eChapters

Imagine the lifeblood of a nation’s energy grid thinning to a trickle. This is the stark reality when prolonged droughts grip regions heavily reliant on the oncemighty force of hydroelectric power. While the allure of clean, renewable energy from flowing water has positioned hydropower as a cornerstone of electricity generation globally, its dependence on a consistent and abundant water supply renders it exceptionally vulnerable to the increasingly frequent and intense droughts sweeping the planet. This chapter embarks on a critical exploration of the intricate and often strained relationship between these two forces: the essential need for water in sustaining hydroelectric power and the devastating impact of its absence during drought conditions Moving beyond a simple definition, we will delve into the multifaceted ways in which droughts cripple hydroelectric facilities, from dwindling reservoir levels that starve turbines to the cascading effects on energy security, economic stability, and ecological balance. We will traverse the globe, examining compelling case studies from drought-stricken regions, revealing the tangible consequences for communities and industries. Furthermore, this chapter will unpack the complex interplay of factors that exacerbate

Drought, characterized by prolonged periods of abnormally low rainfall, is a recurring and devastating natural phenomenon with profound implications for global agriculture. Among the sectors most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of drought is livestock production. This chapter, “Droughts and Livestock Production,” delves into the intricate relationship between these two critical elements, exploring the multifaceted challenges and consequences that drought poses to livestock farming across diverse geographical contexts The chapter will examine how water scarcity, a hallmark of drought, disrupts the delicate balance of feed availability, animal health, and overall productivity within livestock systems. It will further analyze the varied impacts of drought on different livestock species, considering their unique physiological needs and vulnerabilities. Beyond the immediate 

The 21st century has ushered in an era of unprecedented drought challenges, with far-reaching implications for global ecosystems, economies, and human societies. The increased frequency, severity, and duration of droughts worldwide have pushed water resources, agricultural systems, and communities to the brink, underscoring the pressing need for comprehensive understanding and proactive management. • One of the most striking aspects of modern droughts is their capacity to affect vast geographic areas, transcending national borders and impacting multiple sectors simultaneously. The 2012 drought in the United States, for instance, affected over 80% of the country, leading to significant economic losses in agriculture and beyond. Similarly, the 2018 Cape Town water crisis brought the city to the edge of “Day Zero,” where the taps would run dry, highlighting the devastating potential of droughts on urban water systems. • The impacts of droug

Key Points

• Drowning is a common cause of accidental death in animals.

• Submersion in water or other fluids prevents atmospheric air from reaching the lungs.

• To diagnose drowning, trustworthy witnesses and a history of drowning at the accident location are required.

Introduction

Drowning or immersion is a type of asphyxial death caused by a body being submerged in water or another fluid medium and preventing atmospheric air from reaching the lungs. Drowning isn't always fatal. When a drowning causes death, it is known as a fatal drowning. Complete submersion is not required for lethal drowning; simply submerging the nose and mouth is sufficient. Drowning is a difficult process. It comprises liquid aspiration, struggle, involuntary movements, dyspnea, and cardiovascular responses. Drowning ultimately leads to hypoxia and death.

Although women work in household chores, agricultural activities, factories, and different workplaces in days of yore, their valuable work is still not recognized as a financial entity (Kathrivel and Sivakumar, 2003). The multiple roles performed by ‘Nari shakti share many working hours, but financial terms are off the records. Women’s power at construction work is greater utilization as labour and their daily routine employment. 

