The political economy of the water-energy nexus in Indian irrigation

Today 61% of irrigated areas in India rely on groundwater, placing supplies under great stress. Sudhanshu Sharma argues this is largely due to policies which incentivise farmers to pump unsustainable amounts of groundwater, designed by politicians targeting farmer votes. He writes that, although solutions to the problem of dwindling groundwater have been proposed and even trialled, they are most likely to fail because they underestimate the political dimension of the problem

Smart Nanocoated Structure for Energy Harvesting at Low Frequency Vibration

Increasing demands of energy which is cleaner and has an unlimited supply has led development in the field of energy harvesting. Piezoelectric materials can be used as a means of transforming ambient vibrations into electrical energy that can be stored and used to power other devices. With the recent surge of micro scale devices, piezoelectric power generation can provide a convenient alternative to traditional power sources. In this research, a piezoelectric power generator composite prototype was developed to maximize the power output of the system. A lead zirconate titanate (PZT) composite structure was formed and mounted on a cantilever bar and was studied to convert vibration energy of the low range vibrations at 30 Hz–1000 Hz. To improve the performance of the PZT, different coatings were made using different percentage of Ferrofluid (FNP) and Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) and binder resin. The optimal coating mixture constituent percentage was based on the performance of the composite structure formed by applying the coating on the PZT. The fabricated PZT power generator composite with an effective volume of 0.062 cm3 produced a maximum of 44.5 &mgr;W, or 0.717mW/cm3 at its resonant frequency of 90 Hz. The optimal coating mixture had the composition of 59.9%FNP + 40% ZnO + 1% Resin Binder. The coating utilizes the opto-magneto-electrical properties of ZnO and Magnetic properties of FNP. To further enhance the output, the magneto-electric (ME) effect was increased by subjecting the composite to magnetic field where coating acts as a magnetostrictive material. For the effective volume of 0.0062 cm 3, the composite produced a maximum of 68.5 &mgr;W, or 1.11mW/cm 3 at its resonant frequency of 90 Hz at 160 gauss. The optimal coating mixture had the composition of 59.9% FNP + 40% ZnO + 1% Resin Binder. This research also focused on improving the efficiency of solar cells by utilizing the magnetic effect along with gas plasma etching to improve the internal reflection. Preliminary results shoan improvement in solar cell efficiency from 14.6% to 17.1%

Book review: water security in India: hope, despair, and the challenges of human development by Vandana Asthana and A. C. Shukla

For anybody interested in water security, its intricate links with other forms of security (like food), and the threats water stress poses to the South Asian region in general and India in particular, this book is a must read, finds Sudhanshu Sharma

A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF SERUM FOLATE CONCENTRATION AND HEMOGLOBIN IN CERVIX CARCINOMA PATIENTS

Objective: The study aimed to have a prospective study of serum folate concentration and hemoglobin (Hb%) in cervical carcinoma patients. Methods: The study was conducted on women suffering from carcinoma cervix. The research was conducted in the Gynecological Outpatient Department (OPD) of the Oncology Unit in Mahavir Cancer Sansthan Patna, Bihar. The study period was from May 2016 to April 2017. The sample was collected after face to face interview by Figo staging and the sample was taken regularly. As a result strong association of Hb% and carcinoma cervix was found with the mean value of lower than 11.12, which is lower than the normal range of Hb%. As per the further estimation of folic acid, the level of cervical cancer is low. Results: The data were estimated with help of tools such as SPSS 16.0 and PRISMA 5.0. The Hb% the mean value of patients was estimated to be lower than 11.12, which is not under the normal range of Hb%, that is, nearly 12.5 mg/dl. The low mean value shows less Hb% content which leads to anemia in normal beings as well as in patients with cervical cancer. A strong association of Hb% which affected to patients in carcinoma cervix can be seen in the graph that the mean value of patients low 11.12±0.20 which not comes under normal range of Hb%, that is, 12.5 mg/dl. The R square value is 0.9556. Conclusion: As per our study, we have estimated that the folic acid level in cervical cancer is low. The -normal range of folic acid level in plasma serum is 2.2–20 ug/ml. The mean of 20 control cases, new cervical cancer patients, on treating patients, and follow-up patients is 11.08, 2.206, 3.554, and 2.783, respectively. The control 11.08 shows the better level in plasma serum level comes under a normal range of folic acid level

