Impact of Rural Development Scheme on Availability of Agricultural Labour — A Study of Dairy Farmers in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu

This study conducted in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, has indentified the problems being faced by dairy farmers due to scarcity of farm labour for agricultural and livestock production. The study is based on the data collected from 40 selected respondents involved in crop production and dairying in the study area during the year 2008-09 through primary survey. The study has revealed that the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has provided employment opportunities to rural workers and has checked the migration of farm labour from villages to cities and nearby industrial townships. All the eligible family member of landless dairy farmers had the job cards, but medium and large dairy farmers possessing agricultural land, prefer to work at their own farms. These farmers have reported that they were facing acute shortage of labourers during peak paddy planting and harvesting due to MGNREGS. The labour wages have increased significantly from Rs 60 to Rs110 per day since the implementation of MGNREG scheme. It has been observed that milch animals of some landless/ small dairy farmers are being maintained by the children or aged family members, as majority of adult family members prefer the MGNREGS jobs to earn wages. These adult members have complained about not getting 100-day wage employment as per provisions of scheme. The wage payments are also delayed after completion of work and they face problems in getting the job cards. The study has concluded that the minimum wages under MGNREGS should be increased cautiously keeping in view its impact on agricultural/ livestock activities.MGNREGS, Agricultural labour, Labour demand, Labour wage rates, Rural – urban migration, Agricultural and Food Policy, J22, J23, J38, J39,

Densities and phase equilibria of hydrogen, propane and vegetable oil mixtures. Experimental data and thermodynamic modeling

Heterogeneous catalytic gas-liquid reactions are intensified when carried out in the homogenous fluid phase by means of a supercritical co-solvent. For instance, supercritical propane is used to enhance yield in the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. Besides phase equilibrium knowledge, volumetric information is also needed to elucidate kinetic mechanisms and design continuous supercritical reactors. In this work, we report new experimental PvT data of the reactive mixture H2+sunflower oil+propane using the isochoric method. In addition, the phase equilibria and PvT data are modeled with the GCA and RK-PR equations of state, respectively. The isochoric method not only provides PvT information under the reaction conditions, but also the reactive system compressibility, key variable to attain enhanced transport properties in the supercritical reactors.Fil: Hegel, Pablo Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Cotabarren, Natalia Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Brignole, Esteban Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Pereda, Selva. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. University of KwaZulu-Natal; Sudáfric

Ionic Liquids Made with Dimethylcarbonate: Solvents as well as Boosted Basic Catalysts for the Michael Reaction

Abstract: This article describes 1) a methodology for the green synthesis of a class of methylammonium and methylphosphonium ionic liquids (ILs), 2) how to tune their acid–base properties by anion exchange, 3) complete neat-phase NMR spectroscopic characterisation of these materials and 4) their application as active organocatalysts for base-promoted carbon– carbon bond-forming reactions. Methylation of tertiary amines or phosphines with dimethyl carbonate leads to the formation of the halogen-free methyl-onium methyl carbonate salts, and these can be easily anion-exchanged to yield a range of derivatives with different melting points, solubility, acid–base properties, stability and viscosity. Treatment with water, in particular, yields bicarbonate-exchanged liquid onium salts. These proved strongly basic, enough to efficiently catalyse the Michael reaction; experiments suggest that in these systems the bicarbonate basicity is boosted by two orders of magnitude with respect to inorganic bicarbonate salts. These basic ionic liquids used in catalytic amounts are better even than traditional strong organic bases. The present work also introduces neat NMR spectroscopy of the ionic liquids as a probe for solute– solvent interactions as well as a tool for characterisation. Our studies show that high catalytic efficacy of functional ionic liquids can be achieved by integrating their green synthesis, along with a fine-tuning of their structure. Demonstrating that ionic liquid solvents can be made by a truly green procedure, and that their properties and reactivity can be tailored to the point of bridging the gap between their use as solvents and as catalysts. Keywords: dimethyl carbonate · green chemistry · ionic liquids · Michael addition · NMR spectroscop

Primary radiotherapy in progressive optic nerve sheath meningiomas: a long-term follow-up study

