Greenhouse cultivation of fruit crops with special reference to India: An overview

India is facing various challenges in fruit cultivation viz., climate change, increasing pressure on natural resources, decreasing land tenure with the ever-increasing population. Besides this, the demand for quality fruit is also on the rise as people are now more aware of a nutritious and healthy diet. The quality with higher production is difficult with the traditional system of cultivation and requires a more scientific approach in cultivation. Greenhouse cultivation technology can enhance quality and quantity both. This technology is required to convert some portion of the present 6.5 million ha of the fruit-growing area to increase national productivity and product quality. The purpose of greenhouse cultivation is to grow crops by altering the micro-environment surrounding the crop so that the plant performs maximum to its genetic potential. It also increases the yield, improves the quality and stability of production and makes commodities available when there is no outdoor production. China is the world leader in greenhouse fruit production with the largest area under this technology. In India, greenhouse fruit cultivation is in its infancy as the only strawberry is commercially being grown under greenhouses. However, in fluctuating environmental conditions and losses in fruit crops due to various biotic and abiotic stresses, protecting the fruit crops for the off-season, quality and higher production will be a necessity in future. Keeping in view the low productivity of fruit crops in India and future needs of round the year quality production, an overview of work and cultivation scenario on this aspect is discussed in this paper

Effect of Sertraline on biomarker alterations in patients of multidrug resistant tuberculosis with depression: a prospective clinical trial

Background: Lipid profile parameters may be used as biomarker for depression. Sertraline belongs to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most commonly used group to treat the depression in multidrug resistant tuberculosis patients.Methods: A prospective clinical trial was carried out in department of Psychiatry and department of Tuberculosis and Respiratory disease G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur. Diagnosed MDR TB patients were screened for depression applying Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and these patients were referred to Psychiatrist for diagnosis of depression. Total 25 diagnosed patients of MDR TB with mild to moderate depression were selected. HDRS Score and morning blood sample of 5ml were collected to analyze biomarker for depression before intervention. Same test was repeated in 18 patients who completed the study at day 30 and 120 after administering Sertraline (50mg). Data were compiled and analyzed using SPSS 20.0 and paired t - test.Results: The mean decrease in HDRS score from base line at day 30 and 120 of administering Sertraline were 6.22 (±1.26) and 2.72 (±0.67) which were significant (p˂0.001). The mean increase in serum cholesterol at day 30 was 153.94 (±19.31) and at day 120 was 157.83 (±19.36) which were significant (p˂0.001). Rest of Tg, HDLc, LDLc and VLDL cholesterole levels were not increased significantly.Conclusions: As the depression symptoms improved by sertraline. The biomarkers of depression were also increased (within the normal range) from baseline but significant increase was observed in serum cholesterol only

Thermo-electric generation (TEG) enabled cookstoves in a rural Indian community: a longitudinal study of user behaviours and perceptions

Background: Traditional cookstoves that burn solid biomass are associated with inefficient burning, a high degree of household air pollution and high morbidity rates. A key barrier to the adoption of clean cookstoves has been the cost of fuels. Hence, a Thermo-Electric Generating (TEG) cookstove that used solid biomass fuels more efficiently and released less smoke was developed. The TEG cookstove also generates electricity to power small electric devices. Fifteen TEG cookstoves were distributed to villagers in the Indian state of Uttarakhand in 2019. / Objective: We wanted to understand whether, after two years of distribution, TEG cookstoves were still used, what and where they were used for, their perceived impacts on health, and the barriers to their use. / Methods used: We surveyed 10 of the 15 recipient households. We applied the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour and Behaviour Change Wheel frameworks to understand what the barriers to adoption were, and what could be done to surmount these. / Results: All respondents reported lower smoke levels and most respondents reported that the TEG cookstoves required less fuelwood than their traditional cookstoves, but none had used them in the month prior to the survey. / Discussion: For those whose TEG cookstoves were still usable and had not been made redundant by clean cookstoves, we found there to be physical opportunity barriers and psychological capability barriers. Physical opportunity barriers included a small inlet for fuel, limited versatility beyond cooking at low temperatures, and the availability of only one hob. To surmount these barriers, we recommend co-design to suit user needs and education emphasising visible benefits of avoided soot on kitchen walls, in addition to the health benefits

Pretreatment of lignocelluloses for enhanced biogas production: A review on influencing mechanisms and the importance of microbial diversity

