eChapters

INTRODUCTION

Nearly 60% of the population of the country is dependent on agriculture. Rainfed agriculture supports 40% of the population and 75% of the poorest of the poor in the country (Pant 2001). Therefore, maintenance of health of production base stands as a prime goal to be achieved for sustainable production, prosperity and posterity. Tree culture is highly necessitated for amelioration of climate, soil, production of firewood, fodder, timber, fibre, fruit, gum etc. Hence, agroforestry is a viable option particularly in the Indian context.

Abstract

Consumers increased response to new products with high sensory, organoleptic and nutritional potentials has impelled a search for new substitutes to processing methods. For several years, thermal processing was the main technology for producing safe products with long shelf lives, although in most cases losses of fresh flavors, vitamins, and some physicochemical characteristics were the price of safety and long-term stability. Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing as a non- thermal technique has been proven to inactivate microorganisms with minimal losses of flavor and food quality, possibly making it the answer to present-day consumer demands. In addition, the low processing temperatures used in this non- thermal technology allow the process to be nutrient preserving, energy efficient, which translates into lower costs and fewer environmental impacts. In this chapter, the the configuration of various PEF equipment, their electric configuration and recent application of this technique in processing of foods have been discussed in detail.

The adoption and use of a new technology causes disruptions in the sociocultural system of a nation and induces a change from established practices to distinctly different and complex forms of social practice. The deployment of ICT into the predominantly traditional societies of developing countries is therefore very disruptive. In view of this, a seamless integration of both the technical and socio-cultural systems of societies where technology transfer takes place is necessary for a thriving ICT deployment. Unfortunately, technological transfer to developing countries is driven by a perspective that is based on the development experience of Western industrialized nations.

It is indeed highly inspiring to see that in India, people are gradually getting aware of the multiple roles of Information Technology in the overall growth of the country. The bureaucrats and policy makers have equally emphasized the significance of exploring and exploiting the benefits of IT. Moreover, the governance has also realized that with availability of vital infrastructure Information and Communication Technologies can be used to improve the lives of the rural and underprivileged section of the Indian society, especially the ones living below the poverty line (BPL). Nonetheless, the Government will have to play the role of a catalyst in this huge integration project. A strategic framework including actors from Central & State Governments and Civil Society Organizations to capture the benefits of ICT and make it reach the countryside can do wonders in this regard.

Introduction

The animals which man has domesticated over the years to meet his own needs for food, clothing, power or companionship include cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, horses, pigs, cats, dogs and poultry. Domestic animals like most other animal forms existing on earth including human beings, are the result of a long evolution and therefore each other and indeed to all living beings. Much has been learned or better understood about the physiology of these animals through comparative study on the other animal forms, though many a time these animals have served as experimental models for studies designed to gain knowledge about human physiology. Dog and goat for a long time yielded to such experimentation. The domestic animals have been used for obtaining information on their physiology per se only recently and most experiments have been designed to understand better the mechanisms related to production potential of these animals in terms of meat, milk and wool. Knowledge is also gained by the study of sick and abnormal individuals or through surgery. Animal ethology (study of behaviour) is a comparatively recent discipline which has contributed abundantly to our understanding of the behaviour of animals in relation to their productivity.

The place of domestic animals in nature is objectively described by placing them along with other living organisms in the accepted scheme of classification as formulated by the biologists. The domestic animals belong to the Animal Kingdom, which like the plant kingdom, is divided into a number of major categories, the Phyla. The animal Phyla range from the relatively simple protozoa mostly single celled forms, to the chordata which encompasses backboned animals, including domestic animals and human beings. This scheme of classification is based on the concept of evolution of life and the animals are classified on the basis of closeness or the distance of their relationship. The life cycle of the animal (Ontogeny) is said to repeat the evolutionary development of the animal (Phylogeny).

The domestic animals belong to the phylum Chordata, sub phylum Vertebrata, characterised by the presence of a back bone or vertebral column. They are further classified to belong to class Mammalia and sub class Eutheria. The cow, buffaloes, goat, sheep etc. belong to order Ungulata in sub class Eutheria. The horse and asses belong to order Perissodactyla. The cats and dogs belong to order Carnivora. The poultry belong to the order Galliformes in Class Aves.

