Local seed systems and village-level determinants of millet crop diversity in marginal environments of India:

"In the subsistence-oriented, semi-arid production systems of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, India, the environment is marginal for crop growth and often there is no substitute for millet crops. Across communities, farmers grow thirteen different combinations of pearl millet, sorghum, finger millet, little millet, and foxtail millet varieties, but individual farmers grow an average of only two to three millet varieties per season. The notion of the seed system includes all channels through which farmers acquire genetic materials, outside or in interaction with the commercial seed industry. Data are compiled through household surveys and interviews with traders and dealers in village and district markets. Based on the concept of the seed lot, several characteristics of local seed markets are defined and measured by millet crop, including seed transfer rates for farmer-to-farmer transactions and seed replacement ratios. Most seed transactions appear to be based on money. Seed supply channels differ by improvement status of the genetic material. Econometric results indicate the significance of the seed replacement ratios and seed volumes traded in determining the levels of crop biodiversity managed by communities, in addition to the household, farm and other market-related factors identified by previous studies. These are interpreted as indicators of market strength." Authors' AbstractSeed systems, Crop diversity, Seed industry and trade, genetic variation,

Frequency of Parental Psychopathology in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Parental mental health concerns place children at a significantly greater risk of lower social, psychological and physical health than children in families not affected by mental illness. Several studies have examined the extent to which psychopathology in children are closely related to parental substance use disorders or to other mental disorders. This study intended to investigate the frequency of occurrence of parental psychopathology in children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and compare the characteristics of children with and without parental psychopathology. Fifty children between 7-14 years of either sex fulfilling the ICD-10 criteria for ADHD comprised the sample of this study.It would be a chart review of in-patients and out-patients who have consulted at Kasturba Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Manipal over a two year period. Parents diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and other psychiatric morbidity according to ICD-10 was compared with those parents without any psychiatric illness on various Sociodemographic, clinical characteristics. Most of the parents were in the second or third decade of their life. Of the fifty patients 41(82%) were males and 9 (18%) were females. In 36(87.0 %) of the fathers had a history of substance use disorder and 5(13.0 %) it was absent. Other morbidities were also present in both parents. The findings are discussed in light of the implications

CFD multiphase modelling for evaluation of gas mixing in an anaerobic digester

Biogas production from municipal and industrial solid and liquid waste has captured the attention of engineers and managers both in the UK and globally due the substantial benefits for achieving environmental protection, energy generation and Green House Gas emission reductions. However, there are number of problems involved in scaling up experimental anaerobic digestion (AD) plants to field level plants. One such problem associated with AD is mixing, which is a vital component to segregate synthesized gas and biomass from digester liquid, to enhance homogeneity and to ensure adequate contact between bacteria and substrate in the AD. Such situations are well suited to Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis, where models can be calibrated and validated using the pilot plant and can then be used to accurately simulate the performance of the large-scale reactors. The aim in this work has been to further understand and enhance the use of bubble mixing approaches to improve the performance of future bioreactors. A computational model has been developed to simulate the complex flows occurring in a digester. The paper discusses CFD simulations of a lab scale AD for evaluating mixing characteristics that provides understanding required for developing accurate simulations of mixing conditions in the large-scale systems with the reactor contents simulated for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian case

Pearl millet and sorghum improvement in India:

millions fed, food security, Pearl millet, Sorghum,

Profile of Clients Seeking Consultation at Yoga Therapy Department: A Cross Sectional Study

It is estimated that between 10% and 30% of the general practice population are mentally or emotionally disturbed. Physical complaints, multiple aches and pains are construed as signs and symptoms of stress. Although yoga is considered as beneficial, any hidden psychiatric morbidity may go undetected and thus untreated. Thus the aim of this study was to obtain an estimate of hidden psychiatric morbidity in clients seeking consultation at the Department of Yoga. Fifty respondents were administered Life Satisfaction Scale and General Health Questionnaire-12. Majority were females, younger, graduates, married and also scored above the cut off on GHQ, suggesting minor psychiatric disorder/distress; reasons for consultation were related to being over weight, stress, aches and pains, poor concentration. A significant number of persons reported of some dissatisfaction in life. The perceived benefits were related to reducing symptoms, stress, weight, relaxation and improvement in concentration and memory

Nigerian Farmers' Preferences On Specific Timing and Channel for Cereals and Legume Seeds Delivery–An Empirical Estimation of Willingness to Pay (WTP) through Mixed Preference Models

Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management,

Comparing farm and village-level determinants of millet diversity in marginal environments of India: the context of seed systems

"The purpose of the research paper is to characterize biological diversity related to millets in the semi-arid regions of India at various spatial scales of analysis (e.g., farm household versus community levels) and place that evidence in a broader seed systems (includes both formal and informal) context. An important finding of this research is that producer access to millet genetic resources is affected by the extent to which seed is traded via formal markets or through other social institutions, along with farm and household characteristics. Findings also underscore the need for an enhanced theoretical understanding of local seed markets in analyzing crop variety choices and the diversity of materials grown in less favored environments." Authors' AbstractCrop diversity, Seed systems, Biological diversity,

Local Seed Markets and the Determinants of Crop Variety Diversity in Marginal Environments: The Case of Millet in Semi-Arid India

The purpose of the research paper is to characterize biological diversity related to millets in the semi-arid regions of India at various spatial scales of analysis (e.g., farm household versus community levels) and place that evidence in a broader seed systems (includes both formal and informal) context. An important finding of this research is that producer access to millet genetic resources is affected by the extent to which seed is traded via formal markets or through other social institutions, along with farm and household characteristics. Findings also underscore the need for an enhanced theoretical understanding of local seed markets in analyzing crop variety choices and the diversity of materials grown in less favored environments.Crop Production/Industries,

Novel Molecules for Intra-Oral Delivery of Antimicrobials to Prevent and Treat Oral Infectious Diseases

New molecules were designed for efficient intra-oral delivery of antimicrobials to prevent and treat oral infection. The salivary statherin fragment, which has high affinity for the tooth enamel, was used as a carrier peptide. This was linked through the side chain of the N-terminal residue to the C-terminus of a defensin-like 12-residue peptide to generate two bifunctional hybrid molecules, one with an ester linkage and the other with an anhydride bond between the carrier and the antimicrobial components. They were examined for their affinity to a HAP (hydroxyapatite) surface. The extent of the antimicrobial release in human whole saliva was determined using 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The candidacidal activity of the molecules was determined as a function of the antimicrobial release from the carrier peptide in human saliva. The hybrid-adsorbed HAP surface was examined against Candida albicans and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans using the fluorescence technique. The bifunctional molecules were tested on human erythrocytes, GECs (gingival epithelial cells) and GFCs (gingival fibroblast cells) for cytotoxicity. They were found to possess high affinity for the HAP mineral. In human whole saliva, a sustained antimicrobial release over a period of more than 40–60 h, and candidacidal activity consistent with the extent of hybrid dissociation were observed. Moreover, the bifunctional peptide-bound HAP surface was found to exhibit antimicrobial activity when suspended in clarified human saliva. The hybrid peptides did not show any toxic influence on human erythrocytes, GECs and GFCs. These novel hybrids could be safely used to deliver therapeutic agents intra-orally for the treatment and prevention of oral infectious diseases