Causes and Impact of Labour Migration: A Case Study of Punjab Agriculture

In Punjab, the influx of migrant labour particularly in agriculture sector started with the green revolution and picked up subsequently. Due to monoculture in the cropping pattern, the state has become largely dependent on migrant labourers for various agricultural operations. The influx of seasonal as well as permanent labour from outside has led to various socio-economic problems in Punjab. In the wake of this, the present study was purposively conducted in the Central Zone of Punjab for the year 2011 to find the causes and impact of labour in-migration in Punjab. A total of 105 respondents belonging to the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Nepal constituted the sample frame. The results have revealed that better income and employment opportunities at the destination place were the major factors responsible for migration. About 64 per cent of the respondents earned less than ` 20000 per annum at their native places and 60 per cent of them had less than 200 days of employment in a year, whereas 23 per cent of the labourers were unemployed at their native place. However, after migration 63 per cent of the migrants could earn from ` 20000 to ` 50000 per annum and 34 per cent earned more than ` 50000 per annum in Punjab, leading to a major share (60% of total income) as remittances sent back to their native places. On the other hand, the flip side of the influx of migrants in the study area increased the drug menace by 37 per cent, social tension by 45 per cent and crime by 43 per cent. The state government should maintain a demographic balance by regulating the migrants and should help in verification of credentials of migrating labourers to Punjab.Labour migration, Long-term migration, Short-term migration, Remittances, In-migration, Agricultural and Food Policy, J61, J62, R23,

Therapeutic efficacy of Patha (Cissampelos pareira Linn.) - A Review through classical texts of Ayurveda

Patha, botanically known as Cissampelos pareira Linn. (Family: Menispermaceae) is a perennial climbing herb/shrub profoundly used for treating different disease conditions since Vedic periods. The plant is highlighted for its use as a single drug in the treatment of disease conditions like Jwara (Fever), Kasa (Cough), Shwasa (Bronchitis), etc. The plant is also used as an ingredient of many compound formulations in classical texts of Ayurveda. In the present review, compound formulations of Patha are compiled from 9 different compendia and presented in a systematic manner. 342 compound formulations found in which Patha is one of the ingredients. Maximum number of formulations are found in Ashtang Samgraha (87) followed by Charaka Samhita (80) and the plant is being used in 18 different dosage forms and among these, Kwatha (113), Churna (88), Ghrita (45) are found in maximum numbers. Majority of the formulations are used internally (298) for the treatment of disease conditions like Atisara (Diarrhoea), Arsha (Haemorrhoids), Prameha (Urinary disorders), Jwara (Fever), Grahani (Malabsorption syndrome)etc

Selection of elite seedling clones of mango (Mangifera indica L.) exposed by phylogenetic relationship and morpho-taxonomic traits

Almost all the current commercial mango cultivars in India are the result of selection from the natural seedling population and majority of them have been selected by the farmers.The conventional breeding system with traditional knowledge is evolving more and more towards preservation of genetic diversity. In Pusa site of the UNEP/GEF sponsored project in the Bihar state of India, many mango seedlings are found growing in the orchards as well as in the backyards. Mango being a highly cross-pollinated fruit crop exhibits a lot of variability in morpho-physico-chemical traits of fruits in these seedling plants. For selection of the elite seedling genotypes, farmers play an important role and with the help of the breeder they can pave the way for maintaining the local germplasm. Hence, in order to study the genetic variability among mango seedlings and to select elite mango genotypes and to conserve them, a survey was conducted in the four project communities and the surrounding villages. A total of 74 seedling types of mango were characterized using morpho-taxonomic parameters. Physico-chemical characterization of fruit samples revealed the existence of a great variability in the seedling mango plants, which not only contributes to biological diversity, but can also be used for crop improvement or for varietal selection. Based on this physico-chemical characterization, principal component and cluster analysis and grouping of seedling clones on the basis of possession of desirable characters by them, six seedling clones, having the majority of desirable fruit characteristics were selected. These selected clones will definitely broaden the genetic base of mango in the Pusa site as well offer the scope for choice of selection of varieties by the farmers and ultimately the conservation of the valuable germplasm

Az öntözővíz minőségének hatása mustárnövények fejlődésére indiai szikes talajon

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/bluesphoto_fel/1095/thumbnail.jp

Knowledge of Radiation Exposure and it Risk among Radiographers and Radio Technologists

