Uraria picta is a medicinally important leguminous plant widely recognized in Ayurveda for its therapeutic properties, particularly in tissue regeneration, wound healing, and anti-inflammatory applications. In order to identify better genotypes to facilitate breeding and realize its planned cultivation, a systematic study was conducted to investigate the changes in adaptation responsiveness of its 24 diverse genotypes of over 4 years. The regression coefficient (bi) and s2di values were non-significant for numerous genotypes. One of the 24 genotypes studied, UP-50, was shown to be an appropriate and stable genotype for all variables except rhoifolin ( x̅ , bi, and s2di). The genotypes UP-50, UP-49, and UP-47 were shown to be suitable for use in U. picta breeding programs to produce more steady lines with improved performance.

A field experiment entitled “Improving Knol-Khol Productivity: A Study on Sulphur Levels and Plant Spacing Interactions” was carried out at the Horticulture Research Farm, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nirwan University, Jaipur (Rajasthan), during October 2024 to March 2025. The experiment comprised 16 treatment combinations involving four sulphur levels, S0 (control), S1 (15 kg/ha), S2 (30 kg/ha), S3 (45 kg/ha) and four plant spacings, D0 (30 × 20 cm), D1 (30 × 30 cm), D2 (45 × 30 cm), D3 (45 × 45 cm). The results revealed that the application of 45 kg S/ha (S3) in combination with 45 × 45 cm spacing (D3) exhibited significant superiority in improving vegetative growth and quality attributes of knol-khol. This treatment recorded the maximum plant height, number of leaves per plant, total chlorophyll content, knob diameter, knob volume, fresh weight of leaves and knob per plant, knob:leaf ratio, total yield per plant, sulphur content in knob, TSS, protein content and ascorbic acid content. It also resulted in the minimum days to knob initiation and marketable maturity, indicating accelerated crop development under higher sulphur availability and wider spacing. With respect to total yield per hectare, however, the 30 × 30 cm spacing (D1) outperformed the wider spacing treatments due to higher plant population density. Overall, the study highlights that S3 (45 kg S/ha) optimizes growth and quality, while D1 (30 × 30 cm) is more beneficial for maximizing total yield. The combined analysis suggests that appropriate sulphur nutrition and balanced plant spacing are crucial for enhancing productivity and quality of knol-khol

Rose-scented geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L'Herit ' Herit ex Aiton) family, Geraniaceae, is also vegetative propagated (through rooted stem cutting), a high-value aromatic crop. Essential oil is extensively used in the fragrance, aromatherapy, flavor, and pharmaceutical industries. But the cultivation of rose-scented geranium as a monocrop creates competition with companion seasonal food crops in terms of limited availability of land. Intercropping is a sustainable approach to achieve higher production per unit land area and time by maximizing the utilization of available resources. This work was aimed to study the effectiveness of rose- scented geranium with companion seasonal food crops in intercropping system for enhancing the yield, quality of rose-scented geranium essential oil, and monetary gains for farmers. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design in two successive years, with spatial arrangements of rose-scented geranium at 45 x 30 (G1), 45 x 45 (G2), and 45 x 60 (G3), companion seasonal food crops viz. maize (S1), sunflower (S2), mungbean (S3), okra (S4), onion (S5), and uradbean (S6) at their recommended populations along with their sole crops as a control. The results demonstrated that fresh herb yield (21.36 t/ha) and oil yield (35.57 kg/ha) were recorded maximum under S4+G2 (Okra + Rose-scented geranium at 45 x 45). In a similar manner, the highest monetary gains (4520 USD/ha) were achieved under S4+G2 (Okra + Rose-scented geranium at G2), followed by S4+G1 and S3+G2. The total land equivalent ratio (2.28), area time equivalent ratio (1.72), and land use efficiency (3.14) were higher in S4+G2 (Okra + Rose-scented geranium at G2) over monocrop. The quality of essential oils of rose-scented geranium was good and acceptable for market in all intercropping treatments. Thus, the intercropping system will help to increase high-value essential oil production and provide more benefit to seasonal food growers, as well as help the aroma industry. (c) 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of SAAB.

