Punjab State Of India Research Articles

Saving Surge: Analyzing the Growth of Postal Saving Schemes in India and Punjab State of India

Saving Surge: Analyzing the Growth of Postal Saving Schemes in India and Punjab State of India

Urgent Need to Revisit the Current Approach towards De-addiction in Punjab

With an estimated 230,000 opioid dependents, drug addiction is a serious and growing problem in Punjab state in India. It is driven by a combination of the culture of masculinity, peer pressure, social disturbances, separating families, unemployment and easy availability of drugs.

OPINION LEADERS' ROLE IN STRENGTHENING AGRICULTURE EXTENSION IN INDIA

The kinetics of mechanisms involved in the diffusion of innovations has led to the conceptual framework of diffusion studies as we see of now. The concept of opinion leaders and innovativeness and how their influence can drastically bring about changes within a social contagion has been widely studied throughout many fields, but it has been still under-utilised in agricultural sector. For this reason, a study was conducted in the Punjab state of India, where 3 villages were selected through multi-stage sampling. All the farmers in these 3 villages constituted the sampling frame totaling to 214 farmers. A sociometric survey was conducted in order to identify the opinion leaders within the 3 villages. The specific characteristics of opinion leaders like cosmpoliteness, information seeking behaviour and higher Socio-economic characteristics were identified and they were compared with that of the followers. Both the opinion leader's Socio-economic characteristics and their sources of information differed significantly whereas the exposure to mass media channels were found to be similar, thanks to the advancements in ICT. Specific traits such as opinion leadership, personality strength scale and influence were found to be high among majority of the opinion leaders. While the adoptive behaviour of the opinion leader seems to categorise majority of them into medium category, indicating to their innovativeness as early adopters rather than innovators.

EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN PUNJAB'S HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

This study aims to assess the relationship between organizational commitment and work-life balance among staff members working in hospitals in the Indian state of Punjab. Based on a sample of 382 hospital employees, including medical and paramedical staff, the study was conducted. The required information was gathered using a standardized questionnaire. The Smart PLS statistical tool was utilized for analysing the data that was gathered. The study's findings demonstrate a significant and positive association between organizational commitment and work-life balance in selected hospitals of Punjab, highlighting the significance of this balance in encouraging employee commitment in this situation. Based on the R 2 value of 0.644, it can be concluded that the model is responsible for approximately 64 percent of the variance in organisational commitment. Nevertheless, the circumstances that are accountable for the remaining 36 percent of variability have not been found.

Decreased mRNA expression of NR1H3 and ABCA1 in pulmonary tuberculosis patients from population of Punjab, India.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is the causative organism of tuberculosis. Cholesterol is a crucial carbon source required for the survival of MTB in host cells. Transcription factor NR1H3 along with its important target genes ABCA1 and ApoE play important role in removal of extra cholesterol from cells. Changes in the gene expression of NR1H3, ABCA1 and ApoE can affect cholesterol homeostasis and thus the survival of MTB in host cells.Therefore, the present study was designed to analyze the mRNA expression of NR1H3, ABCA1 and ApoE in pulmonary TB (PTB) patients from the population of Punjab, India. In this study, mRNA expression of the transcription factor NR1H3 and its target genes ABCA1 and ApoE was analyzed in 89 subjects, including 41 PTB patients and 48 healthy controls (HCs) by real-time quantitative PCR. It was found that the mRNA expression of both NR1H3 and ABCA1 genes was significantly lower in TB patients than in HCs (p < 0.001). Even after sex-wise stratification of the subjects, mRNA expression of NR1H3 and ABCA1 was found to be down-regulated in both male and female TB patients. No significant difference was observed in expression of ApoE (p = 0.98). The present study found that the mRNA expression of NR1H3 and ABCA1 is down-regulated in TB patients from Punjab state of India.

