End-uses of electricity in households of Karnataka state, India

This paper describes the results of a survey of electricity consumption in a sample consisting of 1,165 households in four districts of Karnataka state in India. The survey revealed the patterns of consumption of electricity in AEH[1] and non-AEH[2] households, the stock of electrical appliances used by the households, the differences in the consumption of electricity in urban and rural areas, the use of other sources of energy for domestic purposes, and the degree of penetration of energy-efficient appliances/devices. The analysis of electricity consumption of appliances in AEH households showed that the consumption of electricity is mainly due to lighting, air circulation, water-heating and cooking. In non-AEH households, the end-uses accounting for most of the consumption of electricity are lighting, entertainment and air circulation. The survey also yielded the appliance elasticities and the degree of penetration of energy-efficient devices. As a result policy-makers can take corrective actions by promoting efficiency improvements in certain end-use devices so that increases in the penetration of these devices would not significantly affect the overall electricity requirement for the domestic sector

MGNREGS Implementations and the Dynamics of Rural Labour Markets

National economy of India has been growing rapidly in the last two decades; however, growth on employment level has not been commensurate with growth in the national economy. While faster growth of economy is beneficial to various stakeholders, employment growth is more important to reduce poverty in the economy. The experience of welfare programmes in India shows that considerable efforts have been made in terms of effectiveness in their implementations and providing wider coverage to all the needed population. This chapter evaluates differential impact of MGNREGA on the extent of fulfilment of the basic entitlements such as days of employment, wages and earnings and the extent of coverage of social groups like dalits, adivasis and women and vulnerable groups. There is a growing evidence of an increase in agricultural wages across the country over the period between 2006–07 and 2011–12, in which the impact of MGNREGA on the poor community is considerable. This review has also revealed a steep increase in female agriculture wages and a substantive decline in the male–female wage gap over the period. The search for information on the impact of MGNREGA on agricultural labour markets leads to some evidence on labour shortage, changes in wage structures, reduced distress migration, speeding up mechanization process, and peak season adjustment of work or adoption of MGNREGA calendar for its implementation

Coplanar Wave Guide Fed Dual Band Notched MIMO Antenna

A coplanar wave guide fed of semicircle monopole antenna is designed in this work to overcome polarization diversity mimo technique is implemented in this paper. The proposed antenna is designed to notch a particular band of frequencies in UWB range. The designed model is notching the first band from 2 to 5 GHz & the second band from 7 to 11 GHz. The proposed antenna has been fabricated on FR4 substrate with di electric constant 4.4 & tested for its reliability on ZNB20 vector network analyzer. The operating bands will come under WLAN, KU band, satellite communication applications. A peak realized gain of 4.3 dB with radiation efficiency 90% is attained at the operating bands of the designed antenna. At notch band significant gain reduction is observed from the current design. The antenna is showing omnidirectional radiation pattern in the pass band & disturbed radiation pattern in the notch band. Antenna is fabricated with dimensions of 40x68x1.6 mm & simulation works are carried with finite element method based HFSS tool

Two-stage in vitro digestibility assay, a tool for formulating non-starch polysaccharide degrading enzyme combinations for commonly used feed ingredients of poultry rations

Aim: An attempt was made to assess the effect of pure enzyme combinations with the objective of formulating customized enzyme mixtures based on sugar release when subjected to two-stage in vitro digestion assay. Materials and Methods: A two-stage in vitro digestibility assay was carried out for commonly used feed ingredients for poultry viz., maize, soy bean meal, sunflower cake, and de-oiled rice bran supplemented with three concentrations of xylanase (5000; 7500 and 10000 IU/kg), cellulase (50; 100 and 400 IU/kg) and â-D-glucanase (100; 200 and 400 IU/kg) were used to formulate various NSP enzymes combinations. In total 27 NSP enzyme combinations (3x3x3) were formulated and the sugar released due to NSP digestion was quantified by phenol sulphuric acid method. Results: The total sugar release was significantly (P<0.05) higher with supplementation of various enzymes combinations for maize, sunflower cake and de-oiled rice bran where as no significant (P<0.05) interaction of various NSP enzymes combinations was observed for soy bean meal. The NSP digestibility was highest in combination (xylanase-5000, cellulase-50 and â-D-glucanase-400 IU/kg), (xylanase-10000, cellulase-50 and â-D-glucanase-200 IU/kg) and (xylanase-7500, cellulase- 100 and â-D-glucanase-100 IU/kg) for maize, sunflower cake and de-oiled rice bran respectively. In case of sunflower cake, significant (P<0.01) three way interaction was observed among the xylanase, cellulose, and â-D-glucanase enzymes and the two-way interactions between the enzymes were also significant (P<0.01). Conclusion: It is concluded that 'n' number of non-starch Polysaccharide enzymes combinations can be screened for their efficiency to digest non-starch Polysaccharides present in various feed ingredients commonly used in poultry rations by employing two-stage in vitro digestibility assay as a tool. [Vet World 2013; 6(8.000): 525-529