Ocimum basilicum L., or sweet basil, is a valuable aromatic and medicinal plant that is used in aromatherapy to energize, relax, and stimulate the mind. It is also used in the pharmaceutical industry for its anti-ageing and therapeutic qualities. Farmers who depend only on conventional food crops run the danger of crop failure as a result of unanticipated circumstances like uncertain weather, pest outbreaks, or disease epidemics. In contrast, intercropping offers a kind of insurance against total crop loss by diversifying farm outputs. The present study aims to increase field productivity and efficient use of land resources under sweet basil-based inter-cropping systems. In the experiment, 17 different treatments (12 treatments comprising of inter-cropping of sweet basil (55,555 plants/ha plant population) with four conventional crops namely maize ( Zea mays L.), pearlmillet ( Pennisetum glaucum L.), pigeonpea ( Cajanus cajan L.) and okra ( Abelmoschus esculentus L.) at three plant populations, i.e., 100% (55,555 plants/ha), 75% (37,037 plants/ha), and 50% (27,777 plants/ha). Also, all five sole crops (4 conventional crops and sweet basil) were planted. The study findings showed that the maximum fresh herb yield of sole sweet basil culture at 100% plant population (14.2 t/ha with 0.70% oil content and 99.2 kg/ha oil yield) was almost equal to that of co-cultivation of sweet basil with pigeonpea at 50% plant population (14 t/ ha with 0.70% oil content and 98.2 kg/ha oil yield). Similarly, LER varied from 1.50 to 1.90 and the ATER varied from 1.32 to 1.82. The inter-cropping system based on sweet basil is an advantageous strategy to maximize resource use efficiency. Nevertheless, net returns of sweet basil were found to be maximum with pigeon pea (1762 - 1881 USD/ha) followed by okra (1507 - 1638 USD/ha), maize (1042 - 1310 USD/ha) and pearl millet (809 - 1029 USD/ha). Moreover, for better herb yield and net returns, it was more profitable for the farmers to cocultivate sweet basil with pigeon pea at 50% plant population.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Hemolytic transfusion reactions (HTRs) pose significant risks in transfused patients, with anti-A and anti-B antibodies in donor plasma being potential contributing factors. Despite advancements in component preparation, HTRs remain a concern, particularly with apheresis-derived platelets. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of high anti-A and anti-B titers among A, B, and O blood group donors and to explore factors associated with high titers. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional observational study was conducted over 18 months, enrolling 978 participants from a tertiary care teaching hospital in Western India. Anti-A and anti-B titers were determined using the Conventional Tube Technique (CTT). Statistical analysis assessed correlations between high titers and demographic factors. RESULTS:The majority of participants were young males (98.8%). Prevalence of high titers for IgM anti-A was 12.2% and IgG anti-A was 2.5%. For anti-B, IgM titers were 2.3% and IgG titers were 0.2%. The prevalence of dangerous O was found to be 14.1%, while 3.52% and 10.5% of A and B blood group donors were found to have high titers, respectively. Factors associated with high titers included female gender, vegetarian diet, age <30 years, and O blood group. CONCLUSION:The study sheds additional light and provides supplementary information regarding the prevalence and correlation of high anti-A and anti-B titers among O, A and B blood donors. Understanding these factors is crucial for optimizing transfusion safety protocols, including selective screening of platelet units and tailored transfusion strategies based on donor characteristics.

• The work presents a case of acute cardiac symptoms (ACS) as donor adverse reaction (DAR) which is the first case encountered in India. • This article highlights the possibility of occurrence of a rare DAR in an otherwise healthy whole blood donor. • To ensure donor safety, continuous monitoring and improvement of donation protocols, along with thorough donor screening and counselling is important.

