Organic Sugarcane Farming for Development of Sustainable Agriculture in Maharashtra

The economics of organic sugarcane farming (OSF) and inorganic sugarcane farming (ISF) have been examined and the OSF has been assessed with respect to important sustainability indicators such as conservation of soil, water, power and farmers’ economic well-being and livelihood security. The study is based on data for 2004-05 collected from 30 certified OSF and 30 ISF sample households from the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. The OSF households have been found younger and more educated having larger landholdings and better resources. The OSF is labour-intensive, but its cost of cultivation is lower due to savings on chemical fertilizers, irrigation, seeds and agrochemicals. The yield on OSF has been reported lower but it is more than compensated by the price premium received and the yield and profit stability observed on the OSF. In addition, the OSF has been found superior in terms of economic well-being and livelihood security of the farmer. The study has revealed that OSF has enormous potential for improving sustainability of agriculture and has suggested that organic farming should receive prime attention from all stakeholders to realize its full potential in increasing and providing the much sought after sustainability to agriculture.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Impact of organic sugercane farming on economics and water use efficiency in Maharashtra

SugercaneEconomic aspectsWater use efficiencyOrganic agricultureFarmersSurveysCultivationYields

Detecting and Explaining Crisis

Individuals on social media may reveal themselves to be in various states of crisis (e.g. suicide, self-harm, abuse, or eating disorders). Detecting crisis from social media text automatically and accurately can have profound consequences. However, detecting a general state of crisis without explaining why has limited applications. An explanation in this context is a coherent, concise subset of the text that rationalizes the crisis detection. We explore several methods to detect and explain crisis using a combination of neural and non-neural techniques. We evaluate these techniques on a unique data set obtained from Koko, an anonymous emotional support network available through various messaging applications. We annotate a small subset of the samples labeled with crisis with corresponding explanations. Our best technique significantly outperforms the baseline for detection and explanation.Comment: Accepted at CLPsych, ACL workshop. 8 pages, 5 figure

Adult Pure Yolk Sac Tumor of The Testis.

Adult pure yolk sac tumor (YST) is extremely rare. In childhood pure yolk sac tumors are most frequently seen, whereas component of mixed germ cell testicular tumors observed in adults. They have different biological behavior than the childhood tumors. We herein report a case of adult pure yolk sac tumor of left testis in 40 years old man. Until now limited number of the cases has been reported in the literature

Combination of mifepristone and misoprostol: an effective method of medical abortion upto gestational age of 49 days

Background: A combination of antiprogesterone mifepristone and prostaglandin analogue misoprostol provides an effective non surgical method for termination of pregnancy up to gestational age of 49 days. Objective of present study was to assess the efficacy of this medical regimen for termination of pregnancy up to 49 days of pregnancy.Methods: A hospital based retrospective study was carried out in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Sassoon General Hospital, Pune, India for a period of one year where 30 women requesting for medical abortion were studied. The medical regimen used was mifepristone 200 mg orally followed 48 hours later by misoprostol 800 microgram administered in posterior vaginal fornix.Results: The overall success rate of this regimen was 90%. Where success was defined as achieving complete abortion without needing surgical evacuation. Surgical evacuation was needed in 3 (10%) patients i.e. for incomplete abortion.Conclusions: Combination of oral mifepristone 200mg followed 48 hours later by vaginal misoprostol 800mcg is an effective method of medical termination of pregnancy

Cellulitis Due to Salmonella infantis.

Bacteria of the genus Salmonella are highly adapted for the growth in both humans and animals and cause a wide spectrum of disease. The growth of Serotypes S. typhi and S. paratyphi is restricted to human hosts, in whom these organisms cause enteric (typhoid) fever. The remaining Serotypes (non typhoidal Salmonella or NTS) can colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of the broad range of animals, including mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. The usual clinical presentation of non-typhoidal salmonellae (NTS) infection is self limited gastroenteritis; however bacteremia and focal extra intestinal infection may occur. However salmonella localization to the skin presenting as cutaneous ulceration is regarded as a rare event. Rates of morbidity and mortality associated with NTS are highest among the elderly, infants, and immunocompromised individuals, including those with hemoglobinopathies, HIV infection, or infections that cause blockade of the reticuloendothelial system. We isolated S.infantis in 50 years old man with left leg cellulitis. The serotype was confirmed at Central Research Institute, Kasauli