Constraints encountered by farm women in vegetable farming in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh

The study identified constraints encountered by farm women in vegetable farming in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The data were personally collected from 100 farm women of two vegetable growing blocks of the district by using multi-stage sampling technique. Overall, majority (69%) of respondents encountered medium to high extent of constraints. The study revealed that lack of knowledge about enterprise, marketing linkages, schemes of developmental departments, training and financial institutions, lack of financial institutions and difficulty in getting loan, high cost and non-availability of quality inputs in time, lack of entrepreneurship development oriented trainings and requisite support were the major constraints. Lack of marketing centers, low price of produce, lack of storage and irrigation facilities, non-availability of labour, and stray animals were the major general constraints. Effective policy at government level for stray animals and monkeys, timely availability of quality inputs at subsidized rates, promotion of processing units and financial institutes at village level and trainings on entrepreneurship development for socio economic upliftment of farm women are the prime concerns to be looked upon

Non-methane volatile organic compounds emitted from domestic fuels in Delhi: Emission factors and total city-wide emissions

In controlled laboratory conditions, 62 samples of domestic fuels collected from 56 grids of Delhi were burnt to quantify the emissions of 23 non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), i.e., alkanes (11), alkenes (6), alkynes (1) and aromatic compounds (5). The domestic fuels used for residential activities were comprised of 20 unique types of fuel woods, 3 species of crop residue, dung cakes and coal. These fuels are primarily used for cooking and water/space heating during winters. The current study reports the total emission budget of NMVOCs from domestic burning over Delhi. Furthermore, this study also compares the differences in EFs of NMVOCs which are calculated for different burning cycles and sample collection methods. The EFs of NMVOCs calculated from the samples collected during the flaming stage using canisters were analysed for 23 NMVOCs and then compared with same species emitted from complete burning cycle. In addition to this, 10 consumption and emission hotspot grids were also identified in Delhi; based on the ground survey and laboratory simulated results. The total annual usage of domestic fuels for the year 2019 was found to be 0.415 Mt/yr (million tonnes) in Delhi. 12.01 Gg/yr of annual NMVOC emissions was calculated from domestic fuel burning in which the emissions from dung cake and fuel wood dominated with 6.6 Gg/yr and 5.4 Gg/yr, respectively. The EFs of NMVOCs calculated using canister and online collection method differ significantly from each other. The flaming stage presented enhanced emissions compared to the complete burning cycle by ~7 times which suggests that the method of data analysis and the period of sample collection play a pivotal role in the preparation of an emission inventory and estimating the budget

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Quadricuspid aortic valve: A rare intraoperative diagnosis by transesophageal echocardiography

Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) is a rare congenital anomaly frequently associated with other anomalies particularly coronary anomalies. It may be detected on transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiography. We present here a case report of a 27-year-old male patient with a QAV, the valve being regurgitant and requiring aortic valve replacement. It has been reported as isolated case reports in the literature and various theories exist to the development of QAV. The diagnosis requires a high degree of suspicion and a detailed assessment, and if asymptomatic, then patients need to be carefully followed up for the development of aortic regurgitation

A Hospital Based Prospective Study to Find Out Etiology of Chronic Liver Disease Has a Bearing on Renal Dysfunction

Background: Detection of renal insufficiency is clinically important because it contributes significantly to high morbidity and mortality in cirrhosis. Patients with cirrhosis and renal failure are at high risk for death while awaiting transplantation and have an increased frequency of complications and reduced survival after transplantation, as compared with those without renal failure. The aim of this study to find out etiology of chronic liver disease has a bearing on renal dysfunction.Materials & Methods: The prospective study done on 50 patients admitted with chronic liver disease with seemingly normal renal function in department of Medicine at Shree Kalyan Government Medical College, Sikar, Rajasthan during one year period. The patients included with evidence for chronic liver disease being defined by a compatible Clinical profile along with Biochemical or Sonographic evidence OR Tissue diagnosis. Renal function was assessed by serum creatinine, creatinine clearance from timed urine collection [(UxV)/P] and creatinine clearance by Cockcroft Gault formula (CGF).Results: Our study showed that the mean value of age was 45.16 years. Of the patients included 40 were males, while remaining 10 were females. There was no significant variation in blood urea levels in all the three groups, suggesting that estimation of blood urea will not be of much use in determining renal impairment. Serum creatinine levels failed to rise above 1.2 mg/dL, suggesting that moderate to severe renal dysfunction may be masked by seemingly normal creatinine levels. Patients with greater amount of renal impairment were found to have lesser urine output, thus suggesting that eliciting history of oliguria in a patient with normal serum creatinine levels should call for a high index of suspicion of renal dysfunction. Measurement of creatinine clearance using the Cockcroft Gault formula (CGF) showed significantly higher values, suggesting overestimation of GFR by this method.Conclusion: We concluded that renal dysfunction in advanced liver disease, routine tests like blood urea and serum creatinine will be insufficient. Other methods like measured creatinine clearance should be employed to get an accurate picture of the renal status