5.1 Introduction

A theoretical system is what we construct in one mind’s eye to model the empirical system. Theories and models provide the researcher concepts, definitions’, variables and hypothesis that may be tested by analyzing relevant data (Bhatia, 1990). A theory emerges from the research and so does a particular research pursuit from the theory. The theory is a set of interrelated constructs, definitions and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of explanation and predicting the phenomena (Kerlinger,1973). A researcher seldom conducts research without any concern for theory. A theory provides major orientation to research by helping to define the type of data to be collected and theory emerges from facts (data) collected during research. Theory and facts are not opposed but intervened, the theory is not speculation and scientists are concerned with theory as well as facts (Anonymous, 2011). It is possible to conduct evaluation without paying any attention to theory and forms of evaluation, but such evaluation studies lack internal validity because these are not based on the rigorous evaluation research methodologies (Campbell and Stanlay,1966). According to Alkin and Christie (2004), evaluation has grown on three pillars of orientation i.e. research orientation, decision making orientation and assessing worth. The field of evaluation research can be defined as “the use of scientific methods to measure the implementation and outcome of programmes for decision-making purposes” (Rutman, 1984). The concept of evaluation research has been an issue of debate among academicians. The academicians consider that evaluation research differs from both basic research as well as applied research (Douglah, 1998).

The Agreement on Agriculture, the AoA, was negotiated to cover loopholes in the agriculture sections of the original GATT and was signed in April 1994 at Marrakesh, Morocco. Its first step was to get all countries to replace the various quota and other non-tariff restrictions on agricultural imports with equivalent-level tariffs; then countries would progressively cut those tariffs (by 36% over six years for developed countries, 24% over 10 years for developing countries). Restrictions were also mandated in other areas, such as export subsidies and in the AMS, the “aggregate measure of support”, which measured all the assistance going to a country’s farm sector. However, developing countries already had low levels of agricultural support, while developed countries had very high levels, meaning the field was still tilted in favour of the rich countries.

The WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture which came into effect on 1^st January 1995 brought world agriculture production and trade under multilateral trade rules. It was supposed to herald a new era of trade liberalization in the agriculture sector, as hitherto agriculture had been mainly exempted from the disciplines of GATT.

Introduction

Estimated breeding values (EBVs), often estimated for sires, are used in traditional animal breeding (TAB) programmes to make selections based on an animal’s performance and that of its relatives. Using, typically, the best linear unbiased projections, EBVs are calculated using attributes measured in own performance, pedigree, sib, and/or progeny evaluation schemes in specialised testing stations and/or selected farm conditions (BLUP; Henderson, 1975). One of the main time-consuming challenges for phenotypic evaluation to enable a meaningful estimation of breeding values is generation intervals of 4 to 5 years in beef cattle, more than 5 years in dairy cattle, and 2 to 2.5 years in pig breeding schemes (Schefers and Weigel, 2012). Modern breeding techniques like marker-assisted selection (MAS) and, more recently, genomic selection (GS) are based on the use of genetic DNA markers to aid in selection and breeding (Williams, 2005). The fundamental reason why MAS, that only further uses a few markers as a selection tool, hasn’t made as much progress as was initially anticipated is that finding trustworthy markers is challenging, particularly when dealing with complex traits. Only relatively few consistent markers could be identified, despite successful identification of many quantitative trait loci (QTL; Hu and Reecy, 2007)

Every science has its own language. Economics has its own language. There are certain terms which are used in a special sense in economics. So we must understand the meaning of some basic concepts in the field of economics are discussed below.
2.1. Goods
Anything that can satisfies a human want is called a good in economics. For example: Foodgrain, pulse, oilseeds, machinery, seeds, fertilizer, pen, book, etc.
2.2. Services
A service refers to an act or performance that one party provides to another. Services are characterized by their intangible, non-material nature, as well as their inseparability, variability, and perishability. Examples include the services offered by doctors, teachers, lawyers, engineers, and laborers.

