Effect of Liberalization on Institutional Agricultural Credit Flow and its Relationship with Average Cost of Cultivation in Indian Agriculture

This paper has examined (i) the nature and extent of inter-state disparities in per hectare flow of short-term institutional credit to agriculture, and (ii) its relationship with average cost of cultivation across states. It has covered all the six regions of the country comprising seventeen agriculturally most important states having about 96 per cent agricultural land in the country. It has revealed that inter-regional disparities in per hectare flow of institutional credit as measured through coefficient of variation (CV) had increased during the pre-liberalization period between 1980-81 and 1990-91. During the post-liberalization era (1991-92 to 2001-02), the inter-regional disparities have reduced. The per hectare institutional credit flow has shown that in most of the states across the country the coverage has increased though in different degrees during the post-liberalization stage over the pre-liberalization period. But, the coverage has still remained very low (below 20 per cent of cost of cultivation), except in the four states of southern region and Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in the northern region in 2001-02.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

A Review of Milk Production in Bangladesh with Particular Emphasis on Small-Scale Producers

The purpose of the study is to assess the economics of dairy farming in Bangladesh and the prospects for improving the dairy income for small-scale producers, which currently form the backbone of the dairy industry. The document begins with a general overview of milk production in the country, followed by a detailed study of dairy farming in the in the northern district of Sirajganj. The study applies a method of farm-level economic analysis developed by the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) which is based on the concept of 'typical farms'. Three farm types were identified as 'typical' in the district and were subjected to detailed analysis: A two cow farm with 0.4 ha of land, a ten cow farm with 1.6 ha of land and a 25 cow farm with 1.8 ha of land. Each farm is described in detail with assets, production costs, profits and other economic information presented both graphically and in the text. Preliminary estimates of the margins in the dairy chain are provided. The study concludes that milk production from bovines in Bangladesh is not competitive internationally and that under a liberal trade regime for dairy products dairy farmers in Bangladesh are unlikely to fully benefit from the vast increase in milk demand predicted to occur over the next ten years unless productivity is significantly improved.Costs of production, Bangladesh, milk, policy, poverty reduction, small scale dairy, typical farms, Livestock Production/Industries,

Is all hypoglycaemia treated as equal? An observational study of how the type of diabetes and treatment prescribed prior to admission influences quality of treatment of inpatient hypoglycaemia

Aims: Inpatient hypoglycaemia is common and associated with adverse outcomes. There is often increased vigilance of hypoglycaemia in inpatients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) compared to type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We aimed to investigate this apparent discrepancy, utilising the time to repeat (TTR) capillary blood glucose (CBG) measurement as a surrogate for engagement with guidelines stating that CBG should be rechecked following intervention within 15 min of an initial CBG of <4 mmol/L. Methods: This is an observational study of inpatient CBG data from 8 hospitals over a 7-year period. A national diabetes registry allowed identification of individual’s diagnosis and diabetes therapy. For each initial (index) CBG, the TTR for individuals with T2DM—on insulin or sulphonylurea—was compared with the TTR for individuals with T1DM, using a t test for significance performed on log(TTR). The median TTR was plotted for each group per index CBG. Results: In total, 1480,335 CBG measurements were obtained. A total of 26,664 were <4 mmol/L. The TTR in T2DM individuals on sulphonylurea was significantly greater than in T1DM individuals where index CBG was ≥2.3 mmol/L (except index CBG 2.6 mmol/L). For T2DM patients receiving insulin significance exists for index CBGs of ≥3.2 mmol/L. Conclusions: This analysis suggests that quality of care of hypoglycaemia varies according to diagnosis and medication. The group with the highest TTR (T2DM sulphonylurea treated) are possibly the clinical group in whom hypoglycaemia is most concerning. These data therefore suggest a need for education and raising awareness within the inpatient nursing staff

Water-pipe smoking and albuminuria: new dog with old tricks

Water-pipe (WP) smoking is on rise worldwide for the past few years, particularly among younger individuals. Growing evidence indicates that WP smoking is as harmful as cigarette smoking. To date, most of the research has focused on acute health effects of WP smoking, and evidence remains limited when it comes to chronic health effects in relation to long-term WP smoking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the association between WP smoking and albuminuria in apparently healthy individuals. This analysis was conducted on data of a population-based cross-sectional study—the Urban Rural Chronic Diseases Study (URCDS). The study sample was recruited from three sites in Pakistan. Trained nurses carried out individual interviews and obtained the information on demographics, lifestyle factors, and past and current medical history. Measurements of complete blood count, lipid profile, fasting glucose level, and 24-hour albuminuria were also made by using blood and urine samples. Albumin excretion was classified into three categories using standard cut-offs: normal excretion, high-normal excretion and microalbuminuria. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between WP smoking and albuminuria. The final analysis included data from 1,626 health individuals, of which 829 (51.0%) were males and 797 (49.0%) females. Of 1,626 individuals, 267 (16.4%) were current WP smokers and 1,359 (83.6%) were non-WP smokers. WP smoking was significantly associated with high-normal albuminuria (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.68-3.22, p-value <0.001) and microalbuminuria (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.18-2.58, p-value 0.005) after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, social class, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. WP smoking was significantly associated with high-normal albuminuria and microalbuminuria when analysis was stratified on hypertension and diabetes mellitus categories. WP smoking has a strong association with albuminuria in apparently healthy individuals. More research is warranted to evaluate the temporality of this association between WP smoking and albuminuria

