Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages
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Polymorphism of DNA repair gene XRCC1 in lung cancer among Kashmiri population
No full textDNA repair plays a critical role in protecting the genome of the cell from insults of cancer-causing agents, such as those found in tobacco smoke. Reduced DNA repair capacity, therefore, can increase the susceptibility to smoking-related cancers. Recently, three coding polymorphisms in X-ray cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) DNA repair gene have been identified, and it is possible that these polymorphisms may affect DNA repair capacity and thus modulate cancer susceptibility. In humans, 70 genes are involved in the five major DNA repair pathways: direct repair, BER, NER, mismatch repair, and double-strand break repair. XRCC1 acts as a facilitator or coordinator in BER, through its interaction with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, DNA polymerase, and DNA ligase III. We explored the association between polymorphisms of the DNA repair gene XRCC1 codon 194 and lung cancer risk in males. The role of DNA repair gene XRCC1 in susceptibility to lung cancer has not been widely studied in Kashmir. In our case control study, the study population consisted of 70 lung cancer patients and 72 healthy controls. Cases and controls were matched by age and gender. We observed a significantly high risk of lung cancer among patients who were carriers of the variant genotype Trp/Trp (homozygous mutant) with OR = 3.33, 95% CI = 1.4 - 7.9, P = 0.0056, as compared with homozygous wild type genotype Arg/Arg and was statistically significant. We observed a high risk of about three-fold in case of the homozygous variants of codon194 Trp/Trp genotype. Cases with a codon194 Trp allele were also at high risk of developing lung cancer (OR= 2.28, 95% CI = 1.36 – 3.82, P = 0.0015) and was also statistically significant. In our study, we found that cases who smoke i.e. smokers, have higher frequency of Trp/Trp homozygous variant (36.66% vs. 14.89%) as compared with controls. We also observed a high risk of about two-fold in case of homozygous variants Trp/Trp in smokers (OR= 2.87, 95% CI = 1.06 – 7.74, P = 0.03) and observation was statistically significant. . It is thus concluded that there is an elevated risk for lung cancer in individuals with the codon194 XRCC1 polymorphism. Our study suggests that cases especially smokers with homozygous variant genotype Trp/Trp tend to be more fragile and susceptible to lung cancer as compared to non-smokers. Hence the analysis of the polymorphism of XRCC1 codon Arg194Trp may help in identifying individuals at risk of developing lung cancer
Impact of Turmoil on Kashmir Tourism
No full textMan has always been on move and more so during his earlier phases
on the earth when the only impediments in his march were unfathomable
depths and unaccessible heights. Though the major consideration for his
movements and long journeys are generally considered as related to his search
for food and sustenance for life yet we should not undermine his sense of
curiosity for new things and new experiences. Man’s inquisitiveness for new
things and experiences is never satiated and this is the reason that this one
feature of his life makes him superior to all other creatures on earth. Besides
search for food, more avenues for earning and other compulsions, man has
travelled through known and unknown regions of globe by the impulses of his
heart. According to one estimate, more than 10% of the earth’s human
population is constantly on move.
Before focusing on the importance of tourism in Kashmir, it seems
imperative to know what tourism means. Tourism is usually defined as the
movement of people away from their normal place of residence for any given
purpose mainly for leisure, holidays, business, pilgrimage, education etc. This
kind of activity generates income and employment in the areas visited by the
tourists. On the whole the precept of tourism is typified by the following
features:
i) It is a movement of people to different destinations having two key
elements, one of the journey and second the stay.
ii) The movement is primarily of a temporary nature and for relatively
short duration. It is thus different from migration.
iii) It brings about activities dissimilar to those of the host population of
the place visited.
