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Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine was the first authorised vaccine developed using mRNA vaccine production technology, against SARS-CoV-2. Well accepted by the population, it proved to be a major life saving intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses the mRNA vaccine technology and its major advantages, and provides an update on the various ongoing and completed clinical trials on the leading mRNA vaccines against various viral diseases. It also delves into the prospects and the technical challenges associated with the manufacturing of mRNA vaccine and the issues with its deployment in the low- and middle-income countries around the world. Despite the already available classical vaccine candidates, the persistent interest and continuous research in mRNA vaccine technology and the related storage, immunogenicity and lipid nanoparticles delivery aspects have helped in expanding and upgrading the vaccinology arsenals to counter diseases. The technology holds promises in opening new vistas to protect against infectious diseases and the associated complications, where safe and effective immunisations are currently lacking. Furthermore, as mRNA vaccines evolve, they offer new hope against neglected and reemerging diseases like rabies, Zika, and Nipah viruses. The flexibility and rapid adaptability of this platform underscore its potential to address unmet medical needs, laying the groundwork for universal and multi-pathogen vaccines, vital in averting future pandemics. Enhanced by advancements in nanotechnology and innovative delivery systems, mRNA vaccines are poised to revolutionise infectious disease prevention, cancer treatment, and genetic disorders, marking a new era in vaccinology and offering hope for global health challenges through continued investment in research and infrastructure.

Nisin is produced by strains of

a) Streptococcus lactis b) Pseudomonas

c) E. coli d) Clostridium

Amaranth is one of the oldest food crops in the new world, with evidence of cultivation reaching back as far as 6-700 BC. This is probably due to the ability of these plants to adapt to new environments, an extremely broad climatic adaptability and their competitive ability, which permits culture with minimum crop management, thus making it an easy crop to cultivate and domesticate.

The adaptability of Amaranths could lead to cropping systems in these semi-arid regions of South Africa, so providing a very nutritious vegetable dish to the people’s diet.  Careful attention should be paid to the variety planted if it is to be successfully grown as a commercial crop so as to choose one which is palatable. The economic viability of growing amaranths should also be considered against its background as a food, particularly in areas of low rainfall, as it will still produce a yield, even under low rainfall and high temperature regimes.

It is clear that this crop has the potential to address malnutrition problems, earn money for farmers, decrease environmental damage, reduce poverty in communities and increase supply of food. Our fresh water supplies are decreasing, climatic change is increasing occurrence and severity of drought and heat. There is no doubt that these underutilised crops have the sufficient untapped potential to address a number of agricultural challenges, we are facing in the world today.

Important Points to Remember

• The word “biotechnology” was first coined in 1917 by a Hungarian agricultural engineer, Karl Ereky. He used it to describe a system for raising pigs on sugar beets as their primary food source. He defined Biotechnology as “all lines of work by which products are produced from raw materials with the aid of living things”. He defined such a new terminology since most of the industries use mechanical devices - machines - to make things, biotechnology uses living organisms to make products of economic value.
• Many different scientific fields are responsible for emergence of this biological revolution. They are biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, physiology, computer science and what not?
• Hence, a newer, refined, definition of biotechnology was offered by U.S. Office of Technology Assessment: “Any technique that uses living organisms to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific purposes.”
• The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as: “Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.”
• Schleiden and Schwann proposed cell theory in 1838.

13.1 Introduction

A surfactant or surface-active agents are the compounds that lower the surface tension between the two liquids or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents and dispersants. Surfactants are normally organic compounds that are amphiphilic, meaning they contain both hydrophobic groups or hydrophilic groups. Therefore a surfactant contains both a water insoluble component and a water soluble component. Surfactant will diffuse in water and adsorb at interfaces.

The interfacial free energy is the minimum amount of work required to create that interface and the interfacial tension between two phases is determined as the interfacial free energy per unit area. The interfacial (or surface) tension is also a measure of the variance in nature of the two phases meeting at the interface (or surface). The greater the dissimilarity in their natures, the greater the interfacial (or surface) tension between them. A surfactant is therefore a substance that changes the amount of work required to expand those interfaces. Surfactants usually act to reduce interfacial free energy.

