The Punjab state, is among the major bread providers over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region with its dominant cropping system being Rice-wheat. Due to large scale adoption of combine harvesters by most of the farmers in the state, huge amount of crop residue is left behind which is subjected to open field burning; so as to catch the next season crop. The resulting smoke act as a serious human health hazard and also pose a major threat to environment over the adjoining cities like Delhi-NCR. In this study, the major focus is on extent analysis and mapping the rice residue burning in Barnala and Sangrur districts of Punjab state for the year 2017 using Sentinel-2 satellite data. A multi-temporal, pre and post burn, vegetation and burn indices-based threshold algorithm was used for estimating the rice crop and residue burnt area in ENVI 4.8 software. Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) toolbox and Sen2Cor processor was used for format and atmospheric correction, respectively. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and difference NBR (dNBR) approach on pre-defined threshold were used to categorize the pixels as crop, non-crop, burnt and unburnt. The results indicated that out of the total geographical area of 505’000 ha, 382.94’000 ha has been estimated under the rice crop in the year 2017-18. Further, 8.65 % and 59.38 % area was mapped as burnt on 20th October 2017 and 30th October 2017, respectively. It was also observed that a total of 68.08 % of total rice crop area got burnt till 30th October 2017. The study concluded that maximum residue burning events took place towards the end of October and starting of November in the study region.
The experiment was conducted using eight source populations comprised of F1s, F2s, landrace and composite genotype of both field corn and sweet corn and these genotypes were crossed as a female parent with CIMMYT bred tropicalized advance haploid inducer line possessing R1-nj colour marker gene. Based on the colour marker of endosperm as well as endosperm and embryo, the seeds were classified into contaminants, haploids and diploids. The haploid kernels were then categorized based on plumule coloration and no plumule colouration after in vitro germination. Plumule coloured seedlings were directly grown in the field by hypothesizing that these seedlings are similar to diploids but the confirmations were still needed. The remaining seedlings that did not have plumule colour were diploidized using colchicines (0.04%) after cutting shoot and root tips of the in vitro germinated seeds. The seedlings having colour on plumule exhibited differential segregation on kernels after selfing due to R1-nj background effect whereas seedlings without plumule colour showed significant haploid behaviour. The seedlings sorted from haploids after germination on the basis of plumule colour was highest in PSM-3 (22) followed by Landrace DL1 (19) whereas the misclassification percentage was highest of 25% in Landrace DL1 followed by PSM-3 (18%) and sweet corn F1 ’s (13%). The results therefore showed that second line of sorting using plumule colour in germinated seedlings has significant impact on reducing false doubled haploids and thereby increasing resource use efficiency in doubled haploid breeding program
The study was conducted at Instructional Dairy Farm, Nagla, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar in the Rabi season of 2021-22 to assess the ‘Effect of nano urea scheduling on fodder yield, quality and economics of multi cut fodder oat (Avena sativa L.)’. Nano urea scheduling had significant effect on growth attributes, fodder yield, quality and economics of multicut fodder oat. The results revealed that application of 125% RDN (75 kg N basal followed by top dressing of 37.5 kg N each at 1st and 2nd cut) had significantly higher growth attributes, green and dry fodder yield quality and also economics with 6.9, 6.6 and 10.3% higher green fodder yield, 8.1, 7.2 and 11.1% higher dry fodder yield and 10.2, 8.5 and 16.8% higher net returns than 125% RDN+NU, 100% RDN and 100% RDN+NU treatments, respectively, Among the vermicompost treatments, the GFY was 3.1 and 3.3% and DFY was 3.8 and 2.2% higher under 75%RDNVC+NU than 100% RDNVC and 50% RDNVC+NU, respectively. The B:C ratio was higher under 75% RDNVC+NU than 100% RDNVC. Alone application of nano urea either at 45 DAS or 20 and 40 DAS followed by its spray at 1st and 2nd cut had significantly higher values than control but lower than other treatments. The crude protein content and production followed the similar trend as found in case of GFY and net return. Therefore it is concluded that multicut oat may be grown with application of 100% RDN i.e., 120:60:40:: N:P2 05 :K2 0 kg/ha and for organic oat fodder, vermicompost may be applied @4.5 t/ha as basal followed by two spray with nano urea @ 4ml/l at 1st and 2nd cut for higher growth, foliage yield, quality and net profits in Tarai region of Northern Himalaya and may also be replicated in other oat growing regions of India.
