bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Religious Conflict at Canterbury Cathedral in the Late Twelfth Century
Authors: Barnaby James
Published: January 2025

Documents a long-running dispute between the archbishops and monks of Canterbury throughout the 1180s and 1190s.

For fifteen years the monks of Christ Church Canterbury waged a war against their archbishop, over a plan to build a church to provide funds for their administration, dedicated to Thomas Becket. Fearing the loss of their most beloved (and lucrative) saint to this new institution, the monks embarked on a course of action which saw rioting in the streets of Canterbury, their excommunication, and the cathedral placed under siege by the archbishop.

Although at first glance an internal dispute between the archbishop and his cathedral chapter, it had a wide-ranging impact. The monks travelled thousands of miles in support of their cause, enlisting the backing of popes, cardinals, and the elites of Europe. In England, the kings during the period took a personal interest in the dispute, sometimes attempting to resolve it and sometimes hindering any chance of peace.

This book, the first full account of the conflict, draws on the huge collection of letters it provoked (one of the largest compiled in the twelfth century), alongside other sources such as monastic culture, to offer a detailed narrative of this complicated feud between Archbishops Baldwin of Forde, Hubert Walter and their cathedral monks; it also considers the continuations of the dispute in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In addition, it analyses the key themes of the conflict: the role of royalty, travel, and the deployment of Thomas Becket.
Bristol and the Birth of the Atlantic Economy, 1500-1700
Authors: Stone Richard
Published: January 2025

Analyses data from the Bristol Port Books to rewrite the history of trade in Bristol, including the city's early involvement with the slave trade.
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were a transformative period for global commerce, with the principal focus of England's trade shifting away from trade with Europe, primarily in woollen cloth, to a new Atlantic system, with trade in a diverse range of commodities. Based on the fantastically detailed Bristol Port Books, previously thought impenetrable, and using new computer technology to analyse the vast amount of data, this book provides the first long duration history of a major Atlantic port in this period.

It rewrites the history of Bristol's trade, overturning much established thinking, for example showing that trade flourished in the late Tudor and early Stuart period, demonstrating that Bristol was involved in the slave trade much earlier than was previously thought and charting the growth of commerce with North America and the Caribbean from nothing to three quarters of Bristol's imports in the short period from the 1630s to the 1650s. Overall, the book represents a major contribution to understanding how the Atlantic economy worked and how it developed in this crucial period.
The Middle Ages in Computer Games
Authors: Houghton Robert
Published: January 2025

Offers the most comprehensive analysis and discussion of medievalist computer games to date.

Games with a medieval setting are commercially lucrative and reach a truly massive audience. Moreover, they can engage their players in a manner that is not only different, but in certain aspects, more profound than traditional literary or cinematic forms of medievalism. However, although it is important to understand the versions of the Middle Ages presented by these games, how players engage with these medievalist worlds, and why particular representational trends emerge in this most modern medium, there has hitherto been little scholarship devoted to them.

This book explores the distinct nature of medievalism in digital games across a range of themes, from the portrayal of grotesque yet romantic conflict to conflicting depictions of the Church and religion. It likewise considers the distinctions between medievalist games and those of other periods, underlining their emphasis on fantasy, roleplay and hardcore elements, and their consequences for depictions of morality, race, gender and sexuality. Ultimately the book argues that while medievalist games are thoroughly influenced by medievalist and ludic tropes, they are nonetheless representative of a distinct new form of medievalism. It engages with the vast literature surrounding historical game studies, game design, and medievalism, and considers hundreds of games from across genres, from Assassin's Creed and Baldur's Gate to Crusader Kings and The Witcher series. In doing so, it provides a vital illustration of the state of the field and a cornerstone for future research and teaching.
Transactional Culture in Colonial Dakar, 1902-44
Authors: Petrocelli Rachel M.
Published: January 2025

Examines Dakar's transformation from a small colonial capital to a dynamic city, highlighting how its resourceful residents challenged French control by forging adaptive economic relationships.During a transformative era in the first half of the twentieth century, Dakar—former capital of French West Africa and present-day capital of Senegal—evolved from a small colonial capital meant to serve the French administration to a dynamic city shaped not solely by colonial planners but also by its resourceful inhabitants. In this important book, historian Rachel Petrocelli introduces the concept of transactional culture, a set of norms and practices forged by Dakar's residents to navigate life under colonial rule. A central element of that culture was transience, a defining feature permeating various facets of life in Dakar, from commerce and employment to housing and interactions with the state.

The book uncovers a central dynamic: economic relationships in Dakar were continually molded by the ebb and flow of diverse individuals, each pursuing their own objectives despite the relentless efforts of the French state to exert control. Both Europeans and Africans embraced adaptability in Dakar over fixed residence, while immigrant communities implanted themselves and became integral to the city's transactional culture. In this examination based on court records and other sources, Petrocelli shows that as the French colonial state sought to shape and control Dakar, it enacted policies to intentionally limit city dwellers' resources. Strategies like pawning possessions and taking out credit, creatively devising housing, and mobilizing identities and affiliations emerged as a result, integrating Dakarois of every background. These practices persisted long after French rule ended, underscoring the enduring impact of Dakar's colonial history.
Collaborators, Rebels and Traitors
Authors: Sinha Awadhesh C.
Published: January 2025

Investigates attitudes toward and relationships with the Indian Union from those in frontier states, who at times rose up in opposition from centralized Indian powers.