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS ABOUT LEPROSY AMONG MEDICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS IN MEWAT REGION OF HARYANA

Introduction -Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease which still remains a serious public health problem due to its ability to cause disability. The prevention of leprosy ultimately lies in the early diagnosis and treatment of the individuals having leprosy. Changing leprosy scenario has led to requirement of leprosy education. However the knowledge of medical college students on leprosy remains unknown. Aim: To assess the post-sensitization knowledge and awareness of medical students after state leprosy sensitization program. Materials and methods: A questionnaire based, cross sectional study was conducted among 107 medical students of different years starting from 2nd year and onwards in the month of July 2017 after state leprosy sensitization program. Results: Among the medical students 70 (75%) were male students and 37(25%) were female students coming from different years of their admission in medical college .Regarding the basic knowledge of leprosy 100 % of 3nd year and final year students were having knowledge about the cause of leprosy and 100% of final year and 3rd year medical students know about other name of Leprosy (Hansen,s disease) respectively.100% of final year, 3rd year and 2nd year medical students had knowledge about multidrug therapy (MDT) in in-depth knowledge of leprosy respectively. Regarding the virulence of bacilli 87%, 60% and 63% of final, 3rd and 2nd year medical students had apt knowledge respectively. Conclusion-These observations suggest that the basic and in-depth knowledge of medical students about cause, types, prevention and treatment etc. of leprosy shows increasing trend owing to the part of their curriculum. However there is still a need to organize sensitization programs at regular intervals to impart basic and in-depth knowledge to new medical students, as well as to update the knowledge of those who already had such sensitization programs.Keywords: Awareness; Knowledge; Leprosy; Sensitization

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS ABOUT LEPROSY AMONG MEDICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS IN MEWAT REGION OF HARYANA

Introduction -Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease which still remains a serious public health problem due to its ability to cause disability. The prevention of leprosy ultimately lies in the early diagnosis and treatment of the individuals having leprosy. Changing leprosy scenario has led to requirement of leprosy education. However the knowledge of medical college students on leprosy remains unknown. Aim: To assess the post-sensitization knowledge and awareness of medical students after state leprosy sensitization program. Materials and methods: A questionnaire based, cross sectional study was conducted among 107 medical students of different years starting from 2nd year and onwards in the month of July 2017 after state leprosy sensitization program. Results: Among the medical students 70 (75%) were male students and 37(25%) were female students coming from different years of their admission in medical college .Regarding the basic knowledge of leprosy 100 % of 3nd year and final year students were having knowledge about the cause of leprosy and 100% of final year and 3rd year medical students know about other name of Leprosy (Hansen,s disease) respectively.100% of final year, 3rd year and 2nd year medical students had knowledge about multidrug therapy (MDT) in in-depth knowledge of leprosy respectively. Regarding the virulence of bacilli 87%, 60% and 63% of final, 3rd and 2nd year medical students had apt knowledge respectively. Conclusion-These observations suggest that the basic and in-depth knowledge of medical students about cause, types, prevention and treatment etc. of leprosy shows increasing trend owing to the part of their curriculum. However there is still a need to organize sensitization programs at regular intervals to impart basic and in-depth knowledge to new medical students, as well as to update the knowledge of those who already had such sensitization programs.Keywords: Awareness; Knowledge; Leprosy; Sensitization

Sustainable performance through digital supply chains in industry 4.0 era: amidst the pandemic experience