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii one of the promising species of clumping bamboos is known for its root system which spreads vertically and holds the soil strongly, effective measure to prevent soil erosion as well to accumulate large quantities of carbon in terms of biomass. Estimation of above ground biomass of this species was conducted through multiple regression at Agriculture Research Station, Majhera situated in Nainital District of Uttarakhand, India. Results highlighted accumulation of 35.61 kg biomass per clump contributed by culm, branches and leaves on fresh weight basis. Above ground biomass on per culm basis was at par with the reports available but total number of culms produced per clump was less. An increase of 293.87 per cent was observed on dry weight basis in two years interval after the plantation was well acclimatized. Correlation matrix of growth parameters of small micropropagated plants showed positive correlation between length and weight of twigs, weight of leaves and leaf area index. However, weight of leaf and leaf area index showed strongly positive correlation.
Soil micronutrient availability as influenced by monosaccharide distribution and its relationship in some cultivated farm lands sown to arable crops in Nigeria were studied, the results indicated that soils in the study area ranged from moderately to slightly acidic (pH 5.63 – 6.83 with a mean value of 6.33) indicating slightly acidic, low in CEC (mean = 5.65 cmol/kg) and exchangeable bases. The available Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn in the soils studied were found to be below the critical ranges except for Fe which was above the range. This means that deficiency symptoms of these plant nutrients on crops grown on these soils are likely. Also, mean values of 1.71 (arabinose), 0.34 (Galatose), 0.07(Glucose), 0.73 (Mannose), 0.46 (Galatose + Mannose/Arabinose), 1.24 (Mannose/Xylose), 1.61 (Xylose/Arabinose), 0.67 (Xylose) were observed. These values decreased with depth and was dominated by arabinose contrary to high concentration of glucose reported in most soils. Variability in monosaccharide distribution in the study area suggests that they could be of different carbohydrate origins. Higher content of arabinose in the soils suggests that the carbohydrate could be of fresh plant tissue origin since it has been noted that arabinose is the dominant sugar in fresh plant tissue origin. The significant relationship between micronutrients and soil properties (clay, pH OC and Cations) in this study (P < 0.05) showed the importance of these properties in the availability of micronutrients
Bollworm complex of cotton is major yield limiting factor of cotton. In the present study, the larvicidal activity of Dashparni extract were evaluated against the bollworm complex of cotton viz., Helicoverpa armigera and Pectinophora gossypiella using diet bioassay. The ratio of toxicant and diet was standardized. The study was conducted under the controlled laboratory condition with 1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% concentration and compared with control. The result was presented with values of % mortality on each day. All the tested concentrations had larvicidal activity which were significant over control. The increase in % mortality data showed clear relation with the increase in concentration and increase in duration of the feeding time period within the same concentration. At higher concentration (8% and 10%) the effect of extract on % mortality (91.67%) was at par in case of pink bollworm, however in case of american bollworm at highest concentration (10%) the mortality (45.83%) was significant with rest of the treatments. The LD50 value of Dashparni extract for pink bollworm was calculated as 1.01. The Dashparni extract had proved its effect on growth and development of both the bollworm. However, the field efficacy of the same needs the further experimentation
Experiments were conducted to study the long-term bio-efficacy and fumigant toxicity of seven plants essential oils extracted from Mentha cardiaca, Tanacetum cinerariifolium, Ocimum basilicum, Lippia alba, Ferula assa-foetida, Salvia officinalis and Lavandula angustifolia against Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius), Sitophilus oryzae (Linnaeus) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst.) at 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 per cent (v/w) concentration. The essential oils of M. cardiaca and O. basilicum completely checked the progeny production of S. oryzae for 180 days at all four concentrations in both the preliminary as well as confirmatory tests while such pronounced effect was exhibited by T. cinerariifolium at 0.2-0.4 per cent; L. angustifolia at 0.3-0.4 per cent and L. alba at 0.4 per cent only. In case of R. dominica, the oils of M. cardiaca, T. cinerariifolium, O. basilicum and F. assa-foetida completely checked the F1 progeny for 228 days in preliminary and 220 days in confirmatory test at all four concentrations while complete inhibition was achieved by L. angustifolia at 0.2-0.4 per cent and L. alba and S. officinalis at 0.3- 0.4 per cent. The essential oil of O. basilicum completely checked the reproduction of T. castaneum at 0.1-0.4 per cent for 90 days while such high efficacy was shown by M. cardiaca at 0.2-0.4 per cent and T. cinerariifolium and L. angustifolia at 0.4 per cent. The study revealed that essential oils are highly effective against all the major insect pests of stored grains and they can be used for preventing the post-harvest infestation of stored grains
Among oilseeds Brassica, mustard (Brassica juncea) is one of the most important oilseed crops being cultivated in India. The crop is attacked by several diseases. Among them Alternaria leaf blight is one of the most destructive diseases caused by fungus Alternaria brassicae. The yield loss caused by this pathogen is between 10-70 per cent. Since no resistant variety against the disease is available, therefore farmers mainly dependent on the recommended fungicides which are not much effective when disease occurs in severe form. Keeping in view some new chemical fungicides were evaluated under field conditions in two successive years (2011-12 & 2012-13). Among them Nativo 75 WG (Tebuconazole 50 % +Trifloxystrobin 25% w/w) and Tebuconazole 43 EC each at 0.05% were found significantly most effective with minimum occurrence of the disease severity index (DSI) on leaves (0.0 & 0..0%) at 90 days after sowing (DAS), and on pods (5.56 & 7.41 %) at 110 DAS as compared to other treatments and standard check Mancozeb 75 WP @ 0.2% in which DSI on leaves and pods was 11.11 and 15.28 percent while in check it was 43.52 and 26.85 percent respectively. Maximum mustard grain yield was obtained with Nativo 75 WG (2550.67 kg/ha) followed by Tebuconazole 43 EC (2482.33 kg/ha) and Difenaconazole 25 EC (2392.33 kg/ha) and was at par with each other but significantly different from other treatments as well standard check Mancozeb 75 WP (2166.00 kg/ha) and check (1512.67 kg/ha). The highest net return was obtained with Tebuconazole 43 EC (Rs.31100.00/ha) followed by Nativo 75 WG (Rs. 25485.00/ha) and Propiconazole (Rs. 25273.00/ha) as compared to standard check Mancozeb (Rs. 19818.00/ha).
Among small millets, barnyard millet has emerged as very important feed as well as fodder crop. The crop is most likely affected by the sheath blight disease incited by Rhizoctonia solani in hilly areas of Uttarakhand. Keeping this in view, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of seed treatment, seed priming and soil application of value added FYM with bioinoculants on growth parameters, yield, yield contributing traits, sheath blight disease suppression and economics of barnyard millet. With respect to plant growth parameters, T11 (FYM pre-colonized with Trichoderma asperellum + Pseudomonas fluorescens + Bacillus subtilis) was found best for the plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of productive tillers per plant and ear length with 148.45 cm, 5.20, 4.06 and 18.62 cm, respectively. The treatment T11 also performed best for yield (22.67 q/ha) and disease suppression (100.00 per cent efficacy of disease control) followed by T8 (FYM pre-colonized with Trichoderma asperellum) with yield of 21.88 q/ha and disease suppression of 96.00 per cent over control. The highest cost-benefit ratio was recorded in treatment T11 with 1: 2.47 followed by T8 with 1: 2.38. In the present study, the soil application of FYM pre-colonized with Trichoderma asperellum + Pseudomonas fluorescens + Bacillus subtilis (@ 5 kg pre-colonized FYM/plot) was found to be most effective and promising for enhancing morpho-physiological growth, yield, economics and at the same time provided resistance against sheath blight disease in barnyard millet incited by Rhizoctonia solani. The present research, thus, offers a novel approach and merits further attention and may also pave the way for the use of bioagents application (in combination) through value added FYM for improving growth, yield and enhanced disease tolerance in barnyard millet.
