eChapters

Organizations operating in an interconnected global economy must consistently deliver reliable products and services while satisfying demanding customer and regulatory expectations. Internationally recognized standards and industry best practices provide structured frameworks for preventing defects, measuring performance and achieving continual improvement. They strengthen customer confidence, regulatory compliance, operational effectiveness and global competitiveness. This chapter introduces major quality-management systems and demonstrates their practical application across different industries. Particular attention is given to the ISO 9000 family and ISO 9001, which establish principles and requirements for formal quality-management systems. Important practices include risk-based thinking, process management, documentation, customer focus, evidence-based decisions and the continual improvement of organizational processes

• Fresh seeds germinate in 20-30 days giving as high as 90% germinate.
• An NPK mixture supplying 375g N + 202 P2O5+375kg o/tree gave the highest mean-field of 33 fruits/tree and 14.88 kg fruit/tree.
• Flowering planting after four years.
• Flower bud differentiation of at 40 leaves stage.
• Flowering time March-April after 7 weeks of fruit development.
• Mealybug attacks shoots and in between the fruit segments – 0.5% phosphamidon or dichlorvos.
• A virus transmitted by lace bug or mealybug causes pineapple wilt.
• Ripon normally can be stored at 5°C for six weeks.
• Suckers weighing 500-750g and slips weighing 300-400g are better for yield and quality.
• Pineapple exhibits vegetative parthenocarpy and self-incompatibility.
• This is non-climacteric fruit.
• Sunscald discord is due to exposure of fruit to sun rays. Multiple crown/ fasciations is another important disorder probably due to genetics/nutritional factors.
• It contains an enzyme known as Bromelin.

Inertial motion is typically excited when the surface currents are impulsively excited by wind forcing. If the wind were to remain steady—then the currents would eventually reach equilibrium and the time-dependent term would go to zero. But if the winds blew for a few hours and then turned off then the current would be still in motion for some time even if there would be no forcing due to turning off winds.

Introduction

Brood stock management is an essential component of fish farming since the success of aquaculture industry mainly depends on quality of brood stock in order to ensure the production of top quality offspring. Their health condition is also important from culture point of view, which in turn increases the fish production. Unfortunately, in India, less attention is given to the brood stock management during non-breeding seasons. The pond aquaculture is also becoming over utilized due to high stocking beyond the carrying capacity, addition of huge quantities of chemicals, drugs, fertilizers and supplementary feeds etc. Physical injury due to rough handling, temperature fluctuations, extremes in oxygen levels can also work in a cumulative way and produce stress and make the fish susceptible to variety of diseases. Environmental deterioration, which occurs due to dumping of pesticides and chemicals alongwith metabolic waste products, left out feed materials and organic load of the pond bottom regularly come in contact with certain vital organs and tissues of fish. All such factors can cause deterioration of fish health and magnify the risk of outbreak of diseases. Disease outbreaks are one of the stumbling blocks in the development of aquaculture industry affecting both the economic development and socio-economic revenue from this sector. Today, there is no availability of exact figure on loss due to diseases in fish farming. The phenomenon is more common in carp Industry, and mortalities due to disease outbreaks cause major management problems and economic loss every year.

Introduction
Infection prevention and control refers to prevention and control of infections and their transmission in healthcare settings. Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) are one of the most common adverse events in delivery of care and a major public health problem with an impact on morbidity, mortality and quality of life. Up to 7% of patients in developed and 10% in developing countries acquire at least one HAI. These infections also present a significant economic burden for the health system.1It is evident that HAIs result in prolonged hospital stays, long-term disability, increased resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobials, additional cost on health systems, high cost for patients and their family, and preventable deaths.
The core components of IPC2
• IPC programme at the national and health facility level
• National and facility level evidence-based guidelines on IPC
• Education and training
• HAI surveillance
• Multimodal strategies
• Monitoring and audit of IPC practices and feedback
• Workload, staffing and bed occupancy
• Built environment, materials and equipment for IPC
HAI Burden
HAI are one of the most common adverse events in healthcare delivery and a major public health problem with an impact on morbidity, mortality and

This ‘virus’ is widespread in commercial flocks worldwide, but its taxonomic position is not determined. The disease is characterized by aplastic anaemia and generalized lymphoid atrophy with a concomitant immunosuppression. Consequently, infectious anaemia is frequently complicated by viral, bacterial, or fungal infections.

Occurrence

Chickens up to 3 weeks of age are most susceptible.