Received 13 August 2019; Received in revised form 10 July 2020; Accepted 28 July 2020, Available online 11 August 2020.As one of the most efficient methods for waste management and sustainable energy production, anaerobic digestion (AD) countenances difficulties in the hydrolysis of lignocelluloses biomass. Different pretreatment methods have been applied to make lignocelluloses readily biodegradable by microorganisms. These pretreatments can affect biogas yield by different mechanisms at molecular scale, including changes in chemical composition, cellulose crystallinity, degree of polymerization, enzyme adsorption/desorption, nutrient accessibility, deacetylation, and through the formation of inhibitors. The present article aims at critically reviewing the reported molecular mechanisms affecting biogas yield from lignocelluloses via different types of pretreatments. Then, a new hypothesis concerning the impact of pretreatment on the microbial community developed (throughout the AD process from an identical inoculum) was also put forth and was experimentally examined through a case study. Four different leading pretreatments, including sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, aqueous ammonia, and sodium carbonate, were performed on rice straw as model lignocellulosic feedstock. The results obtained revealed that the choice of pretreatment method also plays a pivotally positive or negative role on biogas yield obtained from lignocelluloses through alteration of the microbial community involved in the AD. Considerable changes were observed in the archaeal and bacterial communities developed in response to the pretreatment used. Sodium hydroxide, with the highest methane yield (338 mL/g volatile solid), led to a partial switch from acetoclastic to the hydrogenotrophic methane production pathway. The findings reported herein undermine the default hypothesis accepted by thousands of previously published papers, which is changes in substrate characteristics by pretreatments are the only mechanisms affecting biogas yield. Moreover, the results obtained could assist with the development of more efficient biogas production systems at industrial scale by offering more in-depth understanding of the interactions between microbial community structure, and process parameters and performance

Influence of gender and parental migration on IYCF practices in 6-23-month-old tribal children in Banswara district, India: findings from the cross-sectional PANChSHEEEL study

BACKGROUND: The interdisciplinary Participatory Approach for Nutrition in Children: Strengthening Health, Education, Engineering and Environment Linkages (PANChSHEEEL) study used a participatory approach to develop locally-feasible and tailored solutions to optimise Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices at an individual, household, community, and environmental level. This paper aims to evaluate the influence of gender; migration; and Health, Education, Engineering and Environmental (HEEE) factors on IYCF practices, with the primary outcomes being three key complementary-feeding practices of Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD), Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF) and Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 325 households with children aged 6-23 months was conducted in nine purposively selected villages in two blocks of Banswara district, Rajasthan, India. A survey tool was developed, translated into the local language, pre-tested, and administered in a gender-sensitive manner. Data-collection processes were standardized to ensure quality measures. Association of the primary outcome with 27 variables was tested using a Chi-square test (Mantel-Haenszel method); backward stepwise regression analysis was conducted to assess the impact of effect modifiers (gender, parental migration). RESULTS: Half of the surveyed children were of each gender, and fathers from half of the households were found to have migrated within the previous year to search for additional income. Parental literacy ranged from 60 to 70%. More than half of the households had access to milk-producing animals. Consumption of each of the seven food groups, eggs (4.7% vs 0.7%; p < 0.02), MDD (10.5% vs 3.2%; p < 0.02) and MAD (9.4% vs 2.6%; p < 0.02) were higher for boys than for girls. After controlling for contextual factors, a male child was 4.1 times more likely to get a diet with MDD and 3.8 times more likely to get a diet with MAD. A child from a non-migrant household was 2.0-2.1 times more likely to get a diet with MDD and MAD as compared to a child from a migrant household. However, this association was not found to be statistically significant after regression. Presence of milk-producing animals in households and consumption of milk/milk products by children in the previous 24 h were the other two strong predictors of MDD and MAD, although access to animal milk in the house did not translate to an increase in consumption of milk/milk products by a child. CONCLUSION: Gender discrimination in diet diversity and complementary-feeding practices starts early in childhood with boys having a distinct advantage over girls. In the case of parental migration, further research is required to establish if it has an adverse impact on feeding practices. Emphasis needs to be given to gender issues and other contextual factors when developing strategies to optimise complementary feeding practices. TRIAL REGISTRATION: With UCL ethics [Ethics ID 4032/002] in United Kingdom and with Sigma IRB [10,025/IRB/D/17-18] in India