BACKGROUND:Packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion is critical in managing pediatric patients with conditions requiring frequent transfusions, such as leukemia, thalassemia, and bone marrow disorders. Alloimmunization, the formation of antibodies against foreign antigens present in the donor's blood, is a significant complication of repeated transfusions. Further, auto/alloimmunization is influenced by multiple factors, including antigenic differences between donor and recipient and the recipient's immune status. OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of auto/alloimmunization among pediatric patients undergoingmultiple PRBC transfusions in a tertiary care hospital in the sub-Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India. METHODS:A cross-sectional study was conducted on 113 multi-transfused pediatric patients aged 4 months to 18 years who received more than one PRBC transfusion between September 2022 and August 2023. Antibody screening and identification were performed using column agglutination techniques. Statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate associations between demographic, clinical factors, and antibody detection. RESULTS:Alloimmunization was observed in 5.31% of patients, with the majority developing antibodies against the MNS blood group system. Autoantibodies were more common, detected in 17.7% of patients. Significant associations were found between the history of prior PRBC transfusions and the formation of alloantibodies (p = 0.005). Age, gender, and ethnicity did not show a statistically significant association with antibody detection. CONCLUSIONS:The study reveals a relatively higher prevalence of autoimmunization among multi-transfused pediatric patients. The history of PRBC transfusions was a significant risk factor, indicating the need for extended RBC phenotyping and tailored transfusion strategies to reduce alloimmunization risks in these patients. Most patients and blood donors in this region belong to the local Garhwali community. This homogeneity may help explain the lower rate of alloimmunization observed, suggesting a degree of antigenic similarity among the blood donors and the recipients.

Menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant worldwide cultivated for high-value essential oil. It comes under angiospermic plant and belongs to family Lamiaceae commonly known as Japanese mint. The high-value essential oil is obtained from the stem and leaf of plant by the process of hydro-distillation through which major ingredient L-menthol is obtained that is used in aroma and pharmaceutical industries. This investigation aimed to reduce water requirements which can enhance its productivity for sustaining menthol mint cultivation in India. The present investigation has been undertaken as treatment combination which includes two varieties viz. i) Kosi and CIM-Kranti; three depths of soil moisture viz. i) 3 cm, ii) 6 cm and iii) 9 cm along with three moisture regimes, i.e., i) 20±5%, ii) 40±5%, and 60±5% available soil moisture (ASM) were tested in split-split plot design during 2018 and 2019 (from February to June). Results from the present study revealed that the maximum oil yield was recorded 116.78 kg ha-1in cv. Kosi and 107.23 kg ha-1 in cv. for CIM-Kranti, whereas menthol yield was recorded 89.23 kg ha-1in cv. Kosi and 85.13 kg ha-1in cv. CIM-Kranti under 6 cm depth of irrigation when applied irrigation at 40±5% available soil moisture (ASM) in menthol mint. However, the lowest water requirement was recorded 118 mm in cv. Kosi and 148 mm in cv. CIM-Kranti. The highest water use efficiency was recorded 0.61 in cv. Kosi and 0.51 kg oil ha-1 mm-1 in cv. CIM- Kranti under 3 cm depth of irrigation and when irrigations were applied at 20±5 % ASM. The highest net returns of $ 1140.91 ha-1 and $ 989.70 ha-1 have been recorded in Kosi and CIM-Kranti, respectively were computed at 6 cm depth of irrigation and when irrigations were applied at 40±5% available soil moisture as compared with other treatments. The irrigation depth (6 cm) applied at 40±5% ASM was found to be a perfect combination for obtaining maximum oil yield, water use efficiency, net returns, and benefit-cost ratio.

Introduction: Blood request form (BRF) stands as a pivotal document in ensuring safe and effective blood transfusions within healthcare settings. Incomplete or erroneous data on BRF can heighten risk of adverse reactions and compromise patient safety. Aim of study was to assess level of completion of BRFs by clinicians and to evaluate root cause analysis (RCA) of incompleteness of BRFs and factors leading to their rejection. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was carried out from February 2024 to April 2024 on BRFs received in the blood centre. They were audited and RCA for factors leading to their incompleteness and rejection were analysed. Results: Total number of BRFs received in blood centre was 14,468. 13,358 (92.3%) BRFs were accepted and 1,110 (7.7%) BRFs were rejected. 12,804 (95.85%) of accepted BRFs were incomplete. Weight was the most common missing parameter (89% {n = 11403}) while name of the requesting clinician was least common (2.5% {n-318}). 3.52% n = 510) BRFs were rejected due to mismatch in name and patient registration number on BRF and samples. 0.14% n = 21) BRFs were rejected due to hemolysed samples. RCA for incompleteness of BRFs showed that main reason was manpower (61-83%) while environment was least common (17-67%). RCA for rejection of BRFs showed that environment was most common cause (13.3- 80.15%) while manpower was least common (9-19.85%). Conclusion: Regular audits and personnel training, and quality assurance measures can help identify and address deficiencies in BRF completion to enhance patient safety and reduce incidence of transfusionrelated errors and complications. (c) 2024 Socit francophone de transfusion sanguine (SFTS). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

