Rural indebtedness : concept, correlates and consequences: a study of four tribal villages in the North Lakhimpur subdivision, Assam

Indebtedness has been acknowledged as one of the most infamous stumbling blocks in the way of rural prosperity. It is cancerous, self-perpetuating, malignant and maleficent. It abates agricultural production, abashes social psyche, aggravates inequalities in the distribution of socioeconomic opportunities and benefits, arrests social progress and misdirects social efforts. In the Indian rural context, indebtedness characterizes: (i). unproductive usage of loan, (ii). usurious ensnaring of the borrower, (iii). captivation of productive resources, (iv). exercise of coercive and exploitative economic and social powers by the lender, (v). compulsion, plight, misery and feeling of guilt and helplessness, and (vi). erosion of social status of the borrower. In this study we propose an empirical study to measure indebtedness, identify its correlates and to assess the consequences of indebtedness on the productive and distributive performance on the rural economy. We have collected primary data from four tribal villages. The selection of these villages has been made purposively. We hold the opinion that the tribal population in the rural areas of Assam has been least exposed to the credit programmes launched by the public agencies and hence a study of indebtedness provides us with a deeper insight in the problem. We have observed that in the Indian context rural indebtedness is resonant with the overtones of unproductive usage, usurious ensnaring and deplorable condition of the poor farmers and agricultural labourers. We have surveyed four tribal villages and based on the data thus collected identified some measures of indebtedness that can help us operationally in analyzing the incidence, process and impacts of rural indebtedness. These measures are per capita loan and per capita loan per agricultural asset held by the households and these measures are good representatives of the degree of indebtedness. We have analyzed the productive and distributive effects of indebtedness and found that it leads to decline in agricultural productivity, captivation of productive resources and aggravation of inequalities in the rural community. Further, our finding is that indebtedness is initiated by unproductive expenditure. This in turn captivates agricultural assets, abates productivity and reduces the repaying capacity of the borrower. Our study may suggest that in order to ameliorate the conditions of the indebted rural mass we have to motivate them to minimize conspicuous consumption, especially if the households cannot afford it without borrowing. Educational planning may help us to attain this goal of making the rural mass aware of the merits of prudence and the demerits of conspicuous consumption. Further, to stop the captivation of productive assets, institutional loan should be provided on easy terms. This objective may be attained by making the cooperative and bank loans easily available.Rural indebtedness; correlates; consequences; measures of incidence; distributive effects; causal chain; Assam; primary data; tribal villages; poverty

Rural indebtedness : concept, correlates and consequences: a study of four tribal villages in the North Lakhimpur subdivision, Assam

Indebtedness has been acknowledged as one of the most infamous stumbling blocks in the way of rural prosperity. It is cancerous, self-perpetuating, malignant and maleficent. It abates agricultural production, abashes social psyche, aggravates inequalities in the distribution of socioeconomic opportunities and benefits, arrests social progress and misdirects social efforts. In the Indian rural context, indebtedness characterizes: (i). unproductive usage of loan, (ii). usurious ensnaring of the borrower, (iii). captivation of productive resources, (iv). exercise of coercive and exploitative economic and social powers by the lender, (v). compulsion, plight, misery and feeling of guilt and helplessness, and (vi). erosion of social status of the borrower. In this study we propose an empirical study to measure indebtedness, identify its correlates and to assess the consequences of indebtedness on the productive and distributive performance on the rural economy. We have collected primary data from four tribal villages. The selection of these villages has been made purposively. We hold the opinion that the tribal population in the rural areas of Assam has been least exposed to the credit programmes launched by the public agencies and hence a study of indebtedness provides us with a deeper insight in the problem. We have observed that in the Indian context rural indebtedness is resonant with the overtones of unproductive usage, usurious ensnaring and deplorable condition of the poor farmers and agricultural labourers. We have surveyed four tribal villages and based on the data thus collected identified some measures of indebtedness that can help us operationally in analyzing the incidence, process and impacts of rural indebtedness. These measures are per capita loan and per capita loan per agricultural asset held by the households and these measures are good representatives of the degree of indebtedness. We have analyzed the productive and distributive effects of indebtedness and found that it leads to decline in agricultural productivity, captivation of productive resources and aggravation of inequalities in the rural community. Further, our finding is that indebtedness is initiated by unproductive expenditure. This in turn captivates agricultural assets, abates productivity and reduces the repaying capacity of the borrower. Our study may suggest that in order to ameliorate the conditions of the indebted rural mass we have to motivate them to minimize conspicuous consumption, especially if the households cannot afford it without borrowing. Educational planning may help us to attain this goal of making the rural mass aware of the merits of prudence and the demerits of conspicuous consumption. Further, to stop the captivation of productive assets, institutional loan should be provided on easy terms. This objective may be attained by making the cooperative and bank loans easily available

