eChapters

1. Introduction

Libraries play a crucial role as community centers that promote education, culture, and individual growth at a time when information is the currency of advancement. Rural libraries, however, confront unique difficulties that set them apart from their urban counterparts. Rural libraries often struggle with limited funding, being geographically isolated, and having difficulty obtaining technology infrastructure. Yet, in order to guarantee that rural libraries can provide the same caliber of service as their counterparts in larger cities, pricing and accessibility become vital factors. And in light of all of that, they continue to be vital community hubs that contribute significantly to education, cultural enrichment, and lifelong learning.

Open source solutions hold a lot of promise for addressing these problems.Open source software solutions are more affordable and flexible than proprietary software systems, allowing them to be tailored to the specific needs of any rural library. Among other reasons, the library staff finds it easier to catalog documents when they use these kinds of systems. Because these systems use simpler circulation techniques, they assist them with saving expenses while guaranteeing higher user involvement.

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.

20.1 Introduction

Physiological adaptations for air-breathing in bony fishes have fascinated researchers for well over a century. The metabolic rate of some fish is so high that dissolved oxygen in water becomes insufficient. Prolonged drought causes some f ish to develop devices to survive in the absence of water for a short period. To overcome these challenges, fishes have developed accessory respiratory organs that can function in both aquatic and aerial environments.

As an adaptation to specific environmental conditions, accessory respiratory organs develop in addition to the gills. The development of these organs is dependent on the availability of extra oxygen. The development of an accessory respiratory organ is most common in tropical freshwater fishes.

This chapter provides a readily available means of reference for helping in life threatening emergencies, accidents and for providing first aid, where any delay caused by the lack of medication or non-availability of the doctor can have serious consequences either in terms of life or in terms of resulting serious sickness.

As soon as possible competent medical help should be availed of in emergencies and accidents. In the meanwhile the homoeopathic medicines suggested hereafter would provide relief, would halt deterioration in most cases and may save life in many instances.

Emergencies can be life threatening. One of these can be severe haemorrhage, where copious bleeding can lead to death. Obstruction of breathing for different reasons is a matter for concern. Serious accidents are life threatening because there may be unmanageable bleeding, shock and pain.

Below, a list of few medicines and other items required for first aid in emergencies has been given. This can be helpful in homes, in factories and offices.

ABSTRACT

Queens of 4 post-emergence colonies of primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia marginata were observed for their propensity to acquire and handle foraged material on naturally occurring free foraging nest. The queens were inclined to acquire pulp loads than food loads. 

Objectives of book keeping

How much have we earned this year?

How much during the past year?

Is our business improving?

Also, how much cash do we have?

How much our customers owe us?

Book Keeping

What is book keeping?

Book keeping is defined as;

1. The art of recording business transactions (pecuniary transactions) in a regulator and systematic manner.
2. Book keeping is the science and art of correctly recording in books of accounts all those business transactions that result in the transfer of money or money’s worth.
3. Book keeping is an art of recording day to day business transactions in a set of books in a most systematic manner.
4. It is the process of analysing, classifying and recording transaction in accordance with preconceived plan.

MEANING & DEFINITION OF ACCOUNTING

Accounting is the science of recording, classifying and summarizing business transactions and events primarily of a financial character in a significant manner and interpreting and communicating the results to decision-making persons thereof.

The AICPA defined, Accounting is the process that are used in accounting, recording, classifying, summarizing and interpreting the monetary language in which financial language is expressed.

BOOK KEEPING & GENERAL ENTRY SYSTEM

Business Transactions can be recorded in any system, which provides the necessary financial position of a business and results of transactions. The Business transactions are recorded through systems of book keeping as maintained in accounting are as follows:

Book Keeping: This is an activity concerned with the recording of financial data relating to business operations in a significant and orderly manner. Book keeping is the record making phase of accounting. Accounting is based on a careful and an efficient book keeping system.

The essential idea behind maintaining book keeping records is to show correct position regarding each head of income and expenditure. It is concerned with the recording of business transaction in a significant and orderly manner which is mechanical and repetitive in character. 