भारत की शिक्षा प्रणाली की शुरुआत ब्रिटिश शासन काल से मानी जा सकती है, लेकिन आजादी के बाद आधुनिक भारतीय शिक्षा प्रणाली को नए सिरे से तैयार करने की जरूरत महसूस की गई। यद्यपि उस समय की शिक्षा व्यवस्था भारतीय आवश्यकताओं के अनुकूल थी परन्तु हमने अनुभव किया कि इसमें भारत की संस्कृति का सम्मान नहीं किया जाता था तथा यह अत्यधिक सैद्धान्तिक थी जिसके कारण भारत आत्मनिर्भरता आदि प्राप्त नहीं कर पा रहा था। देश की आवश्यकता और आम लोगों की शैक्षिक आकांक्षाओं को ध्यान में रखते हुए शैक्षिक परिवर्तन की आवश्यकता पर बल दिया गया। स्वतंत्रता प्राप्ति के बाद समय-समय पर भारत सरकार द्वारा राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीतियों के आधार पर शिक्षा व्यवस्था में काफी सुधार किये गये। इसी क्रम में भारत को सशक्त बनाने के लिए नई शिक्षा नीति 2020 सामने आई। प्रस्तुत लेख में भारत की वर्तमान शिक्षा प्रणाली के विभिन्न स्तरों के बारे में चर्चा करने का प्रयास किया गया है तथा आधुनिक भारतीय शिक्षा प्रणाली के परिवर्तन का परिचय: चर्चा की गई है। भारतीय ज्ञान प्रणाली के शैक्षिक निहितार्थ राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति 2020 के परिपेक्ष्य में" शीर्षक वाले इस अध्ययन में हमने भारतीय शिक्षा नीति 2020 के विभिन्न पहलुओं को जाँचा है और उनके संदर्भ में भारतीय ज्ञान प्रणाली के शैक्षिक निहितार्थ को विश्लेषण किया है। यह अध्ययन भारतीय शिक्षा नीति 2020 में उठाए गए कदमों को विशेष ध्यान में रखते हुए, भारतीय ज्ञान प्रणाली के प्रमुख सिद्धांतों, शैक्षिक मूल्यों, और संस्कृति के साथ कैसे जोड़ा जा सकता है, उनकी व्याख्या करता है। यह अध्ययन भारतीय शैक्षिक परिदृश्य में गरीबी की छवि को तोड़कर और सामाजिक समावेशीकरण को बढ़ावा देने के लिए भारतीय ज्ञान प्रणाली के आधारित शिक्षा के नए प्रारूपों के लिए मार्गदर्शन प्रदान करता है। इसके अतिरिक्त, यह अध्ययन विविध शैक्षिक विकल्पों, उदारीकरण के नए माध्यमों, और अद्यतन पाठ्यक्रमों के अनुसार आने वाले शिक्षा प्रणालियों के विकास के संभावित परिणामों की भी चर्चा करता है।

The epidemiology of Dengue fever in the Indian subcontinent has been substantially increased. Acute disseminating encephalomyelitis is a rare complication of dengue and is characterized by multifocal white matter involvement and encephalopathy with neurological deficits. Treatment is usually steroids, IVIG and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). We report a case of 46 year old female patient who was a non responder to steroid treatment and successfully treated by TPE.