10.1 Introduction

The following plants have been worked out in the laboratory of Prof. N. Raaman: Cynodon dactylon, Artemisia pallens, Leptadenia reticulata, Clausena dentata, Tylophora indica, Aristolochia bracteolata, A. indica, Cissus quadrangularis, Hypericum mysorense. and Solanum trilobatum. Out of some of the data of these plants have been included in the previous chapters. In this chapter, compound isolation (CD1) from Clausena dentata (worked by Dr. R. Kamaraj) and characterization of the compound are given in detail.

10.2 Preparation of extracts from Clausena dentata

The dry powder of stem bark (2.5 kg) was first soaked, at room temperature, in hexane (1:4 w/v) for 24 h. The extract was suction filtered using Whatmann filter paper. This is repeated for two more days and similar extracts were pooled together and concentrated at 40°C under reduced pressure using Buchi R - 153 Rotavapor. The residual plant material was extracted successively with chloroform and methanol in the same manner as followed for hexane. All the concentrates were subjected to column chromatography to isolate the active principles.

Introduction

Chrysanthemum, commonly known as “mums” or “chrysanths,” is a genus of plants that bloom and belong to the Asteraceae family. These plants are native to Asia and northeastern Europe, with China being the primary centre of diversity for the genus. Chrysanthemums are well-known for their attractive and colorful f lowers, and they are popular ornamental plants in gardens, floral arrangements, and as cut flowers.

Chrysanthemum morifolium is a herbaceous perennial flowering crop. It is the second most popular cut flower worldwide, right behind roses, and a significant decorative plant for commerce (Silva et. al., 2013). Certain species’ flowers, such as those of Chrysanthemum morifolium and Chrysanthemum indicum, are rich in nutrients and biologically active substances and are used to make medicinal tea and cosmetics, respectively (Lin et. al., 2010).

Introduction

The quality of interaction between clinicians and microbiologists has an enormous influence on the effectiveness of the laboratory service. An accurate diagnosis is based on the interpretation of both clinical and laboratory data. Investigation of disease is solely dependent on the quality and appropriateness of the specimens collected. The diagnosis depends on the skill and care with which the clinicians select, collect and transport the specimen to the laboratory. Clinical history, including the tentative diagnosis, should always accompany the specimen. If available, a detailed post-mortem report must also be sent. These set of information will help the microbiologist to select the most appropriate procedure and to furnish a meaningful interpretation of the results.

Specimens need to be collected for establishing a disease diagnosis or monitoring of vaccine response or surveillance. The knowledge of the pathogenesis of the infectious disease is the most important factor for determining the most suitable specimen. The samples need to be appropriate, and adequate in number and amount to provide a statistically valid result. Samples must be taken with care, to avoid undue stress or damage to the bird or danger to the operator. Careful consideration must be given to the collection, containment, and storage of the specimens, including biosafety measures to prevent spillage to the environment or exposure of other birds and humans.

English name : Small cardamom, Lesser cardamom, Malabar cardamom
Botanical name : Elettaria cardamomum Maton
Family : Zingiberaceae
Chromosome number : 2n = 48
Centre of origin : Western Ghats of India
The cardamom of commerce is the dried capsule of Elettaria cardamomum Maton., commonly called the “queen of spices.” Crop is as one of the most significant and highly valued spices globally, it rank  after saffron and vanilla in terms of price and trade significance. The name Elettaria originates from the Tamil word elattari, where ela refers to cardamom fruit, and tari means granules or seeds of the fruit. Meanwhile, the term Cardamomum from the Greek word cardamon, which denotes cardamom. Cardamom is one of the oldest known spices, originated in India’s Southern Western Ghats around 5,000 years ago. It was among the first spices, along with cinnamon, to enter the western trade. Indian cardamom is distinctive in the global spice market due to its superior quality. The dried capsules produce essential oil and oleoresin, which contribute to its aroma and therapeutic properties. These qualities are attributed to the essential oil content (ranging from 3-8%) found in both the seed and husk. The primary components of this oil include 1,8-cineole, terpineol, and limonene.

