Gender and Social Capital Mediated Technology Adoption

This study explores gender-differentiated benefits from the social capital buildup in technology uptake, and the decision-making patterns of men and women with respect to production, consumption and household task; and allocation of resources. The background research examined women’s role in developing social capital, and research developed a case study of the groundnut producing areas of Maharashtra in western India, and compared ‘with’ and ‘without’ technology situations, and ‘before’ and ‘after’ situations in relation to the package of groundnut production technology introduced in the region in 1987. The paper addresses three aspects: (1) social networks in technology adoption, (2) the gender-based activity pattern, and (3) build-up of social capital leading to improvements in the welfare of farmers and the farming community with a gender perspective. Available evidence suggests substantial differences in networks of men and women, particularly in composition. The evidence suggests that men belong to more formal networks reflecting their employment or occupation status, while women have more informal networks that are centered on family and kin. Findings show that women who are engaged in agriculture and allied activities develop bonding social capital characterized by strong bonds such as that found among family members or among members of an ethnic group. Men who are engaged in agriculture, on the other hand, develop bridging social capital characterized by weaker, less dense but more crosscutting ties such as with farmers, acquaintances, friends from different ethnic groups and friends of friends. Women’s employment opportunities significantly improved with the introduction of technology. Finally, the study concludes that while technology development and exchange can build upon social capital as a means of empowering women, much more needs to be learned about the approaches that foster build-up of social capital.

Escitalopram reduces severity of depression and improves quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in an open label parallel group study

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by progressive and persistent airflow limitation with frequent exacerbations and hospitalizations contributing to overall morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the efficacy of antidepressant escitalopram therapy in depressed individuals suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Methods: The sample comprised of sixty patients. Thirty patients received antidepressant escitalopram, while the remaining half served as controls. Hamilton depression rating and WHO–BREF questionnaire were the tools to assess severity of depression and quality of life. The severity of COPD was recorded using spirometry (FEV1%). Clinical assessments were at baseline and at week-2 and week-8 of follow up in both intervention and control groups.Results: It was found that both the groups were similar on the severity of the illness (COPD) at entry. FEV 1% of both the groups showed similar improvement after 8 weeks. Treatment with escitalopram showed a significant decrease in the severity of depression score and improvement on all the domains of quality of life when compared with the baseline. After the intervention, it was found that the HAM-D scores in the experimental group decreased from 24.44 to 17.50 while in the control group, it was from 20.11 to 19.67.  The magnitude of improvement was significantly higher with intervention compared to controls.Conclusions: Escitalopram reduces severity of depression and improves quality of life which was independent of improvement in FEV1. It could be asserted that this antidepressant improved the patient’s mood, fatigue and helplessness, which could have improved the quality of life of these patients

The interplay between food market access and farm household dietary diversity in low and middle income countries: A systematic review of literature

A significant share of undernourished people are smallholder farmers in low and middle-income countries. Recent studies advocate improving market access as an important pathway towards improving the dietary diversity of farm households over increasing farm production diversity. A systematic review of five databases using Priori criteria identified 28 original studies from 14 low and middle income countries by screening 786 articles using different indicators of market access, diets, and nutrition. Most of the studies reported a consistent positive association between access to markets and dietary diversity, and few studies reported positive or negative association. However, findings are context-specific from several countries in Africa and Asia. Further research is needed to conclude that improving market access is an effective pathway to improve a farm household’s dietary quality. Eight research priorities are identified based on the gaps in the existing research literature

Impact of COVID-19 on food security: Insights from Telangana, India

COVID-19undermines food security both directly, by disturbing food systems, and indirectly, through the impacts of lockdowns on household incomes and physical access to food especially in the developing nations. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) a telephonic survey based on a questionnaire developed by the NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, during July -August 2020 to understand the different perspectives of prevailing COVID-19crisis in urban, peri-urban, rural and tribal areas of Telangana, India. About 40 households were randomly selected for this survey covering urban, peri-urban, rural and tribal locations of Telangana. These households were recruited as respondents for previous surveys by ICRISAT for different projects. The NNEdPro survey questionnaire was adapted and translated into local language for better understanding of the surveyor as well as the participant and probe questions were added to elicit detailed information. Informed audio consent was undertaken through a secure mobile phone system and individual interviews were conducted to elicit data regarding the agriculture and food security situation during the COVID-19crisis in their respective locations. The recorded data were transcribed by enumerators and later translated into English language. Mixed responses evolved regarding agriculture and losses incurred during COVID-19crisis. In case of urban and peri-urban locations, information on agriculture, especially post-harvest losses, due to lack of access to markets was projected and the source of information was mostly through media such as television news, newspaper, and radio. In case of tribal areas, millets and cereals were procured by the government agricultural department at the farm gate and thereby no losses were incurred by farmers who grew cereals and millets. The farmers who grew vegetables incurred losses due to lack of transport to the nearby markets during the complete lockdown. As the vegetables are perishable goods, and due to shortage of labour for harvesting the produce, they incurred postharvest losses. Consumption of cereals and pulses distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS) has increased at the household level in peri-urban areas. Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and spices has also increased in both urban and peri urban locations. There was no change in the number of meals consumed; quantity of meals was voluntarily reduced due to low physical activity and being confined to homes; home cooking was the most preferred way of cooking meals. Outside food and junk food were almost eliminated in the diets of the urban and peri-urban areas. In case of tribal areas, the adolescents and school age children lost their nutritious meals that were served either in their residential schools or midday meals in the government schools. There also emerged some differences between complete lockdown that was in place in late March and early April 2020 and the lockdown with fewer restrictions during June-July 2020. Similarly, the effect of food security at the household and individual level emerged differently across locations as well as during different periods

