Maize in Nepal: Production Systems, Constraints, and Priorities for Research

Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Participatory research approaches rapidly improve household food security in Nepal and identify policy changes required for institutionalisation

The introduction, testing, promotion and release of a rice variety, BG 1442, in Nepal were examined in relation to existing policies governing these procedures and to how more participatory approaches could benefit food security. From 1998 to 2006, participatory varietal selection (PVS) was used to test BG 1442 and other candidate rice varieties in the spring (Chaite) rice-growing season (February to June) and in the main season (June to November). The testing of BG 1442 commenced 11 years after it was first introduced into Nepal in 1987 by the national rice research programme (NRRP). Following its initial acceptance by farmers, it was widely disseminated from 1998 by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the low altitude region of Nepal called the terai in projects funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), UK. This dissemination was done using a method termed informal research and development (IRD) where many small packets of seed were distributed without fertiliser or pesticides, the only additional input being a description of varietal characteristics on an enclosed leaflet. From 2001 to 2008, various assessments were made of its extent of adoption and its impact on livelihoods. In a randomised survey of households in 10 districts, BG 1442 increased from not being used at all in 1997 to being grown by about 20% of the surveyed rice farmers by 2008. It was grown both in the Chaite and the main season and was well adapted to the rainfed-upland and medium-land rice ecosystems. The variety was grown from the far west to the far east of low-altitude Nepal by resource-poor farmers. IRD was important in accelerating adoption and improving food security as it was by far the most important external source of seed for farmers. Prior to the adoption of BG 1442, farmers who did not harvest sufficient rice to last their households for 12 months increased rice self sufficiency by over 2 months (25% more). Those households that sold surplus grain and who grew BG 1442 increased grain sales by 600 kg (25% more) in the Chaite season and by 370 kg (24% more) from main season cultivation

Phase stability analysis in Fe-Pt and Co-Pt alloy systems: An augmented space study

We have studied the problem of phase stability in Fe-Pt and Co-Pt alloy systems. We have used the orbital peeling technique in the conjunction of augmented space recursion based on the tight binding linear orbital method as the method for the calculation of pair interaction energies. In particular, we have generalized our earlier technique to take into account of magnetic effects for the cases where the magnetic transition is higher than the order disorder chemical transition temperature as in the case of Co$_3$Pt. Our theoretical results obtained within this framework successfully reproduce the experimentally observed trends.Comment: 17 pages, 9 Figures. Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics : Condensed Matte

Magnetostructural behavior in the non-centrosymmetric compound Nd7Pd3

A systematic study of the physical properties and microscopic magnetism of Nd7Pd3 compound, which in the paramagnetic state crystallizes in the non-centrosymmetric hexagonal Th7Fe3-type structure (hP20–P63 mc; with a  =  10.1367(1) Å and c  =  6.3847(1) Å at 300 K), confirms multiple magnetic ordering transitions that occur upon cooling. Antiferromagnetic transition is observed at T N  =  37 K, which is followed by ferromagnetic transformation at T C  =  33 K. The first-order magnetic transition at T C is magnetoelastic: it involves a change of crystal symmetry from P63 mc to Cmc21 and leads to anisotropic changes of the unit cell parameters. While the antiferromagnetic structure is symmetry allowed in P63 mc, the ferromagnetic structure with magnetic moments along the a-direction of the original hexagonal unit cell induces the first order transition to Cmc21. Density functional theory calculations confirm the experimentally observed ground state with the a-axis as the easy magnetization direction

Patan hospital experience in treating philadelphia chromosome/BCR-ABL1 positive chronic myeloid leukemia patients with gleevec (imatinib mesylate); the first generation specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is caused by the abnormal fusion protein BCR-ABL1, a constitutively active tyrosine kinase and product of the Philadelphia chromosome. Gleevec (Imatinib mesylate) is a selective inhibitor of this kinase. Treatment with this agent is known to result in hematologic, cytogenetic, and molecular responses. Patan hospital (Patan, Nepal) is one of the Gleevec International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP) centers for patients with CML.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 106 Philadelphia positive CML patients were enrolled in our center between Feb 2003 and Jun 2008, and 103 of them were eligible for cytogenetic and/or hematologic response analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 103 patients, 27% patients underwent cytogenetic analysis. Imatinib induced major cytogenetic responses in 89% and complete hematologic responses in almost 100% of the patients with confirmed CML. After a mean follow up of 27 months, an estimated 90% of the patients on imatinib remained in hematologic remission and more than 90% of the patients are still alive. About 30% of patients developed some form of manageable myelosuppression. A few patients developed non-hematologic toxic side effects such as edema and hepatotoxicity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study demonstrates that imatinib is safe to use in a developing country. Furthermore, we demonstrate that imatinib is very effective and induced long lasting responses in a high proportion of patients with Ph chromosome/BCR-ABL1 positive CML. Imatinib is well tolerated by our patients. The lack of cytogenetic analysis in the majority of our patients hindered our ability to detect inadequate responses to imatinib and adjust therapy appropriately.</p

Thermodynamics of SmCo5 compound doped with Fe and Ni: An ab initio study

SmCo5 permanent magnets exhibit enormous uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy and have a high Curie temperature. However, their low energy product is a significant deficiency. To increase the energy product in SmCo5, we propose substituting cobalt with iron, that has a much larger magnetic moment, in a SmCoNiFe3 magnet where nickel is used as a thermodynamic stabilizer

Magnetic properties of X-Pt (X=Fe,Co,Ni) alloy systems

We have studied the electronic and magnetic properties of Fe-Pt, Co-Pt and Ni-Pt alloy systems in ordered and disordered phases. The influence of various exchange-correlation functionals on values of equilibrium lattice parameters and magnetic moments in ordered Fe-Pt, Co-Pt and Ni-Pt alloys have been studied using linearized muffin-tin orbital method. The electronic structure calculations for the disordered alloys have been carried out using augmented space recursion technique in the framework of tight binding linearized muffin-tin orbital method. The effect of short range order has also been studied in the disordered phase of these systems. The results show good agreements with available experimental values.Comment: 21 pages, 4 eps figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Physics Condensed Matte