Estimation of Economic Returns to Soil and Water Conservation Research – An Ex Ante Analysis

The economic returns to investment made in soil and water conservation research have been analyzed. Technologies such as conservation furrow, residue incorporation have been found to be economically viable under farmers’ conditions. The study has covered four locations, viz. Agra and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Kota in Rajasthan and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. The economic surplus analysis has revealed that when adopted on a large scale, soil and water conservation technologies generate significant economic surplus as reflected in high NPV and BC ratio. The share of producer surplus has been found to be higher in the total economic surplus generated from technology adoption. Thus, investments in generation and transfer of soil and water conservation technologies have been found be justified in terms of economic benefits. However, various constraints that hamper adoption of these technologies are to be addressed so that the potential benefits could be realized by both farmer and consumer.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Agricultural Information Needs of Rainfed Farmers: A Study from Telangana

A paradigm shift in rainfed agriculture can be obtained mainly through technological interventions. In this context, the role of extension and advisory services that are saddled with this responsibility should focus on novel approaches. Application of relevant information in agriculture sector brings positive impacts on farm productivity. Timely access to information on weather aspects, best farming practices, market information etc. help farmers to make correct decisions about what crops to plant, when to plant and where to sell their products. The best way to satisfy the rainfed farmers is to understand and consider their specific needs, constraints and capabilities properly, which helps to serve them in an efficient manner. A study has been undertaken to understand the different agricultural information needs of rainfed farmers in the Mahabubnagar district of Telangana state India. It is observed that farmers need various types of information related to agricultural activities and the major agricultural information needs of the farmers were found to be related to farm implements and machinery, water management, seed varieties, seed treatment, alternate crops and pest and disease management. In order to address these information needs, farmers were accessing a number of sources. It is important to enhance the information search capacity of the rainfed farmers to improve the farm productivity and income leading to enhanced livelihoods

Machining performance of ceramic tool inserts during dry turning of hardened steel

For effective dry turning of hardened steels, ceramic tool materials have long been utilized as an alternative to conventional tool materials. Therefore, the purpose of the current work is to investigate whether ceramic materials like alumina (Al2O3) are suitable for use as tool materials during the dry (without coolant) turning of hardened steels. In addition, while cutting EN 24 hardened steels, the performance of an alumina ceramic tool insert was compared to a commercial tool insert in the current work. On EN 24 steel samples, turning operations were performed utilizing both alumina ceramic tool inserts and commercial carbide tool inserts at different machining parameters such as speed, feed, and depth of cut. The turning performance of both alumina and commercial tool inserts was evaluated at various machining conditions based on abrasive wear (weight loss) of the tool inserts and the surface roughness of EN 24 machined samples. At all machining parameters, it was found that the abrasive wear of ceramic tool inserts was lower than the abrasive wear of commercial tool inserts. It is observed that, the surface roughness of EN 24 machined samples when machined with ceramic tool inserts was a little higher when compared with the surface roughness values of EN 24 machined samples which are machined with the commercial tool insert. The results of the experiment showed that ceramic cutting tools had comparable cutting performance to commercial cutting tools

Investigation of 2-oxopyrrolidine 5-carboxylic acid amides derivatives as potential anti-tubercular agents based on the similarity screening results from molecular fingerprints and swiss similarity

Many open source in silico tools are available for drug discovery, this paper attempts to correlate the results obtained from two such tools with results obtained from in vitro screening. Discovery of novel Anti-TB agents became a necessity due to the ever increasing problem of drug resistance. As heterocyclic compounds are known to possess potent biological activity, here an attempt has been made to synthesize pyrazolidine derivatives from pyroglutamic acid. Further the synthesized derivatives are analyzed by IR, NMR and Mass spectral studies and screened for anti-tubercular and antimicrobial activity

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of indole and N-benzylated indole Mannich bases as potent antitubercular agents

210-224Though effective medicines have been available for treating drug-susceptible tuberculosis infections, the chances go from bleak to null as we move from multidrug resistant (MDR) to extremely drug resistant (XDR) or totally drug resistant (TDR) disease. Coordinated efforts made by international community have resulted in the identification of a few important anti TB agents like BM212, SQ109, AZD5847 and Sutezolid which are in the late phases of clinical trials. After Rifampicin, only two drugs Bedaquiline (2013) and Delaminid (2014) have been approved for the treatment of tuberculosis. This clearly shows the need for new leads towards fighting tuberculosis. In our present work, we have synthesized a series of indole and substituted indole Mannich bases designed by using structural features of BM212. Further, these synthesized derivatives have been analyzed by IR, NMR and mass spectral studies and are screened for anti-tubercular and antimicrobial activity. Among these, 23 compounds have shown potent anti TB activity with a MIC ≤3.12 μg/mL against M. tuberculosis H37Rv. We report here the synthesis, screening data and SAR studies of indole and substituted indole derivatives as antitubercular agents

