Insect and Pest Management for Sustaining Crop Production Under Changing Climatic Patterns of Drylands

Climate change is alarming, particularly for agriculturists as it severely impacts the development, distribution, and survival of insects and pests, affecting crop production globally. Over time, climate change is drastically tumbling the crop productivity in all the cropping systems, whereas the dryland agriculture with existing low productivity is immensely hit. While all the existing species in drylands, including humans, are coping with extreme climate variations for millennia, future climate change predictions put dryland agriculture in a threat zone. Drylands support 38% of the world’s population; therefore, climate change coupled with population growth and global food security draws the attention of scientists towards sustainable crop production under changing trends. The intermingling and intermixing of various biological, hydrological, and geographical systems plus the anthropogenic factors continuously amplify the changes in the dryland systems. All of this brings us to one challenge: developing pest management strategies suitable for changing climatic patterns. In this complex agrology framework, integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, especially those involving early monitoring of pests using prediction models, are a way to save the show. In this chapter, we will summarize the direct and indirect effects of climate change on crop production, the biology of insect pests, the changing pest scenarios, the efficacy of current pest management tactics, and the development of next-generation crop protection products. Finally, we will provide a perspective on the integration of best agronomic practices and crop protection measures to achieve the goal of sustainable crop production under changing climatic trends of drylands

Critical weather limits for paddy rice under diverse ecosystems of India

Rice yields are largely influenced by variability in weather. Here, we demonstrate the effect of weather variables viz., maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall, morning and evening relative humidity, bright sunshine hours on the yield of rice cv. Swarna, grown across five rice ecologies of India through field experiments during kharif (wet) season (Jun-Sept.). Critical thresholds of weather elements were identified for achieving above average, average and below average yield for each ecology. The investigation could determine how different weather elements individually and collectively affect rice yield in different rice ecosystems of India. While a sudden increase in minimum temperature by 8-10 °C (> 30 °C) during reproductive period resulted in 40-50 per cent yield reduction at Mohanpur, a sudden decrease (< 20 °C) caused yield decline at Dapoli. The higher yields may be attributed to a significant difference in bright sunshine hours between reproductive phases of above-average and below-average yield years (ranging from 2.8 to 7.8 hours during P5 stages and 1.7 to 5.1 during P4 stages). Rice cultivar Swarna performed differently at various sowing dates in a location as well as across locations (6650 kg ha-1 at Dapoli to 1101 kg ha-1 at Samastipur). It was also found that across all locations, the above average yield could be associated with higher range of maximum temperature compared to that of below average yield. Principal component analysis explained 77 per cent of cumulative variance among the variables at first growth stage, whereas 70 per cent at second growth stage followed by 74 per cent and 66 per cent at subsequent growth stages. We found that coastal locations, in contrast to inland ones, could maximize the yield potential of the cultivar Swarna, due to the longer duration of days between panicle initiation to physiological maturity. We anticipate that the location-specific thresholds of weather factors will encourage rice production techniques that are climate resilient

Effect of Body Mass Index on work related musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational stress of computer workers in a developed ergonomic setup

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Work urgency, accuracy and demands compel the computer professionals to spend longer hours before computers without giving importance to their health, especially body weight. Increase of body weight leads to improper Body Mass Index (BMI) may aggravate work related musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational-psychosocial stress. The objective of the study was to find out the effect of BMI on work related musculoskeletal discomforts and occupational stress of computer workers in a developed ergonomic setup.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A descriptive inferential study has been taken to analyze the effect of BMI on work related musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational-psychosocial stress. A total of 100 computer workers, aged 25-35 years randomly selected on convenience from software and BPO companies in Bangalore city, India for the participation in this study. BMI was calculated by taking the ratio of the subject's height (in meter) and weight (in kilogram). Work related musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational stress of the subjects was assessed by Cornell University's musculoskeletal discomfort questionnaire (CMDQ) and occupational stress index (OSI) respectively as well as a relationship was checked with their BMI.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant association (p < 0.001) was seen among high BMI subjects with their increase scores of musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational stress.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>From this study, it has been concluded that, there is a significant effect of BMI in increasing of work related musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational-psychosocial stress among computer workers in a developed ergonomic setup.</p

Association analysis of 31 common polymorphisms with type 2 diabetes and its related traits in Indian sib pairs

: AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Evaluation of the association of 31 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-beta cell function (HOMA-?), HOMA-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and type 2 diabetes in the Indian population. METHODS: We genotyped 3,089 sib pairs recruited in the Indian Migration Study from four cities in India (Lucknow, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Bangalore) for 31 SNPs in 24 genes previously associated with type 2 diabetes in European populations. We conducted within-sib-pair analysis for type 2 diabetes and its related quantitative traits. RESULTS: The risk-allele frequencies of all the SNPs were comparable with those reported in western populations. We demonstrated significant associations of CXCR4 (rs932206), CDKAL1 (rs7756992) and TCF7L2 (rs7903146, rs12255372) with fasting glucose, with ? values of 0.007 (p?=?0.05), 0.01 (p?=?0.01), 0.007 (p?=?0.05), 0.01 (p?=?0.003) and 0.08 (p?=?0.01), respectively. Variants in NOTCH2 (rs10923931), TCF-2 (also known as HNF1B) (rs757210), ADAM30 (rs2641348) and CDKN2A/B (rs10811661) significantly predicted fasting insulin, with ? values of -0.06 (p?=?0.04), 0.05 (p?=?0.05), -0.08 (p?=?0.01) and -0.08 (p?=?0.02), respectively. For HOMA-IR, we detected associations with TCF-2, ADAM30 and CDKN2A/B, with ? values of 0.05 (p?=?0.04), -0.07 (p?=?0.03) and -0.08 (p?=?0.02), respectively. We also found significant associations of ADAM30 (??=?-0.05; p?=?0.01) and CDKN2A/B (??=?-0.05; p?=?0.03) with HOMA-?. THADA variant (rs7578597) was associated with type 2 diabetes (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.04, 2.22; p?=?0.03). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: We validated the association of seven established loci with intermediate traits related to type 2 diabetes in an Indian population using a design resistant to population stratification

