Decentralization of public-sector agricultural extension in India: The case of the district-level Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA)

agricultural extension reform, Decentralization, demand-driven, organizational capacity,

Management of Lantana, an invasive alien weed, in forest ecosystems of India

Lantana is one of the world's worst weeds of South American origin that threatens native biodiversity of forest ecosystems across India. It was introduced into India as a garden ornamental and or a biohedge plant in the early part of the 19th century and now it has virtually invaded all the tropical and subtropical regions of India. Although attempts have been made to control Lantana by physical, chemical and biological methods, there is no success either in its control or the prevention of its spread. No effective management strategy is yet available for the containment of this obnoxious alien weed. On the basis of critical assessment of the biological and ecological attributes of Lantana that enabled it to overcome all the existing management practices, we have developed a new management strategy. The new strategy involves (i) its removal by cut rootstock method, (ii) weeding of saplings from beneath the trees used for perching by generalist birds that disperse the seeds throughout their home range and from surface drainage channels originating from the area covered by such trees and (iii) ecological restoration of weed-free landscapes, preferably to the grassland, or forest communities according to the needs of stakeholders to prevent reinvasion of the same species or secondary invasion by another alien species. The new strategy developed has been implemented successfully in demonstration plots of 2-5 hectares at the Corbett Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand), Kalesar National Park (Haryana) and Satpura Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh). The advantages of the new management strategy over other control methods currently used are: (i) cost effectiveness, (ii) simple and easy to adopt and (iii) ensures successful control of Lantana without using chemicals and exotic biological control agents, and with minimum disturbance of soil

Friction Stir Welding of Metal Matrix Composite Using Coated Tool

AbstractFriction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state joining technique that has expanded rapidly since its development and has found applications in a wide variety of industries. In the present investigation work, friction stir weldabilty of 5% SiC particulate aluminum matrix cast composite using TiAlN coated tool and effect of process parameters such as tool rotation speed, traverse speed, and axial force on ultimate tensile strength were investigated. The result showed that there was no noticeable tool wear, only aluminum particles were deposited on the tool pin. The effect of process parameters were evaluated using Anova and S/N ratio of robust design. It was observed that the axial force exhibits more influence on tensile strength followed by traverse speed and tool rotation speed

Evaluation of value-added agricultural advisory services: Case study of agriclinics in Southern India

Introduction of private enterprises to deliver agricultural advisory services is seen as a strategy to increase the coverage and effectiveness of the pluralistic extension system in developing countries. The Indian national program of agriclinics and agribusiness centers, started in 2002, aims to provide farmers with a reliable alternative to the private input dealer by subsidizing technically trained agricultural graduates to establish their own agricultural input shops and agriclinic laboratories. In 2008, Tamil Nadu state began its own version of the program, called Agriclinics cum Mini Soil Testing Laboratories, which provides subsidized funding to establish soil testing laboratories by primary agricultural cooperative banks (PACBs) or independent agricultural graduates.public–private partnership, Privatization, soil testing, agriclinic,

ORGANO PHOSPHORUS COMPOUND POISONING, COMPLICATED ACUTE RENAL FAILURE AND DELAYED POST HYPOXIC ENCEPHALOPATHY - A CASE REPORT

Organophosphorus compound (OPC) poisoning is one of the most common poisons in rural India. We present a 27 year old female patient who came to us in altered sensorium and froathing from mouth with an alleged history of OPC intake about 2 hours back. The patient was intubated, connected to a mechanical ventilator and atropinized. On day 3 of admission patient had elevated renal parameters and was diagnosed as Acute Renal Failure due to acute tubular necrosis probably poison induced. On day 4 of admission she suffered an acute cardiac arrest and was resuscitated; following this she gradually improved and after 3weeks of intensive management her sensorium deteriorated. MRI Brain showed Diffuse Cerebral White Matter Leukodystrophy due to DEMYELINATION (Hypoxia induced). KEYWORDS: Organophosphorus compound poisoning; Acute renal failure; Demyelination; Leukoencephalopathy

ORGANO PHOSPHORUS COMPOUND POISONING, COMPLICATED ACUTE RENAL FAILURE AND DELAYED POST HYPOXIC ENCEPHALOPATHY - A CASE REPORT

Organophosphorus compound (OPC) poisoning is one of the most common poisons in rural India. We present a 27 year old female patient who came to us in altered sensorium and froathing from mouth with an alleged history of OPC intake about 2 hours back. The patient was intubated, connected to a mechanical ventilator and atropinized. On day 3 of admission patient had elevated renal parameters and was diagnosed as Acute Renal Failure due to acute tubular necrosis probably poison induced. On day 4 of admission she suffered an acute cardiac arrest and was resuscitated; following this she gradually improved and after 3weeks of intensive management her sensorium deteriorated. MRI Brain showed Diffuse Cerebral White Matter Leukodystrophy due to DEMYELINATION (Hypoxia induced). KEYWORDS: Organophosphorus compound poisoning; Acute renal failure; Demyelination; Leukoencephalopathy