Exploring farmers’ communication pattern and satisfaction regarding the adoption of Agromet advisory services in semi-arid regions of southern India

Agriculture is significantly impacted by the variability in weather patterns, imposing substantial constraints on farmers’ ability to make informed tactical and strategic decisions regarding their crops. Seasonal climate projections have shown potential for informing agricultural decisions, but the actual adoption of climate information by farmers has been relatively slow and limited. The present study was conducted with the objective of investigating the characteristics of adopters, the communication network, and the level of farmer’s satisfaction concerning the adoption and continued use of Agromet Advisories Services (AAS). Two semi-arid districts, namely Kurnool and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, were purposively selected, wherein 280 farmers constituted the sampling frame. In this study, social network analysis (SNA) was conducted to examine the peer-to-peer communication patterns, while importance-performance analysis (IPA) was employed to evaluate farmer’s satisfaction, contributing to the continued adoption of AAS. The findings revealed that with regard to personality and communication characteristics, farmers were in the low category for their ability to cope with uncertainties and risk and even for their information-seeking behavior. Furthermore, the results showed farmers to be highly satisfied with the overall adoption of AAS. However, the IPA matrix revealed that among the nine attributes, the credibility of the forecasts needed refinement to promote sustained adoption. Excessive emphasis was placed on attributes such as the frequency of forecasts, which could be channeled into other initiatives. Peer-to-peer communication emerged as a crucial strategy in the adoption of AAS. Governments, non-governmental organizations, and extension functionaries should make a concerted effort to enhance the continued adoption of AAS by involving local stakeholders in sharing and participating in climate information production, forming farmer’s groups, and focusing on farmers’ literacy toward AAS

Psycho-social Factors as Correlates of Weather Forecast Decision Making Behaviour among Farmers in Andhra Pradesh

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between decision making behaviour of farmers with their different demographic and psychosocial variables taking into cognizance the information regarding weather forecasts. Decision making with respect to agricultural weather forecasting in the present study is the process of choosing the best alternative for the purpose of attaining specific goals involving the resources, environment, economic and personal characteristics of a farmer. Decisions imply the production decisions taken by farmers taking into cognizance the existing weather and information regarding future weather. The study was carried out in Ananthapur, Rangareddy and Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh state with a sample of 180 farmers as respondents. A draft interview schedule with scales, tests etc. for measuring the variables of the study was first developed and pre-tested before data collection. The psychosocial variables (independent variables) numbering 16 were identified as likely predictors of decision making behaviour (dependent variable) of farmers. Correlation and multiple linear regressions were employed to analyze and interpret the data. Regression analysis showed that extension contact, farm size, weather knowledge, innovativeness, achievement orientation and risk orientation contributed positively and significantly towards decision making behaviour. The relative importance of these factors reflects both internal environment and external social relations of farmers that pave way for collective nature of decision making attitude. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future development of decision-support systems and technology transfer activities to farmers for better adoption of weather forecasts

Design, Development and Evaluation of Silk Based Film Forming Spray for Wound Healing

The objective of the present study is to formulate and evaluate Silk based film forming spray for wound healing. On the wound surface the solution solidifies into a film which can deliver the active moiety on site of action. The spray solution was prepared by simple mixing of active extract of Centella Asiatica, Silk Protein and various film forming polymers. Silk protein form scaffold for active fibroblast movement and Asiaticosides from Centella Asiatica extract improve and fasten collagen synthesis. A clear yellowish solution was obtained. The formulations (F1-F8) had a pH range between 5.5–6.5, which was close to the pH of skin. The viscosity of formulation in range of 25–50 cps, completely dry film formed within 5 min in open environment. The Effects of polymers, plasticizers and solvents on spreadability. Surface tension and Spray angle were studied. The high content of ethanol in the formulation fastens the drying time. The results indicated that formulation (F8) showed good spreadability and less drying time. Keywords: Film forming spray, Wound healing, Silk protein, Asiaticoside, Scaffol

Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Nanocomposites for Radar Absorption Application in the X-Band

Microwave radar absorbing properties are effectively achieved due to the unique structure and electrical properties of nanostructured materials. The main objective of the present work is to show that by utilizing lower weight fractions of MWCNTs an efficient and thin microwave absorber with load bearing capacity can be developed. Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) nanocomposites for radar absorbing applications in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) were prepared using MWCNTs as dielectric lossy material. The complex permittivity values obtained from Vector Network Analyzer were used to evaluate the reflection loss of double-layered structures using transmission line theory. A reflection loss of less than −10 dB for entire band was obtained for RAS 8 with a total thickness of 3 mm. At central frequencies of 10.6 GHz and 11.0 GHz RAS 6, RAS 3 shown −32 dB and −35 dB, respectively, corresponding to 99% absorption of incident electromagnetic radiation. The proposed double-layered RAS are lightweight promising structures for radar absorption application

Participatory Natural Resource Management for Enhancing Water Productivity in Drylands

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