Strategies to Prevent Lower-Extremity Positioning Injuries During Long-Duration Surgery in the Lithotomy Position: Our Techniques and Clinical Outcomes Following Genital Gender-Affirming Surgeries

Purpose: Lower-extremity (LE) injuries due to prolonged surgery duration in the dorsal lithotomy (DL) position are often morbid and can significantly affect the patient&rsquo;s short and long-term quality of life. These include the development of lower extremity pressure ulcers, neuropathies, rhabdomyolysis, and compartment syndromes. As compared to other surgeries, this risk is increased in patients undergoing genital gender-affirming surgery (gGAS) due to the relatively long operative time of these surgeries related to their high complexity. Our study aimed to describe our technique for preventing LE injuries in the DL position, and to evaluate our positioning-related post-operative complications and rates.Materials and Methods: We describe our technique for positioning in the dorsal lithotomy position, with an emphasis on injury prevention. We ensure a specific padding technique of the LE, we alert surgical assistants to not lean/rest on the LE, and we schedule LE checks and repositioning throughout the case to prevent and mitigate occult injuries.&nbsp;Herein, we report our clinical positioning-related outcomes and complications among all patients undergoing gGAS procedures lasting &gt;300 minutes between January 2017 to March 2023.&nbsp;Results: A total of 227 patients underwent 310 surgical procedures (156 masculinizing, 154 feminizing gGAS procedures). Mean operative time was 495.5 minutes+/-156.5 minutes (SD) (Range 300&ndash;1095 minutes). A total of 6/227 (2.6%) patients (2 masculinizing and 4 feminizing surgical patients) had transient, self-limited LE pain post-op. No (0%) patients had major complications including chronic nerve injury, pressure ulcers, rhabdomyolysis, or compartment syndrome.Conclusions: Our study is the first to describe a replicable technique, and specifically which integrates the OR team and nursing staff, to prevent LE injuries during DL. We show that it is possible to achieve a 0%-to-rare incidence of major LE injury during long-duration surgeries

Relationship of burnout and extra-curricular activities among dental students: An original research

Introduction: “Burnout syndrome (BS)” is a work-associated condition which is frequently observed in medical professionals, especially students. Extra-curricular activities (ECAs) are one of the coping techniques that students employ to deal with stress and exhaustion. Goal: The study's goal is to evaluate dental students' levels of burnout and how it correlates with their participation in ECAs. Materials and Procedures: In South India, a dentistry school conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire research with its students. Both the regular and supplemental batches of students from the first year through the fifth year (internship) were included. The “Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey”, which has 15 items in three areas—”Emotional Fatigue (EE), Cynicism (CY), & Professional Efficacy (PE)”—was used to assess burnout. A 5-point Likert scale was used to grade each response. Poisson log linear model and the Mann–Whitney U test were employed. The threshold for statistical significance was 5 out of 100. Results: Four hundred participants were finalized after the criteria. Over 80% of the participants were women students as in accordance with the routine proportion of the dental students. The participants' average age was 22.1 ± 12 years. Burnout was seen in nearly 20% of subjects. Significant variation was seen for all the three domains of the burnout when they were compared against the ECA (P = 0.019(EE), 0.003(CY), and 0.005(PE)). Conclusion: It is safe to say that among the participants, burnout is a common occurrence. There is a need for early detection of burnout in dental students and prompt, efficient management

Evaluation of augmentative biological control options against fruit and shoot borer, Conogethes punctiferalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in guava in India

Abstract Background Conogethes punctiferalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) has emerged as one of the important pests of guava in Punjab, India. Chemical insecticides have been used for its management, which could have serious implications on environmental and human health. As an alternative to chemical insecticides, biocontrol is the most appropriate alternative for its eco-friendly management. Two field experiments were therefore, conducted to evaluate efficacy of two biocontrol agents, Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) (egg parasitoid) and Chelonus blackburni Cameroon (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) (egg-larval parasitoid) against the borer during rainy season, 2020 and winter season, 2020–21. Results Four releases of both parasitoids at various dosages were carried out at weekly intervals starting from first week of July in rainy season and first week of October in winter season. Trichogramma chilonis @ 2000 parasitized eggs per tree was the best in reducing the fruit damage and increasing yield and net income over check in both rainy as well as winter season crops. There was 73.6% reduction in damage over control, 1.70 Metric tons (MT) increase in yield over control and 258.36 US $per acre increase in net income over control in rainy season crop. During winter season, there was 62.5$ per acre increase in net income over control. Conclusion Four augmentative releases of T. chilonis @ 2000 parasitized eggs per tree successfully controlled the fruit and shoot borer incidence in guava during rainy and winter season