The Impact of Organizational Culture and Leadership Behavior on Employee Behavior of Selected Educational Institutes in Punjab State of India

This study was conducted to examine the impact of organizational culture and leadership behavior on employee behavior of selected educational institutes in the Punjab state of India. A survey was conducted to collect data, and the respondents surveyed for this study were from north India. The respondents were asked to fill out the five-point Likert scale questionnaire. The field survey method was used to distribute the questionnaires. Participants were employees of selected educational institutes in North India. About 110 Questionnaires were distributed and finally, 80 filled questionnaires were collected. Several analytical techniques such as descriptive research design, correlation, hypothesis analysis through hierarchical multiple regression, and ANOVA through SPSS were used to evaluate the variables' relationships. The findings of the present study indicated a significant positive effect on the behavior of employees of selected educational Institutes and positively affected the organizational culture and leadership behavior in the selected educational institutes.

Role of Education and Training to Make Agritourism A Success Story in India

: The paper explores the role of entrepreneurship education and training amongst women entrepreneurs to promote agritourism sector of the Indian economy. This study employ qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather data questionnaires survey and in-depth face to face interviews, based on a semi-structured questionnaire. The research involved a matched sample of 10 registered farmers (from the Punjab Heritage Tourism Promotion Board) and 200 unregistered male and female farmers selected randomly from the Indian State of Punjab. Quantitative analysis suggests that there is a direct and significant impact of EET on the management, efficiency, and use of farming land. The findings also suggested that the fall in the agricultural productivity due to labour shortages; revenue losses are rising as commodity prices are falling. Therefore, it is not a surprise that farmers seek to supplement income through alternative means to enhance their socio-economic stability and viability. The findings suggest that there is high incidence of migration amongst male farming population and female farmers lack EET and reluctance on their part to work with external male population. However, analysis of male owner-managers of micro and small agritourist firms also reported to have lower levels of EET and hence the need for EET male and females; thus, EET and adequate access to finance were two major determinants of agritourist firms’ success in Indian Punjab.

Detecting and quantifying zero tillage technology adoption in Indian smallholder systems using Sentinel-2 multi-spectral imagery

Zero tillage (ZT), an important component of Conservation Agriculture, has enormous potential to curb emissions from residue burning, increase soil organic carbon and water retention, reduce land preparation costs and increase the long-term productivity and profitability of the farming system. Despite the promise of ZT, little is known about how widely it has been adopted at regional scales in smallholder systems, where management is heterogeneous. Identifying ZT diffusion patterns across space and time along with other popular tillage technologies, such as conventional tillage (CT) and shallow tillage (ST), helps to target and disseminate the most effective technologies and estimate their climate change mitigation potential. Acknowledging the complexities involved in distinguishing ZT from CT and ST in smallholder fields, this study utilized an innovative two-step change detection method leveraging early-season Sentinel-2 multi-spectral imagery. We developed and applied our model in the Indian state of Punjab over three years (2020–2022). Our method outperformed traditional binary classification models, achieving 81 % accuracy. The analysis indicated that areas under different tillage types changed over time across Punjab. Specifically, from 2020 to 2021, we found a 33 % and 4 % decrease in ZT and CT, respectively. However, a 29 % increase is observed in CT adoption. On the other hand, from 2021 to 2022, the adoption rates for ZT and CT increased by 18 % and 2 %, respectively, while ST adoption decreased by 12 %. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential use of early season Sentinel-2 imagery to map the adoption of tillage practices in smallholder systems. Our approach can provide large-scale information on technology uptake, aiding policies to implement carbon markets and the scaling up of sustainable agricultural practices in India.

Biomass-Based Microgrid: A Case Study on its Aspects in the State of Punjab in India

The microgrid is an emerging power system. It works on the interconnection of renewable energy resources (RES) such as solar, wind and biomass, which is a promising field for researchers to explore the scope of power production from unconventional energy resources. Various combinations of RES like solar, wind, biomass and small-hydro power plants are available at different geographical locations. As a result, the combined use of various RES is drawing more attention and is frequently employed as an alternative to energy based on fossil fuels. Economic facets of these systems are suitably promising to consider them for raising the growth of power generation capability in developing countries. Objective of this paper is to presents a detailed study of the biomass-based hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) in terms of their cost of energy and carbon emission. Moreover, the deployment of biomass-based power generation technology in Indian and international energy scenarios has been discussed showing the availability along with the availability of RES in Punjab, India. From the literature review it reveals that a viable configuration of microgrid which can generate power by direct combustion and gasification of biomass should be proposed and optimized to ensure more reliability and less carbon footprints in power generation.

