Search

Introduction: The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a major challenge for countries, regardless of their level of development. Social branding is an emerging approach to health promotion for NCD prevention. In this paper, the process of social branding is documented as a case study to help researchers develop similar kinds of interventions in the settings in which they work. Methods: The process of developing a social brand is documented through conversations with the project team, observations in the field, interaction with community local members, and information gathered through photographs, videos and newspaper clippings. Results: The social brand focused upon in this study was named the Aarogyachi Vaari (Health Pilgrimage) inspired by the Pandrapur Wari, a religious pilgrimage undertaken in the state of Maharashtra, India. Various stakeholders from self-help groups, panchayat raj institutions and schools from the local village collaborated successfully to implement the health event in a manner similar to the way in which diverse religious groups come together for the Pandrapur Wari religious pilgrimage. The Aarogyachi Vaari took the form of a strategically planned health event consisting of various health promotion stalls, many developed by local villagers themselves. The organisation of the event was aided by resource mobilisation within the local community. Discussion: Social branding can be an effective tool for health promotion in community settings. Studying people's cultural preferences and what makes them feel connected and excited can lay the foundations for the creation of a social brand that reflects their choices and helps them take up healthy behaviours on their own. It is possible to mobilise a community for health through social branding that is culturally relevant and connected to the interests and priorities of local people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Northern Corn Leaf Blight (NCLB) caused by Setosphaeria turcica, is one of the most important diseases of maize world-wide, and one of the major reasons behind yield losses in maize crop in Asia. In the present investigation, a high-resolution genome wide association study (GWAS) was conducted for NCLB resistance in three association mapping panels, predominantly consisting of tropical lines adapted to different agro-ecologies. These panels were phenotyped for disease severity across three locations with high disease prevalence in India. High density SNPs from Genotyping-by-sequencing were used in GWAS, after controlling for population structure and kinship matrices, based on single locus mixed linear model (MLM). Twenty-two SNPs were identified, that revealed a significant association with NCLB in the three mapping panels. Haplotype regression analysis revealed association of 17 significant haplotypes at FDR ≤ 0.05, with two common haplotypes across three maize panels. Several of the significantly associated SNPs/haplotypes were found to be co-located in chromosomal bins previously reported for major genes like Ht2, Ht3 and Htn1 and QTL for NCLB resistance and multiple foliar disease resistance. Phenotypic variance explained by these significant SNPs/haplotypes ranged from low to moderate, suggesting a breeding strategy of combining multiple resistance alleles towards resistance for NCLB.

Multi-location experiments on maize were conducted from 2016 to 2019 at ten locations distributed across two agro-climatic zones (ACZ) i.e., ACZ-3 and ACZ-8 of Karnataka, India. Individual analysis of variance for each location-year combination showed significant differences among the hybrids; similarly, combined analysis showed a higher proportion of GE interaction variance than due to genotype. Mega-environments were identified using biplot approaches such as AMMI, GGE, and WAASB methodologies for the years 2016 to 2019. The BLUP method revealed a high correlation between grain yield and stability indices ranging from 0.67 to 1.0. Considering all three methods together, the three location pairs Arabhavi-Belavatagi, Bailhongal-Belavatagi, and Hagari-Sirguppa had three occurrences in the same mega-environment with a value of 0.67, and these location combinations consistently produced winning genotypes. Among the common winning genotypes identified, it was G7 during 2016 and 2017 and G10 during 2018 and 2019, based on WAASBY. The likelihood of Arabhavi-Nippani, Hagari-Mudhol, and Dharwad-Hagari occurring in the same mega-environment is minimal because they did not share the same winning genotype, with the exception of a small number of events. Despite being in the same agro-climatic zone, Arabhavi, Hagari, and Mudhol rarely had a winning genotype in common. An agro-climatic zone is grouped based on climatic and soil conditions which doesn't consider GE interaction of cultivars thus, releasing the cultivars for commercial cultivation considering mega environments pattern would enhance the yield for the given target region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