This book delves into the status of three regions: Kashmir, Sikkim, and the province of Assam in 1947. In Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah had emerged as a charismatic leader before it was raided by Pakistan. It explores how Sikkim was accorded the status of an India-protectorate stage in 1950. The Naga National Council, led by Z.A. Phizo, resorted to armed uprisings in the 1950s in Naga Hills, followed by M.N.F. and Laldenga thereafter.

The work sheds light on the dynamics of collaboration and rebellion involving leaders like Sheikh Abdullah and the last King of Sikkim, P.T. Namgyal, with the Indian establishment, and why and how they rebelled against them. Additionally, it discusses consequences of these tribal leaders' armed insurrections, and the role in the formation of Nagaland and Mizoram am Indian states.

Offering a unique perspective on the historical evolution of these regions, this book will be invaluable for Indian policymakers, allowing readers to see the Indian Union from the viewpoint of the Frontier leadership.

Awadhesh Coomar Sinha is an anthropologist and sociologist. Having taught sociology and served as Dean of the School of Social Sciences at North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, he has also been a visiting professor in various universities in India and beyond, and is a pioneer in the field of Eastern Himalayan research. Among his highly acclaimed books on the region are Nepalese in Globalized Era (2016), Dawn of Democracy in the Eastern Himalayan Kingdoms (2019) and Federation of the Himalayan Kingdoms and a Greater Nepal (2023).
Onomantic Divination in Late Medieval Britain
Authors: Edge Joanne
Published: January 2025

Demonstrates the wide prevalence of supposedly impermissible divination techniques found in a wide range of manuscripts from medieval Britain.

When will I die? What is the sex of my unborn child? Which of two rivals will win a duel?As today, people in the later Middle Ages approached their uncertainties about the future, from the serious to the mundane, in a variety of ways. One of the most commonly surviving prognostic methods in medieval manuscripts is onomancy: the branch of divination that predicts the future from calculations based on the numbers that correlate to the letters of personal names. However, despite its ubiquity, it has been relatively little studied.

This book analyses the intellectual and physical contexts of onomantic texts in some 65 manuscripts of British provenance between around 1150 and 1500, focusing on its two main varieties It demonstrates that onomancies were copied, owned and used by a people from a wide range of literate society in late medieval England: medical practitioners; the gentry and aristocracy; university scholars; and monks. And it seeks to answer the question of why a divinatory device, condemned in canon law as "Pythagorean necromancy", enjoyed such popularity in mainstream books of religion, medicine, and scholasticism.
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
Authors: Albrecht Theodore
Published: January 2025

Brings to life the day-to-day details of staging the premiere of one of the most iconic works of Western classical music.

The Ninth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven with its final choral movement is one of the iconic works of Western classical music. And yet, the story never fully told concerns the months leading to the symphony's world premiere in Vienna on 7 May and repeat performance on 23 May 1824. In his new book, Theodore Albrecht brings to life the day-to-day details that it took to stage that premiere. It's a story of negotiating for performance halls and performers' payments, of hand-copying legible scores and individual parts for over 120 performers, of finding financiers, as well as space and time for rehearsals. Importantly, it is also a story of the relationship between Beethoven and the musicians who performed this symphonic masterpiece. In fact, as the maddening rehearsal schedule towards the symphony's premiere shows, it transpires that many passages of the Ninth have been tailored to specific orchestral players.

Many modern-day musicians will recognize familiar situations in rehearsals, many scholars and students will relish unprecedented new detail. All this comes to the fore by reconstructing the story drawing on the (almost) deaf composer's Conversation Books which Beethoven had been using since 1818. In the performance story of the Ninth Symphony's premiere, Albrecht makes full use of these invaluable documents, which are now being translated for the first time into English in a series of 12 volumes published by the Boydell Press.
Female Devotion and Textile Imagery in Medieval English Literature
Authors: McKay Anna
Published: January 2025

Uncovers the female voices, lived experiences, and spiritual insights encoded by the imagery of textiles in the Middle Ages.
For millennia, women have spoken and read through cloth. The literature and art of the Middle Ages are replete with images of women working cloth, wielding spindles, distaffs, and needles, or sitting at their looms. Yet they have been little explored.

Drawing upon the burgeoning field of medieval textile studies, as well as contemporary theories of gender, materiality, and eco-criticism, this study illustrates how textiles provide a hermeneutical alternative to the patriarchally-dominated written word. It puts forward the argument that women's devotion during this period was a "fabricated" phenomenon, a mode of spirituality and religious exegesis expressed, devised, and practised through cloth. Centred on four icons of female devotion (Eve, Mary, St Veronica, and - of course - Christ), the book explores a broad range of narratives from across the rich tapestry of medieval English literature, from the fields of Piers Plowman to the late medieval Morte D'arthur; the devotions of Margery Kempe to the visionary experiences of Julian of Norwich; Gervase of Tilbury's fabulous Otia Imperialia to the anchoritic guidance literature of the Middle Ages; and the innumerable (and oft-forgotten) lives of Christ, prayers, legends, and miracle tales in between.
Gunpowder Technology in the Fifteenth Century
Authors: Müller Axel
Published: January 2025

The first full edition and English translation of the RA I.34 Firework Book.