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Not AvailableField experiment conducted at Regional Research Station (SKUAST-K), Wadura, Kashmir to study the influence of integration of foliar spray of free-living diazotrophs and boron with N on yield, nutrient uptake and N economy of rice for two consecutive years. Application of 100% N+boron recorded maximum grain yield (6.72 t/ha), additional net income (‘18, 902/ha), total N uptake (107.54 kg/ha), total B uptake (50.8 g/ha) and N use efficiency indices. Application of 100% N+boron registered higher grain and straw yield by 3.70 and 2.69% over 100% alone. Further, application of 50% N (two split) at 15 and 30 DAT+Azotobacter+boron being on par with 100% N had considerably higher grain and straw yield over 50% N (one split at 30 DAT)+Azotobacter+boron and 50% N (one split at 30 DAT)+Azospirillum+boron. Foliar spray of Azotobacter was more effective over Azospirillum, which enhanced grain yield by 2.21-3.42% irrespective of N splitting. Under temperate conditions of Kashmir valley higher grain yield, profitability and N use indices viz. physiological efficiency of N (20.2%), agronomic efficiency of N (27.1%), relative efficiency of N (58.9%) and factor productivity for applied N (84.0%) could be realized with the application of 100%Not Availabl

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Impact of an Evidence-Based Antibiotic Protocol on Common Gram-Negative Bacteria's Antibiotic Resistance in a Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Background Based on the analysis of infections and antibiotic usage in the years 2013 and 2014, an evidence-based antibiotic protocol was developed and implemented in our cardiac surgical intensive care unit (CSICU). This study intends to study the impact of this new protocol on the sensitivity profiles of common gram-negative bacteria in our CSICU. Methods The medical records of patients who underwent cardiac surgery at our center, between January 2017 and December 2018, were reviewed and the incidence of different hospital-acquired bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity profiles were recorded. The antibiotic-sensitivity profiles of common gram-negative bacteria, for the years 2017 and 2018, were compared with the published data of 2013 and 2014 from our department. Results There was a significant decrease in the incidence of Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistant to carbapenems during 2017 and 2018. The incidence of colistin-resistant A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa also decreased significantly in 2017 and 2018. A significant increase in the proportion of amikacin resistant A. baumannii and E. coli and A. baumannii resistant to B lactam/B lactamase inhibitors also occurred. Conclusion Antibiotic stewardship can reverse the antibiotic resistance of common gram-negative bacteria in the ICU

Comparison the Effect of Etomidate vs. Thiopentone on Left Ventricular Strain and Strain Rate at the Time of Anesthesia Induction in Patients Undergoing Elective Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery: A Randomized Double Blind Controlled Trial

Myocardial strain imaging with speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is getting popularity because it does not depends on insonation angle and has shown good correlation with intraoperative and postoperative ventricular function in patients with coronary artery disease. The impact of thiopentone and etomidate induction on myocardial function was studied and compared on sixty patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting. Three loops for each views (apical 4 chamber, apical 2 chamber, and apical long axis ) were acquired at base line (T0) and 1 minute (T1) after induction for offline analysis. In Group T, significant increase in HR from the base line values (67.8 ± 13.8 vs 79.2 ± 15.6, p = 0.001) occurred post induction, where as in Group E it remain near to the base line (71.7 ± 8.3 vs 70.1± 8.9, p = 0.345). A reduction in mean arterial pressure (MAP) was noted in both the groups after the injection of the allocated drug. There was no significant difference in the index of contractility (ICON) (T0 vs T1: 48.7 ± 10.6 vs 47.0 ± 11.7, p = 0.120) in Group E where as in Group T there was a reduction in the ICON value (T0 vs T1: 45.0 ± 10.7 vs 41.0 ± 8.4, p = 0.005). A similar picture was also noted in systemic vascular resistance index. A significant decrease in cardiac index (CI) was seen in Group E (T0 vs T1: 2.7 ± 0.4 vs 2.5 ± 0.4, p = 0.027), however it remain near to the base line in Group T. There occurred no changes in stroke index (SI) in Group E (T0 vs T1: 38.7 ± 6 vs 37.0± 5.3, p = 0.134), where as a significant decrease was noted after injection of thiopental (T0 vs T1: 38.0 ± 6.2 vs 36.1± 4.9, p = 0.049). A significant decline in cardiac performance index (CPI) was also recorded in Group E (T0 vs T1: 0.57 ± 0.15 vs 0.52 ± 0.12, p = 0.032), and not in Group T. There was decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after the injection of both the drugs (Group E, T0 vs T1: 57 ± 3.7 vs 54± 3.7, p= 0.001; and Group T, T0 vs T1: 57 ± 3.7 vs 54± 3.7, p = 0.001). In Group E, global longitudinal peak systolic strain (GLPSS) showed no change after the injection of the drug (T0 vs T1: −13.2 ± 2.2 vs −13.1± 2.3, p = 0.631). However, a significant decrease in GLPSS (T0 vs T1: −13.5 ± 1.5 vs – 10 ± 1.8, p = 0.001) after injection of thiopental. Longitudinal peak systolic strain rate (LPSSR) was significantly decreased in all echocardiographic views after the injection of respective drugs. However, the decrease in LPSSR was significantly less in Group E in comparison to Group T. To conclude, STE provides accurate and reliable real time quantitative regional and global LV assessment. Use of thiopentone for anesthesia induction is associated with more profound impairment of LV function in comparison to etomidate as assessed by a decreased longitudinal peak systolic strain rate and global longitudinal peak systolic strain. Further studies are warranted to understand the exact clinical impact, which may influence the choice of intravenous induction agent based upon preoperative patient characteristics