Rural indebtedness : concept, correlates and consequences: a study of four tribal villages in the North Lakhimpur subdivision, Assam

Indebtedness has been acknowledged as one of the most infamous stumbling blocks in the way of rural prosperity. It is cancerous, self-perpetuating, malignant and maleficent. It abates agricultural production, abashes social psyche, aggravates inequalities in the distribution of socioeconomic opportunities and benefits, arrests social progress and misdirects social efforts. In the Indian rural context, indebtedness characterizes: (i). unproductive usage of loan, (ii). usurious ensnaring of the borrower, (iii). captivation of productive resources, (iv). exercise of coercive and exploitative economic and social powers by the lender, (v). compulsion, plight, misery and feeling of guilt and helplessness, and (vi). erosion of social status of the borrower. In this study we propose an empirical study to measure indebtedness, identify its correlates and to assess the consequences of indebtedness on the productive and distributive performance on the rural economy. We have collected primary data from four tribal villages. The selection of these villages has been made purposively. We hold the opinion that the tribal population in the rural areas of Assam has been least exposed to the credit programmes launched by the public agencies and hence a study of indebtedness provides us with a deeper insight in the problem. We have observed that in the Indian context rural indebtedness is resonant with the overtones of unproductive usage, usurious ensnaring and deplorable condition of the poor farmers and agricultural labourers. We have surveyed four tribal villages and based on the data thus collected identified some measures of indebtedness that can help us operationally in analyzing the incidence, process and impacts of rural indebtedness. These measures are per capita loan and per capita loan per agricultural asset held by the households and these measures are good representatives of the degree of indebtedness. We have analyzed the productive and distributive effects of indebtedness and found that it leads to decline in agricultural productivity, captivation of productive resources and aggravation of inequalities in the rural community. Further, our finding is that indebtedness is initiated by unproductive expenditure. This in turn captivates agricultural assets, abates productivity and reduces the repaying capacity of the borrower. Our study may suggest that in order to ameliorate the conditions of the indebted rural mass we have to motivate them to minimize conspicuous consumption, especially if the households cannot afford it without borrowing. Educational planning may help us to attain this goal of making the rural mass aware of the merits of prudence and the demerits of conspicuous consumption. Further, to stop the captivation of productive assets, institutional loan should be provided on easy terms. This objective may be attained by making the cooperative and bank loans easily available

Mode I fracture toughness of optimized alkali-treated Bambusa Vulgaris bamboo by Box-Behnken design.

Alkaline treatment is widely being used to treat natural fibres and it improves the fibre surface for better bonding with the polymer matrix. The aim of this study is to optimize the alkaline treatment variables such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration, soaking and drying time that influence the strength of natural fibres, including bamboo. In this study, Box-Behnken design (BBD) of the response surface method was employed to set an experimental parameter of alkaline treatment for the bamboo specimen. In order to investigate the effect of treatment conditions on crack propagation behaviour of the bamboo along the longitudinal direction, Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness (GIC) test was carried out. It can be suggested from the statistical analysis approach (ANOVA) that bamboo treated with 1wt% concentration of NaOH is able to reach fracture toughness value up to 365.86J/m2, which differs by only 0.82% from the experimental finding. It is also shown that all proposed variables for treatment in this study i.e. the concentration of the NaOH is highly significant with the soaking and drying time

OPA1 and cardiolipin team up for mitochondrial fusion

Fusion between the inner membranes of two mitochondria requires the GTPase optic atrophy 1 (OPA1), but the molecular mechanism is poorly understood. A study now shows that fusion of two liposomes can be performed by OPA1 tethered to just one liposome, through an interaction with the phospholipid cardiolipin on the opposing liposome

Pontine capillary telangiectasia as visualized on MR imaging causing a clinical picture resembling basilar-type migraine: a case report

A case of presumed pontine capillary telangiectasia in an 18-year-old woman with a clinical diagnosis of basilar-type migraine is reported. Since both are very rare diagnoses, this case provides some evidence to suggest that pontine capillary telangiectasia might cause a clinical picture resembling basilar-type migraine

Effect of temperature anisotropy on various modes and instabilities for a magnetized non-relativistic bi-Maxwellian plasma