Produced from the early fifteenth century onwards, Firework Books are, broadly speaking, manuals on how to use gunpowder, witnessing a major development in warfare. Surviving in a corpus of some 65, each text has different content and components, but core elements are present throughout. An important example is a manuscript in the collection of the Royal Armouries (RA I.34), written in Early New High German, and (unlike many other manuscripts) still in what appears to be its original format and binding; it also, unusually, contains a number of illustrations.

This volume provides the first full edition and English translation of the material, with a detailed analysis of its content and context. It positions the Firework Books at a crucial stage in the development of gunpowder artillery, offering an unparalleled insight into fifteenth-century gunpowder technology at a critical juncture of military and technological change at the end of the Middle Ages.
Modeling Motherhood in Weimar Germany
Authors: Calvert Katherine E
Published: January 2025

Reveals how socialist discourses and psychoanalytic ideas shaped the modern models of motherhood envisioned by left-wing and socially critical women writers working in the Weimar press and literary spheres.Women's experiences and opportunities in the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) were shaped by tensions between advances in women's rights and widespread adherence to conservative notions of gender roles and women's maternal duty. This book explores these tensions, which were particularly pronounced on the political left, by analyzing socialist and socially critical women writers' interventions in contemporary debates on gender and women's role in society. For women in Weimar Germany, writing represented a subversive medium through which they could individualize reproductive politics and imagine modern models of mothering.

Relatable and aspirational mothering practices and mother figures feature in the literary and journalistic texts examined in this book. Theoretical and instructional works (by Alice Rühle-Gerstel and Henny Schumacher) and examples from the Social Democratic women's magazine Frauenwelt demonstrate how women writers adopted and adapted emerging psychological ideas to position their texts as modern and authoritative. A close analysis of critically neglected didactic texts (by Hermynia Zur Mühlen, Maria Leitner, Elfriede Brüning, and Else Kienle) and socially critical popular fiction (by Irmgard Keun, Vicki Baum, and Gabriele Tergit) exposes how women writers envisaged models of motherhood and family that were compatible with their political beliefs and modern lifestyles. This book reveals a pragmatic discourse that advocated progressive policies regarding reproductive choice and the rights of single mothers while leaving notions of women's maternal nature and duty largely unchallenged.
Habituation in German Modernism
Authors: Peters Meindert
Published: January 2025

Investigates the relationship of early twentieth-century German literature and thought with contemporary cognitive studies and posits a new theory of modernism.

How do we habituate ourselves to environments that are not yet, or no longer, familiar? What is at stake in adapting our behavior to new or changed situations? The present study explores these questions by bringing German literature and thought of the early twentieth century - a time of immense social and material change in Europe - into dialogue with contemporary research in embodied cognition. In six close readings of texts by Vicki Baum, Walter Benjamin, Alfred Döblin, Martin Heidegger, Georg Kaiser, and Rainer Maria Rilke, it brings into relief German modernism's concerns over how we adapt our behavior to environments that are new, changed, and/or changing. Rather than emphasizing the alienation and isolation that these texts investigate regarding the modern urban experience, as much of the research on literary modernism has traditionally done, Meindert Peters's book draws out the more dynamic moments of mastery, responsiveness, and cooperation that underpin habituation. Moreover, it extends these questions of habituation to the function of literature itself by showing how modernist forms invite engagement and participation. Habituation in German Modernism not only joins a growing body of scholarship dealing with the productive relationship between literature and cognitive studies but also posits a new theory of modernism.
Forest Politics in Kenya's Tugen Hills
Authors: Lacan Léa
Published: January 2025

Forests are a changing environment, impacted as much by people and politics as by the species-rich diversity they contain. This book explores human-sylvan relations in the Katimok forest, Baringo highlands, Kenya, and asks us to rethink the forest beyond questions of access and control of natural resources, as a habitat where forest politics and human lives are inextricably intertwined.

Tracing the development of the Katimok forest from colonial times to the present day, the author shows how - as with many forests in Africa - it has become constructed as a category and territory of nature under state control: an area both to be protected and turned into exploitable resources. For those living within and on the boundaries of the forest, this social-ecological transformation has had a significant impact. Despite now being settled outside Katimok itself, dispossessed by administrators heedless of local management practices, many former residents continue to maintain a close connection with the forest, not only to sustain their livelihoods, but also to maintain their intimate links with ancestral lands, where their stories and memories are materially inscribed and powerfully invoked. Intimate connections to the forest are revealed to be as political as the use of its resources, culminating in local claims for redress of historical dispossessions.
Print, Politics and Trade in the French Atlantic
Authors: McLeod Jane
Published: January 2025

The epic histories of the French Revolution, Enlightenment, and colonialism in the West Indies, told through the history of one family.