Agriculture is of paramount importance in most developing countries because large proportion of the population involved and the need to maintain national food production. It is generally accepted though not fully proven, that health and productivity are positively correlated. This is of particular  relevance because many agricultural tasks in developing countries demand high level of strenuous activity (Anonymous, 1987). Investment to improve agricultural worker’s health would be justified on both humanitarian and economic grounds. Nearly half of the available human resources in India are women.  It has been roughly estimated that women represent 50% of population and have contributed about 10% of income and own less than 1 % of the world’s property.  The population of farm women are involved in sowing, transplanting, weeding, winnowing, drying, bringing drinking water and firewood, cleaning and dehusking.  Most of the drudgery prone tasks for women in agriculture are cutting uprooting, transplanting, weeding and sowing and post harvest tasks like manual threshing of maize, millets and pulses, sieving and cleaning. For groundnut, after the harvesting, removal of nuts and cleaning of groundnut seeds are also performed  manually. Further, sieving, cleaning are performed by winnowing followed by traditional sieve. (Badiger et al. 2006).  Studies have pointed out that farm activities that are time and labour intensive, monotonous, repetitive and more drudgery prone are generally performed by women.

Introduction

‘Health is wealth’ is a common saying. Every individual should take care of his physical and mental health. During work performance, if an activity leads to any health problem it is referred to as an occupational health hazard, which needs urgent attention. In agriculture, occupational health problems sometimes amount to incurable diseases/disorders.

Meaning of Occupational Health Hazards

Occupational hazard is something that causes harm to a working person, in terms of injury or ill health, damage to property, workplace environment, or a combination of both. In India, farm women contribute as farmers, agricultural workers, and entrepreneurs. As per the 2012 census data, women’s share was 55%, which is projected to be 65% by 2025. They are the backbone of the agricultural rural economy but still are one of the most vulnerable groups. Though nowadays, mechanization is gaining importance due to various reasons, it has yet not reached farm women, who are still not recognized as ‘farmers’, and the machinery is designed to suit the men’s folk. The role of women in farming operations like transplanting, harvesting, post-harvest management, and packaging, which are drudgery-prone, are on the increase. Considering these facts, the tools’ designers should give due thought when designing agricultural tools and equipment, to address farm women’s drudgery.

The ability to inject a drug into a free ranging animal using a remote injection system is a main stay of zoo and wild life medicine and the accepted and routine procedures of today for anesthetizing free ranging, dangerous, or hyper excitable animals are to be well understood for the proper preventive medical procedures, medical treatment, surgery, or scientific study. However, all these were earlier existing only as a dream, until remote injection-based gadgets like darts, blow pipes and distant drug-delivery gadgets like pistol and rifle were duly developed, in conjunction with safer injectable anesthetics.

Summary

The process of administration of a drug into the human body to cure a disease is regarded as drug delivery. The common routes of administration of the drugs include oral, nasal, inhalational, transdermal, dermal, ocular, rectal and vaginal. In the current chapter, an attempt has been made to discuss about the various methodologies which are being used to deliver the drug to the human patients.

Abstract

Drug design is a complex computational process that involves studying the structural and physicochemical properties of biological moieties in order to identify new chemical or biochemical substances that can be used as drugs with specific pharmacological properties. The drug discovery pipeline is a crucial aspect of drug design that requires a detailed understanding of the various phases involved. In this chapter, we discuss the fundamental principles and phases of drug design. Additionally, we delve into the concept of docking, a critical step in the drug discovery process that involves predicting the orientation and affinity of a ligand binding to a protein target. The use of computational tools and techniques in drug design has revolutionized the field and is essential for the development of safe and effective drugs.

Medicinal plants and their various products are extensively utilized not only in traditional systems of medicine but also in modern medicine throughout the world. In recent times, they have also attracted attention of scientists encompassing various disciplines of medicine and biotechnology for search of new drug molecules and modern drug development. Although several research strategies are followed for drug development only the traditional, empirical and molecular methods/strategies are mostly applied. There is also need of scientific validation for safety, efficacy and rational use of traditional form of medicine along with development of standards for identity, purity and strength (Singh and Bagchi, 2002).

Approaches of Drug Developement

Following approaches are generally employed to discover and invent new therapeutic agents from plants viz. screening of plant materials, identification of active constituents, pharmacological and clinical evaluation and drug design.

