Manure, Soil and the Vedic Literature: Agricultural Knowledge and Practice on the Indian Subcontinent over the Last Two Millennia

2016 ◽  
pp. 185-194
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Gandhi ◽  
Phannindra Reddy A. ◽  
Raghavan Krishnan ◽  
Madhusudan G. Yadava

<p>We present high temporal (near-annually) resolved δ<sup>18</sup>O values from absolutely dated stalagmite record that represents the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) rainfall variations for the Indian subcontinent spanning from 207 AD to 2014 AD. This rainfall reconstruction shows ISM varaitions for four major global climatic periods viz., Roman Warm Period (RWP), Dark Ages Cold Period (DACP), Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and Little Ice Age (LIA). Cave records from different patrs of the sub-continent synchronously show enhanced precipitation during DACP. This wet period was forced by Solar-induced El-NiNo Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Tibetan Plateau Temperature. Cliamtic conditions were wetter during LIA than that during MWP, as the former witnessed more number of wet monsoon years. However, MWP witnessed the strongest and the weakest monsoon years in the last two millennia. The direct influence of Soalr activity on the position of Inter Tropical Convergance zone (ITCZ) might have caused the observed ISM variability of MWP. Altough ISM shows largest variability during MWP, the overall monsoon state was moving towards wetter conditions, forced by ENSO. Solar induced forcings on ENSO influenced ISM during LIA. Our results suggest of non-stationary dynamical forcings over ISM during different periods in the last two millennia.</p>


Crisis ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh Bhugra

Abstract. Sati as an act of ritual suicide has been reported from the Indian subcontinent, especially among the Hindus, for several centuries. Although legally proscribed, these acts occur even now in modern India. The principle behind such acts has been put forward as the principle of good wife. There is little evidence to suggest that women who commit this act suffer from a formal mental illness. Cultural factors and gender role expectations play a significant role in the act and its consequences. Using recent examples, this paper illustrates the cultural factors, which may be seen as contributing to the act of suicide. Other factors embedded in the act also emphasize that not all suicides have underlying psychiatric disorders and clinicians must take social causation into account while preparing any prevention strategies.


Crisis ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 104-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murad M. Khan

Summary: The Indian subcontinent comprises eight countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives) and a collective population of more than 1.3 billion people. 10% of the world's suicides (more than 100,000 people) take place in just three of these countries, viz. India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. There is very little information on suicides from the other four countries. Some differences from suicides in Western countries include the high use of organophosphate insecticides, larger numbers of married women, fewer elderly subjects, and interpersonal relationship problems and life events as important causative factors. There is need for more and better information regarding suicide in the countries of the Indian subcontinent. In particular, studies must address culture-specific risk factors associated with suicide in these countries. The prevention of this important public health problem in an area of the world with myriad socio-economic problems, meager resources, and stigmatization of mental illness poses a formidable challenge to mental health professionals, policy makers, and governments of these countries.


1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53
Author(s):  
Sheh Mureed ◽  
Muhammad Hassan Gandro ◽  
Walid Hassan

Background: Globally, 3.1 million newborn deaths occur every year out of these estimated 400,000 neonatal deaths occur in Pakistan. All neonatal deaths 99% take place in poorest region and countries of the world, usually within hours of birth; mostly the cause of neonatal deaths is hypoxia. To access knowledge and practice of SBAs regarding HBB and to access the availability of equipments required for HBB. Methods: Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study on SBAs as trained in HBB. All 46 SBAs trained on HBB working in Labour room eight rural Health centers, four Taluka, One district Head Quarter Health Facilities and thirteen Mlbcs of the district, were included in the sample for study. All 41 SBAs were trained on HBB participated in the study. Results: Mean age of 30 years. Out of total 41 participants 25 were working in B-EmoNC (61%), 3in C-EmoNC (7.3%) and 13 in mid wife laid birth Centre (MLBC) or birth station (31.7%). About 92.7% of participants said that main purpose of HBB training is to decrease the NMR by improving newborn care. Drying of newborn is 82.7%, hand washing is 95.12% and 85.3% of the study participants said that they gave 30-40 breaths per minutes. Cord clamp and pair of ties was accessible to 85% of participants versus 14.3% who reported it's not accessible. Almost one quarter (34.1%) participants have low knowledge and practice. Knowledge and training had significant effect on the overall practices of the skilled birth attendants for skilled birth deliveries and reduce the neonatal deaths (P <0.001). Conclusion: Tools play a vital role for the implication of the knowledge into practices and tools were available almost to every participant. Although few barriers also identified for the less application of the helping hand babies trainings in the community.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-391
Author(s):  
Mohd Asif Khan ◽  
Shashi Bhooshan Tiwari ◽  
Himanshu Gupta ◽  
Huma Noor

Since ancient time, herbal drugs were highly used in the prevention and cure of various human illnesses. In India, Azadirachta indica being commonly known as Neem or Margosa is one of the multi-functional trees; belonging to Meliaceae family. In 1992, the US National Academy of Sciences was published a report entitled ‘Neem- a tree for solving global problems’. It is still considered as ‘village dispensary’ throughout the India. There are two species of Azadirachta which have been investigated; Azadirachta indica that is found in the Indian subcontinent and Azadirachta excelsa Kack that is homegrown to Indonesia and Philippines. A large number of pharmacologically active substances have been identified and isolated from the different parts of neem including azadirachtin, meliacin, gedunin, salanin, nimbin, valassin and various other components which are derived from these main compounds. Many different studies have been evaluated and authenticated for its various traditional and pharmacological activities like itching, leprosy, wound healing, spermicidal, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, antidiabetic and analgesic etc. In the beginning of 1979, patenting on neem was started by CSIR to separate the active compounds from neem oil. Its great implantation fights with soil erosion, global warming, deforestations and desertification world-wide. In 2002, World Neem Conference raised the neem tree as an industrial or commercial plant. This review is going to explore comprehensively; traditional, pharmacological potential along with patenting, environmental & industrial significant of various parts of neem tree with safety concerns.