Surface active agents in the form of emulsifiers have a long history of use and are widely used in many products being used in everyday life. An extensive basic research is required to understand the reason of instability and methods to prevent the breakdown of emulsions. Emulsifiers can function as dough conditioners by improving tolerance to variations in flour quality, better gas retention resulting in lesser yeast requirements, increased uniformity in cell size, a finer grain, more resilient texture and improved slicing. Also, the characteristics of freshly baked bread like soft crumb can be retained longer, if the appropriate emulsifiers are added. Commonly used surface active agents in bread production are propylene glycol mono- and diesters, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, succinylated monoglycerides and Diacetyl tartaric acid, esters of monoglycerides. Cookie characteristics like top grain, volume and spread ratio can also be improved. Here surfactants used are sodium stearoyl fumarate, sucrose fatty acid esters, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sorbitan fatty acid esters, polysorbates and ethoxylated monoglycerides. In dairy products like Ice cream surface active agents play some important functions like to improve fat dispersion and control fat agglomeration, facilitation of fat– protein interactions, facilitate air incorporation, give smoother texture due to smaller ice crystals and air cells, increase resistance to shrinkage, improve melt-down and reduce whipping time. In candy products, the elimination of “bloom,’’ i.e., the transition of fat crystals is a key reason for the addition of surface active agents. In mixtures of triglycerides, surfactants like sorbitan esters (Spans) and ethoxylated sorbitan esters (Tweens) can control product viscosity in chocolates and in cream fillings and modify the crystal structure. Surface active agents have been utilized in the production of meat analog products also. In margarine, Emulsifiers fulfil several functions like modification of crystal structure in the vegetable fat, assistance in emulsion formation and antispattering. Here, a mixture of citric acid monoglycerides and monoglycerides or lecithin can be used. The properties and mode of action of these chemical surfactants is discussed in the following sections.

Citrus genus belongs to the family Rutaceae that comes in various forms and sizes (from round to oblong) that commonly known as oranges, mandarins, limes, lemons and citrons. Besides being consumed as raw/fresh fruits, they are also used in the industries of beverages, cosmetic and pharmaceuticals. Citrus fruits have got abundant quantity of vitamin-C and other micronutrients like sugars, dietary fiber, potassium, folate, calcium, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, riboflavin and pantothenic acids etc. (Economos, 1999). Secondary metabolites like flavonoids, limonoids, coumarins, alkaloids, phenolic acids and other essential oils of this fruit also have anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous as well as cardiovascular protective effects (Lu et al., 2015).

Introduction

Homegardens are traditional agricultural systems, particularly common in the tropics characterized by a high plant diversity (Kumar and Nair 2004, 2006; Scales and Marsden 2008; Galluzzi et al. 2010), maintain high level of productivity, stability, sustainability and equitability (Soemarwoto and Conway 1992), serve as a refuge for wildlife (Perfecto and Vandermeer 2008), contributing significantly to the household diet by producing a large variety of food commodities (Kumar and Nair 2004; Wiersum 2006; Pulido et al. 2008; Kortright and Wakefield 2011; Kumar 2017; Kumar and Tripathi 2017), nutritional supplies (Mendez et al. 2001; Perrault and Coomes 2008; Vlkova et al. 2010; Balooni et al. 2014), supplementary cash income for owner (Huai et al. 2011; Arifin et al. 2012; Yang et al. 2014) and important spaces for transmission of cultural heritage (Galluzzi et al. 2010). Many native or endangered species can be found in homegardens (Albuquerque et al. 2005; Akinnifesi et al. 2010; Milow et al. 2013), and they are niches for domesticating semi-wild species (Akinnifesi et al. 2010). Plants grown, intentionally or unintentionally, in homegardens are important for household subsistence and economy.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum Linn.) is an important fruit crop cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions, serving nutritional, medicinal and aesthetic need of human beings. It is grown in Iran, Spain, India, Moracco, Egypt, Afghanistan, Arabia, West Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, China, USA and Japan.World pomegranate production is currently estimated at 1.5-2.0 million tonnes, 90% of which is in Iran and India. The rest is distributed amongst various Mediterranean countries, China, the United States, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and Argentina (CBI, 2014). In India, it is found from Kashmir to Kanyakumari cultivated in Maharashtra,Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,Karnataka andAndhra Pradesh.Among the different states growing pomegranate, Maharashtra is the largest producer occupying 2/3^rd of the cultivated area in India followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

6.1 Characterization of solid pyrolysis products

 Biochar can be characterized for its utility as well as its energy usage. Thevarious characteristics of biochar can be categorized as follows:

i. Proximate analysis

 •            Raw moisture

 •            Hygroscopic moisture

 •            Volatile matter

 •            Ash content

 •            Fixed carbon content

 ii. Ultimate analysis

 •            Elemental compositions (C, H, N, O, S)

