eChapters

Abstract

Milk is the almost complete and highly nutritious food for mammals, as it supplies all the energy and nutrients needed for the proper growth and development of the neonate. Milk proteins are considered the most key source of bioactive peptides and an increasing number of bioactive peptides have been identified in fermented dairy products and milk protein hydrolysates,. These bioactive peptides are sequences between 2 and 20 amino acids that improve the physiological functions and inhibit chronic diseases. The bioactive peptides are inactive within the sequence of the origin protein and can be released by addition of various types of proteolytic enzymes, coagulation enzymes and starter culture during milk processing. Once bioactive peptides are release in the body, these peptides may act as regulatory compounds with hormone-like activity. Furthermore, bioactive peptides from milk proteins have many biological activities such as antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antithrombotic, antioxidant, mineral binding, and anti-diabetic. Due to their physiological and physico-chemical variability, milk bioactive peptides are considered as greatly important components for health stimulating foods or pharmaceutical applications. Over the past few decades, major advances and developments have been achieved on the novel bioactive peptide and commercial applications of bioactive components which are present naturally in the milk. The aim of this chapter is to focus on the bioactive peptide present in milk, extraction of bioactive peptide, functional capability of bioactive peptides in milk and their importance in human health including bio active peptide based commercial dairy products.

Extension Program

Planning an extension program involves decision- making about the work of the organization. Extension program planning covers a set of objectives to be achieved by various activities included in the planning. Extension organization needs to decide the goal it aims at, the target group, the content of extension message, its use, and organization of all activities. The program includes situation analysis, and an action plan for solving people’s problems which is drawn in advance. Extension workers have to decide the goals, target group, messages, extension methods, and media and organization of activities. While setting the goal, the perception of the present situation and the vision of the desired situation should be borne in mind. The target group is normally larger than the extension worker contacts directly or through mass media. The target group can be contacted indirectly. The extension content depends on the goal, the target group, and the extension strategy. The content should be so selected that it can be implemented with the resources available to the farmers locally. A combination of extension methods need to be used. The extension program needs to be flexible and can be easily implemented by the organization.

Extension Program Planning

Extension program planning indicates an account of the activities to be undertaken by the organization.

The essential phases of program planning in extension are analyzing the situation, setting goals and objectives, identifying problems and gaps, developing work plan, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and reconsideration.

Bleeding disorders can be either congenital, present from birth, or acquired, developing later in life. Defects in blood clotting proteins typically result in delayed bleeding and deep tissue bruising, whereas platelet defects often lead to superficial bruises, nosebleeds, black stools, and prolonged bleeding at injection sites or during surgery. Blood clotting tests can identify animals with defective clotting proteins, but they are not very sensitive.
Congenital Clotting Protein Disorders
Congenital clotting protein disorders are present from birth, and severe deficiencies or defects in these proteins typically manifest early in life. Such severe defects can be fatal, with affected animals often being stillborn or dying shortly after birth. Additionally, a lack of clotting proteins or vitamin K in a newborn can exacerbate clotting issues. If the level of a specific clotting protein is only 5 to 10% of normal, the newborn might survive but is likely to show signs of illness before reaching 6 months of age.
Hypofibrinogenemia, characterized by an abnormal shortage of fibrinogen in the blood and severe bleeding, has been observed in Saint Bernards. Dysfibrinogenemia, which involves abnormally functioning fibrinogen, has been reported in an inbred family of Russian Wolfhounds. Affected dogs experience mild bleeding problems, such as nosebleeds, but may suffer life-threatening bleeding from injuries or surgeries. The best treatment for this condition is intravenous transfusion with fresh or fresh-frozen plasma.
Factor II (prothrombin) disorders are rare. Prothrombin is a key protein in blood clotting. In Boxer dogs, prothrombin is present in normal amounts but does not function properly. Affected puppies may experience nosebleeds and bleeding gums, which tend to improve with age. In adult dogs, easy bruising and inflamed skin are common. Treatment involves transfusions of whole blood or plasma Factor VII deficiency has been reported in several breeds, including Beagles, English Bulldogs, Alaskan Malamutes, Miniature Schnauzers, Boxers, and mixed-breed dogs. This condition can lead to prolonged bleeding after giving birth and is often diagnosed incidentally during clotting tests.