Mustard green (Brassica juncea L.) is a popular green vegetable grown in the plains and hills of Northern India. It is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and protein. The present investigation was conducted with an aim to study the effect of microbial inoculants and inorganic chemicals on growth, yield, yield contributing traits and disease suppression in two varieties of mustard green viz., Local (Hathikaan) and UHF VR 12-1 under open field conditions in mid hills of Uttarakhand. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design comprising nine treatments and one control with three replications. For the experiment, bio-agents (Trichoderma asperellum Th-14, Pseudomonas fluorescens Psf-4, and Bacillus subtilis Bs-2), fertilizers (Sulphur 800 WG and Boron), and the fungicide (Ridomil Gold) were used. With respect to plant growth and yield parameters, treatment T4 (Seed bio-priming with Th-14 + FYM pre-colonized by Th-14 + one drenching of Th-14 at 45 days of the transplanting) recorded the maximum chlorophyll content, leaf length, leaf width, leaf yield, plant height, number of branches per plant, number of siliquae per plant and seed yield followed by T7 (Seed dressing with Sulphur 800 WG + FYM + one foliar spray of Sulphur 800 WG at 45 days of the transplanting). Whereas, control recorded lowest with respect to all the studied growth and yield parameters. T4 showed minimum disease incidence (Damping off and Alternaria blight) and disease severity (Alternaria blight) followed by T9 {Seed treatment with Ridomil Gold (Metalaxyl 4% w/w + Mancozeb 64% w/w) + FYM + one foliar spray of Ridomil Gold at 45 days of the transplanting} whereas control (untreated check) revealed maximum disease incidence and severity. From the present investigation, it may be concluded that the application of seed bio-priming with Th-14 + FYM pre-colonized by Th-14 + one drenching of Th-14 at 45 days of the transplanting was found to be the most effective and promising treatment for enhancing growth, yield and resistance to damping off and Alternaria blight disease in Brassica juncea in both the studied varieties under open field conditions. However, the variety UHF VR 12-1 responded better towards the given treatments when compared with the local variety under present materials and environmental conditions.
The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of root and shoots of different varieties of Raphanus sativus as biofumigant alone and in combination with PBAT-3 (Trichoderma and Pseudomonas) against Pythium aphanidermatum causing pre and post emergence damping off of tomato under glasshouse and in the field conditions. Volatiles released from three varieties of R. sativus viz,. Japanese white, Pusa Chetki, and MAHY 22 significantly reduced the mycelial growth of P. aphanidermatum. Roots of MAHY 22 was found to be most effective as resulted into maximum radial growth inhibition 82.06 per cent followed by Japanese white shoot. Under glasshouse, minimum pre and post emergence damping off was observed in combination of MAHY 22 root +PBAT-3 (11.1%) and Japanese white +PBAT-3 (5.2%) respectively over control. Whereas, in field, minimum pre and post emergence damping off was recorded in MAHY 22 root +PBAT-3 i.e., 15.16 per cent and 4.20 per cent respectively over control. Similarly, the combination of biofumigation and biocontrol agents resulted in higher seedling emergence. The results showed R. sativus as biofumigant alone and in combination with PBAT-3 in suppressing the growth of P. aphanidermatum both in vitro and in vivo conditions.