KVK, Palem, Nagarkurnool district Telangana state was allotted with the seed hub project entitled with Creation of seed hubs for increasing indigenous production of pulses in India. With the project buy back policy KVK was procured 284 quintals of Greengram (WGG 42), 571 quintals of Redgram (PRG 176), 234 quintals of Blackgram (PU 31) and 2.2 quintals of Horsegram (CHRG 19) from the farmers and INR 13, 49,989 was earned by the 51 farmers as additional income from seed production. Total 1,091 quintals of pulses seed was procured by KVK, Palem, during 2016 to 2020. (4years). Seed production was implemented on farmers' fields across different villages of Nagarkurnool and Jogulamba Gadwal districts based on farmers experience in pulse seed production through bye back agreement. These quality seeds covered through our intervention nearly 7,690 hectares, contributing 16 to 18 per cent of total cropped area under cultivation of pulses in Nagarkurnool district. The total gross amount realized from pulses seed production programme in the four years (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20) was INR 1.24 crores. The net profit to KVK, Palem, is INR 41, 92,086. The profit generated out of seed sale has been utilized by Seed-Hub for development of additional facilities/workforce as needed for scaling quality seed production of pulses. It is noteworthy that this programme generated employment opportunities for rural youth, farm workers and farm women as seed production is a skill oriented work. Regular and timely management practices reduce additional expenditure while producing seeds, so that no additional labour and special input costs were incurred. Socio-economic status of the farmers has improved due to generation of additional income through seed production as compared to general cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The front line demonstrations were organised in 30 farmers fields during 2017-2020 in Nagarkurnool district. The IPM strategy included clipping and disposal of infested shoots, removal of fruits with boreholes, installation of pheromone traps @ 25 ha-1, spraying of Bacillus thurinjiensis @ 1 g l-1 and Emamectin benzoate 5% SG @ 0.4 g l-1. The mean of the parameters in 30 demonstrations during three years (pooled) revealed that shoot and fruit borer damage at a vegetative phase as shoot damage was 18.29% in demo field and 29.92% in farmers practice. Fruit damage was recorded low 23.02% in the demo field while in farmer's practice it was 47.37%. Higher marketable fruit yield was recorded 274 q ha-1 in demo field and 17.6% yield increased over farmers practice (233 q ha-1) with benefit Cost Ratio of 2.97:1 and 2.11:1, respectively. Besides this, number of pesticide sprayings reduced significantly in the demo field (5.2 times) when compared to farmers practice (13.13 times). It is also observed that higher gross returns (₹ 264700 ha-1) and net returns (₹ 201806 ha-1) were recorded in the demo field than farmer's practice (₹ 264700 and ₹ 131496, respectively). The technology gap and extension gap enumerated from this study ranged 252-367.5q ha-1 and 28.5-63.81 q ha-1 respectively with the technology index of 54% during demonstration years. The results clearly showed that the positive impact of front-line demonstrations over farmer's practice towards increasing the productivity and reduce the cost of cultivation of Brinjal in Nagarkurnool dist. of Telangana State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the influence of pH on the growth of six species of cyanobacteria has been carried out. Among physical factors pH is a very important factor which influences their occurrence and diversity. By this study it was also found that Microcystis aeruginosa (bloom forming cyanobacteria) which showed growth at highly alkaline pH (9.0 to 10.0). Phormidium chlorinum (isolated from sewage water) was able to grow at acidic pH (5.0 to 6.5). But overall study showed that neutral to slightly alkaline pH (7.0 to 8.5) is the optimum range for good growth of most of the cultured species. It was also revealed that species Geitlerinema calcuttense of dairy effluents showed good growth at acidic to alkaline pH. Scytonema bohnerii isolated from a sulfur spring prefer to grow at slightly acidic pH (6.5). The overall study showed cyanobacteria generally prefer neutral to alkaline pH for their optimum growth. It was found that, cyanobacteria under acidic to neutral pH (5.5 to 7.0) can synthesize higher carotenoids rather than under alkaline pH. The study indicated that, they can produce higher phycobillin pigments in terms of phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin at slightly alkaline pH (8.0 to 8.5). The study also revealed that cyanobacteria produce higher phycoerythrin pigment at slight alkaline pH between 7.5 and 8.0 except the species, Microcystis