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It is widely acknowledged that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to play a vital role in aquaculture development in coastal areas. Several ICT projects have att empted to adopt these technologies to empower the farming communities through which they gain access to decision making processes. Quality of service is very important for such ICT projects yet very diffi cult to assess the empowerment in the forms of social, political, psychological, technical and economic due to its diversity, complexity and intangible nature. In this backdrop, an empowerment assessment tool comprises of fi ve factors viz., social, political, psychological, technical and economic was developed based on the literature, interviews and group meetings with users and operators of ICT projects for evaluating the ICT projects in aquaculture. In order to validate the tool we conduct a study on four ICT projects viz., Village Knowledge Centre of MSSRF, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, Village Knowledge Centre of MSSRF, Pudhucherry, Community Learning Centre of Self Employed Women's Association, Gujarat and Communication Information Centre, Odisha. Theopinions of 88 ICT participants on social, political, psychological, technical and economic empowerment dimensions have been investigated by means of a survey questionnaire. The results revealed that except political and economic empowerment all other factors are visible among the users of ICT projects. The study also revealed that the tool that comprises of fi ve factors of empowerment in coastal areas is useful for analyzing the users of ICT project experiences in these forms of empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibriosis is one of the important diseases causing economic loss to the shrimp industry worldwide. The present study reports field observations on the immune stimulatory effect of vibrio bacterin in commercial tiger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon) grow-out culture ponds ( n = 62) which were grouped under three stocking densities; low (6-8 nos per m2), medium (9-11 nos per m2) and high (12-14 nos per m2). The bacterin was administered in feed as a top dressing at final concentration equivalent to 2 × 108 CFU per kilogram feed twice a week throughout the culture period. In 20 representative ponds, total haemocyte count and prophenoloxidase activity in shrimp were significantly ( P < 0·05) higher and anatomical deformities like, antennae cut (5·02 ± 2·42), tail rot (5·10 ± 1·74), rostrum cut (4·49 ± 2·19) and soft shell (10·05 ± 5·77) were significantly lower compared to controls in all the studied stocking densities. Significant ( P < 0·05) improvement in production parameters like survival and production (kg ha1) was observed in all treatment ponds while similar improvement in average daily gain and feed conversion ratio could be observed in groups with low and medium stocking densities. Results of the study suggest that, oral administration of vibrio bacterin improves the immunity, reduces anatomical deformities and enhances the production in commercial shrimp culture operations. Significance and Impact of the Study Administration of vibrio bacterin in feed as a top dressing induced immune stimulation as indicated by higher levels of total haemocyte count and prophenoloxidase. Further reduction in percentage of animals with anatomical deformities suggests the protection against subclinical bacterial infections. The overall improvement in the production parameters like, average daily gain, survival, feed conversation ratio and production in different shrimp stocking densities under commercial farming conditions suggested the possible development of an immune stimulant product based on the inactivated vibrio bacteria for improved health and production in Penaeus monodon shrimp farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between soil salinity parameters and their influence on soil spectral characteristics were analyzed using both satellite data (Hyperion) and reflectance data of soil samples collected from parts of Ahmedabad district of Gujarat, India. The soil spectral reflectance curves were assessed using absorption feature parameters by DISPEC software to identify suitable spectral band for salinity characterization. The Hyperion data of the study area were processed and classified into different classes by spectral angle mapper algorithm using spectral library generated from soil spectra. The results showed that among all the observed soil parameters Electrical Conductivity, Exchangeable Sodium Percentage, Cation Exchange Capacity and Mg++predictions can be made accurately based on partial least square regression models developed from selected wavelengths. Out of the total study area moderately saline-sodic, severely saline-sodic, severely saline and slightly saline soils occupy 23.5, 12.6, 10.9 and 0.04%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Land use information is one of the most sought inputs for various resource and environmental management studies as well as climate models. In this study, an attempt was made to obtain land cover information from temporal data set of Advance Wide Field Sensor aboard Indian Remote Sensing satellite IRS-P6 using data mining classification technique. This study mainly focuses on the utility of visually interpreted thematic maps as an additional input for improving classification accuracies. The temporal