Using kinetic theory for homogeneous collisionless magnetized plasmas, we present an extended review of the plasma waves and instabilities and discuss the anisotropic response of generalized relativistic dielectric tensor and Onsager symmetry properties for arbitrary distribution functions. In general, we observe that for such plasmas only those electromagnetic modes whose magnetic field perturbations are perpendicular to the ambient magneticeld, i.e.,B1 \perp B0, are effected by the anisotropy. However, in oblique propagation all modes do show such anisotropic effects. Considering the non-relativistic bi-Maxwellian distribution and studying the relevant components of the general dielectric tensor under appropriate conditions, we derive the dispersion relations for various modes and instabilities. We show that only the electromagnetic R- and L- waves, those derived from them and the O-mode are affected by thermal anisotropies, since they satisfy the required condition B1\perpB0. By contrast, the perpendicularly propagating X-mode and the modes derived from it (the pure transverse X-mode and Bernstein mode) show no such effect. In general, we note that the thermal anisotropy modifies the parallel propagating modes via the parallel acoustic effect, while it modifies the perpendicular propagating modes via the Larmor-radius effect. In oblique propagation for kinetic Alfven waves, the thermal anisotropy affects the kinetic regime more than it affects the inertial regime. The generalized fast mode exhibits two distinct acoustic effects, one in the direction parallel to the ambient magnetic field and the other in the direction perpendicular to it. In the fast-mode instability, the magneto-sonic wave causes suppression of the firehose instability. We discuss all these propagation characteristics and present graphic illustrations

RIG-I Mediates Innate Immune Response in Mouse Neurons Following Japanese Encephalitis Virus Infection

Neuroinflammation associated with Japanese encephalitis (JE) is mainly due to the activation of glial cells with subsequent release of proinflammatory mediators from them. The recognition of viral RNA, in part, by the pattern recognition receptor retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) has been indicated to have a role in such processes. Even though neurons are also known to express this receptor, its role after JE virus (JEV) infections is yet to be elucidated.Upon infecting murine neuroblastoma cells and primary cortical neurons with JEV the expression profile of key proinflammatory cyto/chemokines were analyzed by qRT-PCR and bead array, both before and after ablation of RIG-I. Immunoblotting was performed to evaluate the levels of key molecules downstream to RIG-I leading to production of proinflammatory mediators. Changes in the intracellular viral antigen expression were confirmed by intracellular staining and immunoblotting. JEV infection induced neuronal expression of IL-6, IL-12p70, MCP-1, IP-10 and TNF-α in a time-dependent manner, which showed significant reduction upon RIG-I ablation. Molecules downstream to RIG-I showed significant changes upon JEV-infection, that were modulated following RIG-I ablation. Ablation of RIG-I in neurons also increased their susceptibility to JEV.In this study we propose that neurons are one of the potential sources of proinflammatory cyto/chemokines in JEV-infected brain that are produced via RIG-I dependent pathways. Ablation of RIG-I in neurons leads to increased viral load and reduced release of the cyto/chemokines

Dynamic Community Detection into Analyzing of Wildfires Events

The study and comprehension of complex systems are crucial intellectual and scientific challenges of the 21st century. In this scenario, network science has emerged as a mathematical tool to support the study of such systems. Examples include environmental processes such as wildfires, which are known for their considerable impact on human life. However, there is a considerable lack of studies of wildfire from a network science perspective. Here, employing the chronological network concept -- a temporal network where nodes are linked if two consecutive events occur between them -- we investigate the information that dynamic community structures reveal about the wildfires' dynamics. Particularly, we explore a two-phase dynamic community detection approach, i.e., we applied the Louvain algorithm on a series of snapshots. Then we used the Jaccard similarity coefficient to match communities across adjacent snapshots. Experiments with the MODIS dataset of fire events in the Amazon basing were conducted. Our results show that the dynamic communities can reveal wildfire patterns observed throughout the year.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Interventions to improve exercise behaviour in sedentary people living with and beyond cancer: a systematic review

Background: To systematically review the effects of interventions to improve exercise behaviour in sedentary people living with and beyond cancer. Methods: Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared an exercise intervention to a usual care comparison in sedentary people with a homogeneous primary cancer diagnosis, over the age of 18 years were eligible. The following electronic databases were searched: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials MEDLINE; EMBASE; AMED; CINAHL; PsycINFO; SportDiscus; PEDro from inception to August 2012. Results: Fourteen trials were included in this review, involving a total of 648 participants. Just six trials incorporated prescriptions that would meet current recommendations for aerobic exercise. However, none of the trials included in this review reported intervention adherence of 75% or more for a set prescription that would meet current aerobic exercise guidelines. Despite uncertainty around adherence in many of the included trials, the interventions caused improvements in aerobic exercise tolerance at 8–12 weeks (SMD=0.73, 95% CI=0.51–0.95) in intervention participants compared with controls. At 6 months, aerobic exercise tolerance is also improved (SMD=0.70, 95% CI=0.45–0.94), although four of the five trials had a high risk of bias; hence, caution is warranted in its interpretation. Conclusion: Expecting the majority of sedentary survivors to achieve the current exercise guidelines is likely to be unrealistic. As with all well-designed exercise programmes, prescriptions should be designed around individual capabilities and frequency, duration and intensity or sets, repetitions, intensity of resistance training should be generated on this basis