aeruginosa where it showed higher phycoerythrin content at pH 9.0. The overall study revealed that as the pH value increased, there was an increase in the phycobilin pigments in the cyanobacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we provide quantitative information on the seasonal variations of zooplankton and selected physico-chemical variables a large man-made reservoir in the Bijapur district. In the study period we have recorded 24 species of which, 10 species belongs to rotifera, 6 species belongs to cladocera, 5 species belongs to copepoda and 3 species of ostracoda. Among zooplankton, particularly rotifera was the dominant group throughout the study period and highest count was recorded in the summer season while low incidence was observed in southwest monsoon season. Zooplankton community is also correlated with physicochemical parameters. The results indicate that the distribution and density of zooplankton species influenced by physical and chemical factors of the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pd-catalysis has stood as a pivotal force in synthetic transformations for decades, maintaining its status as a paramount tool in the realm of C-H bond activation. While functionalization at proximal positions has become commonplace, achieving selective and sustainable access to distal positions continues to captivate scientific endeavors. Recently, a noteworthy trend has emerged, focusing on the utilization of non-covalent interactions to address the challenges associated with remote functionalization. The integration of these non-covalent interactions into palladium catalysis stands as a justified response to the demands of achieving selective transformations at distal positions. This review delves into the latest advancements and trends surrounding the incorporation of non-covalent interactions within the field of palladium catalysis. Furthermore, it is noteworthy to emphasize that multifunctional templates, particularly those harnessing hydrogen bonding, present an elegant and sophisticated approach to activate C-H bonds in a highly directed fashion. These templates showcase versatility and demonstrate potential applications across diverse contexts within the area of remote functionalization., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Invasive alien species (IAS) pose a severe threat to global agriculture, with their impact projected to escalate due to climate change and expanding international trade. The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), a native of the Americas, has rapidly spread across various continents, causing significant damage to several food crops, especially maize. Integrated pest management (IPM) programs are vital for sustainable FAW control, combining multiple strategies for sustainable results. Over three consecutive years, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, the field demonstrations were conducted in semiarid regions of India, testing a four-component IPM approach viz., pheromone traps, microbial, botanicals and ETL based applications of insecticides against farmers' practices (sole insecticide application). IPM implementation led to substantial reductions in FAW infestation. Furthermore, egg mass and larvae infestations were significantly lower in IPM-adopted villages compared to conventional practices. Pheromone-based monitoring demonstrated a consistent reduction in adult moth populations. The lowest technology gap (10.42), extension gap (8.33) and technology index (12.25) was recorded during 2020-21. The adoption of IPM led to increased maize yields (17.49, 12.62 and 24.87% over control), higher net returns (919, 906.20 and 992.93 USD), and favourable benefit-cost ratios (2.74, 2.39 and 2.33) compared to conventional practices respectively during 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. The economic viability of IPM strategies was evident across three consecutive years, confirming their potential for sustainable FAW management in the semiarid region of India. These strategies hold promise for adoption in other parts of the world sharing similar climatic conditions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

We investigated vitreous replacement by long-lasting gas in the management of severe Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis in 19 rabbits randomized for vitrectomy (9 animals) and for vitrectomy followed by replacement of the vitreous by a 20% perfluoropropane-80% air mixture (10 animals). Both groups received systemic antibiotics and achieved comparable intraocular antibiotic levels. Clinically and histopathologically, gas-filled eyes demonstrated less inflammation than did eyes without gas (P less than 0.01). Replacement of vitreous by gas offers an effective adjunct to vitrectomy by eliminating a culture medium, preventing vitreous abscess formation, enabling fundus visualization, and delaying the onset of retinal detachment.