Fragile Human Capital Causes Poverty in North Bihar: Some Empirical Evidences

Various components of human development of poor households have been studied in North Bihar. The data has revealed that a higher proportion of females are chronically energy deficient than of males in the rural areas. The prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED) has been reported in both poor and non-poor households. The incidence of illiteracy and non-enrolment in schools have been found higher in the poor households, whereas the rate of completion of schooling has been observed comparatively high in the non-poor households. The study has further indicated low stake of poor households in the management of rural organizations. The analysis of determinants of poverty has suggested that level of poverty could be reduced through higher investments for the improvement of educational and nutritional status of the rural poor as well as launching of more rural development programmes. The study has observed that targeting of rural poor households in formulating strategies and implementing development programmes warrant special attention. These factors need to be addressed immediately for increasing their capability and skill so that they could be able to get out of poverty sphere. The improvement in social and human development aspects has been the per-requisite for implementation of any programme for poverty attenuation in Bihar.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Remediation: A Novel Approach for Reducing Environmental Pollution

Hazardous contaminants persist more and more now, which negatively impacts the world in various ways. Nearly every second species on earth is experiencing the worst problem with their existence as a result of high environmental contamination. While more recent remediation methods have made improvements, conventional methods have not successfully removed dangerous substances from the environment. Hazardous contaminants elimination using the remediation technique (HCER) is a process that uses remineralization to eliminate hazardous contaminants from contaminated soils and groundwater. The process involves removing hazardous constituents from contaminated soil or groundwater through either mechanical or biological means; then replacing these constituents with beneficial elements to restore environmental quality. Remediation technologies are used for both on-site and off-site applications, including landfills, industrial sites, municipal solid waste landfills, construction sites (e.g., roads), mine tailing piles and other areas where contamination exists due to anthropogenic activities such as mining operations, oil spills and landfill leachate seepage. The present study aims to examine and analyze the literature in the area of remediation strategies used to get rid of toxins, mainly from soil and water

Removal of Microplastic Pollution through Waste Water Treatment: A Review

The presence of plastic materials in a water stream is a serious environmental concern because of their poor degradability characteristics. The enormous rise in the production of plastics causes a significant amount of plastic waste on the land to enter water bodies. If the particle size is small at the micro level (less than 5 mm in diameter), it has significant potential for blocking the fine pores of filtration and membrane systems. Their encroachment also poses a threat to human health in the food chain. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an important role in removing a significant amount of microplastics; otherwise, they end up in the process of bioaccumulation. This study provides an idea about the characteristics of microplastics, removal efficiency, and the correlation between wastewater quality and microplastic concentrations from three different WWTPs that differ in the biological and advanced wastewater treatment techniques, which are believed to play an important role in microplastic removal. It also focuses on how waste treatment facilities affect the retention of microplastics and discusses issues with using sewage sludge laden with microplastic

THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF ISOLATED STIGMA-5,22 DIEN-3-O-B-D-GLUCOPYRANOSIDE AND ETHANOLIC ROOT EXTRACT OF OPERCULINA TURPETHUM AGAINST N- NITROSODIMETHYLAMINE INDUCED HEPATOPATHY IN THE LIVER OF MICE: ULTRASTRUCTURAL AND HISTOLOGICAL EVIDENCES

Objective: Liver is the most important organ in the pivotal role of regulating various physiological processes and several vital functions like metabolism, secretion and storage. Plants are reputed in the indigenous systems of medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Toxicant or drug induced liver injury can be prevented by treating with non toxic hepatoprotective herbs, which can possess membrane stabilizing, hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities. NDMA (N- Nitrosodimethylamine) belongs to nitrosamine compounds which are known hepatic carcinogens. Methods: The aim of the present investigation was to analyse the effects of NDMA on the morphology of hepatic cells, to determine the reversible effect if any, after providing the treatment with the crude extract and isolated glycoside from the roots of Operculina turpethum. The treatment was given in different groups of Swiss Albino Mice. Results: Scanning Electron Microscopy and Light microscopical examinations indicated that NDMA treated mice livers (n = 6) displayed severe vascular and endothelial damage compared to control livers (n = 6). Liver sections appeared with inflammatory cellular infiltration, vacuolated hepatocytes, dilated sinusoids, increased number of Kupffer cells, fibrosis, endothelial fenestrations, intercellular spaces and spaces of Disse, and were accompanied by dilatation of bile canaliculi. Conclusion: These alterations were recovered with the treatment at the dose of 400 mg/kg of crude extract and 50 mg/kg of the isolated compound. Hence, it can be stated that this plant can show significant recovery in NDMA damaged livers

Effects of interpregnancy interval and outcome of preceding pregnancy on present pregnancy outcome

Background: The objective of the present study was to estimate the effects of interpregnancy interval and outcome of preceding pregnancy on present pregnancy outcome.Methods: This study was undertaken as observational study. 1000 women were included in this study then interpregnancy interval categorized in 4 groups. Outcome of preceding pregnancy were included in term of induce abortion, miscarriage, still birth and live birth.Results: For each group the highest rate of IA occur for woman whose previous pregnancy ended with an IA. For pregnancy after an IA the rate of subsequent IA is 16.6%, 11.6%, 5% for IPI of <6 month, 6-14 months and 27-50 months respectively. Overall lowest rate of IA found for IPI of 27-50 months following live birth i.e. 1.25% and for group III 2% only. Rate of miscarriage was higher for IPI of <26 months began with a miscarriage 15.6% and 13.6% for following live birth.Conclusions: Outcome of present pregnancy not only depend upon interpregnancy interval but also depend upon outcome of preceding pregnancy. So, outcome of previous pregnancy will also determine outcome of present pregnancy.

Integrated nutrient management for high productivity and net returns in lentil (Lens culinaris)

The experiment was conducted to study the integrated nutrient management for high productivity and net returns in lentil. Results revealed that nodulation was significantly (P?0.01) enhanced in treatments comprising of Rhizobium and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) along with recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), farmyard manure (FYM) and vermicompost. Treatments comprising of Rhizobium + PSB along with RDF, 50% RDF, FYM and vermicompost showed higher nodule dry weight as compared to the treatments without biofertilizers. Pods plant-1 was highest in RDF + Rhizobium + PSB. Combination of different organic sources with RDF resulted in significantly (P?0.001) higher grain yield than RDF only. RDF + 5 t ha-1 FYM resulted in 26.3 and 6.7 per cent higher grain yield over control and RDF alone, respectively. RDF + Rhizobium + PSB recorded the highest net returns (Rs 40321 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.78). It can be concluded that supplementing the recommended dose of nutrients (12.5 kg N + 40 kg P2O5 ha-1) with 5 t ha-1 FYM or 2 t ha-1 vermicompost or Rhizobium + PSB inoculation help in obtaining high grain yields and net returns in lentil