iv) The prime purpose for participation in tourism is largely recreation
and certainly not seeking permanent residence or employment within
the place visited
Fungal leaf spot of greengram [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] in Kashmir: Etiology and management
No full textCercospora leaf spot is the predominant foliar fungal disease of greengram in Kashmir and affected 5.87-28.43 per cent leaf area in crop stands at pod development stage during kharif 2008. Cercospora canescens an imperfect fungus belonging to class Hyphomycetes was found associated with the manifestation. The diagnostic symptoms comprised of roughly circular to irregular, white centered reddish brown to brown leaf spots measuring 2-12 mm in diameter. Potato and carrot-oatmeal based agar media supported equall growth of the pathogen. The survival of test pathogen in infected leaves, pods and seeds was influenced by surrounding environment. While the leaves and pods supported viable pathogen only upto March under open field conditions, the pathogen was recovered from same kind of debris during May when exposed to only post winter open field conditions. The seed and other infected material also supported survival of pathogen beyond March when kept inside room during winter and spring months. Cercospora canescens from Shalimar was host specific and host range was confined to blackgram and cowpea. Shalimar Mung-1 was invariably susceptible to C. canescens at all growth stages for having high sugar (124.03-134.89 mg/g dry weight) to support pathogenisis besides lacking in sufficient phenol (20.73-26.53 mg/g dry weight) to contain the invasion. Under natural epiphytotic conditions, sharp increase in Cercospora leaf spot intensity was recorded during August which witnessed maximum and minimum temperatures of about 30 and 17 oC, respectively, besides experiencing high RH (over 80 %). Higher values of periodic disease (>6%) coincided with average maximum temperature 27.16-30.23 oC, minimum temperature 10.07-16.5 oC, RH 81.65-84.50 per cent and periodic rainfall of 2.3-33.6 mm. The disease intensity was, however, less influenced by most of the weather factors, though minimum temperature was significantly correlated with disease for the period between July-25 and September-13. Most of the available germplasm of greengram including Shalimar Mung-1 showed susceptible response to the test fungus under field conditions with only four genotypes viz., ML-935, PDM-54, SM-710 and SM-366 suffering less leaf spot intensity (26.77-29.47 %). The terminal disease intensity manifested by May sown crop (23.34-27.21 %) was significantly low when compared to late sowings which suffered maximum disease attack and experienced proportionate decrease in seed yield with lowest (7.33-7.42 q/ha) obtained in July sown crop. Foliar application of carbendazim 50WP (0.05 %) at first appearance of disease followed by another spray with hexaconazole 5EC (0.02 %) or mancozeb 75WP (0.25 %) ensured significant control of disease incidence (47.13-77.26 %) and intensity (48.44-68.71 %) besides supporting proportionately attractive seed yield (8.62-8.95 q/ha) at an acceptable B:C ratio of 3.05-6.38:1
Bait- Al- Hikmah And Its Contribution To The Development Of Knowledge And Sentific Temper
Get PDFThe history of Islam is full of such events, which have made imprint on the pages of world history, moreover, such Islamic personages have emerged from time to time who have transformed their societies well. The Islamic civilization and its contribution to knowledge, learning and science could have not taken place without the motive force of Islamic values. It is the Qur‟an and Sunnah which
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provide the basic and the fundamental source of Islamic values. Before proceeding further it is better to give a brief account of science, knowledge (Ilm) and „Hikmah‟.
Science:
The physical process which have been proved by experience, follow their course in a specific manner. For instance, an object left in the air comes down to the earth. The rays of the light falling on a mirror are reflected back. The sun, the moon and the stars revolve at a certain speed within their specific orbits. All such physical processes do not assume their course of action accidentally, but are governed by certain physical laws. The study of such physical laws and processes is the main concern of physical science which is briefly termed as science.1
According to Dr. S.P. Gupta, “In ancient times science was philosophy, in middle age it was al-Chemy. In the modern age since Galileo and Newton, It was called „natural philosophy‟2
Indo-Bangladesh Relationship (1971-1990)
Get PDFThe dissertation has been undertaken with logical and analytical means to come across the region that occupies space on the map in the name of South Asia. The region is constituted of many countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Bhutan, Nepal, and Maldives. This region has, since time immemorial, achieved relevance in one way or the other. It had has got to unleash certain geographic, political, economic specialties that made it attractive and subservient to the varied interests. The region for keeping a balance among the nations and arresting hegemony of any one on the scene witnessed voluminous importance, and has caught sharp imaginations of the people. Therefore, its impregnable importance invited big guns like, USA, USSR, China, India, and Pakistan to set the stage right in the region, which otherwise would end in any bitter experience. Their mindful exercises sometimes left the region in the lurch and therefore, what would have blessed it became detrimental force to wither away its resource both manual and material.
The region became more imperative and meaningful since the partition of Indian subcontinent, which approved two countries of the said region to appear from a single embryo. The countries, in cumulative argument, that surfaced out of this doleful state were „India and Pakistan‟. The two countries looked all firm to dilute or shrink the geographical boundaries of each other which culminated sometimes into heinous acts. The two nascent countries used main and might to command secure position. This tussle at times motivated only and only with wars which without an iota of doubt played ducks and drags with the potentialities of the two countries. The issues between the two were sometimes pacified by either indulging in dialogues or negotiating with broadmindedness after succumbing to political expediencies. However, what acidified their already wavered taste was appearance of struggle of East Pakistan for the goal of independence. This came as a stigma to the sub-continent and added insult to injury. The people of East Pakistan put everything at stake to see this dream come true. This country came into existence because of the concerted efforts and after a tooth nail fight which shed blood even of intellectuals besides soldiers who fought out in the middle. This ultimately won favours for Bengalese in 1971 and blessed them with what is called „Independence‟
Studies on maize based cropping system as influenced by rate and frequency of FYM
No full textA field experiment was conducted at Agronomy Farm of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar during 2008-09 and 2009-10 on silty clay loam soil low in available nitrogen and medium in available phosphorus and potassium with neutral pH. The experiment comprising of three factors viz., cropping sequences (S1 = maize-lentil, S2 = maize-oats, S3 = maize-brown sarson and S4 = maize- fallow), three FYM rates (R1 = 10 t ha-1, R2 = 20 t ha-1 and R3 = 30 t ha-1) and three frequencies of FYM (F1 = FYM application in kharif and rabi, F2 = FYM application in kharif and F3 = FYM application in rabi) and was laid out in a split plot design (cropping sequences in main plot and FYM rates and frequencies in sub plot) replicated thrice. Both maize and rabi crops were given nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as per recommended package.