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, industry 4.0 technologies (I4TEs) and digital supply chains (DSCs) are reinforcing businesses to gain economic stability and agility to enrich their sustainable performance (S.P.). Survey methods have been deployed based on the constructs obtained from the literature. Data collection through a survey resulted in 202 valid responses. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirms the constructs and the mediating effect of the DSCs through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study is among the few studies that examine the I4TE impact on DSCs and S.P. The results show that industry 4.0 technologies enhance the sustainable performance of firms. Results also show a complete mediation of DSCs on the inter-relationship between I4TEs and S.P. Those DSCs with I4TE inclusion can transform an organization’s strategic decision-making. For the authors, this study is the first of its kind. Although some of the literature explored different aspects of the concept of industry 4.0 and digitalizing supply chains, studies have yet to specifically evaluate the potential impacts of digital supply chains on sustainable performance. The novelty of DSCs is their support of firms in improving their preparedness, agility, and transparency to strengthen their sustainable performance. These DSCs will provide agile, collaboration, responsiveness, end-to-end visibility, and resilient supply chains to diminish supply risk and enrich preparedness and responsiveness to recuperate quickly from uncertainty amidst the pandemic. The study will help managers re-designing their strategic planning, resulting in new cost reduction and resilience models for supply chains. The study calls for firms to employ multiple DSCs once they have set clear strategic priorities. The overall findings of the work fill the literature gaps of studies in the digitalization of supply chains

Personal Hygiene and Self-Reported Handwashing Practices among Food Handlers of a Medical College in Delhi

Introduction: Food handlers play a major role in ensuring food safety as mishandling and disregard for personal hygiene on their part may result in food borne- illness outbreaks.Methodology: Cross sectional observational study involving about 44 food handlers presently working were included. With structured proforma, details of socio- demographic data and self reported personal hygiene and handwashing practices were carried out. Results: Majority of the study subjects had satisfactory or good personal hygiene. Significantly greater number of study subjects working as servers or helpers had a better status of hygiene as compared to the cooks. Personal income was significantly associated with the status of personal hygiene of the study subjects. Although majority of them were using soap for handwashing after defecation and micturition but only few were using it at the workplace. Although all of them were brushing/ cleaning their teeth, 50% were doing it only once in a day. Majority of them were taking bath in summers while 9% were not taking bath in winters. Majority of them were trimming their nails on a regular basis while 2.3% didn’t cut their nails at all. Majority of them used to take medicine during diarrhea while only 2.3% used to take leave from work during illness. Most of them reported using towel to wipe the sweat. Most of them either covered their mouth or turned their face away from food while coughing/ sneezing. While 56.8% reported that they chased the stray animal, 20.4% said that animals never entered the premises, 2.3% had the habit of offering food to them.Conclusion: There is a lot of scope for improving the standards of personal hygiene practices of food handlers. Important personal hygiene habits that help in prevention of contamination of food should be included in the content of health education sessions

Fauna ediacárica del Grupo de Jodhpur (Supergrupo de Marwar) en la ciudad de Jodhpur, al oeste de Rajasthan, India: Implicación para la selección de posibles sitios geopatrimoniales

The Ediacaran fossil record of the Jodhpur Group in the surroundings of Jodhpur city, western Rajasthan, is revised. Their best exposures are considered as potential Geoheritage sites. A specific protection from quarrying is envisaged.Se revisa el registro fósil ediacárico del Grupo de Jodhpur en los alrededores de la ciudad de Jodhpur, al oeste de Rajastán. Sus mejores afloramientos son considerados como sitios potenciales de Geopatrimonio. Se prevé una protección específica contra la explotación de sus canteras

A literature survey on vaccine supply chain management amidst COVID-19: literature developments, future directions and open challenges for public health

This review aims to evaluate the existing literature on Vaccine Supply Chain Management (VSCM). All relevant articles between 2002 and 2022 were systematically collected. The retrieved articles were further analyzed using bibliometric data analysis techniques. The unit of analysis is research papers published from 2002 to 2022. Vaccine Supply Chain Management (VSCM) literature has gained prominence since early 2000 and has now become voluminous. A review is the first endeavour to provide a unified body of literature. This study contributes to the existing research through insights from the bibliometric analysis and critical measurement of the literature. The results show 4288 papers on VSCM in the last 20 years. The top five countries contributing to VSCM literature are the USA, France, China, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Supply chain, vaccine, immunization, and Vaccine Supply Chain Management are the high-frequency keywords in the area of VSCM. The research hotspots mainly focus on healthcare, drugs, and manufacturers. In light of the COVID-19 era, this review paper indicates the area of VSCM is diversified. This study is useful for policymakers and other stakeholders to understand the existing issues in VSCM. The research trends and patterns from the literature review of VSCM will help in designing AAA (agile, adaptive, and aligned) VSCM in the future from the viewpoint of public health. This study attempts to analyze existing works, trends, developments, and potential research directions