Pesticide Use in Vegetable Crops: Frequency, Intensity and Determinant Factors

This paper has examined pest management practices in four important vegetable crops, viz. chillies, cauliflower, brinjal and bhendi using farm level cross-sectional data. Average pesticide usage has been estimated at 5.13, 2.77, 4.64 and 3.71 kg active ingredient per hectare on chillies, cauliflower, brinjal and bhendi crops, respectively. On an average, cauliflower and brinjal are each given 15 applications, chillies is given 13 and bhendi is given 12 applications. The study has suggested that for reducing pesticide-use, farmers need to be educated about different nonchemical control methods and should be encouraged to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) practices.Agricultural and Food Policy,

STATUS OF ENZYMATIC ANTIOXIDANTS IN EYE LENS EXTRACTED FROM CATARACTOUS SUBJECTS

Objectives: Cataract is a common kind of blindness prevailing in India. Eye lens is normally exposed to toxic elements of the surroundings, leading to the formation of free radicals. In normal conditions, the presence of antioxidants may help to counteract the progression of free radical formation in an eye lens. Hence, it was requisite to assess the activities of enzymatic antioxidants in the eye lens extracted from cataractous subjects.Methods: The cataractous lens samples of 120 subjects were collected from the ophthalmic centres in and around Coimbatore. The subjects were categorised into apparently normal cataract men (ACM), apparently normal cataract women (ACW), diabetic cataract men (DCM), diabetic cataract women (DCW), hypertensive cataract men (HCM) and hypertensive cataract women (HCW) with each group consisting of 20 samples. Activities of enzymatic antioxidants namely superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were assessed in the cataractous lens samples from the selected subjects. Data was interpreted using SPSS 16.0 software package.Results: The activities of SOD and CAT were found to be significantly decreased (p<0.05) in all the five groups when compared to apparently normal cataract men. Enzymes of glutathione system exhibited a significant variation (p<0.05) in their activity in the cataractous eye lens extracted from diabetic and hypertensive cataract women in comparison to apparently normal cataract men. A significant decrease (p<0.05) in the activities of GR and GST was also observed in the cataractous eye lens extracted from diabetic and hypertensive cataract men when compared to the subjects of ACM group. Conclusion: The outcome of the study suggested that cataractous subjects with clinical complications were much disposed to the reactive oxygen species and more affected than the apparently normal cataractous subjects. Â

Experimental and finite element approach for finding sound absorption coefficient of bio-based foam

The enormous consumption of Polyurethane foam leads to severe environmental pollution and health hazards, so it is necessary to overcome this problem. This paper presents alternative and less hazardous foam that differs from traditional foams. A bio-based foam was developed either by using castor oil-based polyol or natural fibers as fillers. In the present study, rigid foam is synthesized by both castor polyol and luffa fiber, whereas for flexible foam, only luffa fiber is incorporated. Luffa fillers enhance the porosity of Polyurethane foam, which is the dominating factor influencing the value of the sound absorption coefficient. Both rigid and flexible foams were developed with 5, 10 and 15 percentages of filler loaded. The samples are tested experimentally using the two-microphone impedance tube method and the measured result was compared with the numerical result, which is predicted from COMSOL Multiphysics. The experimental results of flexible foam demonstrate good agreement with numerical results. The results indicate that the addition of Luffa fibers enhances the sound absorption performance of flexible foam and deterioration in the rigid foam because of the high viscosity of castor oil polyol

Biological reprocessing of water contaminated by refinery effluents collected from Manali, Tamil Nadu

ABSTRACT Increasing industrialization trends worldwide has generated effluents in large quantities with high organic content which are toxic to the soil and water. In this study, water samples that were contaminated by refinery effluents were collected from Manali, Tamil Nadu, India and were treated with Pseudomonas sp. isolated from soil present over there with different carbon sources such as glycerol (Type A) and glycerol, sucrose and maltose (Type B). The percentage of oil degradation was analyzed up to 6 days. On 5 th day maximum degradation of oil was achieved by Type A (98.08%) while Type B showed 97.70%. But on 6 th day Type B reached 98.08% degradation and Type A remained the same

Λr -sets and separation axioms

Separation axioms are among the most common and important and interesting concepts in topology as well as in bitopologies. In this paper, we introduce Λr-sets and some weak separation axioms using Λr -open sets and Λr -closure operator

Fishers in Post-harvest Fisheries Sector in India : An Assessment of Socio-economic Status