data sets were co-registered to sub-pixel accuracy and were atmospherically corrected using modified dark pixel subtraction method. The visual thematic maps (wastelands and forest cover maps) were also co-registered to satellite data to a near pixel accuracy. Digital values were extracted for various classes and rule sets were generated using See-5 data mining software. These rule sets were ported into ERDAS Imagine Knowledge Engineer and the temporal data sets were classified. The results indicate that temporal satellite data at monthly intervals have a good potential to capture the land cover information including temporal dynamics of crop cover in agricultural lands. Addition of legacy maps obtained through monoscopic visual interpretation has helped to improve classification accuracies significantly. However, there exists a co-registration issue between visual maps as well as satellite data that have influenced the classification accuracies. The decision tree classification algorithm (See-5) used in this study is able to exploit the temporal variation in target spectral properties as well as thematic information from legacy maps satisfactorily. There has been a substantial improvement in various categories of forests as well as wastelands due to addition of visual maps. This has further reduced the misclassification of other vegetation categories, thereby improving the overall classification accuracy. Overall, kappa statistic of 0.885 was achieved with multitemporal satellite data, which was further improved to 0.932 with the addition of visual maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robust data on the spatial distribution of land degradation is important for resource conservation planning. Spatial land degradation status of India was mapped using multi-temporal Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor (LISS-III) data acquired from Resourcesat-1/2 during 2005-2006 and 2015-2016 under the Natural Resources Census programme of the Indian Space Research Organisation. Heads-up on-screen visual interpretation of multi-season satellite data was carried out, supported by digital elevation model and other historical maps available. Visual interpretation cues were developed and employed across various partner institutions to achieve consistency in mapping. The outputs were subjected to two-stage quality check. Results indicate that the total land degradation of India was 91.2 M ha (27.77% of the geographical extent of the country) during 2015-2016 against 91.3 M ha during 2005-2006. During the ten-year period, there was an overall decrease of around 0.1 M ha in degraded land. However, noticeable intra- and inter-class changes were observed in land degradation during the ten-year period. Major reclamation was noticed in sand dunes which were converted into crop lands by levelling them. Substantial decrease in severity and extent of salt-affected soils was noticed in Uttar Pradesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Aeration consumes maximum energy in shrimp aquaculture pond management. • Paddlewheel is highly efficient for oxygenation and water circulation than others. • Aerators perform better at medium salinities than low or high saline conditions. • Correct type and sizing of aerators based on salinities can save energy and cost. Aerators are essential for maintaining the dissolved oxygen level in shrimp culture operations. Many types of aerators are promoted as suitable for shrimp culture, but their comparative efficiencies and water circulation patterns are least understood. The aerators viz, modified paddlewheel, Scorpion jet, Venture jet, Wavesurge were evaluated to compare the standard aeration efficiency at different saline conditions with the commonly used paddle wheel. The modified paddlewheel had the highest mean aeration efficiency of 2.018 kg O 2 / kWh at 35‰, followed by the paddlewheel with 1.434 kg O 2 / kWh at 20‰ water salinity. Compared to this, the Scorpion jet and the Wavesurge have shown the highest aeration efficiency of 0.667 and 0.412 kg O 2 / kWh at 20 and 35‰ water salinities, respectively, whereas the Venture jet has given only. The aerator's performance was better at medium water salinities (20 and 35‰) than low (5‰) or high saline (50‰) conditions. In addition to aeration, the paddlewheel aerator has given the maximum water circulation speed 3 ft/sec and coverage distance of 24 m. The cost economics were derived by keeping all other expenses constant except aeration associated costs. The internal rate of returns in shrimp culture with a modified paddle wheel was 127 % compared to the commonly used paddle wheel (120 %). However, the scorpion and wavesurge aerators have shown returns of 47 % and 27 % respectively across the salinities. The selection and sizing of aerators based on the biomass and efficiency of the aeration systems can make considerable headway in decreasing the cost of production and energy use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General practitioners are the nearest to the community who can render the need of the patient both clinically and physiologically. A general practitioner is to develop the art of communication to avoid litigation and be aware of all the legal issues entangling the profession so that his practice is not interfered by the law enforcing authority. A general practitioner does not have the time to update his knowledge on legal issues involved in practice and this articles lends a few input for them.