Author(s):  
Harimohan Garg ◽  
Haritej Anand Khirawari ◽  
Sona Priyadarshi

Background: Pancytopenia is diagnosed when there is a reduction in all three hematopoietic cell lines. Till date there is limited number of studies on the frequency of various causes of pancytopenia. Of these some have been reported from the Indian subcontinent. There appears to be a changing spectrum of pancytopenia over the past two decades. The objective was to study the etiopathological spectrum of adult patients with pancytopenia over a period of one and half year. Methods: The Prospective and retrospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Family Medicine, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, New Delhi.  A total of 120 Patients were included in the study. All patients gave their consent to take part in the study and were subjected to a questionnaire regarding symptoms, past relevant history, lifestyle and detailed clinical examination and investigations as mentioned in materials and methods. Results: Six broad diagnostic groups could be identified in adults with pancytopenia. Megaloblastic anemia (D1) was the largest group comprising 57.5% of all patients. 11.7% of patients with pancytopenia were diagnosed as Aplastic anemia (D2).11.7% of patients with pancytopenia were diagnosed as leukemia/lymphoma (D3) such as lymphoma (1), metastatic anaplastic carcinoma (1), acute leukemia (11), and metastatic gastric carcinoma (1). 15% of patients with pancytopenia were diagnosed with infections (D4) such as complicated malaria cases (7), HIV (5), disseminated tuberculosis (4), viral (2). We also encountered (D5) 0.8% was Myelophthisis/Storage disorder as myelodysplastic syndrome (1) and 3.3% were other (D6) as reactive marrow (4). Conclusion: Pancytopenia is not a disease itself. It is a hematological feature of varying etiology with slight male preponderance. Megaloblastic anemia along with mixed nutritional anemia is leading cause of pancytopenia in India followed by infections being second and aplastic anemia and acute leukemia being third common causes. Keyword: Pancytopenia, Megaloblastic anemia, Nutritional anemia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 281-300
Author(s):  
Amanda Lanzillo

Focusing on the lithographic print revolution in North India, this article analyses the role played by scribes working in Perso-Arabic script in the consolidation of late nineteenth-century vernacular literary cultures. In South Asia, the rise of lithographic printing for Perso-Arabic script languages and the slow shift from classical Persian to vernacular Urdu as a literary register took place roughly contemporaneously. This article interrogates the positionality of scribes within these transitions. Because print in North India relied on lithography, not movable type, scribes remained an important part of book production on the Indian subcontinent through the early twentieth century. It analyses the education and models of employment of late nineteenth-century scribes. New scribal classes emerged during the transition to print and vernacular literary culture, in part due to the intervention of lithographic publishers into scribal education. The patronage of Urdu-language scribal manuals by lithographic printers reveals that scribal education in Urdu was directly informed by the demands of the print economy. Ultimately, using an analysis of scribal manuals, the article contributes to our knowledge of the social positioning of book producers in South Asia and demonstrates the vitality of certain practices associated with manuscript culture in the era of print.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-65
Author(s):  
Jude Egwurugwu ◽  
S.D. Ejikunle ◽  
E.I. Dike ◽  
M.C. Ohamaeme ◽  
Jude Egwurugwu ◽  
...  

Background: Cervical cancer is the 2nd commonest cancer among women worldwide and the most common cancer among women in developing countries like Nigeria. Though preventable by screening for premalignant and early cervical lesions, this is predicated on the knowledge and practice of a cervical screening. Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice of cervical cancer screening among women in Orlu, Local Government Area(LGA) Imo State, Nigeria. Materials & Methods: A community based cross-sectional study with the use of 502 interviewer – administered questionnaires was conducted among women in Orlu LGA of Imo State. All the women in the communities attending the annual August Meeting who consented were recruited for this study. Results: The study showed that the mean age of the respondents was 42±2.8years. Furthermore, 82.3% of respondents attained postsecondary school educational level, 61.8% & 21.1% were multiparous and grand multiparous respectively. Also, 80.5% of respondents have heard about cervical cancer screening. Majority (67.5%) of these respondents heard it from health care providers. There was a positive statistically significant relationship between educational status and the likelihood of having knowledge of cervical cancer screening, (p< 0.01). The level of practice of cervical cancer screening was very low among the respondents(13.5%).Though majority of the respondents have high level of educational attainment this did not reflect their practice of cervical cancer screening. Conclusion: There was high knowledge of cervical cancer and cervical screening modalities among women in Orlu but their practice of cervical cancer screening was very low. There is an urgent need to educate and encourage women on the benefits of cervical cancer screening. Key words: cervical cancer, knowledge, Practice, Orlu women, Screening.


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