Agricultural meteorology stands as a cornerstone discipline in ensuring global food security, optimizing resource utilization, and fostering sustainable agricultural practices. In an era marked by increasing climate variability and the profound impacts of long-term climate change, the need for a dynamic and forward-thinking research agenda in this field has never been more critical. This chapter serves as a roadmap, outlining a comprehensive research agenda for the new generation of agricultural meteorologists, one that directly confronts the escalating challenges while strategically capitalizing on the unprecedented opportunities offered by technological advancements and enhanced data availability.
• The complexities introduced by a rapidly changing climate – characterized by more frequent and intense extreme weather events, shifts in growing seasons, and altered pest and disease patterns – demand innovative research approaches. Simultaneously, breakthroughs in sensor technology, remote sensing capabilities, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and communication platforms present unprecedented opportunities to revolutionize how we monitor, understand, predict, and respond to the intricate interactions between weather, climate, and agricultural systems.
• A well-defined and meticulously managed research agenda is paramount to effectively channel our collective scientific efforts. It provides a framework for identifying critical knowledge gaps, prioritizing research endeavors, fostering collaboration across disciplines, and ultimately, maximizing the impact of our investigations. Strategic research management ensures the efficient allocation of resources, promotes rigorous scientific inquiry, facilitates the seamless translation of research findings into practical, onthe- ground solutions, and informs evidence-based policy decisions that can bolster the resilience and productivity of the agricultural sector.
• Recognizing the diverse ecosystem of researchers who contribute to the advancement of agricultural meteorology, it is imperative to delineate specific research areas that are both relevant and achievable for individuals at various stages of their academic and professional journeys. This chapter will therefore provide a clear demarcation of research avenues suitable for Masters students seeking foundational research experiences, doctoral

Introduction
• Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/ cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behavior, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis and meiosis. Techniques used include karyotyping analysis of G-band chromosomes, as well as molecular cytogenetics such as fluorescent in situ hybridization (CGH). Cytogenetic approaches to studying chromosomes and their relationship to human disease have improved greatly over the past several decades.
As a mature enterprise, cytogenetics now inform genomics, disease and cancer genetics, chromosomes evolution and the relationship of nuclear structure to function. Cytogenetics involves testing samples of tissue, blood or bone marrow in a laboratory to look for changes in chromosomes including broken, missing, rearranged or extra chromosome. Cytogenetics may used to help diagnose a disease or condition, plan treatment or find out how well treatment is working.
Chromosomes
Chromosomes are the rod shaped; dark-stained bodies seen during metaphase stage of mitosis. The chromosomes are the nuclear components of special organization, individuality and function. They are capable of self-reproduction and play a vital role in heredity, mutation, variation and evolutionary development of the species. Chromosomes are thread-like structure located inside the nucleus. Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure. The number of chromosomes is constant for a particular species. Therefore, these are of great importance in the determination of the phylogeny and taxonomy of the species. The number of chromosomes varies from species to species but the number remains constant in a species. But sometime, due to certain accidents or irregularities at the time of cell division, crossing over or fertilization some alteration in morphology and number of chromosomes takes place. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes-22 pairs of numbered chromosomes, called autosomes, and one pair of sex chromosome, X and Y. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair so that offspring get half of their chromosomes from mother and half from their father.

Nucleic acids were first discovered in 1868 by Friedrich Meischer. Nucleic acids are high molecular weight polymers that are present in our cells. They  store and transfer genetic material from generation to generation. Knowledge of how genes are expressed and how they can be manipulated is becoming increasingly important for understanding   of nearly every aspect of biochemistry. These macromolecules pass on information for cellular growth and reproduction.  All the genetic information in the cells is called the genome. Every time a cell divides, the information is copied and passed on to the new cells.
 