BACKGROUND:Blood donation has a remarkable safety record and most of the donors have a good experience or only mild symptoms after blood donation were noted. Although even a very low rate of reactions may have gloomy effect diminishing their fondness to donate again. The main aim of our study was to determine the incidence and to analyze how various donor demographic factors tend to be associated with delayed adverse donor reactions (ADR). MATERIAL AND METHODS:The prospective observational study was conducted in Department of Immuno-hematology and Blood Transfusion of tertiary care hospital. All the whole blood donors, who gave consent to participate in the study were contacted telephonically after 24 hours and day 7 after donation. The donor who couldn't be contacted telephonically, was tried again at an interval of four hours in a day for two consecutive days before declaring the participant to be non-responder. RESULTS:A total of 2495 (92.4%) blood donors experienced delayed ADRs. The commonest delayed ADRs reported were generalized weakness (24.6%), bruises (24.2%) followed by painful arm (14.5%). Females, first-time blood donors, donors with low BMI and donors engaged in manual labor were more vulnerable to develop any adverse reactions. CONCLUSION:Blood donors can experience delayed ADRs. It is important to prevent these reactions especially in susceptible donors. Proper awareness and training to the staff was provided to minimize the incidence of ADR.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease which has reached fearsome proportions in the past few years. Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) is a rare complication of dengue characterized by onset of bilateral lower limb weakness, paresthesia, and urinary retention and magnetic resonance imaging of the whole spine shows diffuse areas of abnormal hyperintensity on T2-weighted images involving the cord in the cervical and the dorsal region extending up to the level of conus. Treatment is usually steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). We report a case of ATM in a young male patient who was successfully treated by TPE.

In the face of a global groundwater crisis and climate change challenges, the groundwater potential (GWP) and quality (GWQ) assessment for tackling the depletion and contamination in aquifers are imperative for India's sustainable development. This study explores the GWP and GWQ in the southwestern part of Bihar state, located in the declining groundwater of the lower Indo-Gangetic plain, where population growth, rapid urbanization, and escalating agricultural demands have strained aquifer systems. We have used the Analytical Hierarchy Process and weighted average techniques in the GIS framework to assess the situation. Our results reveal that over 82% of the area exhibits good groundwater potential, except for the southern part, where the presence of the Vindhyan mountains alters the scenario. Considering the desirable and acceptable limits set by BIS (2012) and WHO (2022), we discovered that 89% and 18% of the study area falls under the poor to unsuitable groundwater category, affecting a staggering 7.7 million and 1.6 million individuals despite substantial groundwater potential, respectively. Findings from this investigation indicate that groundwater contamination results from anthropogenic and geogenic factors; however, it remains suitable for agricultural purposes. Our research will assist policymakers in implementing sustainable groundwater management strategies to ensure a lasting and reliable supply for drinking and agriculture use.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera L.) is a potential medicinal plant belongs to the Solanaceae family, offers various health benefits, such as enhancement of memory, improved blood sugar, and inhibition of inflammation, stress and anxiety, and boosted in muscle strength and fertility. Hence, the demand for the roots of ashwagandha is very high in the Indian market, thus the ashwagandha crop needs to be cultivated in a larger area to mitigate the demand of roots in Indian as well as foreign markets. To cultivate this crop in larger areas with less time and manpower consumption, mechanization of sowing operation is very much essential. In this regard, this study has been conducted to determine the physical properties of ashwagandha seeds (Five cultivars, namely NMITLI-101, NMITLI-118, CIM-Pushti, Pratap and Poshitha) for designing and developing of seed sowing equipment. The data collected were analyzed on R software based web application developed by department of agricultural statistics, college of agriculture, Vellayani, Keral Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Kerala. Results revealed that cv. CIM-Pushti seed has significantly higher values as compared with other cultivars in major, minor, intermediate diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, and geometric mean diameters. Similarly, in the case of physical properties like sphericity, surface area, sample volume, and elongation ratio, cv. CIM-Pushti showed significantly higher values as compared with other cultivars whereas in the case of aspect ratio and flakiness ratio, cv. Poshita showed significantly higher values. In the case of gravimetric properties, cv. Pratap and NMITLI-118 resulted in higher values of test weight (1000 seeds weight) as compared with other cultivars. Further, cv. Pratap and CIMPushti have significantly higher values of bulk density and true density over other cultivars, respectively. These results are likely to be very much helpful for agricultural engineers to design various seed handling tools/machines like conveying machines, storage containers, processing machines and sowing equipment for Ashwagandha seeds.