Medication Errors: Definition
Medication errors are defined as preventable events that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is under the control of a healthcare professional, patient, or consumer. These errors can occur at any stage of the medication use process, including prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring.
Key Aspects of Medication Errors
1. Preventability: The term “medication error” emphasizes that these events are preventable, highlighting the importance of systems and processes designed to minimize risks associated with medication use.
2. Broad Scope: Medication errors encompass a wide range of issues, including:
• Prescribing Errors: Mistakes made during the prescribing process, such as incorrect dosage or inappropriate medication selection.
• Transcribing Errors: Errors that occur when prescriptions are written down or entered into a system.
• Dispensing Errors: Mistakes made by pharmacists or pharmacy technicians when preparing medications for administration.
• Administration Errors: Errors that occur when a medication is given to a patient, such as administering the wrong drug or incorrect dosage.
• Monitoring Errors: Failures in monitoring the effects of medications on patients, which can lead to adverse outcomes.
3. Potential for Harm: While not all medication errors result in harm, many have the potential to cause significant adverse drug events (ADEs). An ADE is defined as any injury resulting from medical intervention related to a drug.
Types of Medication Errors
Medication errors are preventable events that can lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm. They can occur at any stage of the medication use process, from prescribing to administration. Understanding the various types of medication errors is essential for healthcare providers to implement strategies that enhance patient safety. Below is a detailed overview of the different types of medication errors.

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) is a popular flowering plant grown for its magnificent flowers in wide range of colour. There are various size of flowers like mini, small and large. Forms of the flowers also vary from ball shape to spider type. In ornamental gardening, Chrysanthemum is used as bedding as well as pot plant. Cut-flowers are also very popular for vase decoration and commercially important. Flowers of the small-flowered cultivars are also used as loose flowers for making garland and floral ornaments.

Classification

There is huge diversity in the form and types of Chrysanthemum. Therefore, one has to know the various types of flowers, growth habit and their use in the gardens.

The Arid Legume includes clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.); moth bean (Vigna aconotifolia (Jacq) Marechal; cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) and horse gram (Macrotylom uniflorum (L.) Verdc). In India, these are grown extensively as rainfed crops in Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, M.P. and to a limited extent in other states covering a total area of 51-80 lakh hectares (Table1). Most of the production comes from harsh environments where both biotic and abiotic constraints prevail limiting the production.

Arid Legumes as a group of pulses are extremely important in the common vegetarian diet of the people in the area of its cultivation. They also offer a new dimension as they have become foreign exchange earners through export opportunities. For example, clusterbean (guar) contains 30-35 per cent guar gum and India is a world leader in the export of this commodity and earns more than Rs.1100 crores annually (Mathur and Henry, 2009). Similarly, moth bean is gaining great industrial importance because of Bikaneri Bhujia industry which is heavily based on this crop (Singh and Henry, 1985). Cowpea is very important in Dahi bada industry and making curry preparation while horsegram is a minor pulse and is utilized by the poorest of the poor in its growing areas as well used for kidney stone treatment (Henry et.al., 2006; Vishwanatha et. al., 2006). Clusterbean and moth bean together account for 3.5 million hectare areas in the great Indian Thar Desert and play a very important role in the economy of the desert farmers. Similarly, cowpea and horse gram are grown mostly in marginal and sub-marginal lands under rainfed situations with no inputs applied by the farmers. These two pulses are grown in various areas in the country and easily adapted to various conditions.

Rabdosia rugosa (Wallich ex Benth.) Hara (Lamiaceae): [W]. An erect branched leafy shrub or under-shrub growing as high altitude shrub above 2000 m altitudes on alpine slopes.Leaves ovate, wrinkled, hairy, coarsely toothed, conspicuously grey-woolly beneath, in contrast to green wrinkled upper surface. Flowers tiny, fragrant, white, spotted with purple. Shrub is of great significance for honey bee colonies.

Leafy vegetables are rich source of vitamins like A, C and minerals like calcium and iron. Most of the leafy vegetables are quick growing types and shows good response to manures and fertilizers. Their easiness in cultivation and adaptation to diverse agroclimatic conditions makes it suitable for various cropping systems. Some of them are annual in nature while some others are perennial. Leaves as well as tender stems are uses as vegetable in the cooked form. They are reported to have antinutritional factors, oxalates and nitrates compared to other vegetables. The annual leafy vegetables are widely cultivating in our country and among them, amaranth, palak, spinach and fenugreek are the major ones. These crops are short duration in nature, completes their entire life cycle by 80-90 days and produce good yield and brings monetary returns to farmers in short time.