The Labottières were the largest printing and bookselling dynasty in eighteenth-century Bordeaux. From the 1680s to the sale of their business in 1794 three generations of this family acted as major cultural brokers in this booming Atlantic port, serving the rapidly expanding commercial and legal sectors with books, pamphlets, and newspapers.

The lives and businesses of this family are heavily entwined with the histories of the Enlightenment, French colonialism in the West Indies, and the French Revolution. We find the final generation, welcoming the Revolution, printing a pro-revolutionary newspaper that framed the revolts in Haiti and Martinique in pro-revolutionary terms. They would come to establish their shop as a Jacobin centre and, along with their workers and journalists, navigated the forces of popular censorship and state control. However, despite these activities, the Labottière printing and bookselling enterprise would, eventually, be destroyed by the very Revolution it had supported.

Through this lively microhistory of the Labottières, Jane McLeod presents the important role played by the flourishing Atlantic port economy in supporting the expansion of printing and bookselling. Furthermore, from McLeod's extensive archival research into over thirty members of the Labottière family, emerges a new understanding of the role played by printers and booksellers in the spreading of the ideas and concerns that underpinned some of the landmark social, cultural and political changes of the eighteenth century.
New World Medievalisms
Authors: Riley Scott Corbet
Published: January 2025

Examines how the European Middle Ages has been used and received in a variety of American cultural contexts.

There is a deep-seated preoccupation in North America with the cultures of the European Middle Ages, but despite the insightful conversations that have developed between medieval and postcolonial studies, this phenomenon remains underexplored. This book considers these New World medievalisms, from the links between New World colonization and Christian crusades to the medievalisms endemic to contemporary cultural productions, such as Game of Thrones, demonstrating how European figures and narratives have functioned to rationalize Euro-American colonial efforts.

Each of the chapters takes up a period of British colonial or U.S. cultural history, with an eye to how authors of that period depict, refer to and imagine the medieval. Topics range from the remarkable popularity throughout American literary history of Miguel Cervantes's Don Quixote to the role the Norman Conquest of Britain played in the British-American colonial cultural imaginary. It also showcases subversive counter-narratives from Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Ursula K. Le Guin; these authors challenge the use of anachronistic and geographically displaced medieval figures and narratives to define a modern nation-state such as the United States. Drawing on postcolonial theory, medievalism studies, medieval studies and American studies, this book shows how the "medieval/modern divide" continues to inform U.S. national identity and American historiography more generally.
The Advancement of Learning in Stuart Scotland, 1679-89
Authors: Ouston Hugh
Published: January 2025

A study of Scottish thinkers and writers in their political and cultural context.

The "advancement of learning" was the term used by late seventeenth-century Scots for intellectual enquiry of all kinds. Encouraged by Stuart patronage, and echoing a Royalist ideology of continuity and order following the chaos of the Civil War, the "Virtuosi", Scottish writers and thinkers, sought to define Scotland's identity. They undertook structured, empirical enquiry into Scottish natural history and geography, human history and antiquities, law and society, while the legal and medical professions developed their status and purpose through institutions such as the Royal College of Physicians and the Advocates' Library. They both complemented and eclipsed the changing intellectual life of the Church and Universities.
This book considers the work of leading authors, such as Sir George Mackenzie, Sir Robert Sibbald and Lord Stair, alongside the many other voices engaged in learned research and debate, examining their shared or contrasting philosophy and methods. It shows how a distinctively Scottish take on the "Scientific Revolution" was enhanced by close contacts with the Royal Society and English thinkers, and a conscious membership of the European Republic of Letters.
Music and Modernity in Enlightenment Spain
Authors: Sánchez-Rojo Ana P
Published: January 2025

By showing how music intersected with wider cultural affairs, such as philosophy and criticism, this bookconnects music and the modern in eighteenth-century Spain within the context of Enlightenment thought.

Histories of modern Europe often present late eighteenth-century Spain as a backward place struggling to keep pace with modernity. During the reign of Charles III (1759-1788), Spain pushed for economic and cultural modernization, but encountered resistance from members of the public and the elite alike. They viewed the modern as a passing fad that would, in time, show its fragility, and believed Spain would withstand the collapse thanks to its firm grounding in the pillars of monarchy, religion, and traditional forms of knowledge. One source of this solid foundation was the long-established musical knowledge based on the rules of counterpoint. In contrast, modernizers argued that Spain could be true to its essence, yet simultaneously modern and cosmopolitan: they favoured cosmopolitan genres, such as Italian opera, and artistic expression over counterpoint rules. At times this led to more creative uses of music, such as reinterpreting pastoral and sentimental topics to accommodate reformist political trends.