Discovery, development, and deployment of a user-centered point-of-care digital information system to treat and track hypertension and diabetes patients under India Hypertension Control Initiative 2019-2022, India.

Hypertension affects 28.5% of Indians aged 18-69. Real-time registration and follow-up of persons with hypertension are possible with point-of-care digital information systems. We intend to describe herein the experiences of discovering, developing, and deploying a point-of-care digital information system for public health facilities under the India Hypertension Control Initiative. We have adopted an agile and user-centered approach in each phase in selected states of India since 2017. A multidisciplinary team adopted a hybrid approach with quantitative and qualitative methods, such as contextual inquiries, usability testing, and semi-structured interviews with healthcare workers, to document and monitor utility and usability. During the discovery phase, we adopted a storyboard technique to understand the requirement of a digital information system. The participatory approach in discovery phase co-designed the information system with the nurses and doctors at Punjab state of India. Simple, which is the developed information system, has a front-end Android mobile application for healthcare workers and a backend dashboard for program managers. As of October 2022, over 24,31,962 patients of hypertension and 8,99,829 diabetes were registered in the information system of 10,017 health facilities. The median duration of registering a new patient was 50 seconds, and for recording a follow-up visit was 14 seconds in the app. High satisfaction was reported in 100 app users' quarterly interviews. Simple was implemented by administering a user-centered approach and agile techniques. It demonstrated high utility and usability among users, highlighting the benefits of a user-centered approach for effective digital health solutions.

Subclinical circulation of Chicken infectious anaemia virus- A Sero-molecular study.

Chicken infectious anaemia-an important immunosuppressive viral disease of chicken-gained much attention in the recent past. Based on huge mortality and production loss observed in the fast-growing poultry sector, the present study aimed to find out the current status of the chicken infectious anaemia virus (CIAV), among chicken flocks in the Punjab state of India by sero-molecular study. The sera from the blood samples were tested for anti-CIAV antibodies by indirect ELISA and also compared with haematological parameters. DNA from sero-positive samples underwent PCR amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the most conserved genomic region (VP3 gene) to detect viraemia in asymptomatic birds. The serological study using indirect ELISA showed a high sero-positivity of 77.27% in chicken flocks. Additionally, the present study also revealed the high molecular evidence (72.54%) of CIAV in apparently healthy birds. Genetic analysis showed that all CIAVs have conserved VP3 genes without any nucleotide substitutions, indicating presence of CIAV and its subclinical circulation among apparently healthy flocks. The wide distribution of CIAV among birds may be the reason for huge mortality and production loss. Further, it is suggested that studies be conducted to find out the co-involvement of CIAV with other immunosuppressive microbial agents and the immunosuppressive effect of CIAV in apparently healthy birds. Also, its role in vaccine failure and outbreaks of various other avian diseases needs to be explored.

Prevalence of Ear Disease and Associated Hearing Loss Among Government Rural Primary School Students in Patiala, Punjab: A Cross Sectional Survey.

Ear disease in children are a major public health problem in developing countries and if left untreated, it may result in various social and psychological problems for affected children. Among all ear diseases, ear infections are a common but treatable cause of morbidity in children. Long term consequences of persistent severe ear infection can result in speech development disorders, poor academic and educational development and overall lower quality of life. Most of ear diseases leading to hearing loss are preventable if diagnosed and treated early. A cross sectional study was conducted in Government Rural Primary School students, 2160 students in Patiala district of Punjab state in India with aim to study the prevalence of ear disease and associated hearing loss in students and their relationship with socioeconomic status. The data was collected, compiled and analysed statistically.

Assessing and Prioritizing Zoonotic Diseases in Punjab, India: A One Health Approach.