Background/aims: To report the outcome of primary radiotherapy in patients with progressive optic nerve sheath meningioma (ONSM). Methods: The clinical records of all patients were reviewed in a retrospective, observational, multicentre study. Results: Thirty-four consecutive patients were included. Twenty-six women and eight men received conventional or stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy, and were followed for a median 58 (range 51–156) months. Fourteen eyes (41%) showed improved visual acuity of at least two lines on the Snellen chart. In 17 (50%) eyes, the vision stabilised, while deterioration was noted in three eyes (9%). The visual outcome was not associated with age at the time of radiotherapy (p=0.83), sex (p=0.43), visual acuity at the time of presentation (p=0.22) or type of radiotherapy (p=0.35). Optic disc swelling was associated with improved visual acuity (p<0.01) and 4/11 patients with optic atrophy also showed improvement. Long-term complications were dry eyes in five patients, cataracts in three, and mild radiation retinopathy in four. Conclusion: Primary radiotherapy for patients with ONSM is associated with long-term improvement of visual acuity and few adverse effects.Peerooz Saeed, Leo Blank, Dinesh Selva, John G. Wolbers, Peter J.C.M. Nowak, Ronald B. Geskus, Ezekiel Weis, Maarten P. Mourits, Jack Rootma

Studies on Phytochemical constituents, Functional Group Identification and Antimicrobial Activity of Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae)

Phytochemical constituents, functional group identification and antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of Solanum nigrum were investigated. The phytochemical screening of the crude extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, reducing sugars, tannis, flavonoids, Phlobatannis, and steriods. The extract were subjected for identification of functional groups using infra red spectrophotometer, presence of C=O, C-H, C=C and CO were identified, these bonding structures are responsible for presence of alkyl groups, methyl groups, alcohols, ethers, esters, carboxylic acid and anhydrides. And the crude ethanolic extract of Solanum nigrum were assayed for in vitro antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria and they were also subjected for antifungal activity and the zone of inhibition were compared with control drug Penicillin and Nystatin. Staphylococcus aureus as the most sensitive strains exhibited maximum zone of inhibition about 25.7mm among gram positive organism tested. Escherichia coli exhibits 30.1mm zone than that of standard penicillin positive control. Trichophyton mentagrophytes exhibits maximum zone of inhibition of about 26.1mm among the tested fungal species

Conflictivitat i ruptura en el matrimoni

Es tracta de la intensa i generalitzada crisi del matrimoni, de profunda i àmplia repercussió social, basant-se en documentats estudis i fidedignes estadístiques. Es desenvolupa una tipologia de les situacions d’exclusió, tensió, conflictivitat i ruptura que es donen en relació amb el matrimoni. Sintetitzada, és la següent: a) unions sense lligam jurídic; b) conflictivitat en el si del matrimoni:, c,) doblatge entre la vida conjugal i unes relacions sexuals extramatrimonials; d) separacions merament de fet o a través d’un conveni; e) separació judicial o administrativa, mantenint-se el vincle; f ) nova convivència fixa amb tercera persona; g) assoliment d’una sentència de divorci vincular; h) obtenció d’una resolució judicial que declari nul el matrimoni o d’una dispensa que el deixi sense efecte. S’inclou el resultat d’una anàlisi sociològica efectuada sobre una mostra de les causes de separació conjugal introduïdes al Tribunal Eclesiàstic de Barcelona en el període 1968-1974. Es destaca la importància, a part de consideracions jurídiques, de l’existencia d’un veritable amor psíquic i sexual, d’una compenetració intel·lectual i afectiva, que faci veritablement estable la unió matrimonial i que permeti de superar les influències derivades, en bona part, de la massificació, del materialisme egoista i del consumisme, existents en la societat capitalista i que porten a la tensió, a la conflictivitat i a la ruptura matrimonial

Exploring the Trade-offs of Aggregated versus Disaggregated Architectures for Environmental Monitoring in Low-Earth Orbit

Traditionally, government space agencies have developed aggregated systems that co-host multiple capabilities on shared spacecraft buses. However, in response to cost growth and schedule delays on past programs, leaders in the government space community have expressed an interest in disaggregation, or distributing their capabilities across multiple spacecraft. Since their aggregated National Polar-orbiting Operational Satellite System (NPOESS) program was cancelled in 2010, both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) have investigated opportunities to reduce program costs through disaggregation. This paper expands their initial investigation and explores the cost impacts of aggregation and disaggregation across a large trade space of candidate architectures for environmental monitoring in low-Earth orbit. We find that on average, aggregated architectures are less costly than fully disaggregated ones but also find opportunities for cost savings by developing semi-aggregated systems, or systems with one or two satellites per orbital plane. Finally, we investigate several trades that are currently under consideration by NOAA and the DoD and make recommendations for future environmental monitoring systems in low-Earth orbit.Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sandia Corporation Excellence in Engineering Graduate Fellowship)Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technolog