National Rural Employment Guarantee as Social Protection

This article is an attempt to highlight issues around the implementation of NREGA with a focus on its institutions, governance and innovations. The main proposition considered is that institutions and governance play an important role in determining the functioning of NREGA, and the trajectory of its success. The attempt is to identify the conditions for success (or failure) in the process, to draw lessons for mid?course corrections to the programme. This includes examining political, administrative and bureaucratic dynamics that may ensure better realisation of the ‘right to work’. Based on a field study in three Indian states, it was found that differential impacts and achievements of the NREGA are related to variations in the commitment of local leadership, levels of institutional preparedness and governance capacities. The experience of these states offers certain insights which may help improve implementation policy of the NREGA

Antibacterial Characterization of Novel Synthetic Thiazole Compounds against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a commensal organism of companion animals that is a significant source of opportunistic infections in dogs. With the emergence of clinical isolates of S. pseudintermedius (chiefly methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP)) exhibiting increased resistance to nearly all antibiotic classes, new antimicrobials and therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Thiazole compounds have been previously shown to possess potent antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus of human and animal concern. Given the genetic similarity between S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius, this study explores the potential use of thiazole compounds as novel antibacterial agents against methicillin-sensitive S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) and MRSP. A broth microdilution assay confirmed these compounds exhibit potent bactericidal activity (at sub-microgram/mL concentrations) against both MSSA and MRSP clinical isolates while the MTS assay confirmed three compounds (at 10 μg/mL) were not toxic to mammalian cells. A time-kill assay revealed two derivatives rapidly kill MRSP within two hours. However, this rapid bactericidal activity was not due to disruption of the bacterial cell membrane indicating an alternative mechanism of action for these compounds against MRSP. A multistep resistance selection analysis revealed compounds 4 and 5 exhibited a modest (twofold) shift in activity over ten passages. Furthermore, all six compounds (at a subinihibitory concentration) demonstrated the ability to re-sensitize MRSP to oxacillin, indicating these compounds have potential use for extending the therapeutic utility of β-lactam antibiotics against MRSP. Metabolic stability analysis with dog liver microsomes revealed compound 3 exhibited an improved physicochemical profile compared to the lead compound. In addition to this, all six thiazole compounds possessed a long post-antibiotic effect (at least 8 hours) against MRSP. Collectively the present study demonstrates these synthetic thiazole compounds possess potent antibacterial activity against both MSSP and MRSP and warrant further investigation into their use as novel antimicrobial agents

Pigeonpea nutrition and its improvement

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Millsp.), known by several vernacular and names such as red gram, tuar, Angola pea. yellow dhal and oil dhal, is one of the major grain legume crops of the tropics and sub-tropics. It is a crop of small holder dryland fmmers because it can grow well under subsistence level of agriculture and provides nutritive food, fodder, and fuel wood. It also improves soil by fixing atmospheric nitrogen. India by far is the largest pigeonpea producer it is consumed as decorticated split peas, popularly called as 'dhaL' In other countries, its consumption as whole dty and green vegetable is popular. Its foliage is used as fodder and milling by-products [onn an excellent feed for domestic animals. Pigeonpea seeds contain about 20-22% protein and appreciable amounts of essential amino.acids and minerals. DehuHing and boiling treatments of seeds get rid of the most antinutritional factors as tannins and enzyme inhibitors. Seed storage causes considerable losses in the quality of this legume. The seed protein of pigeonpea has been successfully enhanced by breeding from 20-22% to 28-30%. Such lines also agronomically performed well and have acceptable and color. The high-protein lines were found nutritionally superior to the cultivars because they would provide more quantities of utilizable protein and sulfur-containing amino acids

General anaesthetic and airway management practice for obstetric surgery in England: a prospective, multi-centre observational study

There are no current descriptions of general anaesthesia characteristics for obstetric surgery, despite recent changes to patient baseline characteristics and airway management guidelines. This analysis of data from the direct reporting of awareness in maternity patients' (DREAMY) study of accidental awareness during obstetric anaesthesia aimed to describe practice for obstetric general anaesthesia in England and compare with earlier surveys and best-practice recommendations. Consenting patients who received general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery in 72 hospitals from May 2017 to August 2018 were included. Baseline characteristics, airway management, anaesthetic techniques and major complications were collected. Descriptive analysis, binary logistic regression modelling and comparisons with earlier data were conducted. Data were collected from 3117 procedures, including 2554 (81.9%) caesarean deliveries. Thiopental was the induction drug in 1649 (52.9%) patients, compared with propofol in 1419 (45.5%). Suxamethonium was the neuromuscular blocking drug for tracheal intubation in 2631 (86.1%), compared with rocuronium in 367 (11.8%). Difficult tracheal intubation was reported in 1 in 19 (95%CI 1 in 16-22) and failed intubation in 1 in 312 (95%CI 1 in 169-667). Obese patients were over-represented compared with national baselines and associated with difficult, but not failed intubation. There was more evidence of change in practice for induction drugs (increased use of propofol) than neuromuscular blocking drugs (suxamethonium remains the most popular). There was evidence of improvement in practice, with increased monitoring and reversal of neuromuscular blockade (although this remains suboptimal). Despite a high risk of difficult intubation in this population, videolaryngoscopy was rarely used (1.9%)