The Impact of Organic Cotton Farming on the Livelihoods of Smallholders. Evidence from the Maikaal bioRe poject in central India

This research report analyses the impact of conversion to organic cotton farming on the livelihoods of smallholders in the Maikaal bioRe organic cotton project in Madhya Pradesh, central India. For that purpose, it compares farm profile data, material and financial input/output and soil parameters of organic and conventional farms over two cropping periods (2003 – 2005). The results show that organic farms achieve cotton yields that are on a par with those in conventional farms, though nutrient inputs are considerably lower. With less production costs and a 20% organic price premium, gross margins from cotton are thus substantially higher than in the conventional system. Even if the crops grown in rotation with cotton are sold without organic price premium, profits in organic farms are higher. In the perception of most organic farmers, soil fertility significantly improved after conversion. However, the analysis of soil fertility parameters in soil samples from organic and conventional cotton fields has shown only minor differences in organic matter content and water retention. The research indicates that organic cotton farming can be a viable option to improve incomes and reduce vulnerability of smallholders in the tropics. To use this potential it is important to find suitable approaches to enable marginalised farmers managing the hurdles of conversion to the organic farming system

Organic Cotton Crop Guide - A manual for practitioners in the tropics

Designed primarily as a reference manual for extension workers and farmers, the Organic Cotton Crop Guide provides comprehensive practical know-how on organic cotton production in the tropics. The guide covers all relevant aspects from soil preparation and variety selection over crop nutrition and pest management to the economic performance of organic cotton farming

Prevalence of smoking habit and its variations in patients reporting to a private dental institution: a retrospective study

 The prevalence of tobacco use has increased over the past decades. Traditional forms like betel quid, tobacco with lime and tobacco tooth powder are commonly used, and the use of new products is increasing, not only among men but also among children, teenagers and women. The aim of the study is to find the prevalence of smoking habits and its variations in patients reporting to a private Dental University, India. The case sheets of patients were obtained from the patient record system. The data of each patient regarding the duration, type and pattern of smoking habit was obtained and tabulated. The results of the study show prevalence of the pattern of smoking habit in conventional smoking is 69% and in reverse smoking is 31%. Prevalence of type of smoking tobacco showed prevalence of cigarettes to be 96% and to be bidi 4%. The present study shows there is a significant association based on comparison of age with pattern of smoking and age with the duration of smoking done using chi square test (p value-0.000). Thus higher prevalence was seen in the age group of 41-60 years (48%), 21-40 years (42%) and in males with cigarettes being the most preferred smoking tobacco. As cigarettes are accessible, it is also more carcinogenic and it is increasing among the youth, hence precautions must be taken in earlier age groups of 21-40 years for early interventions such as anti tobacco sessions and guidance to decrease the consumption of tobacco

Association of Tooth Loss in Chronic Periodontitis Patients with And Without Mellitus

Tooth loss is a negative public health outcome that substantially affects not only the general and oral health status of people, but also their quality of life. Diabetes mellitus is one of the most widespread epidemics experienced worldwide; hence the aim of this study is to find the association of tooth loss in chronic periodontitis patients with and without diabetes mellitus. This cross sectional study consisted of a sample size of 547 patients of which 270 were diabetic patients and 277 were non diabetic patients and were distributed into two groups. After collection of data, it was tabulated with parameters such as name of the patient, age, gender, systemic condition, type of periodontal disease and tooth loss. The cast sheets of patients were obtained from the patient management software. The data of each patient was obtained and tabulated. The most common missing teeth were found to be upper anteriors and it had a higher prevalence of tooth loss in the non-diabetic group (26.82%) than in the diabetic group (18.43%). Association between tooth loss and systemic conditions was done using Chi square test p value- 0.008 and was found to be statistically significant. Tooth loss was higher in the age group of 61-70 years for the diabetic group and in the age group of 50-60 years for the non-diabetic group. The association between diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease is a well known fact. Therefore oral health education programs should be promoted in patients, which aids in early diagnosis and prevention of severe periodontal diseases

Effect of salt on survival and P-solubilization potential of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms from salt affected soils