Introduction

Accuracy and uncertainty analysis is an important step in preparation of surface map through geostatistical techniques or digital soil mapping approach. It is because that we rely on a map based on how much accurate it is and the degree of uncertainty associated with the estimates while the map was prepared. Any stakeholder for a soil map especially policy makers is interested in accuracy and uncertainty of the map before taking suitable land management decisions involving soil map as an input. Again the level of accuracy and uncertainty depends on the properties for which the map has been developed. If the property of interest is sensitive to environment or human consumption, then the accuracy level should be very high while the uncertainty level should be very low e.g. heavy metal concentration in soil, quality parameters of water etc.

Acetylcholinesterase activity in brain is measured by the method described by Ellman’s et al. (1961).

Reagents

1. Phosphate buffer (0.1M) (pH 8.0) Solution A: 5.22 g of K2 HPO4 and 4.68 g of NaH2 PO4 are dissolved in 150 ml of distilled water. Solution B: 6.2 g of NaOH is dissolved in 150 ml of distilled water. Solution B is added to solution A to get desire pH 8.0 and then finally the volume is made up to 300 ml with distilled water.

2. DTNB reagent 39.6 mg of DTNB with 15 mg of NaHCO3 is dissolved in 10 ml of 0.1 M phosphate buffer.

3. Acetylthiocholine (ATC) 21.67 mg of Acetylthiocholine is dissolved in 1 ml of distilled water.

Procedure

The brain tissue is weighed and 10% homogenate is made in 0.1M Phosphate buffer (pH 8.0). Take 0.4 ml aliquot of homogenate in a cuvette containing 2.6 ml phosphate buffer (0.1M) and 100 µl DTNB. The contents of the cuvette are mixed thoroughly by bubbling air and absorbance is measured at 412 nm in a spectrophotometer. When absorbance reached a stable value, it is recorded as the basal reading .To this 20 µl of acetylthiocholine is added and change in absorbance is recorded for a period of 10 min at intervals of 2 min. Change in the absorbance per minute determined.

“Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible.”

- Albert Einstein

Motivation– An inner state of need or desire that activates an individual to do something that will satisfy that need or desire.

The processes that are responsible for an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.

Key Elements

1. Intensity: how hard a person tries
2. Direction: toward the beneficial goal
3. Persistence: how long a person tries

Unique Achievement in Plant Breeding

Rice

TN-1: First dwarf variety of rice developed in world

IR-8: Second dwarf and first high yielding variety of rice developed in world

Jaya: First dwarf variety of rice developed in India

Many researchers successfully prepared synthetic seeds of crop plants. The major success of this technology is being elaborated in this chapter.

8.1. FIELD CROPS

Rice is the world’s most important food crop and a primary food source for more than one third of the world’s population. This crop has received considerable attention in biotechnology research progammes. Research in artificial seeds in rice is not scanty and this technology through somatic embryogenesis would offer a great scope for large-scale propagation of superior elite hybrids (Brar and Khush, 1994). However, success on artificial seeds research in field crops, especially cereals is still in infancy. However, many workers successfully encapsulated somatic and androgenic embryos of cereal crops (Datta and Potrykus, 1989; Suprasanna et al., 1996; Roy and Mandal, 2004 & 2008). Brar et al. (1994) emphasized the need for research on artificial seeds in rice through embryogenesis and outlined its impact on mass propagation of true-breeding hybrids. Somatic embryogenesis can also be used in the regeneration of genetically transformed plants (Vicient and Martinez, 1998). Subsequently those somatic embryos could be economically and successfully propagated though synthetic seed technology.

Introduction

The availability of food depends on the production and distribution while the access to food is determined by an individual’s purchasing power. Thus, the food security in the framework of economic welfare is the situation in which the lowest income strata has a near zero probability of being vulnerable to famine and in terms of calorie it requires a near zero probability of falling below the poverty line (Rentlinger and Selousky, 1978). Therefore, food security concerns every sovereign country, especially the developing and poor nations, owing to its profound implications for their socio-politico-economic stability and which co-exists with international diplomacy. According to 1998 annual report of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), about 73 million people would be added to the world’s population every year between 19952020 increasing it by 32 percent to reach at 7.5 billion. Much of the population growth is expected to occur in the developing countries mainly in India where the population is expected to increase by 36 percent to touch at 1.27 billion by 2020 and is likely to overtake China by 2035. Therefore, meeting the food and nutrition needs of growing and urbanized population with rising incomes will have profound implications for agricultural production and food security of the country and Himachal Pradesh is no exception.