Nucleic acids fall into two main classes according to the type of sugar they contain: the Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and Ribonucleic acids (RNA). Some sections  of  the  DNA  called  genes contain the information to make a protein. RNA translates the genetic information in the DNA to the ribosomes, where the synthesis of proteins takes place.

Introduction

In geographical location, the observations taken in proximity tend to be more alike than observations made at points that are far apart-that is, the values tend to be correlated. An area of study that takes this sort of spatial consideration into account is called geostatistics. A primary motivation for sampling is to make meaningful estimates of values at nearby positions in space and time. When values are assumed independent, the best estimate for an unmeasured point will be the mean. However, for correlated values nearby values are estimated by interpolation. The simplest interpolation scheme is a nearest neighbor estimate for which the unknown values are based on the closest measured location. Inverse distance is another sort of interpolation technique where weights are estimated based on the inverse distance squared. Kriging is a geostatistical interpolation technique that considers both the distance and the degree of variation between known data points when estimating values in unknown areas.

It makes the best use of existing knowledge by taking account of the way that a property varies in space through the variogram model. In its original formulation a kriged estimate at a place was simply a linear sum or weighted average of the data in its neighbourhood. Weights are based on the distance between the measured points, the prediction locations, and the overall spatial arrangement among the measured points. Since then kriging has been elaborated to tackle increasingly complex problems in mining, petroleum engineering, pollution control and abatement, and public health. The term is now generic, embracing several distinct kinds of kriging, both linear and non-linear.

6.1 Introduction

One of the key challenges in the 21^st century is that Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) have to respond to an unpredictable and changing climate. In India Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) is the umbrella project for Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) and it intends to link AAS to different sources of knowledge and innovations to respond to the climate change at root level farmers. The main aim of GKMS is to create effective, efficient and synergistic linkages to improve the delivery of these AAS to the farmers. GKMS works under the frame work of India Meteorological Department (IMD) which seeks to enhance the livelihood of every Indian farmer. 

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) belongs to family Moraceae, is the largest edible fruit in the world (Naik, 1949 and Sturrock, 1977). It is one of the most popular and important fruit crops and is the national fruit of Bangladesh (Haque, 1977). The jackfruit tree is widely cultivated in tropical regions of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Jackfruit is alsofound across Africa, e.g., in Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mauritius, as well asthroughout Brazil and Caribbean nations such as Jamaica. However, jackfruit originally native to Indian subcontinent, is now widely cultivated in the tropics of both hemispheres (Ochas et al., 1981).

Concept of Environmental Impact Assessment Introduction, what it is, who does it, how it is done?

Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the estimation of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action.

Introduction to EIA

An EIA may be defined as: a formal process to predict the environmental consequences of human development activities and to plan appropriate techniques to eliminate or reduce adverse effects and to augment positive effects. to enhance positive effects.

Abstract
Aquatic sustainability is vital for maintaining the health and productivity of aquatic ecosystems. Human activities have significantly impacted these environments, leading to pollution, habitat destruction, and biodiversity loss. Green technologies offer innovative solutions to address these challenges. Key components of aquatic sustainability include biodiversity, water quality, ecosystem health, resource management, and social equity. Aquatic sustainability is crucial for food security, economic benefits, climate regulation, cultural and recreational values, and ecosystem services. Current challenges facing aquatic ecosystems include pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species, plastic pollution, and habitat degradation. Green technologies play a crucial role in addressing
these challenges by reducing pollution, promoting sustainable fisheries management, mitigating climate change, restoring habitats, conserving water, and monitoring aquatic ecosystems. Green technologies such as advanced water filtration systems, nanotechnology, bio-inspired filters, desalination technologies, UV-C light, ozone, eco-friendly wastewater management, integrated constructed wetlands, biological treatment systems, remediation technologies, natural infrastructure solutions, and biodegradable materials offer sustainable and effective solutions for aquatic sustainability.
Keywords: Aquatic sustainability, Pollution, Green energy, Nanotechnology

Carbohydrate metabolism in the cell is essentially the metabolism of glucose and other substances related to glucose in their metabolic processes. The chemical reactions involved in carbohydrate metabolism represents complex groups, sequences, and cycles of reactions which integrate at various points with the reactions concerned in the metabolism of lipids and proteins. The major types of chemical processes involved in carbohydrate metabolism may be grouped as follows: a) Anabolism of starch – Photosynthesis, b) Catabolism of starch, c) Catabolism of glucose – 1. Glycolysis and TCA cycle and 2. Oxidative pentose   phosphate pathway.
 