Music was considered crucial to the integrity of the Spanish nation by both sides. Whether and how Spain became modern would in many ways be defined and reinforced by the kinds of music that Spaniards composed and witnessed on stage. Through the study of press debates, opera reception, and musical theatre productions, this book shows how music intersected with wider cultural affairs, such as philosophy and criticism, medicine and the human body, civilization, Bourbon policy and sentimentality. Music and Modernity in Enlightenment Spain for the first time connects music and the modern in eighteenth-century Spain within the context of Enlightenment thought.
Reconstruction of a Large Groin Defect using Pedicled Chimeric Tensor Fascia Lata and Vastus Lateralis Muscle Flaps Following Malignant Melanoma Excision: A Case Report
Authors: Rai Archita N , Deshpande Swati , Borle Firoz , Shinde Raju , Kale Aditya
Published: January 2025

The reconstruction of large oncologic defects, especially in the groin region, poses significant surgical challenges due to the exposure of vital structures such as the femoral vessels. A 68-year-old male, previously treated for melanoma of the left foot, presented with a recurrent swelling in the left inguinal region. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) confirmed malignant melanoma. Imaging studies revealed a lobulated, infiltrative lesion in the left proximal thigh, abutting the femoral triangle but without muscle invasion. The patient underwent radical excision of the lesion along with inguinal lymph node dissection, resulting in a 20×10 cm defect with exposed femoral vessels that required complex reconstruction. A pedicled chimeric left Tensor Fascia Lata (TFL) perforator flap and a vastus lateralis muscle flap were harvested. The TFL flap was raised based on a single dominant perforator, while the vastus lateralis muscle flap was based on the descending branch of the Lateral Circumflex Femoral Artery (LCFA). Both flaps were successfully tunneled under the rectus femoris muscle and inset into the defect. The donor site was partially closed, and the remaining area was planned for delayed secondary skin grafting. The pedicled chimeric TFL and vastus lateralis flaps effectively covered an extensive groin defect with exposed femoral vessels. This approach offers a robust reconstructive option for complex oncologic defects, ensuring functional and aesthetic outcomes. Further studies and case series are warranted to explore the versatility and limitations of this technique.
Study on the Influence of Fibers to the Physical Mechanical Properties of Foam Concrete
Authors: Dang Bo
Published: January 2025

Foam concrete has been widely used in building, infrastructure and fire prevention fields because of its lightweight, excellent heat and sound insulation performance. However, due to its high porosity, the compressive strength of foam concrete is usually low, which limits its application in some high-strength structures. In order to solve this problem, researchers improve the mechanical properties of foam concrete by adding different types of fiber materials. This paper summarizes the research progress of fiber on the performance of foam concrete, and analyzes the influence of different types of fiber (such as polypropylene fiber, basalt fiber, polyvinyl alcohol fiber, etc.) on the performance of foam concrete. The research shows that adding proper amount of fiber into foam concrete can effectively improve the mechanical, durability, dry shrinkage and other properties of foam concrete.
Diversity of Ichthyofauna and their Abundance in Ghaghara River, Siwan District, Bihar, India
Authors: Sharma Jay Prakash , Paul D. K.
Published: January 2025

The Ghaghara River, a significant tributary of the holy River Ganga, travels across northern India., providing essential water resources for agriculture, communities and biodiversity. The river's fish diversity is vital for maintaining local ecological balance and supporting livelihoods. Fish biodiversity and different diversity indices were evaluated in the study area from August 2021 to July 2022. Data was collected from four locations namely Darauli (S-1), Rakauli (S-2), Phulwariya (S-3) and Semariya (S-4) of the Ghaghara River and we found 61 species belongs to 47 genera, 21 families and 07 orders. Cypriniformes were the most common order, accounting for 42% of fish species, followed by Siluriformes (31%), and Perciformes (18%). The most prevalent family is Cyprinidae, which accounts for 39.3% of the fish fauna (24 species), followed by Bagridae (06 species) and Sisoridae (4 species). Total number of individuals, relative abundance (percentage catch), minimum and maximum size of each species were calculated. However, the river’s aquatic ecosystems, particularly its fish populations are increasingly under threat due to human activities, including habitat degradation, pollution, overfishing and the construction of hydropower projects. This study aims to assess the fish diversity of the Ghaghara River and explore the current conservation challenges and opportunities.
Green Synthesis and Characterization of Fe Nanoparticles Using Neem (Azadirachta indica L.) Leaves
Authors: Parmar Pushpa S. , Patel K. C. , Patil G. B.
Published: January 2025

A laboratory study for synthesis and characterization of iron nanoparticles was conducted at laboratory of Department of Nanotechnology and Centre for advanced Research in Plant Tissue Culture, Anand Agricultural University, Anand. The Fe nanoparticle synthesized by green method and subsequently characterized for size (Dynamic Light Scattering), functional group (FTIR) and absorbance spectra (UV-VIS Spectrophotometer). The hydrodynamic average diameter was 22.02 nm, Polydispersity index (Pdi) of 0.248 and Kilo count per second (Kcps) of 228.6 for Fe nanoparticles. The FTIR showed 3219.06 cm−1, 1637.15 cm-1 confirmed presence of Fe nanoparticles. The UV-Visible spectra of the green synthesized Fe nanoparticles found an absorption peak at 256 nm. The FeCl3.6H2O and the neem leaf extract reacted, the color of the reaction mixture quickly changed from yellow to a dark brown color.
Management of Leaf Blight and Node Blight Diseases Indian Barnyard Millet (Echinochloa frumentacea (Roxb)
Authors: Paramasivan M. , Deivamani M. , Thangeswari S. , Ramjegathesh R. , Thangam A. , Senthilkumar M. , Malathi S. , Satya V.K.
Published: January 2025

