Role of Watershed Management in Bridging Demand – Supply Gap of Fodder for Enhancing Livestock Production in Shivaliks, Haryana

Watershed programme is an important intervention in dryland areas to improve livestock productivity through increased feed and fodder supply. The present study has focused on the impact of watershed interventions on crop-livestock linkages with particular emphasis on how the interventions have affected the quantity of stovers/straws as livestock feeding materials in bridging the demand-supply gap. The study has been carried out in three typical Shivalik foothill watersheds (two treated and one untreated) in the Panchkula district of Haryana state. The impact of watershed development programme has been estimated by adopting both with and without approach and before and after approach. The untreated watershed has derived 65 per cent of its total income from animal husbandry. On the contrary, this sector has contributed 42 per cent and 20 per cent in two treated watersheds. The availability of supplemental irrigation enabled the villagers to step up cropping intensity. The number of goats has reduced considerably in both treated watersheds and the number of stall-fed buffaloes has increased. Adult cattle units per household and per hectatre of cultivated area have been found to be highest in the untreated watershed. Green and dry fodder availability, both from cultivated lands and forest area, has increased as a result of implementation of watershed programme. Although the gap between requirement and availability has narrowed down in both the treated watersheds, significant gains could be realized in Sambhalwa watershed due to sufficient water availability to all the households. Bunga watershed has also shown effectiveness of watershed development programme in reducing demand –supply gap of fodder. This gap, however, widened after reaching the saturation point of watershed programme, i.e. after 22 years of its implementation.Fodder, Demand-supply gap, Watershed management, Livestock production, Shivaliks, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q01, Q15, Q25, Q28,

Power Optimization in Johnson Counter through Clock Gating with Static Energy Recovery Logic

In the latest designs of VLSI, power dissipation is the main charge to take care. The dependency on micro electronics is rising as the size of chip is being compact & also the systems with minimal power are being prioritized. The computer systems are comprised of sequential circuitries & this is the reason that designs having minimal power absorption gave gained priority. In this document, we have suggested a schema on minimal power of Johnson Counter by employing a clock gating system & pass transistors in D flip flop. By making few judgements on power in SPICE, it is presumed that he suggested system design leads to minimal power decadence & has simple interlinking in contrast to the complicated traditional designs. In this document we put the outcomes of power in contrast in four methods that are TG ADCL i.e. Adiabatic Dynamic CMOS Logic, TG QSERL i.e. Quai static energy recovery logic, TG normal & TG split level pulse. Power has risen too high in TG ADCL, TG QSERL & TG normal

Soil Fertility under Grassland Compared to Other Land Uses in Acid Soil of Himachal Pradesh, India

In the last decades severe changes in land use occurred in tropical countries, due to increasing population and their demand for food resources. Forest land is rapidly converted into agriculture or pastureland which may cause significant changes in soil fertility. Land-use exerts significant effect on nutrient availability and may also influence secondary succession and biomass production (Lu et al., 2002). Nutrient cycling in agroforestry is in between natural forest ecosystems of the tropics and most of the agricultural systems with are ‘‘leaky’’ having higher nutrient losses. Research indicated that decline of soil organic matter may occur due to conversion of forest and grassland into agriculture (Ouattara et al., 2006). Tree growth is highly influenced by base cations (Ca, Mg, K, Na) concentration, cation exchange capacity, and concentrations of Al and Mn. Calcium and N are specifically important, as they are primary constituents of biomass and regulate cell function of many tree species. Base cations also help in alleviating the effects of Al toxicity in acid soil

Prediction for the 2020 United States Presidential Election using Machine Learning Algorithm: Lasso Regression