Plant cells “burn “ glucose for energy. Plants also produce sugars through photosynthesis. This is roughly the reverse of the burning process.

Introduction

Brinjal, Solanum melongena L. a solanaceous and the native vegetable of India is very favourite among the Indians. It is an economically important vegetable among the small scale farmers and low income consumers of India. It ensures some assured source of income to the resource poor farmers throughout the year due to long fruiting and harvesting period. Brinjal fruits are of a low calorie value and have a mineral composition that is beneficial for human health; these fruits are rich source of minerals (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chlorine, iron etc.) and vitamins and have some medicinal importance (Choudhary, 1967). In India, brinjal is grown on the wide range of soils and other variable environmental conditions. In production and productivity, India stands second in the world after China which is mainly grown in the states like West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The world production of brinj al in the year 2016 was estimated to be 51.29 million MT in an area of 1.79 million hectare with productivity of 28.59 MT per ha China, the world leader of brinjal production produced 32.03 million tones of brinjal with a productivity of40.96 Mt per ha in an area of 0.78 million ha. The productivity of brinjal as compared to China is very less (18.90 MT/ha) in India although we are the second largest producer ofthis popular vegetable (FAOSTAT Website (http://faostat3.fao.org/home/E).

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, the rural communities of Trivandrum have been preserving small tracts of virgin forests or small groves since time immemorial due to strong religious beliefs anointed with the groves. These forest patches are biodiversity rich communities and a large number of medicinal plants of the region are confined to these groves only. The indigenous people use the plants for medicinal as well as religious purposes. Over the years, such forests have been attributed as a treasure trove of threatened species and dispensary of medicinal plants. During the investigation, 132 medicinal plants belonging to 63 families and 119 genera were recorded from 25 miniature sacred forests of Trivandrum district. This study was based on medicinal plants used in traditional health care by local and indigenous people. About 80% local people use different parts of plants for various ailments. The present finding revealed that most of the plants are used for skin diseases, cold, cough and fever, etc. Leaves are predominantly used than the other plant parts. Important families within the groves were Apocynaceae, Papilionaceae, Urticaceae, Combretaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Presence of a large number of monospecific families indicates immediate need of a conservation measure to secure sustainable utilization of medicinal plants of sacred groves of Trivandrum district.

Introduction

The horticulture sector is contributing over 30 per cent share in agricultural GDP of the country. Presently, India producing about 351.92 million tons of horticultural produce from 28.04 million hectare which has surpassed the food grain production for last five consecutive years (Anonymous, 2023). Horticulture sector has been identified by Government of India also identified horticulture as one of the vital sector for entrepreneurship development, employment generation, livelihood and nutritional security, doubling farmer’s income, achieving SDGs of the United Nations.

Fruits and vegetables have become part of a modern healthy lifestyle as they possess high amounts of minerals, especially electrolytes, dietary fiber, phytochemicals, especially antioxidants, and vitamins (Yahia et al., 2019; Krishnan Kesavan et al., 2023). In consumption, the qualities of products play a critical role in consumers’ choices, which are directly related to health problems (Tian, and Xu, 2022). Bioactive compounds are phytochemical substances present in small quantities in plant materials that can provide biological activity, being generally associated with health benefits, including hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antithrombotic, anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic and prevention of cardiovascular and degenerative diseases (Campoli et al., 2018). Therefore, maintaining high-quality fruits and vegetables is very important for the fruit and vegetable industry. This requires some methods to evaluate the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables during their post-harvest manipulation and storage and before their industrial processing as well (Tian and Xu, 2022).