A study on the management of important diseases of rainfed kuthiraivali was carried out through biological control and fungicides in combination with seed treatment and foliar application methods and different intervals of diseases incidence. The leaf blight pathogen was isolated from the affected leaf; the isolated fungus's dark grayish-colored, fluffy mycelia were observed on the PDA medium.  The mycelium was grey to olivaceous green, profusely branched, and septate. Conidiophores were single or in small groups, straight to flexuous, septate, smooth, and dark brown. Measuring 3.5 µm x 0.865 µm (1 µm), The disease incidence was observed at 15-day intervals using the percent disease index. Among three years, the seed treatment (10gm/kg) of Pseudomonas fluorescens (TNAU Pf1) followed by foliar application of Carbendazim + Mancozeb 2 gm/lit decreases the leaf blight diseases (63.63% reduction over control) and also recorded an increased yield of 1075 kg/ha of kuthiraivali. Seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf1 combined with foliar fungicide sprays significantly enhances yield and cost-benefit ratio under rainfed conditions while effectively managing seed-borne and foliar diseases.
Regeneration Status of Different Conifers in Gulmarg Forest Range of Kashmir Himalayas
Authors: Tasveer Suraya , Gatoo Aasif Ali , Wani Akhlaq Amin , Islam M.A. , Mushtaq Shah Murtaza , Khan P. A.
Published: January 2025

The present study was concentrated in the four forest blocks, namely Khaipora, Tangmarg, Ferozpora and Baderkut of Gulmarg Forest Range in Kashmir Himalayas. Natural regeneration and edaphic factors affecting regeneration status of different conifers was studied. Quadrats of 2x2m in the main plot of size 50x20m were laid down to study the regeneration at four blocks of Gulmarg Forest Range. The maximum numbers of recruits (current year seedlings, less than height of 8 cm), unestablished (height more than 8cm to 200cm) and established (height more than 200cm) plants were found for Abies pindrow at all the sites with the exception at Ferozpora where unestablished plants of Pinus wallichiana were found highest. Highest establishment stocking per cent and regeneration success was found for Abies pindrow at Khaipora, Ferozpora and Baderkut. Overall regeneration success was found to be highest at Baderkut followed by Khaipora while as the lowest regeneration success was found at Ferozpora respectively. Simple correlation study reveal that the regeneration success has a significant positive relationship with Light Intensity, pH, Electric conductivity, organic carbon, available nitrogen and available potassium while as litter layer and available phosphorous had a significant negative correlation with regeneration success.
Household Dietary Diversity and Its Influence on Preschoolers' Nutritional Status in Tamale Metropolis, Ghana
Authors: Nyango Wahabatu Mohammed , Alhassan Mustapha
Published: January 2025

Introduction: Household dietary diversity serves as a simple indicator of various parameters that affect the nutrition of people. Food security has three important aspects (availability, access, and utilization). Household accessibility to food has also been shown to be affected by demographic and socioeconomic factors, accounting for variations in diet quality. This study aimed to determine the relationship between preschoolers’ household dietary diversity and their nutritional status in the Tamale Metropolis.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was used to obtain data from 357 caregiver-preschooler pairs from three randomly selected communities in Tamale Metropolis. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on the demographic and nutritional status of the preschoolers. Dietary data for preschoolers and households were obtained using a single 24-hour recall method. Height and weight measurements of preschoolers were collected on anthropometric indices (weight-for-height, weight-for-age, and height-for-age). The relationships between the independent variables (household dietary diversity) and dependent variables (weight-for-age, weight-for-height, and height-for-age) were examined using the statistical analysis test to assess the strength of the relationship. The data were collected between December 2022 and January 2023.
Results: The results indicated that preschoolers consumed more starchy staples than other food groups. Dairy, egg, and meat products were the least consumed. Households had a mean household dietary diversity of 6.7059 ± 1.23 out of 12 food groups, and about 84.3% of the households had minimum dietary diversity. The finding from this study showed 22.1% stunting, 7.8% wasting and 14.3% underweight. No significant relationship was found between dietary diversity and height-for-age and weight-for-height nutritional status. However, there was a significant relationship between the age of the child and being stunted (P = .00) and underweight (P = .00).
Conclusion: These results show no significant relationship between household dietary diversity and preschoolers’ nutritional status. Therefore, there should be improvements in household food security, maternal knowledge of balance, and hygienic food practices.
Impact of Heterotic Potential in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) for Certain Yield and its Contributing Traits in Salt-Affected Soil
Authors: Yadav P. K. , Singh P. K. , Verma O. P. , Kumar Ashwani
Published: January 2025