Introduction

The optimum soil pH for plant production is one that is slightly acidic, at this pH soil microorganisms are most active and plant nutrients are readily available. At extremes of high (alkaline) and low (acidic) pH this delicate balance is disturbed and plant nutrients that were in adequate supply can become either deficient or toxic to plant growth. Some essential nutrients such as phosphorous, calcium, magnesium and molybdenum become unavailable if the soil pH becomes too acidic. Acidic conditions will result in a lowering of plant production in farming systems. This will result in reduced profitability and an increased reliance on fertilizers to sustain any form of productive agriculture. Correcting soil pH to a more favorable pH range will increase the availability of essential nutrients.

    1.    Acid soil
    2.    Causes of soil acidity   
    3.    Problem of soil acidity 
    4.    Management or Amelioration of soil acidity 
        a.    Lime requirement (LR): 
        b.    Liming reaction in soils      
        c.    Benefits of liming on acidic soils 
    5.    Calcareous soil  
    6.    Formation, characteristics & management of calcareous soil 

Introduction
In India acid soils occur in the high rainfall areas covering about 25 million hectares of land with a pH below 5.5 and 23 million hectares of land with a pH between 5.6 and 6.5. In India, acid soils occur in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, NEFA, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, MP, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat are the only states in India where acid soils do not occur. Soil acidity is a limiting factor affecting the growth and yield of many crops all over the world. The basic problems concerning chemical properties of more acid soils are, besides acidity itself, the presence of toxic compounds and elements, such as soluble forms of Al, Fe and Mn, nitrites and various toxic organic acids. Aluminium (Al) toxicity is one of the major constraints on crop productivity on acid soils, which occur on up to 40% of the arable lands of the world. Al is the third most abundant element in the earth’s crust and is toxic to plants when solubilised into soil solution at acidic pH values. Very few plants can grow well in strong acid soils. Soil acidity below pH value 5.5 is generally injurious to plants. Plant roots are badly affected if the pH value exceeds limits of tolerance for particular crops. High degree of soil acidity (pH 5.0 to 6.5) decreases the availability of plant nutrients particularly phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, molybdenum, iron, manganese, potassium sulphur nitrogen, boron, copper and zinc. It also affects adversely the important microbiological processes, such as nitrogen fixation by Azotobacter, Clostridium and nodule inhabiting bacteria (Rhizobia) of leguminous plants

Jharkhand state lies between 21º58’2" to 25º8’32" North latitude and 83º19’05"to 87º55’03" East longitude covering an area of about 7.97 m.ha. and accounts for  2.4 per cent of  the total geographical area (TGA) of the country. It is bound on the east by West Bengal, on the west by Chhattisgarh, on the north by Bihar and on the south by Odisha. Reliable information on the location, extent and quality of soil and land resources is the first requirement in planning for the sustainable management of land resources. The components of land i.e., soils, climate, water, nutrient and biota are organised into an eco-system, which provides a variety of services that are essential for the maintenance of the life support system and the productive capacity of the environment.

The north eastern hill region covers a large share of acid soils of India occupying 14.95 m ha which is a major constraint for sustainable crop production. Acid soil limits the availability of calcium and phosphorus in soil, lowers base saturation and reduces microbial activities in soil adversely affecting the crop growth and yield. About 95 % of the soils of this region, except Nagaland (about 70 %) are acidic in reaction. About 84, 77, 76, 60, 57 and 47 per cent soils of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura, respectively have soil pH below 5.0 and are considered strongly acidic (Panda, 1998). The soils are highly degraded because of heavy rainfall and removal of top soils. Land slides are also contributing towards land degradation. About 16 % of the area is affected by water erosion (www.india stat.com). About 53.8, 28.2, 42.6, 53.9, 89.2, 60, 33 and 59.9 per cent  area are degraded in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, respectively. Including Assam, north-east constitutes 80 % of the total area under acid soils of the country. The land use pattern of north-east region is presented in table 1 and area, production, yield of foodgrains and fertilizer consumption are presented in Table 2.