eChapters

Abstract

Being a great nutrient rich fruit, Dragon fruit has fetched a worldwide attention already and started to emerge as an important cash crop in global market. But the fine tuning between the scheduling of supply and market demand is greatly influenced by postharvest management and storage techniques of the fruit as the fruit has a short storage life. In this review, effect of diversified storage and packaging techniques on the different post harvest quality of fruits viz. fruit firmness, skin colour, its nutritional quality and susceptibility to disease pest during storage is investigated. And it was seen that various alternative and innovative modern techniques such as introduction of  plastic film, plastic crate packaging, modified atmospheric storage, different chemical application and application of edible chitosan coating are proven as effective to extent the durability of storage that widen the room for transport and marketing. Finally it can be said that the advantage of growth in dragon fruit consumption and marketing can be more harnessed through understanding the missing links between harvest and post-harvest handlings and integrating the traditional and modern postharvest approaches.

Fracture healing is a complex process in which damaged bone restores its original architecture through a cascade of molecular and cellular events. The process of fracture healing is unique, in that it does not form a poorly organized replacement matrix, otherwise known as scar tissue, but rather regenerates the original matrix and retains its mechanical properties. Normal fracture and bone repair follows a known sequence of events includes: haematoma formation, inflammation, angiogenesis, osteogenesis, and bone remodeling.

For the repair of bone defects, a tissue engineering approach would be to combine cells capable of osteogenic (i.e. bone-forming) activity with an appropriate scaffolding material to stimulate bone regeneration and repair. An ideal tissue-engineered bone substitute should possess 3 elements: osteoprogenitor cells, osteoinductive factors, and an osteoconductive scaffold, and is considered as a potential substitute for autologous bone transplantation. Tissue engineering approaches have proven very effective in bone regeneration recently, and the successful repair of bone defects has been demonstrated in larger animals like canine, goat and sheep.

Stem cells from adult tissues are attractive materials for cell therapy, gene therapy, and tissue engineering. These cells generally have restricted lineage potential when compared to embryonic stem cells, and this may be advantageous in certain therapeutic applications. Till and McCulloch in 1961 describes the presence of hematopoietic progenitor cells in bone marrow. After this, the concept of MSCs is brought to light by Friedenstein and co-workers who demonstrated the osteogenic potential of BM cells by heterotrophic transplantation.

Introduction
Scaling Information Technology (IT) solutions for sustainability presents a complex set of challenges that hinder the ability of organizations and governments to deploy these technologies at scale. As the world faces pressing environmental challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, the  potential of IT solutions to drive sustainable development has garnered significant attention. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data analytics can play a crucial role in creating smarter, more efficient systems that optimize resource use, reduce waste, and drive environmental stewardship. However, several barriers must be addressed before IT can be fully harnessed to promote sustainability on a global scale. These barriers include technological, economic, infrastructural, regulatory, and social challenges that impact the scalability of IT solutions for sustainability.

Gujarat grows more than half a dozen pulse crops on  7.84 lakh hectares  area with an annual production  of 6.09 lakh tonnes and a productivity of 777 kg/ha. Amongst these, pigeonpea, chickpea, greengram, blackgram, cowpea, mothbean and clusterbean are the important pulse crops grown in the state. Mothbean, greengram and clusterbean are the predominant pulse crops grown in arid region of North Gujarat, though other pulses are also grown on a sizable area. Despite this distinction of being the largest producer, the availability of pulses is far from satisfactory which is evident from the fact that per capita availability has not kept pace with the population increase and has declined to merely 28 g/capita/day as against the mandated minimum and optimum quantity of 80 and 104 g/capita/day, respectively, as per WHO standards. As a result, with 11 per cent of the world’s import, it is also the largest importer of pulses.

In order to portray the conditions of the migrated rural youth in cities, who otherwise would have been practicing agriculture, a few case studies were conducted to know more about the migrated rural youth, their family background, reasons for migrating, satisfaction after migration, type of support given to the family at the villages, assets created at their village and in the cities, types of problems faced, opinion about the environment, and willingness to go back to their villages for continuing farming. The sample included migrated persons engaged in different jobs in Bangalore city as Hotel workers, Construction Workers, Auto Drivers / Taxi drivers, Security Guards, Garment workers and Vegetable/Fruit Vendors. From each category, five respondents were interviewed by using a simple questionnaire. Following are the case studies.

I. Case Studies on Migrated Rural Youth Working as Building Construction Workers

1. Case of Sri Krishnappa : Muttanna, V.L. Madhuprasad and D. Nanjappa

Sri. Krishnappa S/o Saranappa, aged 30 years from Surapur taluk, Yadagiri district had migrated to Bangalore as a construction labourer. He had completed his primary education and got married at an early age. He has two sons and  two daughters.  After marriage, he continued to live in a pucca house along with his parents, one brother and two sisters.  The family has two acres of dry land, and  farming is main occupation. Desire to earn more money by him and non  co-operation among members of his family are the reasons for Sri Krishnappa’s migration.

7.1. People’s Participation in Observation, Analysis and Planning for Rural Development

Why should people participate?

There is no controversy as to whether there should be people’s participation in the development programmes in the development programmes designed to meet the basic needs of the people. The post-mortem of any unsuccessful programmes has shown that they have invariably failed when they failed to provide an adequate place and importance to people’s participation in the planning and analysis.

There is a body of philosophy and a set of assumptions behind people’s participation in rural development. These are;

i) It should be people’s programme with government’s participation;

ii) Community needs to build up their own capacity, agents have got a catalytic role;

iii) Self- imposed changes have got permanence as compared to those imposed from outsides

iv) Holistic approaches are far better than the fragmented approaches;

v) People need certain help to solve unique problems;

According to the World Health Organization (2005), total health means the physical, mental, emotional and social health of a person. In these days of turmoil and hustle-bustle of modern life, emotional health has become as important as physical and mental health of an individual. A man should be physically fit, mentally alert, emotionally matured and socially adjusted, to lead a well-balanced life. A man who is having sound physical and mental health will also have good emotional health which will lead to social health. It means that all these four components of health are interrelated.

Emotional health depends upon a man’s emotional wellbeing, which is based on our self-concept, and self-esteem, that is how we feel about ourselves and behavior which is appropriate and healthy. Emotionally healthy people can adjust to their environment and solve their problems effectively and efficiently and in this way, they get satisfaction and pleasure out of life. So, it is essential to study the mental and emotional health of an individual, as both mental and emotional health are interrelated. It means that a person who is mentally healthy will also be emotionally healthy. In the same way, one who has good emotional health will also have good mental health.

To look into the nutritional security around the globe, FAO and WHO, have undertaken the analysis of policies. They have covered many issues which include; World Summit on Food Security, pillars of food security and availability, access, utilization, stability, effects of food insecurity, stunting and chronic nutritional deficiencies, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. There are many challenges to achieve food security. These include global water crisis, land degradation, climate change, agricultural diseases, food versus fuel, politics, food sovereignty, food wastes, risks to food security, population growth, fossil fuel dependence, homogeneity in the global food supply, price setting, land use change, global catastrophic risks, agricultural subsidies and role towards children.

Importance of virtual water in agriculture
Virtual water is with the meaning of the concept when water embedded in goods and services and is exchangeable from one country to a different. The country is under water-scarce; the water that’s ‘saved’ is often used towards other ends. Water-scarce countries (like Israel) discourage the export of relatively water-intensive crops (like orange, water melon) precisely to stop large quantities of water from being exported to different parts of the earth. In recent years, the concept of virtual water on trade has gained weight both within the scientific also as restricted by the political debate. The notion of the concept is ambiguous. It changes between an analytical, descriptive concept and a political induced strategy. As an analytical concept, virtual water trade represents an instrument that permits the identification and assessment of policy options not only within the scientific but also within the political discourse. As a politically induced strategy, the question of virtual water trade are often implemented during a sustainable way, whether the implementation are often managed during a social, economical, and ecological fashion, and that countries the concept offers a meaningful option. the info that underlie the concept of virtual water can readily be wont to construct water satellite accounts and brought into economic models of international trade like the Computable General Equilibrium of Global Trade Analysis Project such a model are frequently wont to study the economic implications of changes within the water system or water policy, also because the water resource implications of economic development and trade liberalization. The data pertaining to virtual water is product of GTAP.
Keywords: Virtual water; foodstuff and food; water content in different food materials; water deficit areas;

Street Foods-An Introduction

The National Policy on Urban Street Vendors (2004) defines street vendor as a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having a permanent built-up structure but with a temporary static structure or mobile stall (or head load). Street vendors may be stationary occupying space on the pavements or other public/private areas, or may be mobile in the sense that they move from place to place carrying their wares on push carts or cycles or baskets on their heads, or may sell their wares in moving trains and buses. The total number of street vendors in India has been estimated to be ten million and the number of street food vendors has increased sharply in the past few years (Bhowmik 2005).

The preparation and sale of street food is an age-old activity with historical roots and complex socio-economic and cultural implications. Street food vendors are mostly outside the regulation of the governments and unregistered thus making them an informal sector. Similar to most other informal sector enterprises street food operations too are carried out with minimal investment, infrastructure and as familial operations. Street food outlets are seen mushrooming at crowded public places like bus stands, cinema halls, market areas and parks. They operate as temporary structures or as pushcarts parked near the roadside or at pavements. Most street food vendors operate their food stands alone and are able to generate sufficient income for sustenance.

Indian Spices: These are dried, fragrant, aromatic or pungent vegetables or plant substances. They can be whole, broken or in ground forms. Primary function in food is seasoning rather than nutrition and which contributes to the flavour and piquancy in foods and beverages. These have been used as food additives widely since ancient times [http://www.imedpub.com/articles/herbal-medicines-possible-risks-andbenefits.pdf,https://www.ncbinlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3170500/pdf/nihms307509.pdf). They also exert digestive stimulant action of food enhancing the taste. A few medicinal properties of spices are as being a tonic, carminative, stomachic, diuretic and antispasmodic (Aboaba et al., 2011; Achi, 2006 and Adefegha et al., 2012). This has led for pharmacological applications in the indigenous systems of medicine as digestive stimulants and to relieve digestive disorders and makes the food more palatable. In many countries around the world these are grown and reared for the purpose of trade and distribution. In the ancient times the spice merchants have been the most popular traders. India is well known for spices with a wide variety of recipes that are laced with them.

Overview of fishing methods in Kashmir
The water resources of the region of Jammu and Kashmir are abundant, ranging from large lakes in valleys and high altitudes to ponds, pools, streams, marshes, springs, and rivers. Its approximate size is 222236 square kilometers, extending from latitudes 32° 17′ N to latitudes 36° 58′ N and from longitudes 73° 26′ E to longitudes 80° 30′ E. Its whole water spread area is around 32765.3 hectares, or 2% of its overall area (Anon., 2013). Because of their unique natural characteristics, the vast water resources found in lakes, marshes, streams, and rivers are ideal locations for cold water fishing and, as such, have played a significant role in the growth of this sector. These water bodies support diverse populations of both indigenous and exotic fish species, suitable for cultivation as well as those that thrive without human intervention (Mahanta et al., 2009). The Kashmir Valley's water bodies are home to several native and alien fish species (Shah et al., 2020). The Central Asian fauna, which is dominated by the Schizothorax group, makes up the majority of Kashmir's ichthyofauna (Sunder et al., 1978).
Kashmir is endowed with several lakes, including Manasbal, Dal, Wular, and others, each having a unique hydrological environment (Balkhi et al., 1987). Since every lake in Kashmir Valley is located on the Jhelum River's flood plain, the lakes' origins are either tectonic or fluviatile. The Wular Lake, which is situated in District Bandipora and is referred to as the "fish bowl of Kashmir" since it supplies 60% of the fish produced in the Kashmir valley, is said to be the biggest freshwater lake in India (Malik et al., 2018). It spans over 200 square kilometers. The Wular Lake is bordered by several villages all along its shores, including two sizable cities, Bandipur and Sopore, Gurumayun and Choudhury (2009). Rich biodiversity is supported by Wular Lake and the marshes that surround it. It is a significant fishing resource in the valley, providing food for a sizable population that lives on its edges. The lake is the valley's greatest fishing resource and an essential home for migrating water species, including geese, ducks, shorebirds, and cranes (Syed et al., 2020). An understanding of fishing gear is essential for managing fisheries, Target species, fishing location, climate, and water velocity are only a few of the variables that affect how different fishing methods and equipment are used and regulated. Due to the unique characteristics of these habitats, classic fishing techniques that are useless in plains water bodies with slower current may be used in locations with swiftly flowing water, especially in mountainous regions. Understanding the traditional catching practices and gear of a region is

14.1.2 How it Works
• Temperature Rise: When the temperature rises, the alcohol in the bulb expands, pushing the mercury up the arm on the maximum temperature side. The mercury pushes the index upwards, and this index stays at the highest point reached as the mercury falls back down with decreasing temperature.
• Temperature Fall: When the temperature falls, the alcohol in the bulb contracts, pulling the mercury down on the minimum temperature side (and thus up on the maximum side). The mercury on the minimum side pushes its index upwards. As the temperature rises again, the mercury retreats, leaving the minimum temperature index at the lowest point reached.
• Reading the Thermometer: To read the maximum temperature, you look at the lower end of the index on the maximum temperature scale. To read the minimum temperature, you look at the lower end of the index on the minimum temperature scale. The current temperature can be read from either side by noting the position of the top of the mercury column.
• Resetting the Thermometer: After taking the readings, the indices need to be reset. This is typically done using a small magnet to pull the steel indices back down to the current level of the mercury.

Financial data visualization is the process of turning financial information into visual formats like charts, graphs, and dashboards. It helps finance teams interpret large datasets quickly, spot patterns or anomalies, and make betterinformed business decisions. Data visualization in finance is a craft of transforming complex financial numbers into accessible visual forms. Visual formats such as charts, graphs, dashboards, maps, and interactive displays serve as lenses through which data becomes visible and understandable. Finance practitioners navigate risk profiles, asset performance, expense trends, cash flows, and portfolio behavior more effectively when raw inputs become visual stories. Creation of visual representations hinges on careful selection of chart types, scaling, color, and annotation. Communicating precise meanings through visuals demands an understanding of data relationships, temporal changes, distributions, and comparisons.

5.1. Introduction

Glass is one of the oldest packaging materials used for food. The use of glass as a packaging material dates back to 3000 BC where it was the first object to be used for containing and carrying food objects. It is made by cooling a heated fused mixture of silicates, lime and soda. It is an amorphous material in which all the constituents individually form an irregular network at microscopic level. It means it has failed to form a definite crystalline structure during cooling. Glass is defined as “amorphous, inorganic product of fusion that has been cooled to a rigid condition without crystallizing (ASTM, 2010)”. It has no definite melting point.

Introduction PCR is an important molecular tool used widely in different applied research fields such as Infectious disease diagnosis, clinical medicine development and gene cloning etc., (Fang et al., 2008). Among different amplification methods, PCR was the first to be developed and has been the method of choice for its simplicity, easier methodology, extensively validated standard operating procedure and availability of reagents and equipment’s. However, it also has a good number of limitations such as advanced equipment, high cost, sensitivity to certain classes of contaminants and inhibitors requirement of thermal cycling etc. (Fakruddin, 2011). These limitations of PCR allowed to develop the alternative methods such as loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) (Notomi et al., 2000), nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) (Compton, 1991), self?sustained sequence replication (3SR) (Guatelli et al., 1990), rolling circle amplification (RCA) (Lizardi et al., 1998) etc., most of these techniques are isothermal that don’t require thermal cycler. These methods have many advantages over PCR in terms of speed, cost, scale or portability.

Introduction
The northernmost territory of the Republic of India, Jammu and Kashmir (latitude 32.28–37.06° and longitude 72.53–80.32°), is situated in the North Temperate Zone, characterized by its temperate-like conditions due to altitudinal variations (220 to 8611 m above mean sea level). The area is rich in biodiversity, with its mountainous terrain creating a beautiful aquatic landscape that is a key feature of its idyllic scenery. The aquatic resources over the valley primarily consist of high-altitude lakes, with wetlands and rivers following. These resources are more prevalent at higher altitudes, with decreasing occurrence at mid and lower altitudes. The freshwater bodies in the valley support a diverse array of macrophytes, phytoplankton, and zooplankton (Shah et al., 2020). Aquatic weeds, or hydrophytes, are found in water bodies worldwide, including those in India. Aquatic weeds are generally described as unwanted plants in the aquatic ecosystem. They occupy various ecological niches within these water bodies and play crucial roles in their ecosystems. India is home to numerous native vascular aquatic plants, as well as various non-native species. These aquatic plants include monocots, dicots, periphyton, and angiosperms. They serve as primary producers in the water bodies, contributing to oxygen production and offering nutritional and medicinal benefits. Despite their importance to the aquatic ecosystem, excessive growth of aquatic weeds can pose significant risks to aquatic organisms, particularly fish diversity in the affected areas.
The aquatic macrophytes of the Kashmir valley have been documented extensively by various authors over time, continuously updating the knowledge of the regional aquatic flora. Based on the recent finding of Ganie et al. (2020), the valley currently hosts 191 species of macrophytes, both aquatic and semiaquatic. These plants belong to 27 families and 80 genera, distributed across 22 dicotyledons, 12 monocotyledons, and 3 pteridophytes. Of these, 92 species are fully aquatic, including free-floating and submerged types, while 99 species are semiaquatic and emergent. In terms of diversity, the highest number of macrophyte species (160) has been reported from Kashmir, followed by 94 species in Jammu and 44 species in Ladakh. The distribution of aquatic weeds in the Kashmir valley includes prominent water bodies such as Dal Lake, Wular Lake, and Manasbal Lake. These lakes support a variety of macrophytes, contributing to the rich biodiversity of the valley. Dal Lake, for instance, is known for its extensive growth of Hydrilla verticillata and Potamogeton natans, while Wular Lake hosts species like Nymphaea alba and Trapa natans. The variety of aquatic plants in these water bodies is crucial for maintaining the ecological balance and health of the aquatic ecosystems of the valley. The diverse array of aquatic weeds in the waterbodies of the valley acts as a "double-edged sword" for the ecosystem. On one hand, these plants provide oxygen, maintain the nutrient cycle, and serve as food for some phytophagous fishes. On the other hand, their overabundance can create mosquito breeding grounds, absorb vital nutrients from the water, release toxic chemicals, and cause dead zones at night by consuming oxygen for respiration. Therefore, it is crucial to control and manage the population of aquatic weeds to ensure the wellbeing and sustainability of the aquatic ecosystem.

1. Introduction
Soil hydrothermal regime refers to the distribution and movement of water and heat within the soil. It describes the patterns of soil moisture and temperature variation over time and space. Understanding the hydrothermal regime is important in agriculture, ecology, and engineering, as it affects various soil processes, plant growth, and the behaviour of soil-related structures. The hydrothermal regime of soil is influenced by several factors, including climate, topography, vegetation, soil properties, and land use practices. The movement of water within the soil is driven by precipitation, irrigation, evaporation, and plant uptake (Aggarwal et al., 2009). It can be affected by soil physical properties such as soil texture, structure, porosity, and permeability. Water moves through the soil in response to hydraulic gradients, which are determined by the difference in soil water potential. Soil temperature is influenced by solar radiation, air temperature, and heat fluxes at the soil surface. It varies with depth and can be affected by factors such as soil color, moisture content, vegetation cover, and the thermal properties of the soil. The hydrothermal regime of soil has significant implications for plant growth and development. It affects processes such as seed germination, root growth, nutrient availability, and microbial activity. It also plays a crucial role in soil erosion, groundwater recharge, and the movement of pollutants within the soil profile. Soil’s thermal properties are pivotal in determining the microclimate, which subsequently influences critical stages like seed germination, the growth of seedlings, and the successful established of a crop stand. These properties are vital for modelling the movement of energy, water, and nutrients in soil. Soil thermal regimes are shaped by static properties such as texture and mineralogy and dynamic properties including water content, compaction, organic matter, and porosity. These dynamic properties including water content, compaction, organic matter, and porosity. These dynamic properties, significant to significant change during various farming operations can be adjusted with suitable soil and crop management strategies. Soil moisture content has a significant effect on the soil thermal conductivity. The relationship between soil moisture and thermal conductivity

Abstract

The functioning and stability of terrestrial ecosystem are determined by plant biodiversity and species composition. So far, little attention has been paid to the effects of microbe-plant interactions, particularly the mycorrhizal symbiosis, on ecosystem variability, productivity and plant biodiversity. The most common type of mycorrhizal association is the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) type. The role of AM fungi in the uptake of diffusion limited nutrients like P and in conferring resistance to soil-borne-diseases is well documented.

Types of Confectionery

Confectionery also called sweets or candy is sweet food product. Confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories, Bakers’ Confections and Sugar Confections. Confections are low in micronutrients and protein but high in calories. They may be fat-free foods, although some confections, especially fried doughs, are high-fat foods. Many confections are considered to give empty calories.

Baker’s Confectionery

Baker’s confectionery also called flour confections includes principally sweet pastries, cakes, and similar baked goods. In the Middle East and Asia, flour-based confections are more dominant. Baker’s confectionery includes sweet baked goods, especially those that are served for the dessert course. Baker’s confections are sweet foods that feature flour as a main ingredient and are baked. Major categories include cakes, sweet pastries, doughnuts, scones, and cookie.