JPEG steganography finds extensive applications in the area of concealing the intelligent data in images. Minimal distortion embedding-based steganographic technique provides a precise distortion measure with feasible coding. This paper presents a new Upgraded Uniform Embedding Distortion (U2ED) for JPEG steganography that tries to maintain the statistical imperceptibility in both spatial and DCT domains. A new distortion measure is proposed for both AC modes and DCT blocks in the proposed U2ED scheme that aims to restrict the secret data into coarse and noisy regions, thus making it tough to be detected by the steganalyzer. Syndrome trellis codes are utilized to accomplish minimum distortion due to embedding of secret message. Effectiveness of the proposed scheme is analysed using BOSS base image database as used in literature using GFR steganalyzer combined with ensemble classifier. Experimental result based on 100 testing images indicates the goodness of the proposed U2ED against Uniform Embedding Revisited Distortion (UERD) at different payloads in terms of probability of error. Also, the proposed scheme competes well with JPEG Universal Wavelet Relative Distortion (J-UNIWARD) for quality factor 75 and tends to outperform it for quality factor 95.

Menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.) is an important essential oil-bearing plant of the family Lamiaceae. Essential oil obtained from the leaves used in aromatherapy, flavour, and pharmaceutical industries. Producing the maximum essential oil yield with minimum use of resources to minimise the cost of cultivation and cropping period is need of the hour. Hence, the field experiment on menthol mint crop was carried out in two consecutive years (2015-2016) at the research farm of CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow. This research aimed to optimize the planting method, planting time, and plant density to enhance productivity and resource use efficiency. The experiment consisted of three planting methods, three time of planting, and four plant densities was conducted in split plot design with three replicates. Maximum essential oil yield of 209.8 kg ha(-1), the minimum crop maturity period of 131 days, and lower water requirement of 86 cm was found under ridge bed planting method from two harvest. The crop planted in the month of February gave maximum net profits of $ 2669 ha(-1) as compared with the crop planted in March and April months. Crop planted on ridges grown in the month of February with plant density of 166,666 plants ha(-1) was found best combination for obtaining maximum essential oil yield, bringing about 30 days earliness in crop maturity and reduction in water requirement. The crop planted on ridges yields maximum essential oil per unit area and time, and this led to enhancement in resource use efficiency with significant improvement in net profits. Further, it provides an opportunity to have two harvests with minimum damage to the crop by excessive moisture availability during the early onset of monsoon.

PurposeTo address service failure issues, scholars have recognized several service recovery (SR) mechanisms. However, there exist many barriers that retard an effective SR process, and those often lead to negative consequences. Although this is a generic problem applicable across markets, it becomes critical in B2B markets, as they deal with high impact and corporate customers. The purpose of this paper is to identify these SR barriers in B2B markets and explore their linkages toward identifying the key driving barriers.Design/methodology/approachA four-phased methodology to address this call in the IT services industry was used. First, the identification phase led to the selection of 27 barriers based on literature. Second, in the prioritization phase, 12 salient barriers were prioritized with the help of an expert panel. Third, in the modelling phase, the total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) technique was used to examine the mutual influences among these barriers toward modelling their linkages using a digraph. Finally, in the classification phase, these barriers were graphically plotted and classified into four quadrants based on their dependence and driving powers by using Matriced Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (MICMAC) analysis.FindingsTwo strategic barriers, namely, technology obsolescence and poor top management commitment, presented the strongest challenges against effective SR, as they were least dependent on other barriers and exerted strong influence over the operational barriers to executing SR.Practical implicationsBecause the strategic level barriers, exerting strong influence against effective SR, arise from the strategic choices of board and the C-suite, this paper helps them anticipate the recovery-related after effects of their choices, thus helping them in making better decisions.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to research as it is first of its kind to explore and link SR barriers in B2B markets.