ABSTRACT
The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying factors affecting marketing, marketing channels and analysing the marketing cost, margin, price spread, and marketing efficiency of farmers in the marketing of green chilies in Jorhat district of Assam. A sample of 80 farmers was selected using multistage stratified random sampling, and 30 market intermediaries were selected from the study area. Production was kept for home consumption, and the seed was one of the factors that indirectly affected the marketable surplus of green chili, significant at 1 percent. However, transportation costs of green chilies directly affected the markable surplus, significant at 10 percent. Among the two marketing channels identified, total marketing cost was low in channel I (124.06 per quintal) as compared to channel II (178.04 per quintal), signifying that marketing cost was low if the channel has lesser market intermediaries. The best channel for both producer and consumer was found to be channel I, in which producers receive the maximum share of consumers' rupee (77.06 percent), and consumers purchase the product at the low price 7700 per quintal. Marketing efficiency was found to be higher in channel I (3.36). The major constraint faced by the producers in the marketing of green chili was the low selling price that prevailed during the Covid-19 pandemic in the local and distant markets during the peak harvesting time. © 2022 Economic Affairs (New Delhi). All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, being a novel viral infection, has resulted in disruption of health services, including cancer patient's care and treatment. Hence, there was a need for testing and lateral integration of services for cancer patients with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A total of 1178 samples were collected from cancer patients for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing before undergoing treatment in a tertiary care cancer center. The realtime reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) was done using the E gene for screening, and for the confirmation, any of the three reactions using RdRp, ORF1bnsp14 and RNasePas were run as internal control. Results: Out of the 1178 samples tested, 211 (17.91%) were positive, and of these patients, 863 (73.25%) were men and 342 (29%) were women. Among the 863 men with cancer, 133 (15.41%) were real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) positive. Of the 342 women with cancer, 78 (22.80%) were positive. Of the 144 SARS-CoV-2-positive cancer patients with cycle threshold (Ct) <25, 112 (84.2%) were asymptomatic and 32 (41.0%) were symptomatic. Sixty-seven patients showed positive results with a Ct >25. Out of them, 21 (31.3%) were asymptomatic and 46 (68.65%) were symptomatic cancer patients (P < 0.001). Of 144 patients with Ct <25, only 4 (2.8%) patients tested negative within 7-9 days, whereas the rest of the 140 (97.22%) became negative in >9 and up to 28 days. In the 67 cancer patients with Ct >25, within 7-9 days, 50 (74.6%) became RT-PCR negative and the remaining 17 patients mostly >60 years age group became RT-PCR negative in >9-28 days. Conclusions: Ct value of qualitative SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase RT-PCR should be an important tool for an oncologist in designing and implementing patient management guidelines for SARS-CoV-2-positive cancer patients without or with symptoms for COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Background: A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has captured global recognition in a short period of time by dramatically impacting people's everyday lives and emerged as a public health emergency. Undoubtedly, it shows that lessons learned from past coronavirus epidemics such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the Serious Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) were not adequate and thus left us ill-prepared to deal with the challenges presently raised by the COVID-19 pandemic1,2. Methods: COVID-19 adds to the list of previous outbreaks of infectious disease epidemics that try to remind us that we live in an ecosystem where the relationship between human and animal life, and the environment must be respected in order to survive and prosper. Rapid urbanization and our forestland invasion have created a new interface between humans and wildlife, and have exposed humans to unfamiliar species, frequently involving unfamiliar organisms and exotic wildlife2,3. Findings: Every pandemic is nature's way of reminding us that the interrelationship between all forms of existence needs to be recognized. To limit new infectious outbreaks, the transdisciplinary 'One Health' solution incorporating 'Health in All Policy' involving all stakeholders especially environmental health and social sciences is being advocated (Figure 1). Conclusion: Savings and investments should be made by everyone to meet the unexpected. Stigmatization and prejudice among individuals in the world should be discouraged. Special attention should be paid to the elderly, as their immune system is weak. Health and safety precautions such as physical distancing and health hygiene etiquettes should be considered as part of life. Global experience teaches that containment steps and active tracing of contacts are effective to minimize the economic burden of disease and enhance knowledge of disease processes, health issues, disease emergence, and re-emergence. These lessons will help us to battle future pandemics.