Chemical Protection Studies of Activated Carbon Spheres based Permeable Protective Clothing Against Sulfur Mustard, a Chemical Warfare Agent

Technological advancements in the field of chemical threat have made it possible to create extremely dangerous chemical warfare agents (CWA). Hence, the effective protection of personnel is very important in a chemical warfare&nbsp;scenario amidst the current climate of terrorism awareness. In particular, body protection plays a substantial role in the chemical defence considering the urgency of situation in the nuclear, biological and chemical environment. Activated carbon spheres (ACS) based permeable chemical protective clothing (coverall) was developed for protection against CWA. The adsorbent material i.e, ACS used in this protective clothing provided higher adsorption capacity (1029 mg/g in terms of iodine) and low thermal burden (34 °C WBGT index) compared to earlier indigenously developed NBC suit. This article focuses on the extensive evaluation of chemical protective clothing against&nbsp;sulfur mustard (HD), a CWA. The results revealed that the developed protective clothing provided more than 24 h protection against HD. This chemical protective suit is light weight (&lt; 2.75 kg for XL size). It also has higher air permeability (&gt; 30 cm3/s/cm2) as well as less water vapour resistance (&lt; 9.6 m2Pa/W). With continued innovations in materials and attention to key challenges it is expected that advanced, multifunction chemical protective suit will play a pivotal role in the CWA protection scenario

Role of schools in community mobilisation to improve IYCF practices in 6-24-month-old tribal children in the Banswara district, India: findings from the qualitative PANChSHEEEL study

OBJECTIVE: India has been struggling with infant malnutrition for decades. There is a need to identify suitable platforms for community engagement to promote locally feasible, resource efficient Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) interventions. This study aims to explore if and how schools could represent a site for community engagement in rural India, acting as innovation hubs to foster positive change in partnership with the Angawadi centres. DESIGN: Five-phase formative study; A parallel mixed methods approach structured by a socioecological framework was used for data collection at individual, household and community levels. This paper focuses on the qualitative findings. SETTING: This study was undertaken in nine villages within two blocks, 'Ghatol' and 'Kushalgarh', in the Banswara district of Rajasthan, India. PARTICIPANTS: 17 schools were identified. Interviews were conducted with local opinion leaders and representatives in the education sector, including principals, schoolteachers, block and district education officers. Across the nine study villages, information was gathered from 67 mothers, 58 paternal grandmothers using Focus Discussion Groups (FDGs) and 49 key respondents in Key Informant Interviews. RESULTS: Schools were considered an important community resource. Challenges included limited parental participation and student absenteeism; however, several drivers and opportunities were identified, which may render schools a suitable intervention delivery site. Enrolment rates were high, with schools and associated staff encouraging parental involvement and student attendance. Existing initiatives, including the mid-day meal, play opportunities and education on health and hygiene, further highlight the potential reliability of schools as a platform for community mobilisation. CONCLUSIONS: Schools have been shown to be functional platforms frequently visited and trusted by community members. With teachers and children as change agents, schools could represent a suitable setting for community mobilisation in future wider scale intervention studies. Expanding the supportive environment around schools will be essential to reinforce healthy IYCF practices in the long term

Biohydrogen production through dark fermentation from waste biomass:Current status and future perspectives on biorefinery development

Green and clean hydrogen production has become a significant focus in recent years to achieve sustainable renewable energy fuel needs. Biohydrogen production through the dark fermentation (DF) process from organic wastes is advantageous with its environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and cost-effective characteristics. This article elucidates the viability of transforming the DF process into a biorefinery system. Operational pH, temperature, feeding rate, inoculum-to-substrate ratio, and hydrogen partial pressure and its liquid-to-gas mass transfer rate are the factors that govern the performance of the DF process. Sufficient research has been made that can lead to upscaling the DF process into an industrial-scale technology. However, the DF process cannot be upscaled at the current technology readiness level as a stand-alone technology. Hence, it requires a downstream process (preferably anaerobic digestion) to improve energy recovery efficiency and economic viability. The article also discusses the possible hydrogen purification and storage techniques for achieving fuel quality and easy accessibility. The article further tries to unfold the opportunities, challenges, and current scenario/future research directions to enhance hydrogen yield and microbial metabolism, depicting the commercialization status for biorefinery development. Finally, the current progress gaps and policy-level loopholes from the Indian perspective are highlighted by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats