eChapters

1. Introduction

Bisphosphonates are frequently utilized in treating osteoporosis and cancer induced bone metastases, but they carry the risk of inducing a severe complication known as osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). ONJ manifests as exposed bone in the craniofacial area and persists for over eight weeks in patients who are currently or previously treated with bisphosphonates. Many novel antiresorptive tyrosine kinases, mammalian targets of rapamycin, monoclonal antibodies, and immunosuppressant drugs have been discovered since BRONJ was first identified in 2003 and linked to ONJ (Akita et al., 2020). Current ideas include the prevention of angiogenesis and suppression of bone remodeling, gingival inflammation, gingival fibroblast dysfunction, and compromised immunological function. Wound healing mechanisms may play a role in most instances of ONJ, which occur after dental procedures, such as tooth extraction. In addition to surgical treatment for bone lesions, complementary therapies such as laser therapy, ozone therapy, and the administration of platelet concentrates in solid and liquid forms might help prevent ONJ and promote recovery (Gaurav Kumar et al., 2017; Hampton et al., 2015). Formation of new blood vessels is critical for the initiation and maintenance of wound healing.

Clouds play very important role on weather and climate. The formation of clouds takes place when water condenses in the sky. Clouds are visible accumulation of tiny water droplets and ice crystals in the Earth’s atmosphere. The moisture is always present in the atmosphere though it may not be visible. Clouds form when air becomes cooler until the water vapour present in it condenses to liquid form. The condensation over oceans occurs around solid particles like salt, dust, smoke etc. suspended in the atmosphere. The type of clouds depends upon temperature and wind. The clouds are classified based on physical appearance and the height at which clouds are formed (Fig. 7.1).

The Millon Reaction
Tissues fixation in 10% neutral buffered formalin solution
Protocol
1) Deparaffinise the paraffin sections with two changes (10 minutes each) of xylene.
2) Descending grades of alcohol from absolute to 50% solution (2 minutes each).
3) Hydrate the sections with distilled water for 5 minutes.
4) Transfer the sections to a small beaker with the reagent and gently boil.
5) Stop the heating process and let the solution cool to room temperature.
6) Remove the sections and rinse them three times in distilled water (2 minutes each).
7) Dehydrate in ascending grades of 90% to absolute alcohol (one minute each).
8) Clear in xylene, two changes of 30 minutes each.
9) Mount glass cover slip with DPX.

Thermal Analysis

Physical and chemical properties of any soil are governed largely by the mineralogical make up of the soil, and more specifically by the clay fraction. Identification, characterization and an understanding of properties of different minerals are important in evaluating soils in relation to classification, agronomic practices and engineering purposes.

Clay fractions of soils are usually composed of mixture of one or more secondary phyllosilicate minerals along with primary minerals inherited from the parent materials. Identification of minerals species as well as their quantitative estimation in such polycomponent system require application of several qualitative and quantitative analysis.

The methods used for identification and quantification have steadily been improved over the last 50 years. Among the several methods often used for this purpose three are very common, e.g. (i) differential thermal analysis (DTA), (ii) x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and (iii) infrared spectroscopy (IR).

Thermal analysis is a term covering a group of analyses that determine the changes of some physical parameters, such as weight, energy, dimension and evolved volatile substances with change in temperature. Many soil constituents undergo various thermal reactions upon heating, which can be utilized as a diagnostic tool for qualitative identification and quantitative estimation of the substances. These reactions may be exothermic or endothermic, and phase change or crystal change may take place during reactions. Whatever be the reactions, if properly measured, they give some valuable information to identify the substance under consideration.

Among the several methods available for thermal analysis, three methods are frequently used in soil research: differential thermal analysis (DTA), differential scan calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetry (TG). Among these, DTA and TG will be discussed here.

17.1 Introduction

It is well known fact that planners as well as end users have to consider any resources as technology from economic point of view. Therefore, it is important to have techno – economic analysis of each energy source option. In the feasibility study of particular energy option, three tier judgment approaches is required, which include technical feasibility, economical viability and social acceptability. Hence in the rural energy planning programme one has to considered techno socio economic analysis of an individual energy option. Since in integrated rural energy planning, locally available energy resources are used, presuming that it is socially recognized. Hence in the IREP project, the need and scope of techno economic analysis in terms of economic analysis of different technical feasible options, before between “economic” and “finical” analysis should be kept in mind. An economic analysis is needed to verify that a particular energy source will provide “net benefit” to society as a whole, before its final integration in the energy context, while a financial analysis integrated in the energy practices. In simple words, a financial analysis is concerned with goods and services, money inflow and outflows and the transfer of payments. An economic analysis also considers the social benefits and costs of goods and services which are not traded in a market.

India produces 146 million tons of vegetables (NHB report, 2011) and the total area under vegetable cultivation is around 8.5 million ha. Potato, tomato, onion, cabbage and brinjal account for around 60 per cent of the total vegetable production in terms of quantity. India’s annual fruit production is 75 million tons (NHB report, 2011) and the total area under fruit cultivation is around 6.3 million ha. The major Indian fruits are mango, banana, citrus fruits, apple, guava, papaya, pineapple, and grapes. Fresh fruits and vegetables play a vital role in Indian context and their marketing works as an influencing force in the economy. Though retailing of fresh fruit and vegetables is a low margin business, the market potential is very large in a country like India. This factor has attracted many corporates into this sector. Marketing of agricultural produce is different and more challenging than many industrial products because of the perishability, seasonality, and bulkiness. The very nature of small size of land holdings by the farmers, varied climatic conditions, production spread over wide geographical area, mainly in remote villages, diversified consumption patterns/habits of the Indian consumers and poor Supply Chain (SC) infrastructure makes marketing for fruits and vegetables more complicated. At the same time, Indian consumers demand fresh fruits and vegetables. Thus, Management plays a crucial role in marketing fruits and vegetables. Supply Chain efficiency not only helps in increased production and per capita consumption, but also contributes to economic development of the country. As a result, Supply Chain Management (SCM) throws both challenges and opportunities in marketing of fruits and vegetables. Efficient SCM in marketing, not only increases the profitability and efficiency of retailers, but also adds value to different stakeholders like cultivators (farmers), consolidators and consumers. Traditional Retail Model of fruit and vegetables is predominantly followed in unorganized retail sector. Players involved in this model are commission agents, auctioneers, wholesalers, traditional retailer of all type of formats family run ‘mom and pop’ stores, roadside shops, pavement shops and cart vendors apart from farmers and customers.

1. Introduction

An expert system is defined as “a computer program designed to model the problem solving ability of a human expert” (Durkin, 1994). It is also defined as “a system that uses human knowledge captured in a computer to solve problems that ordinarily require human expertise”. An intelligent computer program that uses knowledge and inference procedures to solve problems that was difficult enough to acquire significant human expertise for their solutions. It is a computer application that solves complicated problems that would require extensive human expertise. To do so, it simulates the human reasoning process by applying specific knowledge and interfaces. Expert system also uses human knowledge to solve problems that normally

Abstract

The study was conducted in Tumkur district which is considered as a very progressive district with 7230 SHG’s. It has 11 taluks out of which Tumkur taluk was selected for the study. Within this taluk, a cluster of 7 SHG’s were considered for the study. The results show that more than three fourths of Stree Shakthi group members came to know about the Stree Shakthi Programme through anganawadi workers (92.5%) followed by news papers (7.5%). It is also interesting to note that 87.5% reported that to a great extent their attitude changed about bringing up their children without discrimination, sending their daughter to school compulsorily and growing vegetables in their backyard. Further results reveal that SSP is changing the attitude of rural setting. Family problems, cast and religion, lack of encouragement in the family, political problem were the major constraints in SHG as perceived by the members.  Still SSG has made some qualitative changes in the lives of the rural people.

For the hundreds of thousands of years that we lived on earth,there were few rapid changes in the atmosphere. It is only in recent times, particularly since the Industrial Revolution, that our activities on earth began to modify our environment in a significant manner.  Industrial pollution has affected the water we drink, the air we breathe, and in general,the biosphere itself.Now noise has joined the bandwagon of pollutants.

Noise certainly comes within the scope of definition of a pollutant that “..... any undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of our air, land and water that may or will harmfully affect human life or that of any other desirable species or industrial process, living conditions or cultural assets, or that may or will waste or deteriorate our raw material resources.”

ABSTRACT

In Tamilnadu majority of the people are engaged in agricultural work and they mainly depend upon the water resources. But at present both surface and subsurface water has become deficient because of over exploitation. Since last few years, conventional methods were employed to improve the surface and subsurface water conditions. But these methods provide less accurate result and consume more time. So to improve the conditions modern tools, such as remote sensing and GIS are being used to identify the ground water potential zones in Tamilnadu. It provides accurate resulst and consumes less time.

A project was carried out in Gadilam lower sub basin which falls in the part of Cuddalore District, Tamilnadu. The IRS 1D imagery was collected and interpreted using image processing software and Geo media GIS Software in conjunction with collateral data to prepare Hydro geomorphology, land use, geology and lineament maps Field checks were made and transferred the field data on the base map. By application of overlay analysis of the above thematic maps, using GIS techniques, the recharge zones were identified.

The satellite image mosaic map of Gadilam lower sub basin was generated to identify ground water potential zones. Average monthly rainfall data for the past 50 years were collected. Using Remote sensing and GIS techniques, the thematic maps such as Geology, Geomorphology, Soil, Drainage, Land use, Lineament zones have been generated for this study. Geophysical survey was also conducted in various locations and the aquifer parameters were measured. Details related to land and water resources, cropping pattern, water levels and water qualities from PWD ground water division, land use and well censes data of villages from village Administrative Officer, tank details from PWD were collected and analyzed

After analyzing the various thematic maps, they were finally overlaid. Thus the groundwater potential zones of Gadilam lower sub basin was identified.

Annual flowers are a group of herbaceous plants which grow from seeds, produce flowers, set seeds and complete their life-cycle within one year or one season. They provide a beautiful display of colours in the garden. Whether it is a small home garden or a big public garden, it is incomplete without beds of annual flowers. They enhance the decorative value of a garden within a short span of time. At their blooming time, one feels elated when a rain of beauty drizzles in the garden.

Classification of Annuals

Based on season, the annual flowers are divided into 3 groups—winter season, summer season and rainy season.

Winter season annuals

This group includes a large number of seasonal flowers. The important ones are acroclinium, agrostemma, amaranthus, anchusa, annual carnation, annual chrysanthemum, antirrhinum, arctotis, bells-of-Ireland, brachycome, calceolaria, calendula, campanula, candytuft, celosia, China aster, cineraria, clarkia, cornflower, daisy, delphinium, dianthus, dimorphotheca, echium, eschscholzia, gazania, godetia, helichrysum, helipterum, hollyhock, gypsophila, limonium, linaria, linum, lupin, marigold, matricaria, mesembryanthemum, mignonette, mimulus, myosotis, nasturtium, nemesia, nicotiana, nemophila, nigella, pansy, petunia, phlox, pimpinella, poppy, rudbeckia, salvia, saponaria, scabiosa, schizanthus, senecio, stock, sweet alyssum, sweet pea, sweet sultan, sweet william, venidium, verbena, viola and wall flower.

Social media can be defined as any media dedicated to community based input, interaction, content sharing and collaboration. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, Google Plus, Hike Messenger, Pinterest, Reddit, Instagam, WeChat, Skype, YouTube are some of the social networking sites that have received tremendous response from billions of people all over the world.

Earlier, there were mass media like pamphlets, booklets, newspapers, radio, television, etc. to connect with the masses. These traditional mass medias were mostly based on one way conversation. Various researchers, scientists, policy makers, government and non-government organizations, research institutions utilized these traditional mass media to the fullest but mostly with a limitation of one way communication and farmers have to rely on the information mashed on them. In last decade, the social networking services (SNS) have emerged as a wonderful and powerful social media.

1. Introduction

Post harvest storage is a powerful challenge in agriculture, about one third of the fresh fruits and vegetables are discarded because of the deterioration of quality of produce beyond a reasonable standard. (FAO, 2011; OCD, 2014) Any change or damage in the quality of product from harvest till consumption is considered as loss. Post harvest handling practices do not increase the quality of product, rather just slows down the process of deterioration. The quality and shelf life of produce is determined prior to the time of harvest. Various factors such as climate, soil preparation and cultivation, fertigation, pest and disease incidence, crop loads etc influence the quality and flavour aspects of fresh food.

Semen is needed to be extended with a suitable medium and cryopreserved without affecting its survivability and fertility for the purpose of inseminating female artificially. Qualities of Ideal Extenders • Semen extender is a nutrient media which provide energy to spermatozoa, protection from osmotic shock, thermal shock and various metabolic wastes for prolonging the life span of sperm cell with maintaining the acceptable fertilizing capacity. A semen extender should have qualities to protect spermatozoa during dilution and cryopreservation. These qualities may be : 1. Preserving sperm cell integrity (membrane, cellular, mitochondrial and acrosomal integrity etc) 2. Maintenance of osmotic pressure (isotonic; 280-300 mOsm/l) similar to seminal plasma 3. Providing nutritive elements as energy source for sperm metabolism (aerobic & anaerobic metabolism)

Introduction

In a world grappling with the effects of unchecked waste generation, the pursuit of sustainable waste management solutions stands as a paramount challenge (Smith, 2020). In India, agriculture has evolved in its own way, it has sustained livelihood of millions and had transformed from being a food deficit country to a food exported. There were certain accelerated efforts taken in implementation of advanced resources and technology which transformed India to a self- sufficient country. However this irrational application of synthetic inputs has come with a cost,which resulted in generation of substantial amount of waste. Waste can be any residual substance which has lost its value to the original user after a certain period of its utilization(Gupta, 2019). Agricultural waste are the materials that are generated during or after farming activities which either have no use in the original process of production or may have been spoiled or left unused in the right time in certain cases. These waste that are generated during farming can be in solid,semisolid or liquid forms depending on the nature of farming activities. If these agri-wastes are left without proper treatment, they may have certain types of impact on the environment,for instance the pesticide residues may impact the grazing animal health and when the fertilizers volatize and leach causing an ill-effect on the aquatic ecosystem (Yadav, 2019). Certain Agri experts had opinion that these farm residues can be recognized as “resources out of place” instead of byproduct. The holistic management of farm resources with appropriate techniques can help in reutilization of the farm wastes in secondary production sectors thus minimizing resource utilization and intensifying work efficiency.

Introduction
 
Maintaining and restoring the quality of air, water and soil is one of the great challenges of our time. Most countries face serious environmental problems, such as the availability of drinking water, the treatment of waste and wastewater, air pollution and the contamination of soil and groundwater. There are two main approaches to these problems: the first is to control pollution at source to minimize or eliminate waste production or harmful emissions; the second is to remedy the pollutants that accumulate in the environment. Considering the enormous scale of soil and groundwater contamination, the complexity of the task seems intractable. In many cases, conventional remediation and treatment technologies have shown only limited effectiveness in reducing the levels of pollutants, especially in soil and water (Rickerby and Morrison, 2007).

Introduction

India is the largest producer of pulses in the world, both in quantity and variety. But, presently, India is one of the largest importer of pulses. India imported pulse grains upto a tune of approximately 4000 crore rupees during 2006-07. It accounts for about 20 per cent of the total import bill during 2006-07. This is because of the green revolution (quantum jump in cereal production) accompanied with changes in the infrastructures and incentives including input supplies and price support systems in favour of major cereals. It altered the traditional cropping pattern against pulses with decades of emphasis on research as well as production in superior cereals coupled with a near total neglect of the rainfed areas, pulses were driven out of not only the irrigated areas, but also the rainfed farming and were relegated to the marginal lands. Further more, the weak infrastructural support for input supply, credit and marketing in the rainfed areas, the traditional home of pulses, also adversely affected the prospects for pulses. A vicious circle of low input use and low output thus got built in. Lack of processing and marketing facilities in pulses also contributed its share to the woes of pulse growers. The increasing shortage of pulses, resulted in the need for more and more import which, in turn has dampened the speed of rejuvenation of pulses sub-sector of agriculture sector.

The net per capita availability of pulses has fallen from 60.7 (1950-51) to 33.4 g (1991-92). On the contrary, the daily per capita availability of cereals has registered an increase from 334.2 (1950-51) to 443 g (1991-92). It leads to increase in the pulses/cereal ratio from 0.18 to 0.08 g i.e., by 55 per cent. This is despite the increases of 24.36 per cent in area; 61.71 per cent in production and 29.93 per cent in production. It is significant to note that almost all these increases had taken place during 1950-51 to 1960-61. The area, production and yield of pulses have either stagnated or declined since then. This stagnation of pulse production and productivity should be viewed seriously not only from the point of security and quality of food for our people, especially the poor and the rural population, but also from the soaring import bill, imbalance and distribution in the cropping pattern and resource allocation among various sub-sectors of agriculture.

1. Introduction

Chirata (Swertia chirayita) belongs to the family Gentiniaceae, a potential medicinal plant used as bitter tonic in treatment of fever and for curing various skin diseases, is a perennial herb and distributed throughout the eastern Himalayan region of India. The plant is a native of temperate Himalayas, found at an altitude of 1200-3000 m (4000-10000 ft), from Kashmir to Bhutan and in the Khasi hills at 1200-1500 m (4000 to 5000 ft). It can be grown in sub-temperate regions between 1500 and 2100 m altitudes. It is used in traditional medicine to treat numerous ailments such as liver disorders, malaria, and diabetes and are reported to have a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties. Its medicinal usage is well-documented in Indian pharmaceutical codex, the British, and the American pharmacopeia’s and in different traditional medicine such as the Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Horopathy and other conventional medical systems. This ethno medicinal herb is known mostly for its bitter taste caused by the presence of different bioactive compounds that are directly associated with welfare of human health. The increasing high usage of Swertia chirayita, mostly whole plant, as well as the illegal overharvesting combined with habitat destruction resulted in a drastic reduction of its populations and has brought this plant to the verge of extinction. The increasing national and international demand for Swertia chirayita has led to unscrupulous collection from the wild and adulteration of supplies. The bitterness, antihelmintic, hypoglycemic and antipyretic properties are attributed to amarogentin (most bitter compound isolated till date) 1, swerchirin, swertiamarin and other active principles of the herb. Due to the high demand, this plant is being cultivated in many places of Darjeeling district both for domestic use within India and for exporting purpose. During our roving survey (2011-2014), it was observed that this high value medicinal plant facing a number of diseases (like seedling blight, leaf spot, Leaf blight etc.), ultimately, cultivation of Swertia chirayita is getting hampered. The quality of plant is affected due to the occurrences of diseases as whole plants part being used as medicinal purpose and also affects the marketing scenario; the demand of good quality chirata is increasing at a rate of 10% annually. To harvest the benefit of megabiodiversity zone of eastern Himalaya needs urgent attention to combat the upcoming epidemic of diseases of chirata. Here, we are trying to throw some light related to present status of diseases of chirata and standard management practices.

21.1 Automatic Weather Station

Automatic Weather Station, popularly known as AWS, is an electronic device and an automated version of the traditional weather station. Numerous weather sensors are connected to the system which automatically records and stores weather data. It is quite useful in remote areas where no frequent access is possible. The system requires hardware as well as software to log in, store, display, retrieve and analyze the data. The digital data recorded from AWS can be downloaded to the laptop through the memory device. The same digital data can be converted to the actual values indicating various weather parameters through the software provided along with the AWS. It should be also maintained in the desktop of PC/AT so that the data are doubly assured. Every AWS has its own software depending upon the manufactures. Time interval can be fixed for recording weather data depending upon the purpose since it is a continuous recorder. Continuous AWS data are integrated at hourly or half-hourly interval for monitoring weather data, otherwise enormous data are continuously stored and no way are used. Of course, continuous weather display is possible for monitoring weather conditions spatially and temporarily.

Automatic Weather Station consists of a datalogger, rechargeable battery, telemetry (optional) and the meteorological sensors with an attached solar panel. The system may report in near real time via GPRS or save the data for later recovery. Majority of automatic weather stations possesses normally Thermometer Sensor for measuring temperature; Anemometer for measuring wind speed; Wind vane for measuring wind direction; Hygrometer for measuring relative humidity; Barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure; Rain gauge for measuring rainfall and Pyranometer for measuring solar radiation. Automatic weather stations are based around a programmable datalogger that measures the sensors, then processes, stores, and transmits the data. Dataloggers have wide operating temperature ranges, on-board instructions, programmable execution intervals and input channels for commonly used sensors. Wind vector, wet bulb, histogram and sample on maxima or minima are standard in the datalogger instruction sets. Most sensors can be measured directly without external signal conditioning. Data are typically viewed and stored in the units of your choice(e.g., wind speed in mph, m/s, knots). Measurement rates and data recording intervals are independently programmable, allowing calculation of 15 minute, hourly, and daily data values from 1 minute or 1 second measurements, for example. Conditional outputs, such as rainfall intensity and wind gusts, can also be recorded. The program can be modified at any time to accommodate different sensor configurations or new data processing requirements.