This paper presents the results of study carried out during 2009-11, to assess literacy, health and income status of fishers in India with reference to postharvest sector which covered fishers in marketing and processing. The study covered five states and one union territory, covering 11 districts reaching 548 households. About 52.19% of the respondents fell in the age group of 36-55. The average male- female ratio was 1.03 and 66.61% of the families were in the small family category of 2-4 members. It was observed that the literacy rates among fishers in post-harvest sector in different states ranged from 63.74 to 95.81%. In general, the literacy rates were comparable to the national average. Maternal and child mortality were low in the sample studied and the average birth weight of infants was 2.68 kg. The average monthly income was Rs. 7027.45 with a daily income of Rs. 234.25. About 44.70% of the households had no savings and 47.81% of households were in debt

Spatial overlaps between the global protected areas network and terrestrial hotspots of evolutionary diversity

AIM : A common approach for prioritizing conservation is to identify concentrations (hotspots) of biodiversity. Such hotspots have traditionally been designated on the basis of species‐level metrics (e.g., species richness, endemism and extinction vulnerability). These approaches do not consider phylogenetics explicitly, although phylogenetic relationships reflect the ecological, evolutionary and biogeographical processes by which biodiversity is generated, distributed and maintained. The aim of this study was to identify hotspots of phylogenetic diversity and compare these with hotspots based on species‐level metrics and with the existing protected areas network. LOCATION : Global. TIME PERIOD : Contemporary. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED : Terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds and amphibians) and angiosperms. METHODS : We used comprehensive phylogenies and distribution maps of terrestrial birds, mammals, amphibians and angiosperms to identify areas with high concentrations of phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic endemism, and evolutionary distinctiveness and global endangerment. We compared the locations of these areas with those included within the current network of protected areas and concentrations of species‐level indices: species richness, species endemism and species threat. RESULTS : We found spatial incongruence among the three evolutionary diversity metrics in each taxonomic group. Spatial patterns of diversity and endemism also differed among taxonomic groups, with some differences between vertebrates and angiosperms. Complementarity analyses of phylogenetic diversity identified the minimal area that encapsulates the full branch lengths for each taxonomic group. The current network of protected areas and species‐level hotspots largely does not overlap with areas of high phylodiversity. MAIN CONCLUSION : Overall, < 10% of hotspot areas were designated as protected areas. Patterns of diversity, endemism and vulnerability differ among taxonomic groups.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/geb2020-06-01hj2019Plant Production and Soil ScienceZoology and Entomolog

Intrusion Detection Systems Based on Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Wireless Sensor Networks

[EN] Intrusion detection system (IDS) is regarded as the second line of defense against network anomalies and threats. IDS plays an important role in network security. There are many techniques which are used to design IDSs for specific scenario and applications. Artificial intelligence techniques are widely used for threats detection. This paper presents a critical study on genetic algorithm, artificial immune, and artificial neural network (ANN) based IDSs techniques used in wireless sensor network (WSN)The authors extend their appreciation to the Distinguished Scientist Fellowship Program(DSFP) at King Saud University for funding this research.Alrajeh, NA.; Lloret, J. (2013). Intrusion Detection Systems Based on Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Wireless Sensor Networks. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks. 2013(351047):1-6. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/351047S16201335104

Controlled Release of Octreotide and Assessment of Peptide Acylation from Poly(D,L-lactide-co-hydroxymethyl glycolide) Compared to PLGA Microspheres

# The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Purpose To investigate the in vitro release of octreotide acetate, a somatostatin agonist, from microspheres based on a hydrophilic polyester, poly(D,L-lactide-co-hydroxymethyl glycolide) (PLHMGA). Methods Spherical and non-porous octreotide-loaded PLHMGA microspheres (12 to 16 μm) and loading efficiency of 60–70% were prepared by a solvent evaporation. Octreotide release profiles were compared with commercial PLGA formulation (Sandostatin LAR ®); possible peptide modification with lactic, glycolic and hydroxymethyl glycolic acid units was monitored. Results PLHMGA microspheres showed burst release (~20%) followed by sustained release for 20–60 days, depending on the hydrophilicity of the polymer. Percentage of released loaded peptide was high (70–90%);&gt;60 % of released peptide was native octreotide. PLGA microspheres did not show peptide release for the first 10 days, after which it was released in a sustained manner over the next 90 days;&gt;75 % of released peptides were acylated adducts. Conclusions PLHMGA microspheres are promising controlled systems for peptides with excellent control over release kinetics. Moreover, substantially less peptide modification occurred in PLHMGA than in PLGA microspheres. KEY WORDS acylation. aliphatic polyester. controlle