Amaranth (Amaranth sp.)

It is herbaceous fast growing annual leafy vegetable grown for leaves as well as grains. Vegetable amaranth is reported to be equal or superior in taste to that of spinach. Leaves and succulent stem are good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron and are used as vegetable. High oxalate and nitrate content are reported in some species of amaranth.

The major vegetable species of amaranth cultivating in India is A. ticolor. It is suggested to be originated in South or South east Asia particularly in India. Another vegetable type, A. dubius shows diversity in Central America, Indonesia, Asia and Africa. A. lividus is the popular vegetable type in South and Central Europe. Other leafy species are A. viridis, A. tristis and A. spinosus. A. cruentus, A. hypochondriacus and A. caudatus are cultivating for grain purpose. Taxonomists suggested two sections in Amaranthus namely blitopsis which include leafy types and amaranthus which constitutes grain types.

Climate change is a significant global threat impacting riverine fish diversity, largely due to increasing water temperatures and altered flow regimes. As poikilotherms, freshwater fish are highly sensitive to temperature changes, which can lead to decreased dissolved oxygen and degraded water quality. Observed and projected responses include shifts in distribution ranges, with cold-water species often contracting or moving to higher altitudes or latitudes, while warm-water species may expand their ranges. Body sizes are predicted to decrease, coupled with altered growth rates, although this is speciesspecific. Studies indicate a loss of functional diversity in fish assemblages, often replaced by species more tolerant to warm and slow-water conditions, or by carnivores. While invasive species can introduce novel traits, they often contribute to an overall decrease in functional and taxonomic diversity. Fish with preferences for cold water, fast flows, and clean spawning substrates are particularly vulnerable. Addressing these complex, multi-factorial impacts is crucial for effective conservation strategies. Addressing these challenges requires an integrative, multidisciplinary approach, prioritizing vulnerable populations, implementing adaptive management strategies, enhancing habitat resilience, and fostering international cooperation to mitigate the pervasive and complex threats posed by a changing climate.

The major challenge of the present time in agriculture is implementing sustainable development and meeting the food needs of increasing population simultaneously. Agricultural extension always remains an integral part of National Agricultural Policy. At present, agricultural extension has a crucial role to play in the context of growing demands of agricultural production in a sustainable manner. In this situation extension’s traditional task of transferring and disseminating appropriate technologies and agronomic practices would not be sufficient. There is need to view extension for sustainable development in an institutional strengthening context, both in functional and structural.

Safe harbour : Protection from the rough seas of regulation. Laws and regulations often include a safe harbour clause that sets out the circumstances in which otherwise regulated firms or individuals can do something without regulatory oversight or interference.

Sample : A selected subset of a population. A sample may be random or non-random and it may be representative or non-representative.

Satisficing : Settling for what is good enough, rather than the best that is possible. This may occur in any situation in which decision makers are trying to pursue more than one goal at a time. Classical economics and neo-classical economics assume that individuals, firms and governments try to achieve the optimum, best possible outcome from their decisions. Satisficing assumes they decide for each goal a level of achievement that would be good enough and try to find a way to achieve all of these sub-optimal goals at once. This approach to decision making is commonplace in behavioural economics. It can be regarded as a realist’s theory of how decisions are taken.

Savings : Any income that is not spent. Ultimately, savings are the source of investment in an economy, although domestic savings may be supplemented by capital from foreign savers or themselves be invested abroad. In an economic sense, savings include purchases of shares or other financial securities. However, many official measures of a country’s savings ratio—total savings expressed as a percentage of total income—leave out such financial transactions. At times when the demand for financial securities is unusually high, this can give a misleading impression of how much saving is taking place. How much individuals save varies significantly among different age groups (see life-cycle hypothesis) and nationalities. Everywhere, people of all ages save more as their income rises. The supply of savings rises when interest rates rise; a rise in interest rates causes demand for funds to invest to fall; a rise in demand for investment funds may cause interest rates, and thus the cost of capital, to rise. The level of savings is also influenced by changes in wealth (see wealth effect) and by taxation policies.