Micronutrient-sensitive food value chains: A systematic review of intervention strategies and impact pathways to nutritional outcomes

Knowledge and evidence on how food value chains can deliver nutrition, especially micronutrients, are limited. A deeper understanding of the food value chains as part of agri-food systems approaches addressing hunger and malnutrition through agricultural development may provide pathways for nutrition and health outcomes.. This systematic review was undertaken using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to assess the broad topic of value chains and micronutrients, focusing on interventions and their related impact pathways. Impact pathway interventions improving micronutrient delivery and consumption were classified as production, accessibility, marketing, income, knowledge and behavioral, and finally, women’s empowerment pathways. However, the case study evidence on the micronutrient-sensitive value chains for nutritional outcomes is very scant. This review identified that making value chains micronutrient-sensitive requires a multi-stakeholder, integrated approach as a basis for concerted action among various stakeholders in terms of policy, research, strengthening partnerships and coordination, and information sharing. The review illustrates the scarcity of literature with a focus on the micronutrients in the context of food value chains and developing countries. The food value chain approach offers great potential to unpack the complexity of food systems and identify entry points and pathways for improving nutrition outcomes, especially the micronutrients. Additionally, this review identifies multiple entry points and calls for strong advocacy of nutrition-sensitive value chain approaches to combat hidden hunger

Stunting and Underweight among Adolescent Girls of Indigenous Communities in Telangana, India: A Cross-Sectional Study

India’s indigenous groups remain vulnerable to malnutrition, despite economic progress, reflecting the reliance on traditional agriculture and the problems of poverty and inadequate education and sanitation. This mixed-methods study analyzed the incidence, causes and determinants of chronic malnutrition, measured through stunting, thinness and underweight among adolescent indigenous girls in Telangana. Using 2017 data on 695 girls aged 11–18 years from 2542 households, the analysis showed that 13% had normal nutritional status, while 87% were stunted, underweight or thin. Early adolescents (11–14 years) had higher underweight prevalence (24.4%), while late adolescents (15–18 years) showed greater stunting (30%). Regressions identified key influencing factors. Higher education levels of heads of households and the girls themselves alongside household toilet access significantly improved nutritional status and reduced stunting and underweight. The sociocultural emphasis on starchy staple-based diets and early marriage also impacted outcomes. Tackling this crisis requires mainstreaming nutrition across development agendas via comprehensive policies, education, communication and community participation. Further research can guide context-specific solutions. But, evidence-based investments in indigenous education, livelihoods, sanitation and women’s empowerment are the first steps. Nutrition-sensitive development is indispensable for indigenous groups to fully participate in and benefit from India’s progress

A latent class analysis of food hygiene and handling practices among urban and peri-urban residents in Hyderabad, India

In developing countries, food-borne diseases, attributable to lack of, or inappropriate, food hygiene and handling practices at home, are expected to increase due to a rapid growth in the consumption of fats and animal source foods. The context-specific and situational practices corresponding to underlying traits of food hygiene and handling practices for home-cooked food were investigated for a set of 662 randomly selected households in Hyderabad, India. Results indicate that about one-third of the households lack access to a refrigerator. Of those with a refrigerator, a majority (83%) had the temperature set at medium, with an actual temperature ranging from 8 to 11 ◦C. Results also show that smell, followed by food appearance rather than taste or labelled expiry dates were used as the main criteria for edibility. Furthermore, six indicators related to handling, storage and cooking non-vegetarian food and three indicators related to storage of the cooked food were assessed. For households with a refrigerator, the latent class analysis identified three exclusive and exhaustive subgroups of households representing the heterogeneity of handling and hygiene traits, while two subgroups were identified for households not having a refrigerator. Only a small proportion of households (12.6%) with a refrigerator were profiled as having adequate and consistent practices. Remaining subgroups revealed substantial within-group variations in terms of consistency in certain behaviors. Next, latent class modelling with covariates related to socio-demographic, socio-economic, socio-spatial variables and health or dietary outcomes showed that having higher than a primary school education, having a high percentage of food expenditure, or non-optimal refrigerator temperature were predictive of the latent class with more adequate practices. For households without a refrigerator, five covariates related to social class, age, income, and obesity distinguished the latent classes. These findings of latent trait-specific behaviors have implications for actions aiming to inform and direct behavioral change interventions on food safety practices in the developing countries

