Economic Analysis of Marker-Assisted Selection in Canola

Replaced with revised version of poster 07/19/11.Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Benefit-Cost Assessment of Different Homestead Vegetable Gardening on Improving Household Food and Nutrition Security in Rural Bangladesh

Homestead vegetable gardening can play a significant role in improving food security for the resource poor rural households in developing country like Bangladesh. The present study quantifies costs/benefits of traditional and developed homestead vegetable production systems, and analyzes the underlying factors contributing to food security. The result suggests that developed gardening has better performances in terms of calorie intake and economic performances over traditional but the optimal calorie intake with least-cost technology could be a feasible livelihood strategy for resource poor people. The result also suggests that education, sex, and garden area have significant effect on food security. The occupation and family size are also positively associated with food security.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty,

Economics of Production of Green Peas (Pisum sativum L.) in Punjab

The economics of production and factors influencing the productivity of green peas in Punjab have been studied using the primary data from pea growers. The data have been analysed using simple tabular and functional analyses. The results have revealed that the green peas and wheat are the main crops in rabi season. It has been noticed that 75.85 per cent of the farmers purchase pea seeds from dealers. The yield of green peas has been found the highest on small farms among all the farm-size categories. The total cost incurred has been higher in large than small and medium farmers due to more use of inputs by the former. The gross and net returns have been found higher in large than small and medium farmers due to realization of higher prices by them and exploring of other markets due to their higher marketable surpluses. The functional analysis has revealed that the fertilizers, irrigation and machinery are the impact variables, influencing the productivity of green peas positively. The returns over variable costs in the case of peas have been higher by 129 per cent than those in wheat (main competing crop). It has been argued that the farmers be advised by the agricultural extension experts to adopt green pea cultivation for improving the efficiency of the farms through increased income per unit of land. Moreover, it will provide impetus to the diversification program of the state government and improve the soil health.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Efficient Refuge policies for Bt cotton in India

This study examined the efficient refuge policies for Bt cotton for three cotton growing regions in India. This was accomplished by developing a single-pest, dual-toxin biological model simulating bollworm resistance to the Bt toxin and synthetic pyrethroids, followed by formulating profit functions for Bt and non-Bt cotton for a representative producer in each region. Profits received in subsequent periods were considered in the regulatory model in order to choose a refuge constraint (static problem) or a sequence of refuge policies (dynamic problem) for each region that maximize discounted profits received over 15 years, subject to various economic and biological constraints. Dynamic solutions for the regulatory problem were derived for each region using the Bellman equation. Results suggested that South Indian farmers do not need to grow a refuge, but farmers in the North and Central regions do. Results also suggested that planting sprayed refugia might be more profitable than planting unsprayed refugia. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the refuge requirements were sensitive to the initial Bt resistance level, relative proportion of CBWs in natural refuges, and proportions of heterozygous and homozygous fitnesses in all of the three regions. Moreover, static refugia were found more profitable as compared to dynamic refugia in the North and Central regions.Food Security and Poverty,

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY EVALUATING EXPERIENCED STIGMA AMONG DOCTORS IN A DEDICATED COVID-19 HOSPITAL OF NORTH INDIA

Objective: Doctors may experience stigma and discrimination from community, friends and even family due to their association with COVID-19 patients. The present study was planned to assess actual stigma experienced by doctors because of working in COVID-19 wards. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry of a dedicated COVID-19 Hospital of North India. A Google Survey Form which measured Experienced Stigma was circulated through WhatsApp groups in October-November 2020 among all the doctors working in COVID-19 ward. Data collected was analyzed statistically. Results: Around 250 doctors participated in the study and 70% of them experienced stigma in one or more ways. Approximately, 60% doctors had stopped socializing because of people’s reactions, they felt that people were afraid of them and that people avoided touching them because they were treating patients with COVID-19. 110 (44%) respondents were denied social exchanges/friendships, 88 (35.2%) felt neglected by family or friends, and 71 (28.4%) lost friendships because they worked with patients with COVID-19. Stigma was experienced significantly higher in younger age (p=0.012*), resident doctors (p=0.001**) and those with longer working hours (p=0.01*). Conclusion: Doctors experience stigma from friends, family and general public due to their contact with COVID-19 patients. Experienced stigma is higher in young age and resident doctors

Missed Opportunities: The Vaccine Act of 1813

This Paper simply exposes discontinuities between the theories and the history of the Vaccine Act, suggesting lines of further study. The focus throughout this Paper is on "getting the facts right," i.e., thoroughly recounting the history of the Vaccine Act. Part II of the paper provides some necessary historical background regarding the horrors of smallpox, the breakthrough of vaccination, and the difficulties encountered in implementing vaccination in early 19th century America. In particular, the problem of maintaining a steady supply of vaccine is described. Part III analyzes the very limited role assumed by state and local governments in the opening decades of the 19th century. Part IV deals at length with the legislative history of the 1813 Act itself including historical explanations for the Act and public opposition to Dr. Smith. Part V discusses Congressional efforts between 1816 and 1820 to expand the scope of the Vaccine Act. Part VI details the facts of the Tarboro Tragedy and the analyzes the causes of the ensuing repeal of the Vaccine Act in 1822. Part VII very briefly recounts two later 19th century efforts to revive the idea of a "National Vaccine Institution." Part VIII contains a brief conclusion

Service Robots in Healthcare Settings

Robots will play a part in all aspects of healthcare. The presence of service robots in healthcare demands special attention, whether it is in the automation of menial labour, prescription distribution, or offering comfort. In this chapter, we examine the several applications of healthcare-oriented robots in the acute, ambulatory and at-home settings. We discuss the role of robotics in reducing environmental dangers, as well as at the patient’s bedside and in the operating room, in the acute setting. We examine how robotics can protect and scale up healthcare services in the ambulatory setting. Finally, in the at-home scenario, we look at how robots can be employed for both rural/remote healthcare delivery and home-based care. In addition to assessing the current state of robotics at the interface of healthcare delivery, we describe critical problems for the future where such technology will be ubiquitous. Patients, health care workers, institutions, insurance companies, and governments will realize that service robots will deliver significant benefits in the future in terms of leverage and cost savings, while maintaining or improving access, equity, and high-quality health care

Elucidating the Response of Crop Plants towards Individual, Combined and Sequentially Occurring Abiotic Stresses

In nature, plants are exposed to an ever-changing environment with increasing frequencies of multiple abiotic stresses. These abiotic stresses act either in combination or sequentially, thereby driving vegetation dynamics and limiting plant growth and productivity worldwide. Plants’ responses against these combined and sequential stresses clearly differ from that triggered by an individual stress. Until now, experimental studies were mainly focused on plant responses to individual stress, but have overlooked the complex stress response generated in plants against combined or sequential abiotic stresses, as well as their interaction with each other. However, recent studies have demonstrated that the combined and sequential abiotic stresses overlap with respect to the central nodes of their interacting signaling pathways, and their impact cannot be modelled by swimming in an individual extreme event. Taken together, deciphering the regulatory networks operative between various abiotic stresses in agronomically important crops will contribute towards designing strategies for the development of plants with tolerance to multiple stress combinations. This review provides a brief overview of the recent developments in the interactive effects of combined and sequentially occurring stresses on crop plants. We believe that this study may improve our understanding of the molecular and physiological mechanisms in untangling the combined stress tolerance in plants, and may also provide a promising venue for agronomists, physiologists, as well as molecular biologists