Drug distribution
Drug distribution refers to the process of ensuring that pharmaceutical products, including controlled substances like narcotics, reach healthcare providers, pharmacies, and patients efficiently, safely, and legally. A well-organized drug distribution system ensures product quality, timely availability, and compliance with regulatory standards. Given the sensitivity around narcotics, their distribution requires enhanced monitoring to prevent diversion and misuse.
Definitions
In-Patient Distribution
This refers to the process of delivering medications to patients who are admitted to a hospital or healthcare facility. Medications are typically managed by pharmacists who ensure that patients receive the correct drugs based on their treatment plans.
Out-Patient Distribution
This involves dispensing medications to patients who are not admitted to a healthcare facility. Patients receive their prescriptions from outpatient pharmacies or clinics.
Individual Prescription Order Method
The individual prescription order method involves preparing medications separately for each patient based on a physician’s prescription. The pharmacy receives the prescription and dispenses a specific amount of medicine for the prescribed duration. This method is used in both in-patient and out-patient settings, though it is more common in the latter.

Tissue Collection

Rats are most commonly employed as test subjects to conduct the experiments related to drug metabolizing enzyme assays involving various enzymes i.e. microsomal and non microsomal enzymes. Rats are humanely sacrificed at the end of the exposure period of 28 days of any therapeutic agents or drug and the liver of all the animals has to excise and immediately wash with ice-cold normal saline, weigh and perfuse with ice-cold 1.15% KCl solution containing 0.05 mM EDTA. Livers are processed further for preparation of microsomes for determination of microsomal drug metabolizing enzymes.

Preparation of Microsomes

Livers tissues are homogenized in 3 volumes (1:3) of ice-cold (1-4o C) homogenization buffer containing 1.15% potassium chloride in 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4). The homogenates are centrifuged at 15000 g for 30 min (Hitachi cs120GX II). The mitochondrial supernatant (8 ml) is transferred to ultracentrifuge tubes and spun at 105000 g for 1 hour in ultracentrifuge to sediment the microsomal pellet. Cytosolic fractions are collected from the middle separating the lipid layer on top in separate micro centrifuge tubes. The microsomal pellet is then washed by adding 8 ml of resuspension buffer (homogenization buffer containing 0.05 mM EDTA) and spun again 105000 g for 15 min. The microsomal pellet so obtained is resuspended in 4 ml of resuspension buffer and 1 ml aliquots are stored immediately at -80o C until assayed for drug metabolizing enzymes.

Introduction
Haemoprotozoan diseases are highly prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical countries owing to the ubiquitous distribution of ticks and blood-sucking flies which are natural vectors for the pathogens. In India, theileriosis, babesiosis and trypanosomosis are major haemoprotozoan diseases and cause substantial economic losses to the livestock industry. Though vaccination of the susceptible stock by attenuated schizont vaccine is available for the control of tropical theileriosis in cattle, chemotherapy is the mainstay for the control of haemoprotozoan diseases. However, the limited available antihaemoprotozoan drugs is being depleted by a combination of two factors viz. emergence of drug resistance and the failure to replace old drugs (de Koning, 2017). Drug resistance against parasites is one of the emerging problems affecting veterinary health sector. Since last few decades, development of drug resistance in haemoprotozoan parasites to several drugs has been reported (Tuvshintulga et al., 2019; Ali et al., 2022). Though, understanding of drug resistance in parasitic protozoa is progressing steadily but possibly not as rapidly as parasites are becoming resistant to drugs. The genetic changes in the target sites, the reduced uptake and increased efflux of drugs, and metabolic regulations are the possible mechanism for the cause of drug resistance (Fairlamb et al., 2016). Anti-protozoan drug resistance has been reported in many economically important protozoa to isometamedium, diminazene aceturate, quinapyramine, suramin, melarsomine dihydrochloride, buparvaquone. The resistance initially evolves at genetic level of parasite with genetic traits that allow them to survive exposure to a drug, which is transferred to the subsequent generation thereby potentially increasing the percentage of resistant parasite that can survive subsequent exposure to the chemical. The emergence of drugresistant parasites has serious implications for treating clinical cases, leading to increased morbidity and mortality among the animals and control of the diseases.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test
The routine use of the modified Kirby-Bauer method is recommended.
Material
• Sterile cotton swabs
• Soyabean – Casein digest broth or Tryptone soya broth
• Non selective agar such as nutrient agar.
• 0.5 Mc Farland turbidity standard:
Solution A
Bacl2, 2H2O. 1.75G
Make upto 100 ml with distilled water.
Solution B
H2SO4 1.0 ml
Make upto 100 ml with distilled water.
Stock Solution
0.5 ml of solution A + 99.5 ml of solution B. Dispense in 5 ml amounts.
Seal and store in dark.
• Glass vials or tubes 10 ml capacity
• Muller – Hinton agar
• Antimicrobial discs
• Sterile forceps
• Ruler or calipers