 iii. Physical properties

 •            True density

 •            Bulk density

 •            Porosity

 •            Dry matter

 •            Particle size

 •            Pore size

 •            Pore volume

 iv. Chemical properties

 •            pH-value

 •            Electrical conductivity

 •            Carbonate content

Nano-bioinoculants are revolutionizing modern agriculture, empowering farmers with an innovative and environment-friendly approach to crop cultivation. This chapter delves into the fascinating world of these tiny technological breakthroughs that work seamlessly with nature to significantly enhance crop yields in a sustainable manner. Their remarkable ability to deliver essential nutrients directly to plants, fortify crops against drought and diseases, and minimize the reliance on harmful chemicals will be highlighted. By presenting real-world success stories, we will illustrate how farmers are harnessing these advancements to produce healthier food while conserving valuable resources. Nevertheless, the path to widespread adoption is not without its challenges; which will be confronted for critical issues such as costs, regulatory hurdles, and the transition of these solutions from laboratories to agricultural fields. Looking ahead, we will envision a future where nano-bioinoculants synergize with other cutting-edge farming technologies, paving the way for truly sustainable food systems that can meet the demands of our growing population.

3.1 Introduction
Understanding the Earth’s atmosphere—its intricate dynamics, ever-changing weather patterns, and long-term climate trends—hinges critically on the quality and detail of the observations we collect. While remote sensing technologies offer broad perspectives from a distance, a fundamental and indispensable category of atmospheric data comes from in situ observations. The term “in situ,” meaning “in place” or “on-site,” precisely describes the nature of these measurements: they are direct, physical readings taken within the atmospheric volume itself.
These direct observations are the bedrock of meteorological science. They provide the ground truth for atmospheric conditions, offering unparalleled precision in measuring parameters such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, and the characteristics of precipitation. Unlike indirect sensing, in situ methods involve instruments physically interacting with the air, yielding highly accurate and localized data points. This granular detail is crucial for a multitude of applications: it allows for the precise calibration of remote sensing instruments, provides essential validation for complex numerical weather prediction models, and enables scientists to dissect and understand fine-scale atmospheric processes that influence local weather.

15.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the working principles and applications of special forming processes. The different special forming processes are as listed below.
i. Hydro forming
ii. Rubber pad forming
iii. Multi-point die forming
iv. Warm/hot forming
v. Solid granular medium forming
vi. Metals pinning
vii. Explosive forming
viii. Magnetic pulse forming
ix. Peen-forming
x. Super plastic-forming
xi. Micro forming
xii. Incremental forming
15.2 Hydro Forming
The word “hydroforming” describes the metal forming procedures where the material blank is deformed by hydraulic pressure. There are difficulties with sealing, pressurization schedule, anticontamination in the pressure system, and cleaning the workpiece and equipment after direct contact between the pressurized fluid and the blank material. In certain instances, the necessary hydroforming pressure may surpass 350 MPa, contingent upon the setup of the process and the thickness of the material. Hydroforming procedures are divided into two categories, viz. sheet metal hydroforming and tube hydroforming, depending on the geometry of the blank.
15.2.1 Sheet Metal Hydro forming
When it comes to tooling, sheet metal hydro forming is less complicated than typical sheet metal stamping. Only one side of the tooling, typically the lower side needs to be created for the sheet metal hydro forming process. The hydro forming

Saccharification: The process of breaking a complex carbohydrate (starch or cellulose) into its monosaccharide components is called saccharification.

Saccharimeter: A device (polarimeter) used for measuring the amount of sugar in a solution is called saccharimeter. It is also known as saccharometer. It is a hydrometer with a special scale.

Saccharin: A crystalline compound C₇H₅NO₃S that is unrelated to the carbohydrates, is several hundred times sweeter than sucrose, and is used as a calorie free sweetener.

Saccharomyces: It is one of the genus (Saccharomyces) of the family Saccharomycetaceae and is usually unicellular yeasts (brewer's yeast) that are distinguished by their sparse or absent mycelium and reproduced asexually by budding.

Safe food: Food that provide maximum nutrition and quality while revealing a minimal hazard to public health and they assume any risk present to be minimal.

Safety: Safety is a component of quality. Many experts believe that food safety is the most important quality component since a lack of safety can result in serious injury and even death of the consumer.

Plant cell culture
Introduction

As the human population is expanding there has been increasing concern over whether current rates of food productions can support the growing population. In response to the increasing demand, scientists and farmers have been working hard to come up with new ideas to meet these needs. These ideas range from simple procedures including selection of the best seeds to more complex procedures requiring the transplantation of genes into different plant species. This chapter focuses on one of the important aspects of plant science which is the growth of plant cells in an artificial media. This process is known as plant cell culture and can be applied in many different ways. 

Statistics involves procedures for collection, classification, analysis, interpretation and presentation of numerical data (Gupta, 1997). Statistical investigations involves four stages ie. collection of data, compilation of data, analysis of data and drawing inferences. For any statistical analysis, first step is data collection which constitutes the foundation for statistical analysis. The required data may be obtained either through survey or an experiment. Survey is the process of collecting data from a population but have no control over the factors which may affect the population characteristics under study, whereas in experiment, data is collected while control is exercised over the factors which may affect the population characteristics under study. Experiments always and almost provide better information than the survey but surveys are necessary in natural populations. When data is not available, it is collected by any of the two methods i.e. census or survey method. In census method, data are collected for each and every unit of the population whereas in sample method a representative sample is drawn from the population on the basis of which all the conclusions are drawn about the population from that sample.

The State of Karnataka is located between 11.50° to 18.50° N latitudes and 74.25° to 78.50° E longitudes and covers an area of 19.1 m ha which accounts for 5.8 percent of the total geographical area (TGA) of the country. Out of the total 19.1 m Ha in Karnataka the net cultivated area (2010-11) was 10.5 M Ha, net irrigated area 3.49 m Ha and net rainfed cultivated area 7.01 m ha. Karnataka has the largest area under rain-fed agriculture (Fig. 8.1). Nearly 55% of total food grain production and 74% of oilseeds production come from rainfed agriculture in Karnataka. Therefore rain-fed agriculture plays an important role in total food grain production in the state. Further the rain-fed agriculture has substantial untapped potential, which can be brought to use by increasing the crop yields in the dry land areas through the adoption of proper dry-land production technologies. The climate of the state is determined mainly by the geographical location with respect to the Sea, monsoon winds and physiography.

2.1    Introduction

The hot and usually wet conditions in tropics adversely affect the performance of insecticides as well as biology of the pests. Pesticide usuage is declining throughout the world, but in tropics it is likely to increase threatening basic biological components of pest management, environment and safety of people.  Pest management in tropical agriculture is basically influenced by high diversity of organisms, diversity of physical features and ecosystems, moderate seasonal weather changes, and the human factor. The high biological diversity of the tropics includes a wide range of interacting organisms from which have been identified pests that affect health crops and livestock as well as cultural practices for pest management.  Physical features of the tropics are also diverse, and include high-altitude temperate zones, rain forests, savannah woodlands, grasslands, and desert zones. Each zone has its own biological diversity either existing in isolation or overlapping with others. Moderate seasonal weather changes in the tropics affect populations indirectly, through modification of interactions between organisms.

Key words : Participatory GIS (P-GIS), Geo-Participatory Rural Appraisal (Geo-PRA) Social Mapping, Resource Mapping, Seasonality Maps, DGPS.

Participatory GIS

Geographical information System (GIS0 and Geographics Information Technologies (GITS) are no more restricted to the elite group of the society. Planners are busy in searching ways in merging community participation with GIS in the context of urban planning, environment equity, sustainable development etc. (Aitken and Michael, 1995, Craig and Ehwood, 1998; Talen, 2000 and Sieber, 2000). In all the cases, common thing is the linking of community participation and GIS in a diversity of social and environmental contexts. Through development, demonstration and modification of methodologies by academics and practitioners the concept of Participatory GIS (P-GIS) emerges. It is an outcome of a spontaneous fusion of participatory forms of development planning with modern information technologies. Experts gave considerable thoughts on the probing questions like whether a bottom up GIS could be successfully developed, how many community participation could be incorporated into GIS and to what context such participation would serve only to legitimize conventional top-down decision making. From these reflections only the concept of people’s participation GIS arose.

Introduction

Technologies and tools that have developed in the recent information technology revolution can play a very vital role in overcoming most of the present problems related to agriculture and rural development. In order to achieve the goal of an economically sound and stable society through environmentally friendly systems of agricultural production, it is imperative to have a comprehensive data storage system. This will not only help in providing systematic and periodic information to the planners, decision-makers and developmental agencies, but also help to manage our limited natural resources efficiently. The development of a data warehouse is one of the recent tools in the field of information technology that can fulfill the demands of the information that is required in the field of agriculture research, management and education

6.1 Introduction

The sensitivities of plants and of crop yield to a changing climate, is a major challenge for the agricultural research community to relate these findings to the broader societal concern with food security. This chapter reviews the direct effects of climate on both crop growth and yield and on plant pests and pathogens and the interactions that may occur between crops, pests, and pathogens under changed climate. The better understanding of the roles of pests and pathogens in crop production systems that might   make to enhanced food security is discussed. Evidence for the measured climate change on crops and their associated pests and pathogens is starting to be documented. Globally atmospheric CO₂ has increased, and in northern latitudes mean temperature at many locations has increased by about 1.0–1.4 ^°C with accompanying changes in pest and pathogen incidence and to farming practices. Many pests and pathogens exhibit considerable capacity for generating, recombining, and selecting fit combinations of variants in key pathogenicity, fitness, and aggressiveness traits that there is little doubt that any new opportunities resulting from climate change will be exploited by them.