A Study on Clinical Outcome in Preservation Versus Elective Division of Ilioinguinal Nerve in Open Mesh Repair of Inguinal Hernia

BACKGROUND: Chronic post herniorrhapy groin pain is defined as pain lasting for more than 6 months after surgery. Majority of chronic pain as been attributed to ilioinguinal nerve entrapment. The purpose of current study is to evaluate the effect of routine ilioinguinal nerve excision on chronic groin pain and other sensory symptoms when performing inguinal hernia repair. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of preservation versus elective division of the ilioinguinal on chronic post herniorrhapy groin pain, hypoesthesia and numbness after inguinal hernia repair using a polypropylene mesh. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Source of data: Study is a prospective type which includes all patients admitted in Chengalpattu Medical College for Uncomplicated Inguinal Hernia Repair. Method of collection of data (including sampling procedure): Definition of a study subject: Patients admitted to Department of Surgery, Chengalpattu Medical College for Uncomplicated Inguinal Hernia. The method of study consists of: Detail history taking & clinical examination as per the proforma. Investigations after taking written informed consent. Patients will be explained about types of surgeries available. Intraoperatively careful note will be made about. Time latent for the procedure. Documentation of any complication encountered during procedure. Post operative period will be divide into immediate post operative day-1(POD-1), 1month and 3 months following surgery and the following data will be collected. Post operative hospital stay. Any complication if occurred. Patients will be followed regularly up to 3 months. Note will made of any complications, time taken to return to work and patients satisfaction Inclusion criteria: subjects admitted with uncomplicated inguinal hernia (direct and indirect). both sex included. above 18 years who can give valid informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: subjects with diabetes mellitus. subject with recurrent hernias. previous surgery in inguinal region. mesh allergy and subsequent hernia repair in the observation period. previous history of trauma and pain in inguinal region. The following investigations will be done after taking written informed consent- Routine Investigations for General Surgical Procedure. Blood Investigation and Urine Investigations : Hb%, TC, DC, Peripheral smear, ESR, Renal function tests, Liver function tests, Lipid profile, FBS/PPBS, HIV, HBsAg, Urine for albumin, sugars, ketone bodies, microscopy, BT CT, wound site pus c/s, blood c/s, local parts xray, Other investigations, X-ray of the chest. CONCLUSION: The above study is to evaluate the “CLINICAL OUTCOME IN PRESERVATION VERSUS ELECTIVE DIVISION OF ILIOINGUINAL NERVE IN OPEN MESH REPAIR OF INGUINAL HERNIA” in Chengalpattu Medical College Hospital during the period March 2018 to March 2019

Institutional reforms and agricultural policy process: lessons from Democratic Republic of Congo

Attaining food security for all requires well-functioning institutions and policy process that are effective in designing and implementing food and agricultural policies and programs. This paper assesses early stages of the decentralization and institutional reforms in the policymaking processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It develops a conceptual framework and adopts an innovative mapping tool to identify capacity and incentive challenges impeding the effective design and implementation of food and agricultural policy and institutional reform processes. We found that decentralized platforms for policy dialogues have the potential to improve civil society participation in local-level and national-level policy and planning processes. However, their success depends on organizational and human capacity strengthening, financial sustainability, effective participation of the civil society, and demonstrated impact of their participation

VALIDATED GRADIENT STABILITY INDICATING RP-HPLC METHOD FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS QUANTIFICATION OF 11 RELATED SUBSTANCES IN THE COMBINED DOSAGE FORMS OF LAMIVUDINE AND TENOFOVIR DISOPEOXIL FUMARATE

Objective: Development of a stability-indicating reverse phase liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the simultaneous quantification of 11 impurities in the combined dosage forms of lamivudine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate drug substances.Methods: Efficient chromatographic separation of all analytes was achieved on a Waters X-terra RP18 column (150 x 4.6 mm, 3.5 mm) using mobile phase A (ammonium acetate buffer, pH adjusted to 5.0±0.05 with dilute orthophosphoric acid) and mobile phase B (mixture of methanol and ammonium acetate buffer in the ratio of 20:80) with the flow rate of 1.0 ml/min in gradient elution mode at 260 nm.Results: The method was validated in terms of the limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness according to the international conference on harmonisation (ICH Q2R1). Regression analysis showed that the correlation coefficient (r2) is greater than 0.997 for individual active drug substances as well as their related substances. The method has proven very accurate (94.6 % to 108.2 % with % RSD not more than 4.9), highly precise (% RSD of the Intra-day and the inter-day study was not more than 8.9) and robust enough to deliver accurate results, when the chromatographic conditions were altered intentionally. Forced degradation studies were conducted in acidic, basic, thermal, photolytic, humid and peroxide stress conditions, where all the degradation peaks were monitored. Highest degradation of lamivudine was observed under oxidative stress condition and tenofovir was more susceptible to degradation under acidic and alkaline conditions.Conclusion: The present method is able to separate all the related compounds with each other and with the main drug substances with the resolution more than 2.0. The test solution was found to be stable in diluent up to 24 h. The mass balance of forced degradation of formulations, close to 99 %, made this method as a stability indicating method