Therapeutic Aspects of Drug-nutrient Interactions
Drug-nutrient interactions are expressed as physical, chemical, and pathophysiological relationships between a drug and a nutrient. This reaction is multifactorial. The drug has the potential ability to interact with nutrients which may lead to a reduction or enhancement of therapeutic efficacy, nutritional risk, and drug toxicity. Even such interactions lead to the discontinuation of drug therapy. But these kinds of interactions vary from person to person. Infants and children are the most vulnerable group in this concern as they are in the developmental phase where there is a lack of proper drug-metabolizing enzymes and inefficient renal function. Generally, DNIs signify negative impacts on human health but sometimes these interactions work in a positive way by reducing irritation in the GI tract or by increasing the absorption of drugs. Proper updated knowledge about DNIs is important for the appliance of diet therapy simultaneously with drug therapy as both of these are important strategies to manage or treat public health issues (Table 10.1., Table 10.2.).

Q1. Halothane is metabolized in to

1. Trifluoracetic acid
2. Inorganic chloride
3. Bromine
4. All the above

Q2. Psychomotor stimulants causes

1. Excitement
2. Relieve fatigue
3. Increase motor activity
4. All the above

Q3. Repeated administration of barbiturate causes

1. Tolerance
2. Drug dependence
3. Toxicity
4. All the above

Pathogenesis of heart failure in animals and humans is a complex phenomenon. The major abnormality in heart failure is myocardial contractility failure, disturbances in rhythm and rate of the heart, disturbances of pre load and after load, forward failure, backward failure, fluid accumulation, RAAS activation, hypoperfusion of organs, oxidative stress, activation of proinflammatory cytokines etc.

Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.)  commonly known as drumstick or sehjna is a multipurpose tree of India and grown intensively in the tropics and sub-tropics. It is a vitamin rich, mineral packed and nutritious vegetable crop. The name drumstick is derived from the pod shape resembling the slender and curved stick used for beating drum. Fruits are also resembled with the siliqua of radish and hence the name is “radish tree’’. Ancient Indian literature mentioned that moringa is an interesting plant due to its widespread uses in socio-economic for food, medicine, agriculture and industry.

Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is one of the most popular perennial vegetables grown in South India. It is commonly grown as a unique vegetable. Its fruits, leaves and flowers are equally useful. They are cut into slices and used in the preparation of a number of food items. Moringa oleifera is the most widely cultivated species of a monogeneric family, the Moringaceae. The tree is indigenous to North West India. It is found wild in the sub Himalayan tract from the river Chenab eastward to the Sarda and in Tarai tract of Uttaranchal in India. Moringa is native to the sub-Himalayan tracts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. This rapidly growing tree (also known as horseradish tree, drumstick tree, benzolive tree, kelor, marango, mlonge, moonga, mulangay, nébéday, saijhan, sajna or Ben oil tree, radish tree, West Indian ben), was utilized by ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians. It is now widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many locations in tropics. It is a perennial softwood tree with timber of low quality, which for centuries was advocated for traditional medicine and industrial uses. The name drumstick is derived from the pod shape resembling slender and curved stick used for beating the drum. Fruits also resemble the siliqua of radish and hence the name “radish tree”.