School vegetable garden (SVG) is the practice of cultivation of vegetables in and around the school premises by the students. A study was conducted among 180 student respondents among six schools by adopting the procedure of two stage random sampling. The study was carried out in Nenmara and Kollengode blocks of Palakkad district in Kerala. All the selected schools had functional SVG and were practicing activities either through agriculture or nature clubs. It was shown that the preference for green vegetables was seen as the most significant felt difference. Potato was the most popular vegetable (97.98 per cent), whereas colocasia was the least popular (41.76 per cent). Students’ intake of amaranthus and solanaceous vegetables increased after participating in the SVG. It was discovered that every one of the students involved in the SVG also had a home garden with a few food crops. Chilli, brinjal, vegetable cowpea, and amaranthus were the most common vegetables in household gardens.
A school vegetable garden is an educational strategy to attract students towards gardening activities. The garden engages students by providing a dynamic environment where they can observe, discover, experiment, nurture, and learn. It provides opportunities for young minds to understand the basic lessons of agriculture and develop an affinity towards it. The present research was undertaken to explore the effectiveness of school vegetable garden as perceived by students, the knowledge level and attitude of students. The development of life skills was perceived as most significant by the students. The knowledge and attitude towards school vegetable garden were at medium level for majority of the students. Kruskal Wallis H test was used to analyse the group variability among schools for knowledge level, attitude and perceived effectiveness. The results indicated significant variation among schools with respect to knowledge and attitude while no remarkable difference was observed for perceived effectiveness.
The purpose of the study was to find out the sick buildings which are cause of hazards among residents of the district Uttarakashi of Uttarakhand. Poorly designed, maintained, constructed and inefficient HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning) system makes a building sick. Checklist and self-made questionnaire were developed to find out sick buildings. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 120 houses of the district and further divided into LIG, MIG and HIG on the basis of income of the householder. Frequency and per centage were used for the analysis of data. The study results suggested that most of the houses in study area were located near the site prone to landslides, steep slope, river catchment area and national highway. Maximum houses reported cracks, crumbs, dampness and problems of termites hence were recognized as ill building. Further building standards and housing by-laws are completely ignored by residents as well as by the people involved in construction, making housing risky and vulnerable to earthquake, flood, and landslide. Hence there is an urgent need to take up more researches in this direction as we are not aware about poor or ill housing.
Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which remains poorly controlled due to low awareness. The present study assessed the awareness and prevalence of hypertension and associated factors among Indian adults aged 18 years and above with a minimum of 12 years of education through an online cross-sectional survey based on convenience sampling. Out of 1933 respondents, 891 provided information on blood pressure. The mean age of the respondents was 32.2 ± 12.3 years, with the age range of 18 to 77 years. The respondents’ average body mass index (BMI) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) were 23.9 ± 4.11 kg/m2 and 1441 ± 279 kcal/day, respectively. BMI increased with age, while a decline in BMR with age was observed. Males had significantly higher BMI than females (p < 0.001). More than half of the respondents (55.9 %) are overweight or obese. About 46.1 % of the respondents were aware of their blood pressure profile. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 21.0 % and 5.1 %, respectively. Males are more likely to be prehypertensive and hypertensive than females. An increase in the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension with age was observed. Hypertension was positively associated with age, BMI, BMR, urban residence, monthly per capita income, social class, and educational level. Family size was negatively correlated with hypertension. Individuals with higher BMI, income, upper social class, and those in the prehypertensive age group of 35 to 55 years can be targeted through nutritional awareness campaigns to sensitize them regarding modifiable risk factors.
An increase in outdoor activities and habits of humans have resulted in greater exposure to solar radiation. Changing life style practices and sun protection behaviour offer a challenge. The occurrence of skin problems has been rising worldwide due to excessive exposure to sunlight. Because of the rise in skin cancer, the risks associated with exposure to sun are a big deal of concern for the individuals to protect themselves. There is a need for effective interventions targeting females particularly in warmer climates where appropriate sun protection remains a year-round concern. The sun-protection attitude of young people is particularly important because their clothing habits are fashion driven and they focus less on protective aspects of clothing. Therefore, the current study was designed to explore the prevalent sun protection practices followed by college going girls in which study revealed that only few no. of respondents was aware of the availability of textile related sun protection products in markets. Therefore, more textile-based sun protection products can be designed and developed.