The present investigation was undertaken with the objectives to estimate genetic variability for yield and yield contributing components. The experimental materials of rice for this investigation comprised of 22 genotypes as lines (female) and three testers (male) viz., Narendra Usar 3, NDR 359 and CSR 36. Each of the three testers was crossed with 22 lines during Kharif, 2013. The experiment was based on the evaluation of a line × tester set of 66 hybrids (F1s) along with their 22 parents and check varieties viz., Narendra Usar 3 and Arize 6444, for twelve quantitative trait in salt affected soil in randomized block design with three replications. The analysis of variance revealed that all the treatments, parents, parent vs crosses, crosses, lines and lines x testers were highly significant for majority of the yield and its contributing traits indicated sufficient variation among the treatment/materials under study.In the present investigation, a wide range of variation in estimates of heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis in positive and negative directions was observed for grain yield per plant and its contributing components. In case of grain yield per plant heterobeltiosis ranged from -1.76 per cent (IR 47427-2B-2-2B-1-1× Narendra Usar 3)to 100.14 per cent (Kashturi Chandauli× NDR 359), standard heterosis over SV1varied from -30.85 per cent (AGAMI MI× CSR 36) to 50.84 per cent (Kashturi Chandauli× NDR 359) while over it ranged from -3677 per cent (AGAMI MI× CSR 36) to 37.92 per cent (Kashturi Chandauli× NDR 359). Kashturi Chandauli× NDR 359, IR 74095 AC 5 × NDR 359, Narendra 6096 × NDR 359, Sarjoo 52 × Narendra Usar 3 and Kashturi Chandauli× Narendra Usar 3 were found highly significant over BP, while Kashturi Chandauli× NDR 359, IR 74095 AC 5 × NDR 359, Narendra 6096 × NDR 359, Sarjoo 52 × Narendra Usar 3 and Jaya × Narendra Usar 3 had highly significant over standard variety SV1. Further Kashturi Chandauli × NDR 359, IR 74095 AC 5 × NDR 359, Narendra 6096 × NDR 359, Sarjoo 52 × Narendra Usar 3 and Jaya × Narendra Usar 3 were found to be highly significant over SV2 for grain yield per plant. The estimates of heterosis were attributed to genetic interaction arising from both additive as well as high degree of non additive gene action for major physiological traits. Two physiological traits viz., biological yield per plant and harvest index followed by spikelets per panicle, 1000- grain weight, L: B ratio and flag leaf area remained as major contributors to heterobiltiosis and standard heterosis. It reflects that emphasis should be given to select these traits to enhance the production and  productivity in salt affected soil.
Evaluation of the In vitro Anthelmintic Activity of Melia azedarach and Swertia chirata Aqueous Extracts Against Haemonchus contortus
Authors: Das Supradip , Hembram Ananta , Jas Ruma , Ganganapalli Mary Sunanda , Haque Rakibul , Pandit Soumitra
Published: January 2025

Aim: This research intended to assess the in vitro anthelmintic properties of Mahaneem leaves (Melia azedarach) and whole plant of Chirata (Swertia chirata).
Study Design: In vitro study was conducted aganist Haemonchus contortus eggs and adult stage by egg hatch assay (EHA) and adult motility inhibition test (AMIT).
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in the departement of Veterinary Parasitology, WBUAFS, Kolkata-37 between November,2023 to August, 2024
Methodology: The aqeous extract of Mahaneem and Chirata whole plants were prepared by decoction method, dried and desolved in 2% Dimethyl Sulfoxide to make desirable concentration of extract solutions. Adult Haemonchus contortus was collected from freshly slaughter abomasum of sheep for separation of eggs and active motile adult was used for AMIT. Each EHA and AMIT was performed in triplicate. 
Results: The results revealed that both Chirata and Mahaneem extracts shows anthelmintic activity against Haemonchus contortus. Chirata extract had better efficacy against both eggs and adult stage of Haemonchus contortus compare to Mahaneem leave extract. In EHA, Chirata extract efficacy at the dose of 50 mg/ml and 25 mg/ml was more statistically significant (p<0.05) than Mahaneem extract. In AMIT, also Chirata shows significantly more efficacy at 50mg/ml and 25 mg/ml than Mahaneem,but at the dose rate of 10 mg Mahaneem shows better efficacy (38.88   2.22) than Chirata (31.11  2.22) extract. At 50 mg/ml concentration after 10 hours of experiment Chirata shows higest efficacy (82.22  2.22) compare to Mahaneem (57.77  2.22).
Conclusion: Both Chirata and Mahaneem aqueous extract can potentially be effective against Haemonchus contortus and other GINs in small rumunats when administer properly with selected doses.
Optimization of Operational Parameters for Agricultural Drone Spraying in Maize Crops
Authors: Dhakad Shubham , Shalunkhe R. C. , Shukla Kripanarayan , Seth Neeraj , Dabhi K. L. , Balas Duda B.
Published: January 2025

