Rice Production in India — Implications of Land Inequity and Market Imperfections

The relationship between farm productivity and farm structure has been analyzed focusing mainly on one channel of transmission of this relationship, viz. input-use pattern in rice production. The hypothesized relationship tested in this study is that land inequality influences access to/ use of resources in rice production and in-turn influences productivity. Market imperfections aggravate the negative effect of land inequity on productivity. Results have shown that smallholders’ share in inputs like fertilizers, and irrigation has increased over time, but a large number of smallholders still do not have access to these resources. Study has demonstrated that policies like fertilizer subsidy, agricultural credit, and minimum support prices are able to address market imperfections only partially. Hence, for improving productivity and profitability of rice production of smallholders in particular and other farmers in general, addressing of structural inequity needs attention besides a focus on technology development.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Potential Benefits of Bt Brinjal in India — An Economic Assessment

The potential economic benefits of Bt brinjal hybrids in terms of yield gain, reduction in insecticide-use, and increase in net returns per hectare have been reported in this study. Results have shown that adoption of Bt brinjal hybrids would provide yield gain of 37 per cent and reduction in total insecticide-use of about 42 per cent over non-Bt hybrids. Other benefits like increase in additional brinjal production (30 thousand tonnes), savings from insecticides (` 47 crore) against Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB), increase in net returns (` 11029/ha), and reduction in price of brinjal output (3%), etc. would be at 15 per cent adoption level. With increased adoption level of 60 per cent of Bt brinjal hybrids would provide, additional production of 119 thousand tonnes, savings from insecticides against FSB Rs 187 crore, increase in net returns ` 44117/ha and likely reduction in brinjal price by 15 per cent. Simulation of gains adopting Bt brinjal hybrids has shown that country may gain aggregate direct economic benefits between ` 577 crore and ` 2387 crore annually at 15 per cent and 60 per cent adoption levels of bt brinjal hybrids, respectively. The major gains will accrue to consumers (66% of total) and rest would go to the farmers. In brief, Bt brinjal offers a large scope to increase income of farmers, reduce its cost to consumers, improve food safety and reduce health hazards and environmental pollution. The results of study may be helpful in policy decision on Bt brinjal adoption in the context of smallholders agriculture.GM food crop, Bt brinjal hybrid, Fruit and shoot borer, Economic benefits, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q11, Q16, Q15,

Tracking Location Dependent Advertising Conversions

An ad conversion system proposes a new type of conversion technique. This technique tracks change conversions such as home and job changes which occurred as a result of advertisements (ads) searched. The system receives a search query from a user at a predetermined location for the user. In response to this search query, the system provides ads to the user. Thereafter, the system can receive a user interaction with one of the ads displayed to the user. After receiving this interaction, the system identifies a change in the predetermined location for the user. Subsequently, the system determines a conversion for the ad that the user interacted with

Measuring listening effort using physiological, behavioral and subjective methods in normal hearing subjects: Effect of signal to noise ratio and presentation level

The main objective of the study is to compare the effectiveness of pupillometry, working memory and subjective rating scale —the physiological, behavioral, and subjective measures of listening effort— at different signal to noise ratios (SNR) and presentation levels: when administered together. Eleven young normal hearing individuals with mean age of 21.7 years (SD=1.9 years) participated in the study. The HINT sentences were used for speech perception in noise task. The listening effort was quantified using peak pupil dilation, working memory, working memory difference, subjective rating of listening and recall effort. The rating of perceived performance, frustration level and disengagement were also obtained. Using a repeated measure design, we examined how SNR (+6 dB to -10 dB) and presentation level (50- and 65-dB SPL) affect listening effort. Tobii eye-tracker software and custom MATLAB programing were used for stimulus presentation and data analysis. SNR had significant effect on peak pupil dilation, working memory, working memory difference, and subjective rating of listening effort. Speech intelligibility had significant correlation with all of the listening effort measures except working memory difference. The listening effort measures did not correlate significantly when controlled for speech intelligibility indicating different underlying constructs. When effect sizes are compared working memory (η2p = 0.98) was most sensitive to SNR effect, followed by subjective rating of listening effort (η2p = 0.84), working memory difference (η2p = 0.52) and peak pupil dilation (η2p = 0.40). Only peak pupil dilation showed significant effect of presentation level. The physiological, behavioral and subjective measures of listening effort have different underlying constructs and the sensitivity of these measures varies in representing the effect of SNR and presentation level. The individual data trend analysis shows different breakdown points for physiological and behavioral and subjective measures. There is a need to further explore the relationship of listening effort measures across different SNRs also how these relationship changes in persons with hearing loss

Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch using Crow Search Algorithm

The optimal reactive power dispatch is a kind of optimization problem that plays a very important role in the operation and control of the power system. This work presents a meta-heuristic based approach to solve the optimal reactive power dispatch problem. The proposed approach employs Crow Search algorithm to find the values for optimal setting of optimal reactive power dispatch control variables. The proposed way of approach is scrutinized and further being tested on the standard IEEE 30-bus, 57-bus and 118-bus test system with different objectives which includes the minimization of real power losses, total voltage deviation and also the enhancement of voltage stability. The simulation results procured thus indicates the supremacy of the proposed approach over the other approaches cited in the literature

Preliminary phytochemical analysis & Invitro Antibacterial activity of Acacia catechu willd Bark against Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sanguis & Lactobacillus acidophilus

The objective of our study is to investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity of ethanolic  bark extract of Acacia catechu willd against selected oral microbes and to investigate the phytochemicals present in it. The inhibitory effect of the extract were tested against selected oral microbes by using the Macro broth dilution method .The ethanolic bark extract of Acacia catechu exhibited antibacterial activity against streptococcus mitis with minimum bactericidal concentration of  500µg/ml whereas the MBC for streptococcus sanguis and Lactobacillus acidophilus were found to be 1mg/ml, 5mg/ml,10mg/ml and the phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, amino acids , saponins, triterpenoids. The ethanolic  bark extract of Acacia catechu willd was found to be bactericidal  in action against tested bacterial strains and these action may be due to the presence of phytochemical constituents in it. 

AYURVEDIC CONCEPT OF LEUCORRHOEA: SWETA PRADARA

Gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system literally means the science of women. Woman has a unique existence in the universe created by the God. Womens health is the pivot not only for the healthy and happy status for her family, rather to the whole society or even to the nation at large. All women have experienced some short of vaginal discharge in her life span. White vaginal discharges along with the other symptoms like feeling of weakness, pain in the back and calves, loss of vital fluids, pruritis on and around the vulva, thighs and thigh joints etc., comes under the heading of Leucorrhoea, which is described as Sweta Pradara in Ayurvedic classics. In Samhitas all gynecological disorders comes under the headings of Yonivyapada. No any description of Sweta Pradara has been described by scholars of Brihatrayee. For abnormal white vaginal discharges, the word Sweta Pradara has been described in texts during and after medieval period

Preliminary phytochemical analysis & Invitro Antibacterial activity of Acacia catechu willd Bark against Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sanguis & Lactobacillus acidophilus

The objective of our study is to investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity of ethanolic  bark extract of Acacia catechu willd against selected oral microbes and to investigate the phytochemicals present in it. The inhibitory effect of the extract were tested against selected oral microbes by using the Macro broth dilution method .The ethanolic bark extract of Acacia catechu exhibited antibacterial activity against streptococcus mitis with minimum bactericidal concentration of  500µg/ml whereas the MBC for streptococcus sanguis and Lactobacillus acidophilus were found to be 1mg/ml, 5mg/ml,10mg/ml and the phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, amino acids , saponins, triterpenoids. The ethanolic  bark extract of Acacia catechu willd was found to be bactericidal  in action against tested bacterial strains and these action may be due to the presence of phytochemical constituents in it.