The present study assesses the analysis of productive and reproductive management practices of dairy animals in district Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh. Detailed information collected from farmers of five villages from Rajatalab block of district Varanasi were used for the study. The data were collected on various management practices including general profile of dairy farmers. Majority of farmers were from middle age group, had small land holding and medium herd size with main source of income as dairying. Majority of farmers were from medium milk production, consumption and milk selling groups and sold their milk to the co-operatives. Majority of farmers reared indigenous breeds. Mucus discharge and bellowing was the major sign of heat detection rather than use of a teaser. Majority of farmers were relying on artificial insemination for breeding and time of insemination considered was 18 hours after estrus. Most of the farmers were not drying off their milch animals. Breeding of animals after (2-3) months of calving were considered by majority of farmers. Calving interval in cattle and buffaloes was more than 15 and 18 months, respectively
Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a potentially fatal tick born viral zoonotic disease affecting humans in a wide geographical area. In India, it is considered as an emerging viral zoonosis and repeated outbreaks are noticed especially in the Gujarat state since 2011. The current study is focussed on the phylogenetic relationship based on the genomic sequence of nucleocapsid segment of various strains of CCHF virus (CCHFV) circulated in India over past 10 years. It was found that there were considerable differences in the nucleotide sequences and the Indian strains are found to be related to two different phylogenetic groups i.e., Asia-1 and Asia-2. It suggests the transboundary nature of the disease which may be well coordinated with the travel history of the patients affected.
Meta-analysis on rabies in India was done to estimate the prevalence of the disease in India. The data was obtained from the peer-reviewed articles and publications during 2010-2020. The data used in the present study includes the studies in which the samples were completely random. The Meta-analysis for the epidemiology and sero-prevalence of rabies was done on a total of 20 out of 32 selected studies. Further subgroup analysis was done for species, geographical regions, and diagnostic tests. The total sample size for prevalence estimation was 26605. Sero-prevalence of rabies in dogs showed nonsignificant Kendall’s tau (0.4667, p > 0.05) and regression test revealed significant publication bias (z= 0.3222, p>0.05). The majority of bite victims were between the ages up to 20 years (21.49%) followed by 20.30% in the ages between 21-40. In the studies that were mentioned, males were disproportionately more likely (71.87%) to have been bitten by a dog than females (28.13%). The majority of victims suffered animal bites on their extremities. Maximum dog bites were recorded in the evening (62.9%).
Thirty-five Wistar rats, six weeks old, of either sex were divided randomly into two groups. Group I comprised of 20 rats as control group and group II having 15 rats as treatment group. Group II was orally administered silicon dioxide (silica) nanoparticles of 20 nm diameter in distilled water at NOAEL dose of 2000mg/kg body weight per day and were gavaged once daily for 90 days. Five rats each were sacrificed at 0 (only from group I), 30th, 60th and 90th DPT and representative tissue samples were collected at these intervals. No lesion could be observed in any organ of any rat of group I at any interval. In group II rats, liver exhibited vascular changes, mononuclear cells infiltration, dilated sinusoidal spaces, Kupffer cells hyperplasia, degeneration and necrosis of hepatocytes. Lungs revealed atelectasis, emphysema, congestion and infiltration of mononuclear cells and thickening of interalveolar septa. Kidneys showed mononuclear cell infiltration in interstitium, alterations in glomeruli, necrosis and sloughing of tubular epithelial cells and obliteration of tubular lumen. Intestine revealed increase in number of goblet cells, necrosis and desquamation of epithelium. Spleen exhibited depletion of lymphoid tissue. Heart showed vascular changes and necrosis of cardiomyocytes. There were vascular changes and mild depletion of lymphoid tissue in thymus. Brain exhibited degeneration and necrosis of neurons and neuronophagia. Ultrastructural studies in liver and kidney revealed accumulation of nanosilica in lysosomes and mitochondria, mitochondrial damage and apoptosis of hepatocytes. It can be concluded from the present studies that nanosilica exerted adverse effects on tissues of Wistar rats at NOAEL dose administered for a period of 90 days.