This research on an agricultural drone sprayer for maize crops aimed to standardize various operational parameters—such as spraying height, discharge rate, and drone forward speed—based on metrics like effective swath width, droplet density, Volume Median Diameter (VMD), Number Median Diameter (NMD), Homogeneity Factor (HF), spray volume consumed, effective field capacity, field efficiency, and spray deposition at two crop stages (stage 1: 60 DAS and stage 2: 70 DAS). Field experiments indicated that droplet density decreased as spraying height, discharge rate, and forward speed increased. The maximum droplet densities were 12.39, 12.91, and 12.80 droplets/cm² at a spraying height of 2 m, a discharge rate of 100%, and a forward speed of 3 m/s, respectively, for crop stage 1. Average VMD and NMD ranged from 234 µm to 263 µm and 139 µm to 148 µm, respectively, across different parameter levels. An HF close to one was achieved, with values of 1.71, 1.59, and 1.70 at a spraying height of 2.5 m, a discharge rate of 80%, and a forward speed of 5 m/s, respectively, for both stages.
Spray volume consumption per hectare decreased with increasing spraying height, decreasing discharge rate, and increasing forward speed. The maximum effective field capacity (EFC) was found as 2.84 ha/h with 80% field efficiency (FE) at a spraying height of 3 m, and 3.02 ha/h with a 73.08% FE for crop stage 1 and 2. Based on the study, the optimal operational parameters were standardized as a spraying height of 2.5 m, a discharge rate of 80%, and a forward speed of 5 m/s.The drone sprayer significantly reduced time, covering one hectare in only 0.32 hours compared to 11.62 hours with a battery-operated manual knapsack sprayer. This research provides valuable insights for optimizing agricultural drone spraying parameters, potentially improving the efficiency of drone sprayers in crop protection practices.
Estimation of Heterosis for Yield and Quality Traits in Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]
Authors: Ruchika  , Khandelwal V , Ramesh  , Bhardwaj R , Singh L. N , Yadav S , Nehra N
Published: January 2025

In this research thirty-three hybrids of pearl millet were developed in line x tester mating design using three CMS lines as females and eleven restorer lines as males during summer, 2022 and evolution of 33 hybrids and three checks in terms of heterosis during kharif, 2022 at Research farm of AICRP on Pearl Millet, Mandor (Jodhpur) Rajasthan. For all the traits Significant differences were found among various genotypes, parents and parent’s vs hybrids. The hybrids ICMA 04999 × MIR 915, ICMA 94555 × MIR 1252 and ICMA 04999 × MIR 710 were used for grain yield per plant and hybrids ICMA 94555 × MIR 1252, ICMA 96333 × MIR 710 and ICMA 96333 × MIR 705-1 were advisable for fodder yield per plant. For zinc content, three hybrids like ICMA 94555 × MIR 606, ICMA 94555 × MIR 1106 and ICMA 94555 × MIR 1259 showed positive standard heterosis. Five topmost hybrids, namely ICMA 04999 × MIR 915, ICMA 94555 × MIR 1252, ICMA 96333 × MIR 710, ICMA 96333 × MIR 1253 and ICMA 04999 × MIR 525-2 were advantageous for grain yield per plant and fodder yield per plant because they had high per se performance and positive standard heterosis for both traits and also showed positive heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis for other traits. Therefore, these hybrids are of considerable practical importance which were proved to be superior over best standard check.
Effect of Ninety-day Repeated Adiministration of Leaf Extract of Solanum anomalum on Rats
Authors: Okokon Jude E. , Etuk Idongesit C. , Udobang John A , Osigwe Chinyelu C. , Florence Uwaeme Ugonma , ISE Uduak P.
Published: January 2025

The leaves and fruits of Solanum anomalum Thonn. ex Schumach are used locally for the treatment of pains, fever and malaria among others. Effect of 90-day repeated administration of S. anomalum leaf extract on rats was investigated. Oral administration of the leaf extract (70, 140 and 210 mg/kg) to rats (male and female) was carried out daily for 90 days and the rats were sacrificed after being anaesthesized with light diethyl ether at the completion of the administration. Oral treatment of rats subchronically with S. anomalum leaf extract had no significant (p>0.05) effect on rats’ body weights, hemoglobin concentration, WBC, RBC, platelets counts, percentages of PCV and eosinophils relative to control. However, percentages of neutrophils, monocytes and basophils were elevated significantly (p <0.05-0.01) at the highest dose (210 mg/kg), while lymphocytes percentage was reduced. The leaf extract had no significant (p>0.05) effect on bleeding and clotting times relative to control.  The leaf extract non dose-dependently caused significant (p<0.05) lowering of ALT, AST and ALP levels. However, total and direct bilirubin levels were elevated significantly (p<0.01-0.001) only at raised leaf extract’ doses (140 and 210 mg/kg). The leaf extract exerted no significant (p>0.05) changes on uric acid, bicarbonate, chloride, potassium and sodium levels, but lowered urea, creatinine, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, VLDL and LDL levels of rats significantly (p<0.05) relative to control. There was no observable distortion of heart, testis and spleen histologies. Distortion in the histology of livers, kidneys, ovaries and brains of rats were observed at raised extract doses (140 and 210 mg/kg). High doses of the leaf extract should be avoided to prevent serious toxic effects.