The results of the study showed that during 2008-09, the cropping sequences did not affect growth characters, yield attributes and yield of maize however, during 2009-10 S1 and S4 recorded significantly higher growth characters, yield attributes and yield of maize than S2 and S3. The FYM rates increased the growth characters upto 30 t ha-1 and yield attributes upto 20 t ha-1. The grain yield of maize showed significant improvement with FYM application upto 20 t ha-1 while stover yield increased significantly upto 30 t ha-1. FYM frequencies F1 and F2 recorded significantly higher growth characters, yield attributes and grain and stover yield of maize over F3. Nutrient content and uptake in grain and stover was significantly improved by cropping sequences S1 and S4 over both S2 and S3 during 2009-10. FYM rates improved nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content and uptake in grain and stover. FYM frequency F1 and F2 recorded higher NPK content and uptake over F3. The seed and straw yield of following lentil, brown sarson and dry matter yield of oats was significantly affected by FYM rates and frequencies.
The equivalent maize yield of the system was significantly higher with maize-oats system supplied with 20 t FYM ha-1 during kharif and rabi, while highest net returns and benefit:cost ratio were realized with maize-oats system supplied with 10 t FYM ha-1 during kharif and rabi
In vitro Propagation and Mutagenesis in Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bolus.)
No full textTwo experiments on in vitro propagation and mutagenesis were conducted from 2007-2010. Experiment I was conducted to standardise protocol for in vitro propagation in two cultivars of Gerbera jamesonii Bolus. viz. ‘Rejiko’ and ‘South Pacific’. Explants tried included leaf and petiole segments, ray and disc florets, capitula and shoot tips. The last one with and without leaves from pot and field raised plants. Highest culture asepsis was recorded in ray florets following sterilization with bavistin (200 ppm) + HgCl2 (0.1%) for 5 minutes. Shoot tip explants extracted from pot raised plants, shoot tip explants without leaves, 1cm capitula explants were less prone to infection in vitro. Sterilant combinations involving a final 10 second 70% ethanol dip were significantly better both in terms of culture asepsis and explant survival. Petiole and shoot tip explants survived sterilant treatments better than other explants. MS medium supplemented with 2, 4-D 3.0 + BAP 1.0 mg l-1 proved best for callusing from leaf, petiole and disc florets in terms of days to callus initiation, callus induction and callus weight explant-1. Regeneration in terms of per cent calli developing shoots, shoot number callus-1 in both cultivars was highest in MS medium supplemented with BAP 3.0 + NAA 0.50 mg l-1. Adventitious shoot regeneration was significantly better in 2 cm capitula in MS medium supplemented with BAP 10 + IAA 0.25/0.50 mg l-1. Capitula incubated on MS medium with double organic supplements developed more shoots than those on ½ MS or MS medium. Axillary shoot proliferation in both the cultivars was best in MS medium supplemented with BAP 1.0+Kinetin 0.25 mg l-1. Half-MS medium with half agar was best for axillary shoot proliferation. Rooting happened under all auxin concentrations. IBA 0.75 mg l-1was the best in terms of rooting %, root number explant-1 and root length in both cultivars. Hardening of rooted plantlets was best in 1 : 1 perlite : vermiculite mix where as, polypropylene containers proved superior to glass bottles in terms of survival during hardening and field survival growth.