This paper aims at determining the various economic and non-economic factors that can influence the voting behaviour in the forthcoming United States Presidential Election using Lasso regression, a Machine learning algorithm. Even though contemporary discussions on the subject of the United States Presidential Election suggest that the level of unemployment in the economy will be a significant factor in determining the result of the election, in our study, it has been found that the rate of unemployment will not be the only significant factor in forecasting the election. However, various other economic factors such as the inflation rate, rate of economic growth, and exchange rates will not have a significant influence on the election result. The June Gallup Rating, is not the only significant factor for determining the result of the forthcoming presidential election. In addition to the June Gallup Rating, various other non-economic factors such as the performance of the contesting political parties in the midterm elections, Campaign spending by the contesting parties and scandals of the Incumbent President will also play a significant role in determining the result of the forthcoming United States Presidential Election. The paper explores the influence of all the aforementioned economic and non-economic factors on the voting behaviour of the voters in the forthcoming United States Presidential Election. The proposed Lasso Regression model forecasts that the vote share for the incumbent Republican Party to be 41.63% in the 2020 US presidential election. This means that the incumbent party is most likely to lose the upcoming election

Prediction for the 2020 United States Presidential Election using Linear Regression Model

The paper identifies various crucial factors, economic and non-economic, essential for predicting the 2020 United States presidential election results. Although it has been suggested by the contemporary discussions on the subject of United States presidential election that inflation rate, unemployment rate, and other such economic factors will play an important role in determining who will win the forthcoming United States Presidential Elections in November, it has been found in this study that, non-economic variables have a significant influence on the voting behaviour. Various non-economic factors like the performance of the contesting political parties in the midterm elections, the June Gallup Rating for the incumbent President, Average Gallup rating during the tenure of the incumbent President, Gallup Index, and Scandals of the Incumbent President were found to have a massive impact on the election outcomes. In the research conducted by Lewis-Beck and Rice (1982) , it was proposed that the Gallup rating for the Incumbent President, obtained in the month of June of the election year, is a significant factor in determining the results of the Presidential Elections. The major reason behind obtaining the Gallup Rating in June of the election year, post-primaries and pre-conventions, is that it is a relative political calm period. However, it has been found in this study that despite the existence of a relationship between the vote share of the incumbent President and his Gallup rating for June, the said Gallup rating cannot be used as the only factor for forecasting the results of the Presidential Election. The influence of all the aforementioned economic and non-economic factors and some other factors on the voter's voting behavior in the forthcoming United States Presidential Election is analyzed in this paper. The proposed regression model in the paper forecasts that Republican party candidate Donald Trump would receive a vote share of 46.74 ± 2.638%

An integrated organic farming system: innovations for farm diversification, sustainability, and livelihood improvement of hill farmers

IntroductionOrganic farming is a promising solution for mitigating environmental burdens related to input-intensive agricultural practices. The major challenge in organic agriculture is the non-availability of large quantities of organic inputs required for crop nutrition and sustaining soil health, which can be resolved by efficient recycling of the available on- and off-farm resources and the integration of the components as per the specific locations.MethodsAn integrated organic farming system (IOFS) model comprising agricultural and horticultural crops, rainwater harvesting units, livestock components, and provisions for nutrient recycling was developed and disseminated in the adopted organic villages Mynsain, Pynthor, and Umden Umbathiang in the Ri-Bhoi District, Meghalaya, India, to improve the income and livelihood of farmers. Harvested rainwater in farm ponds and Jalkunds was used for live-saving irrigation in the winter months and diversified homestead farming activities, such as growing high-value crops and rearing cattle, pigs, and poultry.ResultsMaize, french bean, potato, ginger, tomato, carrot, and chili yields in the IOFS model increased by 20%−30%, 40%−45%, 25%−30%, 33%−40%, 45%−50%, 37%−50%, and 27%−30%, respectively, compared with traditional practices. Some farmers produced vermicompost in vermibeds (made of high-density polyethylene) and cement brick chambers, generating 0.4−1.25 tons per annum. Two individual farmers, Mr. Jrill Makroh and Mrs. Skola Kurbah obtained net returns (without premium price) of Rs. 46,695 ± 418 and Rs. 31,102 ± 501 from their respective 0.27- and 0.21-ha IOFS models, which is equivalent to Rs. 172,944 ± 1,548/ha/year and Rs. 148,105 ± 2,385/ha/year, respectively. The net returns obtained from the IOFS models were significantly higher than those obtained from the farmers' practice of maize-fallow or cultivation of maize followed by vegetable (~30% of the areas). It is expected that, with the certification of organic products, the income and livelihood of the farmers will improve further over the years. While Mr. Jrill Makroh's model supplied 95.1%, 82.0%, and 96.0% of the total N, P2O5, and K2O, respectively, needed by the system, Mrs. Skola Kurbah's model supplied 76.0%, 68.6%, and 85.5% of the total N, P2O5, and K2O, respectively.DiscussionThus, IOFS models should be promoted among hill farmers so that they can efficiently recycle farm resources and increase their productivity, net returns, and livelihood while reducing their dependence on external farm inputs

