Pressure and temperature dependence of growth and morphology of Escherichia coli: Experiments and Stochastic Model

We have investigated the growth of Escherichia coli E.coli, a mesophilic bacterium, as a function of pressure $P$ and temperature $T$. E.coli can grow and divide in a wide range of pressure (1-400atm) and temperature ($23-40^{\circ}$C). For $T>30^{\circ}$ C, the division time of E.coli increases exponentially with pressure and exhibit a departure from exponential behavior at pressures between 250-400 atm for all the temperatures studied in our experiments. For $T<30^{\circ}$ C, the division time shows an anomalous dependence on pressure -- first decreases with increasing pressure and then increases upon further increase of pressure. The sharp change in division time is followed by a sharp change in phenotypic transition of E. Coli at high pressures where bacterial cells switch to an elongating cell type. We propose a model that this phenotypic changes in bacteria at high pressures is an irreversible stochastic process whereas the switching probability to elongating cell type increases with increasing pressure. The model fits well the experimental data. We discuss our experimental results in the light of structural and thus functional changes in proteins and membranes.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figure

Indian Handicrafts in Globalization Times: An analysis of Global-Local Dynamics

Globalization - which refers to the growing integration of societies, economies and cultures around the world, has become one of the most hotly-debated topics and key area of research among the policy makers, statesmen, corporate, politicians and academia respectively over the past few years. As India opens up her doors to the multinationals during the era of economic reform and liberalized market, putting an end to the 'license raj', it is not only the economies that often meet in the global market sphere, but also the people and cultures, which bring a new dimension to the multi-cultural setting. What we can see in present day modern world is that there is always a cross-cultural interaction between the 'local' and 'global' and the much discussed 'global village', is now not just a possibility but a reality despite many contradictions. Talking about Indian Handicrafts, which constitutes a significant segment of the decentralized sector of the economy, its export has reached at a commendable height. Indian folk art and crafts which are the integral parts of the Indian culture and tradition, are in high demand among the western consumers. Again, foreign fashion industry borrows a great deal from Indian appliquéd motifs Saree designs, an ethnic Indian wear. Needless to say, the borders between the world cultures are now eroding out and becoming irrelevant, therefore prompting to call it as a deterritorialized world. But notwithstanding, the real concern for many of us is that, can the 'local' really meet with the 'global' by truly sustaining its localness? The biggest problem in the Indian Handicraft industry is that the village craftsmen remain concerned that with free trade and mass production, hand-made products from other parts of the world will out price the products of their hard labour. So the basic question arises, is globalization a panacea for every human problems that the mother earth is facing now? With a brief theoretical understanding, this paper looks at globalization's increasing impact on Indian handicrafts and crafts persons. It tries to assess how far globalization serves as an opportunity and threat to the artisans. The role of the government in promoting the crafts and protecting the artists will also be discussed before concluding the paper.globalization, handicraft, global, local, glocal

Female headship, poverty and child welfare: A study of rural orissa, India

First, on the basis of primary data collected in a rural setting in the State of Orissa, an attempt has been made in this paper to compare the socioeconomic status of male- and female- headed households. Subsequently the differences in the use of resources (time and money) between male-headed and female-headed households have been analysed. Finally, the paper explores the relative well-being of the children between the two groups, i.e., to what extent female headship influences children's access to social services, and children's actual welfare outcomes, measured in terms of health and education indicators. The results suggest that poverty and female headship are strongly linked in rural Orissa, India. For eample, if we draw a poverty line that corresponds to 15 per cent of the population who are poor, 12 per cent of people living in male-headed househols are poor as compared with 33 per cent of people living in female-headed households. This result is based on per capita consumption as the welfare indicator. When 40 per cent poverty line is used, the differences are still large in economic terms and are statistically significant. Moreover, when we use adjusted consumption as the welfare indicator, the comparisons show a much higher incidence of poverty among female-headed households. This is true for both masures of poverty line, i.e., 15 per cent and 40 per cent. Thus, we conclude that female headship can be a better targetting indicator for poverty alleviation in rural Orissa. The results further suggest that the use of resources are significantly different between the two types of households. Labour force participation data indicate that female heads are more likely to work in the market place than women who are spouses of male heads of household. The differences are large: on average 74 per cent verus 54 per cent. The comparison of household expenditures indicates that, female-headed households spend relatively less on higher quality food items such as meat, vegetables, milk and other dairy products. However, there is some evidence that they spend less on personal consumption such as alcoholic beverages. Overall, the differences are pronounced between these households. Finally, the findings show that children in female-headed households are disadvantaged both in terms of access to social services and actual welfare outcomes.female headship, poverty, child welfare, gender,differential resource use, social services, household

Micro-Level Decision for Area Shift in Favour of High-Value Crops: A Case of Horticultural Crops

Area shift towards horticultural crops is vital for increasing farm income, productivity and overall employment in the agricultural sector. Several economic (price and income) and non-economic (food-security concerns) factors influence farmers’ decisions at the farm level. This paper has examined the role of both price and income, along with the role of food-security goals, in the decision-making of farmers regarding shift from low-value crops (food crops) to high-value commercial crops (horticultural crops). It has been shown that higher food requirements at home inhibit the extent of crop-substitution decision of the farmers. However, farmers are less responsive to the changes in the prices of food grains (in terms of changing their consumption) as higher income from high-value crops provide adequate money to purchase food crops from the market. Relative income (not the relative price) of the crops has been found to explain the crop-substitution decisions of the farmers. The farmers have been reported to calculate the aggregate gain from the crop rather calculating only the price of the crop, while making the decision to shift. Their capacity to generate higher productivity along with better market prospects have been recorded to explain farmers’ decision to shift area.Agricultural and Food Policy,