Synonyms :  Viral bovi. rhinotracheitis, Red nose, I.B.R, Infectious pustular vulvovaginits (IPV), Coital exanthema, Infectious pustular balanoposthitis (IPB), Bovine herpes virus 1(BHV 1).

It is a highly infectious disease of bovine characterized by high fever, rhinotracheitis, conjunctivitis, with a short course and high recovery rate. Encephalitis, the systemic form of the disease in new born calves, infectious pustular vulvovaginits/balanoposthitis are other syndromes caused by the same virus. Genetic isolates of various clinical isolates has found subtypes of BHV 1; a respiratory subtype BHV 1.1, a genital subtype BHV1.2 and an encephalatic subtype BHV 1.3, which is now termed as BHV 5.

IB is an acute, highly contagious, viral disease of chickens characterized by respiratory signs (gasping, sneezing, coughing, and nasal discharge), the severe renal disease associated with neurotropic strains, and a marked decrease in egg production. It is a serious cause of sub-optimal egg production and poor egg quality. This disease is worldwide in ditribution.

Hosts

Chickens only. Recently IBV has been detected in species other than chickens. The disease may be produced only in chickens, IBV may multiply in other species of birds and be a source of infection.

Etiology

IB is caused by the avian coronavirus; numerous strains of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) exist because of high genetic diversity and cross protection between strains is not reliable.

IBD is an acute, contagious, viral disease of young chickens characterized by diarrhoea, vent pecking, trembling, incoordination, inflammation followed by atrophy of the bursa of Fabricius (BF) and by a variable degree of immunosuppression.

In the USA the disease was reported in Gumboro, Delaware in 1962, hence the name. The occurrence is worldwide.

Etiology

Avibacter paragallinarum Serotype A, B and C. Based on hemagglutinin serotyping, three serotypes (A, B and C) have been recognized.

Epizootiology

The chicken is the natural host although the disease has occasionally been diagnosed in pheasants. All ages of chicken are susceptible but birds up to 10 weeks are less vulnerable.

1. The chronic or healthy carrier birds serve as source of infection. Infection within farm occurs by contact with drinking water or feed contaminated by nasal discharge from sick/carrier chickens. To farms situated at a distance, infection is through air borne transmission.
2. The disease occurs more in cold and wet conditions. The more severe disease occurs when other respiratory diseases are prevalent at the farm.

ILT is an acute viral disease of chickens, pheasants and peafowl characterized by marked dyspnea, coughing, gasping and expectoration of bloody exudate. The disease is worldwide.

Hosts

Chickens particularly susceptible; reported to occur in pheasants and peafowl.

Age Range

All ages susceptible but is most often found in adult (mature or nearly mature) commercial chicken layers.

6.1. INTRODUCTION

All ecologist and biology researchers have to find out: (i) how reliable are the observed results? and (ii) what is the probability of difference between observed and expected results? The question of reliability is solved by estimating the confidence interval and the second question is addressed by the application of statistical tests for significance. Both these methods help us to draw conclusions on our observations, hence, may be grouped together as ‘inferential statistics’.

Referring back to the chapter on sampling, we may recall that it is usually not possible to calculate the ‘population parameter’ directly. Instead, we have to rely on estimates. Two types of estimates can be used, a point estimate and an interval estimate. A point estimate is a single numerical value of a sample statistic that is used to estimate the corresponding population parameter. For example, the sample mean, x , is used as an estimate of the population mean, μ Point estimates are not used widely because the value of some statistic, say mean, varies from sample to sample and we can’ t conclude with any degree of certainty that a single point estimate equals the population parameter. Therefore, an interval estimate is typically favoured. An interval estimate is a range of values within which the population parameter is likely to lie.

8.1. INTRODUCTION

The word ‘non-parametric’ means “not for any specific parameter”. For example, in the student’s t test we use the parameter ‘mean’. In the non-.parametric tests we check the randomness and trend of the pattern of distribution of a variable directly, without using a population parameter for comparing.

In contrast to the parametric tests, where many assumptions are made regarding the distribution of the parameter in the population (i.e. Gaussian features), here we do not make stringent assumptions about the population from which samples are drawn. These techniques are, therefore, also known as ‘distribution free’ tests.

We shall be discussing about 10 such non-parametric tests.

7.1. INTRODUCTION

The word ‘significance’ in statistics does not describe the strength of association. Statistical significance is simply related to the probability of the result being commonly or rarely encountered (If the probability of chance occurrence is low the result is likely to be determined by the set of circumstances under study and not by chance). If conclusions are to be drawn that a difference exists between two groups of subjects, then we have to ensure that they are equal in all respects except the one under test.