Kissing pets, swimming, or sleeping with them can invite zoonotic infections in the human population, some of which can also be transmitted via vectors like fleas, ticks, and mites, while others can be transmitted through food contaminated with animal hair, saliva, urine, and faeces. Children, pregnant women, elderly people, and others with their immune systems compromised are at high risk of contracting zoonotic diseases which may be emerging or re-emerging in nature. Awareness is the key to unlocking the healthy lifestyle that humans can enjoy with their pets. Dogs and cats are not just sentinel animals in the streets; rather, they have become indispensable members of our family. Therefore, their diseases too get an opportunity to infect humans.
An investigation was conducted to evaluate agricultural workers’ ergonomic performance during cranking activities. To assess the ergonomic performance of agricultural workers, a cranking operation experimental lab set-up was developed based on the subjects’ ergonomic reach criteria. Four loads 10, 30, 50, and 70 N were used to assess the ergonomic performance of 12 medically fit male farm workers. For all loads, it was observed that the working heart rates (WHR) of the selected subjects were 102 to 135 beats/min. The limit of continuous performance (LCP) was less than 40 beats/min for all selected loads except at 70 N of load. However, it was also observed that all of the selected subjects’ oxygen consumption rates (OCR) varied between 0.59 and 1.19 l/min and their energy expenditure rates (EER) ranged between 12.34 and 24.86 kJ/min for all loads. According to the classification of manual jobs based on energy expenditure during the operation, cranking operation with a 10 N load fell in the light category, whereas 30 and 50 N fell in the moderately heavy category, and 70 N fell under the heavy category Additionally, the overall discomfort ratings (ODR) ranged from 3.1 to 6.3 on the adopted 10-point scale, while the body part discomfort scores (BPDS) for cranking operation of all the selected subjects was obtained in the range of 35.2 to 38.3.
Dams have been built for many reasons such as irrigation, hydropower, flood mitigation and water supply to support the sustainability of humanity since the golden age. However, if huge amounts of water are released during the dam breach unexpectedly, it may adversely impact the downstream population and ecosystem. The prediction of the dam’s breach geometry is crucial in studies of dam breaking. The hydrograph characteristics of the flood resulting from breaching of the dam mainly depend on the geometry of the breach and the formation time of the breach. The sensitivity analysis was performed on the Ramganga dam which is located in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, its latitude and longitude are 29031’10"N, 78045’31"E to assess the effect of breach width on the resulting flood hydrograph. HEC-RAS model was used to calculate the effect of breach width on flood hydrograph. In the present study the breach width (Bavg.) was increased and decreased by 25%, 50% and 75%, respectively. Flood hydrograph was estimated at five different locations: Kalagarh, Harewali, Afzalgarh, Dilari and Moradabad, located at 2.5 km, 25.4 km, 16.9 km, 61.2 km and 94.5 km downstream of Ramganga dam, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was performed with Froehlich method with the mode of overtopping failure and maximum operating level at 365.3 meters above sea level. It has been observed from the results of sensitivity analysis that the percent change in peak discharge is high corresponding to breach width i.e., peak discharge is directly proportional to breach width.
Friction Stir Welding is a newer replacement of conventional fusion welding for joining low melting point materials. The solid-state nature of this unique process makes it almost defect –free welding process for critical joints. The FSW set up for the experimentation was completed by developing necessary tool and fixture and joints were made on Universal Milling machine. The present research work investigates the effect of some desired input parameters for Friction Stir Welding on the electrical conductivity of AA1350 aluminium butt joints. Rotational speed of tool, Tool Traverse speed (welding speed), and tool tilt angle were opted as input parameters. Objective of the whole experimentation is to find the best combination of input parameters for maximum conductivity at nugget area of FSW joint. After experimentation with selected parameters, investigation by ANN is done. Back propagation (BP) algorithm is utilised for developing the network. After ANN modelling, optimization of FSW parameters by full factorial method is also investigated. The ANN result outcome and the experiment data was found to be in good agreement. The optimum value of electrical conductivity of welded joints obtained was 52.7 IACS.