Assessing the rural food environment for advancing sustainable healthy diets: Insights from India

World agricultural production has seen significant growth in the past four decades, yet malnutrition remains a persistent problem, particularly in the global south and more so in the rural areas. Need for a holistic approach to food systems is becoming crucial in designing policies that support the transition to sustainable and healthy diets. The present study is aimed to understand the rural food environment in the Telangana state in southern India by analyzing the combination of external and personal factors affecting food choices, attitudes, and consumption behavior. We developed a scoring-based methodology to assess the external and personal domains and dimensions to understand the food environment. The results showed that rural households favored carbohydrate-rich food groups obtained mostly from their own production or subsidized sources. On the other hand, protein and micronutrient-rich food groups were neglected due to affordability and preference for taste, cultural factors, and the limitations of external food environment. The findings of this study provide a deeper understanding of the food environment in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) conext. By highlighting the interplay between agriculture, food environments, and nutrition outcomes, this study contributes to the ongoing effort to address the global malnutrition crisis and support the development of healthier and more sustainable food systems. These findings can be useful to guide policy actions towards achieving food security and nutrition in the rural regions where food environments are under rapid transitions in the LMICs

Masonry compressive strength prediction using artificial neural networks

The masonry is not only included among the oldest building materials, but it is also the most widely used material due to its simple construction and low cost compared to the other modern building materials. Nevertheless, there is not yet a robust quantitative method, available in the literature, which can reliably predict its strength, based on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of its components. This limitation is due to the highly nonlinear relation between the compressive strength of masonry and the geometrical and mechanical properties of the components of the masonry. In this paper, the application of artificial neural networks for predicting the compressive strength of masonry has been investigated. Specifically, back-propagation neural network models have been used for predicting the compressive strength of masonry prism based on experimental data available in the literature. The comparison of the derived results with the experimental findings demonstrates the ability of artificial neural networks to approximate the compressive strength of masonry walls in a reliable and robust manner.- (undefined

Discovery of Molecular Mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Formula Si-Wu-Tang Using Gene Expression Microarray and Connectivity Map

To pursue a systematic approach to discovery of mechanisms of action of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), we used microarrays, bioinformatics and the “Connectivity Map” (CMAP) to examine TCM-induced changes in gene expression. We demonstrated that this approach can be used to elucidate new molecular targets using a model TCM herbal formula Si-Wu-Tang (SWT) which is widely used for women's health. The human breast cancer MCF-7 cells treated with 0.1 µM estradiol or 2.56 mg/ml of SWT showed dramatic gene expression changes, while no significant change was detected for ferulic acid, a known bioactive compound of SWT. Pathway analysis using differentially expressed genes related to the treatment effect identified that expression of genes in the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) cytoprotective pathway was most significantly affected by SWT, but not by estradiol or ferulic acid. The Nrf2-regulated genes HMOX1, GCLC, GCLM, SLC7A11 and NQO1 were upreguated by SWT in a dose-dependent manner, which was validated by real-time RT-PCR. Consistently, treatment with SWT and its four herbal ingredients resulted in an increased antioxidant response element (ARE)-luciferase reporter activity in MCF-7 and HEK293 cells. Furthermore, the gene expression profile of differentially expressed genes related to SWT treatment was used to compare with those of 1,309 compounds in the CMAP database. The CMAP profiles of estradiol-treated MCF-7 cells showed an excellent match with SWT treatment, consistent with SWT's widely claimed use for women's diseases and indicating a phytoestrogenic effect. The CMAP profiles of chemopreventive agents withaferin A and resveratrol also showed high similarity to the profiles of SWT. This study identified SWT as an Nrf2 activator and phytoestrogen, suggesting its use as a nontoxic chemopreventive agent, and demonstrated the feasibility of combining microarray gene expression profiling with CMAP mining to discover mechanisms of actions and to identify new health benefits of TCMs