Exploring Possible Seasonal Trends in Mortality Rate in Relation to Age, Gender and Environmental Conditions in Kuwait: A Preliminary Analysis

Inherently, Kuwait a high frequency of dusty events through out the year due to its arid climate. Particulate air pollution has been linked to increased mortality due to various illnesses. For the purpose of improving health services, it is important to develop/establish an empirical basis for the possible link between mortality and air quality. In this paper, we examined mortality rates in Kuwait in relation to age, sex and dust episodes during a five-year period. Each year was divided into four seasons to detect any potential episodes in the death rate for a particular season. The results showed that the mortality rates did not correlate significantly (p  = 0.67) with the occurrence of total dust events. Contrary to the popular perception in Kuwait that illnesses and, consequently, deaths increased in recent years as a result of deteriorating air quality due to particulate matter, the collected data did not show a consistent temporal trend. While this work represents an initial effort on an important issue upon which further investigations can be elaborated upon, a more detailed data have to be collected and analyzed

Women’s Development Towards Inclusive Growth: A Study of Selected South Asian Women

Economic growth incorporating women\u27s participation opens many economic opportunities for women which not only upgrade women\u27s status in society but also make growth more inclusive. Improved condition and position of women in society play an important role in developing women along with enhancing their economic role. Besides explaining the significant role of women in an economy. This paper also throws some light on the need for good governance to enhance their economic role. In this context to evaluate the effect of the development of women on inclusive growth panel data models named the Fixed-Effect and Random-Effect Models have been used. Moreover, the models of White, Rogers, and Driscoll-Kraay estimators are also applied for robustness considering the three selected South Asian countries for the period between 2000-2021. The study finds that developing women play an influential role in inclusive growth and this relationship becomes more significant in the presence of good governance. Thus, it has been recommended that there should be a special focus on government policies towards women’s education, health, and political representation to make economic growth more inclusive by enhancing their economic role through their development

MATHEMATICAL MODELLING FOR MAGNETITE (CRUDE) REMOVAL FROM PRIMARY HEAT TRANSFER LOOP BY ION-EXCHANGE RESINS

The present research focuses to develop mathematical model for the removal of iron (magnetite) by ion-exchange resin from primary heat transfer loop of process industries. This mathematical model is based on operating capacities (that's provide more effective design as compared to loading capacity) from static laboratory tests. Results showed non-steady state distribution of external Fe2+ and limitations imposed on operating conditions, these conditions includes; loading and elution cycle time, flow rate, concentration of both loading and removal, volume of resin required. Number of generalized assumptions was made under shortcut modeling techniques to overcome the gap of theoretical and actual process design. KEY WORDS: Magnetite, Mathematical modeling, Ion-exchange resin, Operating capacity, Loading capacity Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2009, 23(1), 129-133

Salt stress induces genotype-specific DNA hypomethylation in ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes in maize

Maize, a moderately salt sensitive crop, first experiences osmotic stress that cause reduction in plant growth under salt stress. Fluctuation in cell wall elongation is one of the reasons of this reduction. Along with others, two important proteins expansins and xyloglucan endotransglucosylase are involved in regulation of cell wall elasticity, but the role of epigenetic mechanisms in regulating the cell wall related genes is still elusive. The present study was conducted with the aim of understanding the role of DNA methylation in regulating ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes. One salt sensitive and one salt tolerant maize cultivar was grown under hydroponic conditions at different levels of salt stress: T1 = 1 mM (control), T2 = 100 mM and T3 = 200 mM in three replicates. DNA and RNA were extracted from roots. After bisulfite treatment, Methyl Sensitive PCR was used for the DNA methylation analysis. It was revealed that fragment in promoter of ZmEXPB2 gene showed high level of DNA methylation under T1 in both varieties. Comparison of different stress treatments revealed decrease in DNA methylation with the increase in salt stress, significantly lower methylation appearing in T3. Similarly, the fragment in promoter of ZmXET1 gene also showed high levels of DNA methylation in T1. When different treatments were analysed, this gene significantly hypomethylated at T2 which continued to decrease in T3 in sensitive variety but remain stable in tolerant variety. Although, further in-depth analysis is required, our results demonstrate region-specific and genotype-specific methylation shift in the promoter of the ZmEXPB2 and ZmXET1 genes when subjected to the salt stress confirming the epigenetic regulation of these genes under stress conditions

An elective combined caesarean section and small bowel GIST resection during the third trimester of pregnancy: Report of a case

AbstractINTRODUCTIONGastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumours (GISTs) are rare with an estimated incidence of only 11–15 per million. In pregnancy, GISTs are an extremely rare occurrence and are thus complex to manage from an ethical, surgical and oncological perspective.PRESENTATION OF CASEWe present the first reported case in the literature of a successful combined lower segment caesarean section (LSCS) and a tumour resection in a 31-year-old pregnant patient presenting with a small bowel GIST.DISCUSSIONWe compare and contrast our case with other reported cases of GIST resection in pregnancy and discuss the challenges faced by both patients and clinicians.CONCLUSIONOur case demonstrates that a combined LSCS and GIST resection is feasible. In addition, our case highlights the importance of both the multidisciplinary setting and the consideration of patients’ wishes in the successful management of this complex group of patients