Zoonotic diseases have a significant impact on both human and animal health globally. The present study was planned to prioritize the zoonoses in Punjab state of India. To develop a zoonotic disease prioritization scoring system, a comprehensive approach has been taken, including literature review, key person interviews with animal health experts (n = 12) and medical professionals (n = 7), and nine focus group discussions (FGDs) with veterinary academicians, medical professionals, and field veterinary doctors. The scoring system comprises of seven major criteria, each assigned a weightage score (ws): prevalence/incidence of the disease (ws = 0.20), severity of illnesses in humans (ws = 0.18), epidemic potential (ws = 0.16), socio-economic burden (ws = 0.16), availability of effective control and prevention measures (ws = 0.15), inter-sectoral collaborations (ws = 0.1), and bioterrorism potential (ws = 0.05). The finalized scoring system, accompanied by a list of 15 selected zoonotic diseases, was implemented among a group of 23 professionals engaged in zoonoses research (n = 7), animal health (n = 10), and medical health (n = 6) to determine their prioritization. The zoonotic diseases prioritized for the Punjab (India) included, Brucellosis (0.70) > Rabies (0.69) > Anthrax (0.64) > Leptospirosis (0.62) = Toxoplasmosis (0.62) = Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) (0.62) > Bovine tuberculosis (0.61) > Q fever (0.60) > Cysticercosis (0.59) > Listeriosis (0.58) > Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) (0.57) > Japanese encephalitis (0.56) = Echinococcosis (0.56) > Dermatophytosis (0.53) > and Scrub typhus (0.48), respectively. Higher priority is suggested for endemic zoonoses (e.g., brucellosis and rabies) as compared to those with epidemic potential (e.g., CCHF, HPAI etc.) in Punjab. Results of the current study will help in the development of targeted control and prevention strategies for zoonotic diseases in Punjab and other geographical regions facing similar challenges.

Association Between Knowledge, Attitude, Social Contact and Social Distance Practices with Regard to the LGBT Community Among Heterosexual Individuals Living in the Punjab State of India

Association Between Knowledge, Attitude, Social Contact and Social Distance Practices with Regard to the LGBT Community Among Heterosexual Individuals Living in the Punjab State of India

The Deadly Cost of Informal Lending: An Economic Model of Agrarian Suicide in Punjab

The Indian state of Punjab, which initially benefited greatly from the green revolution, has suffered from a dramatic rise in agrarian suicides for several decades. We use a carefully constructed sample of over 1,000 farmers in the epicentre, and build a three-stage model of agricultural production decisions across multiple input and multiple output choices, indebtedness from multiple sources and suicide via an IPWRA (inverse probability weighted regression adjustment) treatment model to trace the potential roots of the situation. Results show that the use of informal credit from commission agents by farmers accounts for 10 percentage points (or 20%) of all suicides in our sample, regardless of other household factors and choices.

A resource-based and institutional theory-driven model of large-scale biomass-based bioethanol supply chains: An emerging economy policy perspective

The wide-spread dependence of transportation sector on the ever-depleting and greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels when burnt has raised considerable energy security and environmental concerns. Consequently, countries around the world have positioned biofuels as a center stage alternative to fossil fuels in their national policies to provide energy security and carbon emission control. In this regard, the paper conducts a feasibility assessment of setting-up large-scale supply chain of bioethanol (i.e., a biofuel variant) based on the regional availability of agricultural residues. Critical resources and capabilities requirements and governance attributes for bioethanol supply chains are explored using the resource-based view and institutional theory lenses. An agricultural residues (as biomass inputs) based bioethanol supply chain (BESC) model is proposed to incorporate the economic and environmental optimality considerations for an agro-climatic region. A case study of the Punjab State in India is used as an application of the proposed BESC model. Findings suggest that sustainable BESC configurations can be achieved differently for different agricultural residues. Comparative analyses, trade-off scenarios, and sustainability assessments of various agricultural residues-based BESC configurations are conducted. The policy implications of the priority areas are discussed within the bounds of India's biofuel policy.

Farm-level medicinal plants production and economic analysis in the Indian state of Punjab

Farmers all across the world conduct experiments, and have done so for a long time, way before modern experimental science and its forerunners were acknowledged. Farmer techniques, based on their experience, have some advantages over agricultural specialists' field trials under the relevant local conditions, making documentation of successful agricultural practises essential. In this article, we document the successful farmer’s practices of selected medicinal plants i.e. Aloe vera, Ocimum sanctum, and Curcuma longa in the Indian state of Punjab through farm-level observations and data. Following that, the cost-return structure of these medicinal plants was examined using average prices obtained from personal interviews utilising a questionnaire in order to demonstrate their economic potential over traditional crops (wheat and paddy). The study highlights that Aloe vera has Indian Rupee (INR) 92,876 (1127.55 USD) profit per one acre area, Curcuma longa has INR. 73,725 (895.05 USD) profit per one acre area, while Ocimum sanctum have INR 35,515 (431.16 USD) return over variable cost which is comparatively higher than wheat and paddy. The article underlines Ocimum sanctum as a successful competitor and replacer of paddy in Kharif/Monsoon season. The study's selection of common agricultural indicators and agricultural practises was mostly dependent on the inputs and average values provided by the farmers. Little variations, however, that cannot be measured to arrive at the compiled data may exist. The economic analysis in the present study is representable to only Punjab, however, the cost-return structure may vary in different states, and nations depending on ecological, and trade patterns. This article will serve as a guidance document for farmers interested in medicinal plant adoption owing to its on-field effective farmer practises and agro-economics.

Modelling the control of bovine brucellosis in India.

Brucellosis imposes substantial impacts on livestock production and public health worldwide. A stochastic, age-structured model incorporating herd demographics was developed describing within- and between-herd transmission of Brucella abortus in dairy cattle herds. The model was fitted to data from a cross-sectional study conducted in Punjab State of India and used to evaluate the effectiveness of control strategies under consideration. Based on model results, stakeholder acceptance and constraints regarding vaccine supply, vaccination of replacement calves in large farms should be prioritized. Test and removal applied at early stages of the control programme where seroprevalence is high would not constitute an effective or acceptable use of resources because significant numbers of animals would be 'removed' (culled or not used for breeding) based on false positive results. To achieve sustained reductions in brucellosis, policymakers must commit to maintaining vaccination in the long term, which may eventually reduce frequency of infection in the livestock reservoir to a low enough level for elimination to be a realistic objective. This work provides key strategic insights into the control of brucellosis in India, which has the largest cattle population globally, and a general modelling framework for evaluating control strategies in endemic settings.

Age in the Acceptance of Mobile Social Media

This paper focuses on determining the age-based differences among consumers in terms of the acceptance of mobile social media. In doing so, the younger age group is represented by Generation Y and the elderly by Baby Boomers. Further, the famous UTAUT2 model is applied, and relationships mentioned in it are evaluated for the two age groups. For this purpose, a sample of 249 respondents was obtained from the online survey conducted in the state of Punjab in India. The statistical technique of multi-group path analysis using structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to the generated data. The findings of the study reveal that the young age and elderly groups differ significantly in terms of the impact of effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation on behavioral intention, and facilitating conditions on use behavior. It may provide important implications for future research related to internet marketing and mobile social media.

Knowledge of Staff Nurses on Immediate Physiological Problems Occurring due to Chemotherapy: A Descriptive Study

Background: People undergoing chemotherapy will have side effects, usually occurring such as nausea and vomiting, alopecia, pain, fatigue, neutropenia, mouth sores, and thrombocytopenia. Some side effects can be serious enough to create delays in treatment. These may include febrile neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, etc. The objectives were formulated to carry out the study to assess the knowledge of staff nurses on immediate physiological problems occurring due to chemotherapy. Methods: The study opted to use a descriptive approach to its methodology. The research was conducted at the Patel Multispecialty Hospital in Jalandhar, which is located in the state of Punjab in India. The information was gathered from eighty staff nurses using the convenient sample technique and a self-structured questionnaire, and it was then analyzed to determine the level of knowledge possessed by the staff nurses. When doing the analysis of the data, both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized. Pender’s model of health promotion served as the inspiration for the conceptual framework that this study employed. Results: The overall aspect-wise mean knowledge score was 13.63 with an SD of 5.509 and the total percentage was 40%. In the present communication, we have observed that in the age group 41–50 years has good knowledge of chemotherapy and its immediate side effects rather than others. Conclusion: The nurses with a B.Sc. degree having more information as compared to GNMs followed by those who were working more than 5 years has good knowledge of the side effects of chemotherapy as compared to other staff. Hence, there is a need for an information guide sheet related to immediate physiological problems and the management of chemotherapy, which will be useful to improve the knowledge of staff nurses.