Promoting Entrepreneurship in Food Processing Sector for Inclusive Market Oriented Development (IMOD)

The need for linking farmers to markets has been identified as one of the most important intervention strategies in the agricultural value chain in order to create impacts in progression towards prosperity. This calls for the creation of an ecosystem that shall catalyse appropriate linkages of the farmers to the markets, ensuring maximum benefit to the poor. The key components required for development of such an ecosystem has been enumerated in International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)’s strategic plan to 2020 and is based on the development pathway called Inclusive Market Oriented Development (IMOD). This is a cycle in which value-adding innovations (technical, policy, institutional and others) enable the poor to capture larger rewards from markets, while managing their risks. There are two major dimensions of IMOD (Figure 1). The curve represents the power of market opportunities that offer prosperity to smallholders. The platform is the risk management dimension, which highlights the need for more effective social assistance programs to help the poorest of the poor, especially the smallholder farmers, connects to market, in a way that builds their own resilience rather than creating dependency

Determination of variability in rancidity profile of select commercial Pearl millet varieties/hybrids

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), one of the world’s hardiest cereal crop can grow under harsh climatic conditions. It is grown in the drylands, mostly by smallholder farmers and forms part of the staple diet for millions of resource-poor people in the drylands. However, flour prepared from this climate-change-ready crop has a low shelf-life, attributed to the nature of the fat. Thus, pearl millet has to be ground fresh before use adding to the drudgery of the consumers, especially women. Commercialization of pearl millet flour, which is also in demand in the urban market due to its health benefitting properties, has been constrained due to this rancidity problem. Thus, a study was initiated to evaluate the suitability of popular Indian commercial varieties/hybrids for obtaining shelf-stable flour. Two parameters indicating rancidity namely acid value (indicates enzymatic rancidity) and peroxide value (indicates oxidative rancidity) were monitored during the study. Flour from each variety was stored under three storage conditions – Refrigerated (4°C), room temperature (25°C) and accelerated (35°C, 70%RH) and their acid and peroxide values measured at regular intervals. The study clearly established the existence of diversity in the rancidity profile among the select varieties/hybrids of pearl millet studied. Pearl millet varieties/hybrids that are least susceptible to rancidity can be promoted for use in production of self-stable pearl millet flour in conjunction with appropriate processing and packaging technologies

Dopamine Transporter Genetic Variants and Pesticides in Parkinson’s Disease

BackgroundResearch suggests that independent and joint effects of genetic variability in the dopamine transporter (DAT) locus and pesticides may influence Parkinson's disease (PD) risk.MaterialsMethodsIn 324 incident PD patients and 334 population controls from our rural California case-control study, we genotyped rs2652510, rs2550956 (for the DAT 5' clades), and the 3' variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR). Using geographic information system methods, we determined residential exposure to agricultural maneb and paraquat applications. We also collected occupational pesticide use data. Employing logistic regression, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) for clade diplotypes, VNTR genotype, and number of susceptibility (A clade and 9-repeat) alleles and assessed susceptibility allele-pesticide interactions.ResultsPD risk was increased separately in DAT A clade diplotype carriers [AA vs. BB: OR = 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08-2.57] and 3' VNTR 9/9 carriers (9/9 vs. 10/10: OR = 1.8; 95% CI, 0.96-3.57), and our data suggest a gene dosing effect. Importantly, high exposure to paraquat and maneb in carriers of one susceptibility allele increased PD risk 3-fold (OR = 2.99; 95% CI, 0.88-10.2), and in carriers of two or more alleles more than 4-fold (OR = 4.53; 95% CI, 1.70-12.1). We obtained similar results for occupational pesticide measures.DiscussionUsing two independent pesticide measures, we a) replicated previously reported gene-environment interactions between DAT genetic variants and occupational pesticide exposure in men and b) overcame previous limitations of nonspecific pesticide measures and potential recall bias by employing state records and computer models to estimate residential pesticide exposure.ConclusionOur results suggest that DAT genetic variability and pesticide exposure interact to increase PD risk

Development of mobile sensors for estimation of grain qualities and contaminants to enhance nutrition and safety of grain-products in developing countries; current status

The governments of several developing countries responded to their population “malnutrition crisis” (P.Webb et al., 2018), among others, by promotion of crops of high nutritional value and their enhanced usage for food products formulations (e.g. “Millet Mission” in India or “Blending Policy” in Kenya). Simultaneously, several CGIAR crop improvement programs-initiated the development of nutritionally enhanced crop cultivars (e.g. ICRISAT, CIAT, IIT). In developing countries, the promotion of novel cultivars is generally a slow and tedious process, especially if the improved grain (quantity or quality) doesn’t ultimately result in the economic incentives (e.g. the market price). Thus far, there is no economic advantage directly linked to the trade of bio-fortified crop cultivars in developing countries which does prevents their accelerated adoption. This may change if/once the necessary information on a crops value is enabled