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the awareness, concern and practice on hazards of ionizing radiation and radiation protection among radiographers and technologists of Pokhara, Nepal and to evaluate the knowledge of radiation and its protection among them. Materials and Methods: A validated questionnaire was used to collect data from radiographers and Technologists. The survey included multiple choice questions (MCQs) related to demographic characteristics (age, gender), academic qualification, and knowledge of radiation and radiation protection. Obtained data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 software and shown in frequency, percentages. Results: Among 103 participants, only 73.8% were NHPC registered and 46.7% had attended classes/seminar on the topic of radiation protection. Only 8.7% used dosimeters to measure the radiation dose. Among participants, 77.7% knew that annual whole-body dose for a radiation worker is 20 mSv and 87.4% knew that there should be distance of more than six feet from the X-ray tube while taking X-ray in the case of non-barrier protection. This study shows that the knowledge and the perceptions regarding radiation and its protection among the radiographers/technologist is just satisfactory and needs to be improved. Conclusion: Overall awareness and knowledge of radiation protection and radiological procedures of radiologic technologist were satisfactory. However, there were some question that they needed mandatory training and knowledge. Therefore, we recommend that further workshops, seminars, symposium, training courses and Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs are recommended on a regular basis in collaboration with ISSRT and other national and international organizations to raise the level of radiation awareness

Have GRACE satellites overestimated groundwater depletion in the Northwest India Aquifer?

The Northwest India Aquifer (NWIA) has been shown to have the highest groundwater depletion (GWD) rate globally, threatening crop production and sustainability of groundwater resources. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have been emerging as a powerful tool to evaluate GWD with ancillary data. Accurate GWD estimation is, however, challenging because of uncertainties in GRACE data processing. We evaluated GWD rates over the NWIA using a variety of approaches, including newly developed constrained forward modeling resulting in a GWD rate of 3.1 ± 0.1 cm/a (or 14 ± 0.4 km3/a) for Jan 2005–Dec 2010, consistent with the GWD rate (2.8 cm/a or 12.3 km3/a) from groundwater-level monitoring data. Published studies (e.g., 4 ± 1 cm/a or 18 ± 4.4 km3/a) may overestimate GWD over this region. This study highlights uncertainties in GWD estimates and the importance of incorporating a priori information to refine spatial patterns of GRACE signals that could be more useful in groundwater resource management and need to be paid more attention in future studies

Energy-Dependent Timing of Thermal Emission in Solar Flares

We report solar flare plasma to be multi-thermal in nature based on the theoretical model and study of the energy-dependent timing of thermal emission in ten M-class flares. We employ high-resolution X-ray spectra observed by the Si detector of the "Solar X-ray Spectrometer" (SOXS). The SOXS onboard the Indian GSAT-2 spacecraft was launched by the GSLV-D2 rocket on 8 May 2003. Firstly we model the spectral evolution of the X-ray line and continuum emission flux F(\epsilon) from the flare by integrating a series of isothermal plasma flux. We find that multi-temperature integrated flux F(\epsilon) is a power-law function of \epsilon with a spectral index (\gamma) \approx -4.65. Next, based on spectral-temporal evolution of the flares we find that the emission in the energy range E= 4 - 15 keV is dominated by temperatures of T= 12 - 50 MK, while the multi-thermal power-law DEM index (\gamma) varies in the range of -4.4 and -5.7. The temporal evolution of the X-ray flux F(\epsilon,t) assuming a multi-temperature plasma governed by thermal conduction cooling reveals that the temperature-dependent cooling time varies between 296 and 4640 s and the electron density (n_e) varies in the range of n_e= (1.77-29.3)*10^10 cm-3. Employing temporal evolution technique in the current study as an alternative method for separating thermal from non-thermal components in the energy spectra, we measure the break-energy point ranging between 14 and 21\pm1.0 keV.Comment: Solar Physics, in pres

The role of occupied d states in the relaxation of hot electrons in Au

We present first-principles calculations of electron-electron scattering rates of low-energy electrons in Au. Our full band-structure calculations indicate that a major contribution from occupied d states participating in the screening of electron-electron interactions yields lifetimes of electrons in Au with energies of $1.0-3.0 {\rm eV}$ above the Fermi level that are larger than those of electrons in a free-electron gas by a factor of $\sim 4.5$. This prediction is in agreement with a recent experimental study of ultrafast electron dynamics in Au(111) films (J. Cao {\it et al}, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 58}, 10948 (1998)), where electron transport has been shown to play a minor role in the measured lifetimes of hot electrons in this material.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.