Experiment II was conducted to study the effect of Co 60 gamma irradiation on in vitro cultured shoots of Gerbera jamesonii Bolus. cvs ‘Rejiko’ and ‘South Pacific’. In vitro cultured shoots of the two varieties were exposed to 10, 20 and 30 Gy gamma irradiation at 100 Gy minute-1 with non irradiated shoots as control. Survival in both cultivars at the end of two weeks ranged from 50 % under 10 Gy dose to around 25 % under 30 Gy treatment. Radiation dose of 30 Gy delayed shoot initiation, suppressed shoot proliferation and multiplication in successive post irradiation propagation cycles. Irradiation declined rhizogenesis significantly in both cultivars. However, days to root initiation and root number plant-1 remained unaffected. Field survival, leaf area and leaf number plant-1 after 4 and 8 weeks was lowest in plants developed from shoots irradiated with 30 Gy gamma radiation dose. Stomatal size and number mm-2 declined significantly as a result of exposure to 20 and 30 Gy dose. Mutation frequency calculated on the basis of stomatal frequency was highest in plants originating from 30 Gy irradiated shoots
Standardization of nursery technology for Allepo pine - Pinus halepensis (Mill.): An introduced pine in Kashmir valley
No full textThe present investigations entitled “Standardization of nursery technology for Allepo pine - Pinus halepensis (Mill.): An introduced pine in Kashmir valley” were undertaken in the Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar during the year 2008 to 2010.
In the experiment-I, the Allepo pine cones were collected at fifteen days interval till maturation. This experiment consisted of 16 treatments (collection dates) with four replications each and was laid out in completely randomized design. The study conducted on maturity indices revealed that cone having glossy red brown colour have matured seeds (1st March onwards), having lower fresh cone weight (53.86 g); minimum cone specific gravity (0.91-0.87); lower moisture content (19.65%); maximum seed weight of 100 seeds (g) [fresh 3.86 g; dry 3.09 g] and having maximum germination percentage (43.25). Therefore, the cone colour should be considered as an important index of ripeness. The cone should be collected in the month of March when colour of cone turns glossy red brown.
The experiment-II deals with effect of seven storage periods/ treatments at room temperature (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days) on germinability and viability of Allepo pine seeds. The experiment consisted of seven treatments with four replications each and was laid out in completely randomized design in laboratory. The fresh Allepo pine seeds collected possess high viability (79.20 to 80.08%) but low germinability. A maximum of 40.37 per cent germination was observed in mature seeds which declined to 33.25 per cent at the end of 90 days storage period. This indicated that Allepo pine seeds do possess inherent dormancy which further deepened with storage.
In the experiment-III, the Allepo pine cones were subjected to seven seed extraction methods/ treatments, with three replications laid in completely randomized design. The objective of the experiment was to identify a method to extract maximum number of seeds in minimum number of days and having maximum germinability. The conventional practice of extracting seeds from cones of Pinus halepensis consists in drying of cones in the sun. This process takes about five weeks for seed extraction. In the experiment conducted a new technique has been identified which achieved seed extraction of Allepo pine in eight days. The new technique (T4) involved dipping of cones in water for 10 minutes followed by drying at 30OC for 23:50 hours and shaking daily. The technique did not show any adverse effect on seed germination and produced the germination of 38.87 per cent.
In the experiment-IV, Allepo pine seeds were subjected to six stratification periods at fifteen days interval i.e. 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days. Five stratification methods i.e. dry stratification with media, wet stratification with media, dry stratification without media, wet stratification without media and stratification at room temperature prior to sowing test were used. The experiment was laid out in laboratory condition (complete randomized block design) with four replications each. It was revealed that wet stratifying method using sand for a prolonged period of time (75 days) resulted into significantly better germinability of Allepo pine seeds under laboratory conditions.
In experiment-V, the seeds were subjected to eleven different pre-sowing treatments. This experiment was laid out separately in laboratory (completely randomized block design) and in nursery (randomized block design) condition with four and three replications, respectively. It was found that the seeds treated with 200 ppm GA3 for 48 hours or 200 ppm kinetin for 48 hours gave better germinability under laboratory conditions whereas under field conditions, soaking seeds with 200 ppm GA3 for 24 hours produced maximum germination and better seedling growth.
In experiment-VI, the seedlings of Pinus halepensis were transplanted at four different spacings viz. 2.5 x 5 cm, 5 x 5 cm, 5 x 10 cm and 10 x 10 cm and were given nitrogen fertilizer and organic manure in different combinations. This experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications each. It was observed that on application of 50 kg N ha-1 in two equal splits (half at transplanting + another half after 30 days of transplanting) plus 1.5 tones of FYM ha-1 at 10 x 10 cm spacing was found to be the most promising treatment combination for producing more biomass per plant and healthy nursery stock.
In experiment-VII, six types of containers and seven types of growing media were assessed for growth and development of Allepo pine seedlings under nursery conditions. This experiment was laid out in a completely randomized block design with three replications. It was observed that the seedlings raised in root trainer (300 cc) with potting mixture of forest soil : sand : FYM : Dalweed in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3: 3 registered significantly better seedling growth parameters of Allepo pine