AbstractA total of 23 phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and 35 phosphate solubilizing fungi (PSF) were isolated from 19 samples of salt affected soils. The ability of 12 selected PSB and PSF to grow and solubilize tricalcium phosphate in the presence of different concentrations of NaCl was examined. Among 12 PSB, Aerococcus sp. strain PSBCRG1-1 recorded the highest (12.15) log viable cell count at 0.4M NaCl concentration after 7days after incubation (DAI) and the lowest log cell count (1.39) was recorded by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PSBI3-1 at 2.0M NaCl concentration after 24h of incubation. Highest mycelial dry weight irrespective of NaCl concentrations was recorded by the Aspergillus terreus strain PSFCRG2-1 (0.567g). The percent Pi release, in general, was found to increase with increase in NaCl concentration up to 0.8M for bacterial solubilization and declined thereafter. At 15 DAI, strain Aerococcus sp. strain PSBCRG1-1 irrespective of NaCl concentrations showed the maximum P-solubilization (12.12%) which was significantly superior over all other isolates. The amount of Pi released in general among PSF was found to decrease with increase in NaCl concentration at all the incubation periods. Aspergillus sp. strain PSFNRH-2 (20.81%) recorded the maximum Pi release irrespective of the NaCl concentrations and was significantly superior over all other PSF at 7 DAI

Dynamic pathway of the photoinduced phase transition of TbMnO3_3

We investigate the demagnetization dynamics of the cycloidal and sinusoidal phases of multiferroic TbMnO$_3$ by means of time-resolved resonant soft x-ray diffraction following excitation by an optical pump. Using orthogonal linear x-ray polarizations, we suceeded in disentangling the response of the multiferroic cycloidal spin order from the sinusoidal antiferromagnetic order in the time domain. This enables us to identify the transient magnetic phase created by intense photoexcitation of the electrons and subsequent heating of the spin system on a picosecond timescale. The transient phase is shown to be a spin density wave, as in the adiabatic case, which nevertheless retains the wave vector of the cycloidal long range order. Two different pump photon energies, 1.55 eV and 3.1 eV, lead to population of the conduction band predominantly via intersite $d$-$d$ transitions or intrasite $p$-$d$ transitions, respectively. We find that the nature of the optical excitation does not play an important role in determining the dynamics of magnetic order melting. Further, we observe that the orbital reconstruction, which is induced by the spin ordering, disappears on a timescale comparable to that of the cycloidal order, attesting to a direct coupling between magnetic and orbital orders. Our observations are discussed in the context of recent theoretical models of demagnetization dynamics in strongly correlated systems, revealing the potential of this type of measurement as a benchmark for such complex theoretical studies

Focus on the Function and Mechanism of Pyroptosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis

The most important and basic processe that occurs inside of cells is cell death. There are several regulated cell death mechanisms, such as pyroptosis, necroptosis and apoptosis. Distinct sets of host proteins that contribute to biological outcomes regulate all such activities. Caspases regulate the execution of processes like pyroptosis and apoptosis. Inflammatory caspases trigger the process of pyroptosis, which results in necrotic, inflammatory cell death that causes inflammatory illness, even though it acts as a defense mechanism against a variety of microorganisms. The autoimmune, chronic inflammatory illness named as ''rheumatoid arthritis (RA)''is characterized by inflammation in the joints caused by inflammatory- promoting cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6. Rheumatoid arthritis is mainly characterized by synovitis, which is followed by clinical manifestation like stiffness, pain, swelling in several joints, malaise and fever as well as involvement of organ that are extra-articular like, interstitial pneumonia. Soon after the outset, joint damage advances, and once the impacted joints are distorted, irreversible physical impairment starts to manifest. Clarifying the role of pyroptosis in RA was the main goal of this review

Science in the wilderness: the predicament of scientific research in India’s wildlife reserves

Ecology and allied scientific disciplines aim to understand patterns and processes pertaining to wild species, their ecosystems and their relationships with humans. India’s wildlife reserves are important ‘living laboratories’ for these disciplines. Today, there is a disturbing trend across India where scientists are increasingly denied access to wildlife reserves for scientific research or are seriously impeded, without scope for redress. Although official wildlife management rhetoric emphasizes the need for scientific research, in reality, it is viewed as undesirable and permitted, if at all, as a concession, subject to the discretion of individual forest officials. With no enabling legislative or policy framework to promote and apply science in our wildlife reserves, we are concerned that the future of many scientific disciplines in India is being jeopardized. Here, we provide an analysis of this issue and outline steps needed to promote scientific research in our natural areas

Dynamics of the photoinduced insulator-to-metal transition in a nickelate film

The control of materials properties with light is a promising approach towards the realization of faster and smaller electronic devices. With phases that can be controlled via strain, pressure, chemical composition or dimensionality, nickelates are good candidates for the development of a new generation of high performance and low consumption devices. Here we analyze the photoinduced dynamics in a single crystalline NdNiO$_3$ film upon excitation across the electronic gap. Using time-resolved reflectivity and resonant x-ray diffraction, we show that the pump pulse induces an insulator-to-metal transition, accompanied by the melting of the charge order. Finally we compare our results to similar studies in manganites and show that the same model can be used to describe the dynamics in nickelates, hinting towards a unified description of these photoinduced phase transitions.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure