Gender Dimensions on Farmers’ Preferences for Direct-Seeded Rice with Drum Seeder in India

This study measures the willingness of male and female farmers to pay for climate-smart technology in rice. Rice is the most important crop in India in terms of area, production, and consumption. It is also the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions among all crops. Direct-seeded rice (DSR) with drum seeder, a climate-smart technology, requires less labor and water and is more climate friendly than transplanted rice; yet, its adoption is slow in India. The authors of this study carried out a discrete choice experiment with 666 farmers from the Palghar and Thane districts of Maharashtra to measure their willingness to pay for drum seeders—a key piece of equipment for adopting DSR. Both male and female farmers were surveyed to capture the heterogeneity in their valuation of the key attributes of drum seeders. Although both male and female farmers prefer cheaper drum seeders, the marginal valuation of different attributes of the drum seeder varies by the farmers’ gender. The authors also used the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), to collect self-reported data on the role and say of women in agriculture. The respective gender roles in the family and on the farm seem to explain some of this difference. Men have a greater say over how the family spends the cash. Accordingly, men tend to have a higher willingness to pay for attributes that increase income (increase in yield) or reduce cash costs (reduction in the seed rate). Women contribute a large share of the labor for transplanting rice, much of which is unpaid work on family farms. Not surprisingly, therefore, women seem to value labor saving significantly more than their male counterparts. Further, the WEAI data show that although men in the family have more say, women do have an influence on decisions regarding crop production and the adoption of new technologies, to an extent. Therefore, to enhance the adoption of drum seeders, the product designers and extension workers should also target women

A huge mesenteric teratoma in reproductive age woman: a case report

The incidence of dermoid ovarian cyst is 15-20% of all ovarian neoplasm, which is a common entity. Mesenteric cyst are one of the very rare entities with incidence of 1 in 2, 50, 000. Dermoid cysts rarely present as mesenteric cysts. Mesenteric dermoid cyst have good prognosis. Here, we report a rare abdominal tumor which was initially diagnosed clinically as an ovarian dermoid cyst but operative and histology revealed it to be mesenteric dermoid cyst. A 36 year-old, multiparous presented with abdominal mass, gradually increasing in size since 1 year with recent onset of abdominal pain. Physical examination revealed abdominal mass of 22×20 cm size, globular, non-tender, mobile, and cystic to solid in consistency. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) showed 23×21×14.4 cm heterogeneous enhancing mass lesion with areas of fat density and calcifications within, suggestive of neoplastic mass lesion, likely teratoma. Tumor markers were within normal limit. Patient was managed surgically. Laparotomy findings revealed a huge solid mesenteric mass (22×20 cm) weighing 6.5 kgs. Histopathology showed mature cartilage, osteoid formation, fibro-adipose connective tissue, focal lymphoid aggregates, congested blood vessels and focal mature neuronal component and no immature elements seen, confirming dermoid cyst. Mesenteric cyst are rare intra-abdominal tumor found most commonly in ileum (60%) next is ascending colon (40%). However, if a mesenteric cyst locates within the pelvic cavity, as in this case, it may be misdiagnosed as an ovarian cyst

Not an innocent bystander: case series of tranexamic acid induced cortical necrosis

Acute cortical necrosis accounts for <2% of all acute kidney injuries. Pregnancy complications, viperine snake bites, haemolytic uremic syndrome, shock, and severe pancreatitis are all linked to it. There are relatively few case reports of acute cortical necrosis secondary to tranexamic acid, which is utilised in the treatment of acute bleeding because of its antifibrinolytic actions. Acute cortical necrosis is very infrequently brought on by medicines. Here, we present a group of three instances, each of which experienced the onset of oligo-anuria soon after receiving tranexamic acid. Cortical necrosis was demonstrated by contrast computed tomography (CT) and renal biopsy. While the third patient had patchy cortical necrosis and had partially recovered renal functions, the other two patients both had total acute cortical necrosis and are still reliant on dialysis. This case series demonstrates the need for clinicians to be cautious while using tranexamic acid and to be aware of the possibility of abrupt renal cortical necrosis following its administration

Comparison of clinical outcomes of conventional hemodialysis and online hemodiafiltration

Background: Several studies have suggested that online hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) may reduce the risk of mortality and improve quality of life of these patients compared with standard hemodialysis. Methods: Forty stable out patients on dialysis (20 patients on hemodialysis and 20 patients on online hemodiafiltration) above age of 18 years and dialysis vintage of more than 3 months were followed up for 18 months. Clinical, biochemical parameters of these patients along with the SF-36 score at baseline and after 18 months of follow up were assessed. Results: At 18 months, statistically significant difference was found between hemodialysis (HD) and OL- HDF groups in erythropoietin dose (p=0.047), urea reduction ratio (p=0.016), Kt/V (p=0.005), hemoglobin (p=0.043), serum albumin (p=0.002), phosphorus (p=0.024), parathyroid hormone (p=0.007), potassium (p=0.007), β2 microglobulin (p=0.002), high sensitive c-reactive protein (p=0.037), and serum bicarbonate levels (p=0.022). We found statistically significant difference in intradialytic complications namely intradialytic hypotension, muscle cramps, simultaneous hypotension and muscle cramps and stoppage of dialysis. In terms of mortality, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.052). Conclusions: Patients on OL- HDF were having better quality of life than patients on HD. Better solute clearance, anemia control, improved nutritional and Mineral bone disorder parameters were seen in OL-HDF. Less complications during dialysis were seen with OL-HDF. The difference in mortality rate between the HD group and OL- HDF group was not statistically significant

A quantitative approach to influential factors in One Day International cricket: analysis based on Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Cricket Team has performed well in the recent past with steady traits of improvement. Apart from the players’ performance, some external factors are associated with the outcome of a cricket match. This paper investigates prematch toss, batting sequence, match time, opposition team’s origin and time (in years) as independent factors influencing the performance of the Bangladesh team. Outcomes of 314 One Day International (ODI) matches were fitted with a typical logistic regression model and modified Poisson model to explore the association of these factors with match results. Both models showed consistency, although the logistic model outcomes were extreme with wider confidence intervals for odds ratios, compared to the risk ratios of the modified Poisson regression model. Bangladesh, a country where cricket reflects nationalism, has shown significant improvement over time. They tend to perform better in day matches, play superior cricket against non-Asian teams and take full home advantage

Socioeconomic transition and its influence on Body Mass Index (BMI) pattern in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is an underdeveloped country that has recently joined the ranks of low-middle income countries. This study aims to investigate how socioeconomic and developmental factors have influenced women towards a shift in their Body Mass Index (BMI). The trend was analyzed using data on ever-married women from six nationwide surveys covering the years 1996 to 2014, conducted by the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). To assess the relationship between the socio-economic factors and BMI, binary regression models were fitted for six surveys and forest plots were applied to display the results. Factors such as age, education, residence, economic status and contraceptive use were found to have had an increasing influence on BMI over the years that were being analyzed. Age and education for women were potential factors influencing BMI. Growing urbanization and economic inequality were found to have been substantial over time and marital status and contraceptive use were influential whilst the employment status of women held no consequence. Rapid urbanization allied with growing wealth inequality and dietary alteration seems to have forced a change in the capacity of women in Bangladesh to control their weight. Additional information is still needed on such factors as the amount of time that women are inactive and sitting down, for example, as well as their daily calorie intake in order to assemble all the pieces for addressing necessary health policy changes in Bangladesh. These factors will also help to indicate a shift of focus from rural malnutrition to urban obesity

Pro-apoptotic and immunotherapeutic effects of carbon nanotubes functionalized with recombinant human surfactant protein d on leukemic cells

Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Nanoparticles are efficient drug delivery vehicles for targeting specific organs as well as systemic therapy for a range of diseases, including cancer. However, their interaction with the immune system offers an intriguing challenge. Due to the unique physico-chemical properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered as nanocarriers of considerable interest in cancer diagnosis and therapy. CNTs, as a promising nanomaterial, are capable of both detecting as well as delivering drugs or small therapeutic molecules to tumour cells. In this study, we coupled a recombinant fragment of human surfactant protein D (rfhSP-D) with carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC) CNTs (CMC-CNT, 10–20 nm diameter) for augmenting their apoptotic and immunotherapeutic properties using two leukemic cell lines. The cell viability of AML14.3D10 or K562 cancer cell lines was reduced when cultured with CMC-mwCNT-coupled-rfhSP-D (CNT + rfhSP-D) at 24 h. Increased levels of caspase 3, 7 and cleaved caspase 9 in CNT + rfhSP-D treated AML14.3D10 and K562 cells suggested an involvement of an intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. CNT + rfhSP-D treated leukemic cells also showed higher mRNA expression of p53 and cell cycle inhibitors (p21 and p27). This suggested a likely reduction in cdc2-cyclin B1, causing G2/M cell cycle arrest and p53-dependent apoptosis in AML14.3D10 cells, while p53-independent mechanisms appeared to be in operation in K562 cells. We suggest that CNT + rfhSP-D has therapeutic potential in targeting leukemic cells, irrespective of their p53 status, and thus, it is worth setting up pre-clinical trials in animal modelsFunding: This project was funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (MAARIFAH), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Award Number (15-NAN-3664-02)

Protective effects of amlodipine on mitochondrial injury in ischemic reperfused rat heart Author Details

Abstract The most significant finding of the present study was the release of nitric oxide (NO). The effect of amlodipine on NO production associated with ischemic reperfused (IR) injury was investigated in rat heart model. Cardiac tissues from animal groups were processed for biochemical, histopathological and electron microscopic studies. There was a significant increase in myocardial catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) enzymes in amlodipine treated group (1.37, 10.27, 6.39) when compared to IR injured group (0.81, 6.87, 4.53). Histopathology studies showed amlodipine reduce cardiocyte damage in cardiac injury during the cardiac IR. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) study confirmed the cardioprotective role of amlodipine against IR induced cardiac injury. On the basis of findings, it is hypothesized that a portion of the beneficial actions of amlodipine may involve the release or action of NO and probably by its antioxidant properties