Preanesthetic agents are so named because they are usually given to prepare the patient for administration of an anesthetic agent for one or more of the following reasons:

    1.    To reduce the amount of general anesthetic needed and increase the margin of safety.
    2.    To calm the patient so that anesthesia can be administrated without fright or struggling. 
    3.    To reduce secretions of salivary glands (antisialogogue) and mucous glands of the respiratory tract, thus maintaining a free airway. 
    4.    To reduce gastric and intestinal motility and prevent vomiting while the patient is under anesthesia. 
    5.    To block the vagal reflex, thus prevent cardiac slowing or arrest (bradycardia).

DNA replication. The double helix is unwound and each strand acts as a template. Bases are matched to synthesize the new partner strands.

DNA replication, the basis for biological inheritance, is a fundamental process occurring in all living organisms to copy their DNA. This process is “replication” in that each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the reproduction of the complementary strand. Therefore, following DNA replication, two identical DNA molecules have been produced from a single double-stranded DNA molecule. Cellular proofreading and error toe-checking mechanisms ensure near perfect fidelity for DNA replication.

In a cell, DNA replication begins at specific locations in the genome, called “origins”.

Unwinding of DNA at the origin, and synthesis of new strands, forms a replication fork. In addition to DNA polymerase, the enzyme that synthesizes the new DNA by adding nucleotides matched to the template strand, a number of other proteins are associated with the fork and assist in the initiation and continuation of DNA synthesis.

Introduction

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L., Family: Malvaceae) also known as lady’s finger has been originated in Africa and introduced to India during early 20^th century. As an economical vegetable crop, it can be grown in tropical as well as sub-tropical parts of the world. During 2018-19, the total area under cultivation of okra was 511 thousand ha while the production stood at 6219 thousand MT in India (Horticulture Statistics Division, 2018). Okra can be grown on wide range of soils, but higher yield can be obtained in well-drained fertile soils with adequate organic matter. It is utilized for various purposes in terms of fresh leaves, buds, flowers, pods and stems providing a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, calcium, potassium, enzymes, and total minerals in human diet. The mucilage has medicinal applications when used as a plasma replacement (Nilesh, et al., 2012), and the seeds contain 20 to 40% oil content (Sorapong, 2012).

Okra pods (per 100 g edible portion) are composed of water (88.6 g), energy (36 kcal), protein (2.10 g), carbohydrate (8.20 g), fat (0.20 g), fibre (1.70 g), Ca (84.00 mg), P (90.00 mg), Fe (1.20 mg), p-carotene (185.00 μg), riboflavin (0.08 mg), thiamine (0.04 mg), niacin (0.60 mg) and ascorbic acid (47.00 mg) ((Priya, et al., 2014).). Therefore, okra has been called as “a perfect villager’s vegetable” due to its robust nature, high dietary fibre as well as distinct seed protein with a balance of both lysine and tryptophan amino acids. Okra production is subjected to various diseases caused by fungi, virus and nematodes as a major biotic constraint. The mandates of integrated disease management of okra are to impart knowledge about symptoms, causal organism, disease cycle and epidemiology of major diseases. The present review will give a brief highlight about major diseases of okra viz. yellow vein mosaic, wilt, powdery mildew, cercospora leaf spot, damping off, collar rot and root knot nematode.

Abstract

Agriculture, like any other economic activity, needs finance. Crop productivity in India is low due to traditional farming practices and agricultural production must increase to achieve self-sufficiency and save foreign exchange. Therefore, credit is vital for enhancing agricultural production. Credit helps develop fixed farm assets and can be classified into short-term loans, medium-term loans, and long-term loans, according to studies on the relationship between agricultural growth and credit availability. However, credit withdrawal might cause a decline in conditions, while credit provision with stagnant production conditions won’t improve output. Since production conditions are dynamic, loan requirements would grow from year to year even if input stay constant.