Assessing the Prebiotic Diversity of Sorghum and Pearl Millet

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid tropics (ICRISAT), India is a major repository for world Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.J R. Br.) germplasm. ICRISAT’s gene bank consists of 37,904 accessions of Sorghum from 91 countries and 21,594 accessions of Pearl millet from 50 countries. In order to enhance the use of germplasm for screening of specific traits core and mini core collections, representing the diversity of the entire collection have been developed by ICRISAT, for both these cereals. However, these germplasm accessions of Sorghum and Pearl millet have not yet been profiled for their prebiotic diversity. Hence profiling of accessions, of the germplasm collections of Sorghum and Pearl millet, with the aim to identify accessions with desirable prebiotic traits for development of functional (probiotic) foods is being undertaken

Studies on rapid multiplication of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) on soil mound

An experiment was conducted to study rapid multiplication of black pepper (Piper nigrum) on soil mound at Dapoli (Maharashtra). The black pepper plants were planted at the base of soil mound (2.5 m width, 0.60 m height at centre, 18 m length, 45' angle slope) at various spacings (15.0,22.5, 30.0 and 37.5 cm) and compared with cuttings raised by bamboo and traditional methods. The vines in soil mound method exhibited superior performance with respect to length and root production node". The availability of cuttings from soil mound method was also the highest. The rooting percentage of cuttings obtained from soil mound and bamboo methods were significantly superior over traditional method of propagation. The B : C ratio for marketable black pepper cuttings by soil mound method was the best (2.1:1.0). Planting base material at 15 cm spacing on soil mound was the best and produced more runners per unit area as compared to other spacing treatments and traditional method. &nbsp

Autoethnography and severe perineal trauma—an unexpected journey from disembodiment to embodiment

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of research reporting on the physical and emotional experiences of women who sustain severe perineal trauma (third and fourth degree tears). When the researcher identifies with the group being researched, autoethnography can allow an insight into the experiences of the marginalised group through the telling of a personal story. The aim of this paper is to share the journey travelled by an autoethnographer who on examining the issue of severe perineal trauma came to understand the challenges and rewards she experienced through this reflective and analytic process. METHODS: A transformative emancipatory approach guided the design, data collection and analysis of findings from this study. For this paper, a multivocal narrative approach was taken in presenting the findings, which incorporated the words of both the autoethnographer and the twelve women who were interviewed as a component of the study, all of whom had sustained severe perineal trauma. RESULTS: As an autoethnographer, being a member of the group being researched, can be confronting as the necessary reflection upon one’s personal journey may lead to feelings of vulnerability, sadness, and emotional pain. The transformation from disembodied to embodied self, resulted in a physical and emotional breakdown that occurred for this autoethnographer. CONCLUSION: Autoethnographers may experience unexpected emotional and physical challenges as they reflect upon their experiences and research the experiences of others. When incorporating a transformative emancipatory framework, the hardships are somewhat balanced by the rewards of witnessing ‘self-transformation’ as a result of the research

Magnetothermodynamic Interactions and Magnetic Field Vector Perturbations in Functionally Graded Hollow Cylinder

This paper investigates the thermoelastic as well as magnetothermoelastic problem of functionally graded material in the shape of hollow cylinder subjected to thermal shocks of transitory temperature change produced by sudden electric current pulse, incident X ray or ray pulse of very high energy. The material constants like thermal expansion coefficient, material stiffness, elastic constants etc are assumed to obey a power law of radius r. Solutions for stress components and magnetic field vector perturbation for FGM hollow cylinders are derived using the Laplace transform and finite Marchi Zgrablich transform techniques

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF RECIPROCATING DOUBLE ACTING TWO STAGE AIR COMPRESSOR CRANKSHAFT

Air compressor has earned a fair amount of popularity amongst various industries due to diverse uses of compressor air in applications such as driving of air engines(air motors), operation of blast furnace, Bessemer conveyors, supercharging of I.C. engines to name a few. The air compressors are available in various capacities and types. Mainly there are two types of compressor is driven by prime mover such as diesel engines or electric motor or sometimes turbine through crankshaft. In this paper crankshaft was designed by considering torsional and bending moments. After designed model was developed in Creo. Static structural and transient analysis was carried out in ANSYS