Agricultural diversification in India and role of urbanization

Indian agriculture is diversifying during the last two decades towards High-Value Commodities (HVCs) i.e., fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, and fish products. The pace has been accelerated during the decade of 1990s. HVCs account for a large share in the total value of agricultural production. Supply and demand side factors coupled with infrastructural development and innovative institutions drive these changes. In this paper, the focus is on diversification towards HVCs in the context of urbanization. Group of urban districts (districts with >1.5 million urban population) have a higher share of HVCs compared to the urban-surrounded (near urban districts) and other districts (districts in the hinterland). Among the HVCs, vegetables and meat products have a higher share in urban districts compared to the other two groups. Milk production is more widespread due to excellent network of co-operatives and infrastructure facilities. Using GIS (geographic Information System) approach it was found that urban-surrounded districts with better road network connection to urban centers have been able to diversify towards HVC's to meet the demand in the urban centers. Model results further confirm these findings. Thus, urbanization is a strong demand side driver promoting HVCs. Since urban population is growing at more than 3% per annum, demand for HVCs will drive their production. The analysis has also brought out regional variations in HVCs across different districts in the country that has implications on regional development and planning, and consequently on public and private sector investment strategies.

One Relator Quotients of Graph Products

In this paper, we generalise Magnus' Freiheitssatz and solution to the word problem for one-relator groups by considering one relator quotients of certain classes of right-angled Artin groups and graph products of locally indicable polycyclic groups

Preparation of Alginate Gel Beads Containing Metformin Hydrochloride Using Emulsion- Gelation Method

A new emulsion gelation method was used to prepare gel beads for a highly water-soluble drug metformin hydrochloride using sodium alginate as the polymer. The gel beads containing oil was prepared by gently mixing or homogenizing oil and water phase containing sodium alginate which was then extruded into calcium chloride solution to produce gel beads. The effects of factors like type of oil and percentage of oil on the morphology and release characteristics were investigated. A variety of oils were used to study the effect on the sustaining property of the formed beads. The oil entrapped calcium alginate gel beads showed good sustained release. Scanning electron photomicrographs demonstrated minute oil globules on the beads and also through the inner surface of the beads. The beads also showed floating behavior depending on the type of the oil that have been used for the preparation. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 4 (2) 2005: pp. 489-49

Preliminary study on isozyme variation in silkworm germplasm of bombyx mori (L.) and its implication for conservation

Genetic diversity within and among twelve silkworm Bombyx mori races was investigated using metabolic enzymes viz., a-esterase (a- EST), b-esterase (b-EST), glucose fYphosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and acid phosphatase (ACP). A perusal of genetic diversity within and among races indicated that 28% of the observed variation occurred among races and the rest of the variation (72%) within races. The average rate of gene flow between pair wise comparisons of the twelve races was found to be very high (0.62). Genetic relatedness of the twelve races revealed fly the UPGMA dendrogram, showed genetic grouping of races in six clusters. NB4D2 and NB18 are genetically similar while BL-24 and Nistari are genetically distant races. Populations of silkworm races ]-112 and NB4D2 showed the highest genetic diversity, %polymorphism and more alleles, respectively. Their rich genetic diversity needs to be exploited in conservation and breeding programme

Written medical discharge communication from an acute stroke service: a project to improve content through development of a structured stroke-specific template

Specific guidelines for the content of discharge summaries from acute stroke services do not currently exist. The aims of this project were to assess the strengths and weaknesses of stroke discharge communication from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, to develop a structured template to guide completion, and to re-audit discharge communication following its implementation. The audit compared local performance against record standards from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (1), which was augmented by criteria generated from the British Association of Stroke Physicians (BASP) Stroke Service Standards (2). Discharge information was examined within the Trust’s Electronic Discharge Communication (EDC) system to determine the recording of selected items for consecutively discharged patients from the hyperacute and acute stroke units. The audit was repeated following implementation of a newly developed stroke-specific discharge summary template. Fifty-one EDC summaries were examined at baseline (July 2012) and 30 summaries at re-audit (January 2013). The criteria which showed low adherence initially and which showed the most significant improvement following the introduction of the template were the guidance on blood pressure and lipids targets (increased from 2% and 0% respectively at baseline, to 93% post intervention), and the driving and flying advice (from 3% to 79%). Documentation was also seen to improve for measures of physical and cognitive function, discharge arrangements, and follow up plans. This audit cycle has demonstrated improvement in the consistency of content within written discharge communication following the introduction of a structured stroke-specific template adhering to combined criteria from identified standards

Self emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS): a review

Self-emulsifying drug delivery system is mixture of oils, surfactant, cosurfactant, which are emulsified in aqueous media under condition of gentle stirring and digestive motility that would be encountered in the gastrointestinal tract. SEDDS is one of the approaches to improve the oral bioavailability of the hydrophobic drugs. The liquid SEDDS can be converted into solid dosage form without affecting drug release property. Due to its small size the micro/nano emulsified drug can easily be absorbed through lymphatic pathways thereby bypassing the hepatic first-pass effect. The main benefit of this approach is that pre-dissolving the compound overcomes the initial rate limiting step of particulate dissolution in the aqueous environment within the GI tract. Self-emulsification occurs when entropy changes that favor dispersion is greater than the energy required to increase the surface area of the dispersion

Convergent variational calculation of positronium-hydrogen-atom scattering lengths

We present a convergent variational basis-set calculational scheme for elastic scattering of positronium atom by hydrogen atom in S wave. Highly correlated trial functions with appropriate symmetry are needed for achieving convergence. We report convergent results for scattering lengths in atomic units for both singlet ($=3.49\pm 0.20$) and triplet ($=2.46\pm 0.10$) states.Comment: 11 pages, 1 postscript figure, Accepted in J. Phys. B (Letter

Impact of Community-led Total Sanitation on Women’s Health in Urban Slums: A Case Study from Kalyani Municipality

This Evidence Report seeks to understand the health and other impacts of slum women’s access to sanitation through the Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach. It also examines the process through which open defecation free (ODF) status was attained in two different slum colonies, the resulting health impacts and the collective action that took place around both sanitation and other development benefits. The study was conducted in the slums of Kalyani, a Municipality town located 55km north of Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal state in India. From an area plagued with rampant open defecation, the slums of Kalyani were transformed into the first ODF town in India in 2009. This was achieved through the CLTS model that focused on motivating the community to undertake collective behaviour change to achieve ‘total’ sanitation and an ODF environment. This was in sharp contrast to earlier, top-down approaches to the provision of toilets, which had failed to ensure ownership or usage by the community. The benefits of CLTS to the community were not limited to changed sanitation behaviour and an end of open defecation – there were significant development and health gains beyond sanitation. Women’s health in this study has been viewed not just in terms of the presence or absence of disease burden on the physical health of women but also in terms of their socio-psychological wellbeing resulting from reduced risks and a wide range of benefits accruing from better sanitation and hygiene practices and facilities. The study also focused on exploring the extent to which the CLTS process can be said to have empowered women. As experiences of good health and wellbeing are affected by factors in the external environment, namely the role of the local government, women’s access to health services and the involvement of multiple sectors, these issues were also considered, in order to understand the overall health status and experiences of women in Kalyani slums.UK Department for International Developmen