Oligomeric Status and Nucleotide Binding Properties of the Plastid ATP/ADP Transporter 1: Toward a Molecular Understanding of the Transport Mechanism

Background: Chloroplast ATP/ADP transporters are essential to energy homeostasis in plant cells. However, their molecular mechanism remains poorly understood, primarily due to the difficulty of producing and purifying functional recombinant forms of these transporters. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this work, we describe an expression and purification protocol providing good yields and efficient solubilization of NTT1 protein from Arabidopsis thaliana. By biochemical and biophysical analyses, we identified the best detergent for solubilization and purification of functional proteins, LAPAO. Purified NTT1 was found to accumulate as two independent pools of well folded, stable monomers and dimers. ATP and ADP binding properties were determined, and Pi, a co-substrate of ADP, was confirmed to be essential for nucleotide steady-state transport. Nucleotide binding studies and analysis of NTT1 mutants lead us to suggest the existence of two distinct and probably inter-dependent binding sites. Finally, fusion and deletion experiments demonstrated that the C-terminus of NTT1 is not essential for multimerization, but probably plays a regulatory role, controlling the nucleotide exchange rate. Conclusions/Significance: Taken together, these data provide a comprehensive molecular characterization of a chloroplas

Structural and functional studies on nucleotide transporters

Le transporteur NTT1 est responsable pour l'import d'ATP dans les chloroplastes afin de maintenir le métabolisme en période d'activité réduite ou nulle de la photosynthèse. Cependant, le mécanisme moléculaire de ce transporteur est encore méconnu, essentiellement du à la difficulté de manipulation des protéines membranaires. Nous avons réussi à développer un protocole pour la production de ce transporteur, permettant une bon rendement de solubilisation et obtention de protéines purifiées pour des études structurales. Combinant des caractérisations biochimiques et biophysiques, nous avons pu identifier des conditions de préparation d'échantillons qui ont mené aux premiers cristaux. Afin d'étendre notre connaissance sur les transporteurs de nucléotides, nous avons également entrepris des études structurales et fonctionnelles sur AAC, le transporteur ADP/ATP des mitochondries. AAC et NTT1 appartiennent à des familles de protéines différentes mais ont des fonctions voisines. À partir de la première structure d'AAC déjà connue, nous avons recherché par des criblages in silico de nouvelles molécules se liant au transporteur de façon compétitive avec le nucléotide et pouvant ainsi inhiber le transport. Les outils de docking ont été mis en place et ont permis à partir d'une librairie de 75000 composés d'identifier 17 molécules. Ensuite, nous avons testés ces molécules expérimentalement et montré qu'une d'entre elles inhibent le transport. De plus, trois nouveaux analogues d'ADP ont également été identifiés comme inhibiteurs.Chloroplast NTT1 mediates external supply of ATP in the plastids, which is pre- requisite for the maintenance of plastid metabolism during limited or missing photosynthetic activity. However, their molecular mechanism remains poorly understood, primarily due to the difficulty of producing and purifying functional recombinant forms of these transporters. We have successfully developed a protocol for the production of this transporter, that is compatible for efficient solubilization and good yield of purified protein. Combining biochemical and biophysical analyses, we could characterize the protein solution and identify conditions from which first crystals could be obtained. To further extend our work with nucleotide transporter, structural and functional studies on mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) have been performed. AAC and NTT1 belong to different families but exhibit similar functional features. To discover small-molecule inhibitors of AAC's transport for structural studies, virtual docking of compounds was performed into the AAC active site, using the already known structure of AAC. Docking tools were installed and screening a large library of 75,000 compounds allowed the identification of 17 molecules. The experimental binding assay for AAC, revealed that one of the compounds has inhibitory activity in the micromolar regime. In addition, 3 novel ADP analogues showing inhibitory effect against ATP transport of AAC have also been identified