Cutlass fishes Trichiurus gangeticus, Gupta, 1966, Eupleurogrammus glossodon, (Bleeker, 1860) Tentoriceps cristatus (Kluzinger, 1884) and Benthodesmus oligoradiatus, Parin and Becker, 1970 were collected from the landing centers, off southwest, south east and northeast coast of India during 2020-2021. The present study estimated the length-weight relationship parameter b with the coefficient of determination r2 scores using ordinary least squares regression method. The b values in the relationship W=aLb varied between 2.6306 to 3.3396 and the r2 value ranged from 0.8 to 0.93. Also determined the condition factor of all the four fishes and it indicates wellbeing ranging from 1.02 to 1.1. Present study provides valuable inputs to the species management and stock assessment.
A study of the effectiveness of instructional material (multimedia & CD) on knowledge gain was conducted among 60 rural women belonging to Badgaon panchayat Samiti of Udaipur district of Rajasthan. The selected topic was improved cattle rearing practices for rural women on which one multimedia CD and one flipbook were developed for knowledge gain. All the respondents (100%) had gained good knowledge after exposure to multimedia CD and flipbook. Multimedia CD and flipbook were found to be effective. Multimedia CD (MPS 62.24) was found to be more effective than the flipbook (MPS 56.20) in terms of gain in knowledge. The reason for such findings could be that the learning through multimedia CD was easy to understand, interesting and a unique experience for rural women. Therefore, it can be used for training purposes by Home Scientist/Extension personnel and government functionaries
We present an updated checklist of planktonic copepods from Ramsar sites of Kerala viz., Vembanad and Ashtamudi estuary, situated along the Southwest coast of India. Data available in the published records were compiled and updated with data generated from our recent study conducted from 2018 to 2019 from both the estuaries. The combined list includes 105 species of copepods under 42 Genera in 22 Families and 3 Orders; namely Calanoida, Cyclopoida, and Harpacticoida. Common families recorded were Pontellidae (15 species), Acartiidae (13 species), Corycaeidae (12 species), Oithonidae (12 species), Pseudodiaptomidae (9 species), Centropagiidae (8 species) and Paracalanidae (7 species). 67% of species recorded were marine inhabitants and 20% recorded both in marine and estuarine habitats whereas only 10% of species recorded in marine, estuarine and freshwater habitats. True estuarine (Acartia tropica) and true freshwater inhabitants (Heliodiaptomus cinctus and Allodiaptomus mirabilipes) were also recorded during the study. Fifty-three recorded species were common to both the estuaries. In comparison, the Vembanad estuary sustained a higher number of species (100 nos.) than the Ashtamudi estuary (58 nos.). Calanopia metu, a Mediterranean calanoid copepod is also included in the list as it is the first time reported from the Indian waters. Historical studies report the presence of 91 species of copepods under 39 genera of 20 families and 3 orders from both the estuaries. It is also observed that six new species of copepods such as Acartia (Acartiella) keralensis, Pseudodiaptomus malayalus, Acartia bilobata, Archidiaptomus aroorus, Isias cochinensis and Acartia bowmani were added to the science from the Vembanad estuary. Vembanad estuary reports more species of copepods than the Ashtamudi estuary because, Vembanad estuary is more exploited than the Ashtamudi estuary in terms of copepod studies.
The proximate analysis of Daysciaena albida in which protein, moisture, fat, ash, carbohydrate, and energy were present at the label of 19.90%, 79.13%, 3.46%, 1.43%, 0%, and 110.83 Kcal/100g respectively. Present findings demonstrate that the species has excellent macronutrient value. This fish has low-fat, high protein, and a good amount of energy. It was concluded that this fish can be used in value-added products as well as highly essential dietary supplements.