‘P’ values are used to assess the degree of dissimilarity between two (or more) sets of measurements. The ‘P’ value is the probability of obtaining a result as extreme as or more extreme than the one observed. The ‘P’ value is actually a measure of surprise and the smaller the value, the more surprising is the result. When ‘P’ value is between 0.05 and 0.01, the result is usually called statistically significant; when it is less than 0.01, it is usually called highly significant and if, values are lower than 0.005, then it is called very highly significant. Traditionally, the approach had been to indicate the level of significance by rounded off ‘P’ values e.g., P < 0.01. Now it has become a fashion to calculate the exact probabilities and thus arrive at a particular decision.

Fertility is the ability of a male to impregnate the fertile female. The reduced or temporary loss of fertility is called infertility whereas permanent loss of fertility is called sterility. A male with low libido or poor sex drive may have excellent semen quality or a male with good libido may have poor seminal quality. So, libido has no direct relation with the male fertility. Male infertility can be categorized into Impotentia coeundi and Impotentia generandi. 1. Impotentia Coeundi • The condition of reduced or lack of sex drive or Inability to copulate (failure of normal service) is referred to as impotentia coeundi. • It may occur due to immaturity, poor experience to perform coitus, inability or unwillingness to mount, inability to perform intromission or failure of ejaculation. • The following conditions may reflect the immaturity or poor/bad experience of the male animal which leads to impotentia coeundi:

Inflammation

Inflammation is a complex process of vascular and cellular alterations that occur in body in response to injury. The term inflammation has been derived from the Latin word inflammare, means to set on fire. Inflammation is considered as an important event in body that activates the existing defense mechanisms in circulating blood to dilute, naturalize or kill the irritant/ causative agent. Thus, it is said that immunity is the resistance of body, while inflammation is the activation of that immunity. It is beneficial to body except when chronic or immune origin. Inflammation starts with sublethal injury and ends with healing.

Etiology

• Any irritant/ injury.

• Bacteria, virus, parasite, fungus etc.

• Trauma. • Physical or chemical injury.

It is defined as the reaction of living tissue to injury which begins following a sub-lethal injury to tissues and ends with complete healing. The purpose of inflammation is to destroy and remove the irritant and to repair the damaged tissue. 

Causes
    1.    Pathogenic organisms: Bacteria, virus, fungi, protozan and parasites.
    2.    Chemical poisons: Acid and alkalies. 
    3.    Mechanical or thermal injuries. 
    4.    Immune reaction: Antigen antibody reaction.

Definitions

Reaction of vascularised living tissue to local injury caused by various agents like microbes or necrotic tissue

Inflammation − Reaction of blood vessels − Accumulation of fluid and leucocytes in extra vascular tissues Inflammation and repair always go hand in hand

Beneficial effects of Inflammation

To destroy / dilute the injurious agent (microbes; toxins ) and to protect cell from injury (necrosis)

Harmful Effects of Inflammation

Different type of mycotoxins commonly present in different feed and fodder crops are produced by mould during cultivation and storage and are specific to certain region according to climatic and environmental conditions. Most of the toxins produced in crops are consumed when fed to animals. Among the mycotoxins, aflatoxin B-1 is present in highest concentration which enters rumen following ingestion of aflatoxin contaminated feed stuffs. In the rumen, AFB-1 is degraded into aflatoxicol and the remaining portion of the aflatoxin is absorbed in the digestive tract by passive diffusion and metabolized in the liver into aflatoxin M-1 (Kuilman et al., 1998). AFM-1 circulates in the blood as a stable compound until excreted in milk, urine and bile. The following are the sources of AFM-1 contamination in milk and milk products and it occurs through two modes of contamination viz., indirect contamination and direct contamination.

ABSTRACT

Microbial antagonists not only reduce the soil borne disease, but also influence the growth of crop plants. In a study conducted for five years on the effect of microbial antagonists on damping off incidence and biometric characters of solanaceous seedlings, it was observed that seed treatment and soil application of Trichoderma viride, T. harzianum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azotobacter chroococcum reduced the damping off incidence considerably in brinjal, chilli and tomato. Application of these microbes also increased the per cent germination and promoted vigour of solanaceous seedlings as compared to control. Among the various antagonists, T. viride was the most effective one reducing the damping off diseases as well as promoting the growth of solanaceous vegetables.