/symptoms (lower chest indrawing, fast breathing, inability to feed,); duration of hospitalization, duration of intravenous fluid therapy, and duration of oxygen therapy.] Results [Children receiving zinc or placebo were found to be comparable for median duration of resolution of severe bronchiolitis (46 hours vs. 40 hours, P =0.37), resolution of lower chest indrawing (46 hours vs. 40 hours, P =0.35), resolution of fast breathing (64 hours vs. 72 hours, P =0. 90) and resolution of inability to feed (16 hours vs. 8 hours, P =0.19). Also, no significant difference was observed in secondary outcomes between the two groups.] Conclusion [Short term supplementation with zinc, given during the course of illness does not result in faster resolution of severe bronchiolitis.

A protection scheme for a power system with solar energy penetration

As renewable energy (RE) penetration has a continuously increasing trend, the protection of RE integrated power systems is a critical issue. Recently, power networks developed for grid integration of solar energy (SE) have been designed with the help of multi-tapped lines to integrate small- and medium-sized SE plants and simultaneously supplying power to the loads. These tapped lines create protection challenges. This paper introduces an algorithm for the recognition of faults in the grid to which a solar photovoltaic (PV) system is integrated. A fault index (FI) was introduced to identify faults. This FI was calculated by multiplying the Wigner distribution (WD) index and Alienation (ALN) index. The WD-index was based on the energy density of the current signal evaluated usingWigner distribution function. The ALN-index was evaluated using sample-based alienation coefficients of the current signal. The performance of the algorithm was validated for various scenarios with different fault types at various locations, different fault incident angles, fault impedances, sampling frequencies, hybrid line consisting of overhead (OH) line and underground (UG) cable sections, different types of transformer windings and the presence of noise. Two phase faults with and without the involvement of ground were differentiated using the ground fault index based on the zero sequence current. This study was performed on the IEEE-13 nodes test network to which a solar PV plant with a capacity of 1 MW was integrated. The performance of the algorithm was also tested on the western part of utility grid in the Rajasthan State in India where solar PV energy integration is high. The performance of the algorithm was effectively established by comparing it with the discreteWavelet transform (DWT),Wavelet packet transform (WPT) and Stockwell transform-based methods