149 research outputs found
Indian Literature and the World. Multilingualism, Translation and the Public Sphere
No full textIndian Literature and the World is a collection of critical essays featuring up-to-date scholarship on the most vibrant yet under-studied aspects of Indian writing today. Multilingualism, current debates on postcolonial versus world literature, the impact of translation on an “Indian” literary canon, and Indian authors’ engagement with the public sphere all shape the orientation of our volume. The essays cover political activism and the North-East Tribal novel; the role of work in the contemporary Indian fictional imaginary; history as felt and reconceived by the acclaimed Hindi author Krishna Sobti; Bombay fictions; the Dalit autobiography in translation and its problematic international success; development, ecocriticism and activist literature; casteism and access to literacy in the South; gender and diaspora as dominant themes in writing from and about the subcontinent. Troubling Eurocentric genre distinctions and the split between citizen and subject, we wish to approach Indian literature from the perspective of its constant interactions between private and public narratives, thereby proposing a method of reading Indian texts that goes beyond their habitual postcolonial identifications as “national allegories”
Neelam Saxena Chandra: A Literary Luminary Bridging Languages and Genres
No full textNeelam Saxena Chandra, a prolific bilingual author, discusses her journey in poetry, literary influences, and creative process. She reflects on poetry as a medium for emotional expression and social change, sharing insights into her works, inspirations, and thoughts on gender sensitization and evolving poetic forms in contemporary literature
The Influence of Sufism on religious and social life in Neelum Valley, Azad Jammu & Kashmir
No full textIslam is the religion of peace and love for the humanity. It always ordered to his followers to treat other with kind and tolerance, the Holy prophet always proved himself the prophet of mercy as Islam spread through politeness, in subcontinent the advent of Islam is a great achievement of the noble saints and Sufis, Neelam Valley Azad Jammu & Kashmir which was a purely Hindu area in the past and the several Sufis came to this part of Azad Jammu & Kashmir in the middle stage of Islam. They played glorious role in the advent of Islam in the region, Sufism is a deter-mine effort towards unit. His main purpose is to bring humanity close with one another, separated as it is into so many different units, closer together in the deeper understanding of life, the main task is to bring about brotherhood among races, nations, and faiths and to respect one another’s faith, scripture, and teacher. Sufi is to confer sympathy on these lives, to impart love, compassion and kindhearted- ness on all creations. The Sufi Message is the resonance of the same Divine message which has always come and will always come to inform humanity. This research paper highlights the services of Sufis who influenced on socio religious life of the people of Neelam Valle
Collection and Processing of Non-timber Forest Products in North Eastern Pakistan of Azad Jammu and Kashmir: An Empirical Study
No full textHimalayan region has diversity of Non-Timber Forest Products and is considered as biodiversity hotspot. Current research is baseline study providing information on extraction and processing of Non-Timber Forest Products especially medicinal plants in North Eastern Pakistan of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 60 respondents (local collectors) were selected based on snowball sampling procedure. Results revealed that income generation remained the prime reason for collection of Non-Timber Forest Products in both regions and collectors have to travel up to 4-6km for collection. Most (i.e.,91%) of the respondents collected Non-Timber Forest Products for medicinal reasons in Bagh District whereas vegetable collection (i.e.,86%) is the prime reason for collection in Neelam valley. Non-Timber Forest Products are mostly collected manually during summer for 6-10 hours with frequency of 1-3 times in a season. It was also observed that most of the respondents in Bagh district opted for sun drying whereas sun and shade drying remained a preference of respondents in Neelam valley. It was concluded that a public-private partnership is inevitable for sustainable harvesting, processing and marketing of Non-Timber Forest Products in the region
Neelam Sidhar Wright’s Bollywood and Postmodernism: Popular Indian Cinema in the 21st Century
No full textIndian cinema has never been able to fit completely in the West, mainly due to its particular style, with songs, and dances and the unusual length of its feature films, often making them unbearable for the average Western cinemagoer. These conditions have not done anything but reinforce Indian culture’s marginalisation and disregard, which in turn nurtures India’s otherness and subalternity. The situation is even more noticeable in the academic field, in the opinion of the author, independent academic researcher and filmmaker Neelam Sidhar Wright
Pharmacognostical and Phytochemical Evaluation of Houttuynia Cordata Thunb., A Folklore Plant Found in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya: A Preliminary Study
No full textIntroduction: Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (family Saururaceae), an indigenous plant to Northeast India and China, is a rhizome-bearing aromatic medicinal herb belonging to the family Saururaceae and is restricted to specialized moist habitats. In the northeastern states of India, locally known as Jaymrdoh, it is traditionally valued for its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and detoxifying properties. Despite its therapeutic relevance, systematic pharmacognostical and phytochemical evaluations are limited.
Objectives: To perform a preliminary pharmacognostical and phytochemical evaluation of H. cordata leaves and roots for standardization and quality control.
Methods: Houttuynia cordata Thunb. was collected from the herbal garden of NEIAH, Shillong, authenticated by the Botanical Survey of India, and subjected to organoleptic, macroscopic, and powder microscopic analyses. Physicochemical parameters (extractive values, ash values, loss on drying), preliminary phytochemical screening, and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) were performed using standard protocols.
Results: Macroscopic analysis revealed heart-shaped green leaves and brownish irregular roots with fishy odor. Powder microscopy showed lignified vessels, trichomes, calcium oxalate crystals, and starch grains. Hydroalcoholic extracts exhibited higher extractive values in roots (25%) than leaves (9.65%), whereas aqueous extracts were higher in leaves (23%) compared to roots (15%). Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, phenolics, and flavonoids in hydroalcoholic extracts, while flavonoids were absent in aqueous extracts. TLC of hydroalcoholic extracts revealed Rf values of 0.46 (leaves) and 0.40 (roots).
Conclusions: The study establishes key pharmacognostical and phytochemical markers for H. cordata, supporting its traditional uses and providing baseline data for future standardization and pharmacological research
A Comprehensive Study Investigating Multilevel Predictors of Job Stress in Nurses
No full textJob stress significantly impacts the mental and physical health of nurses, affecting their job satisfaction, performance, and retention rates. This research seeks to explore the various factors contributing to job stress in nursing, both at the individual and organizational levels. The study employs a cross-sectional approach, collecting data from nurses in different healthcare environments. It looks at how personal factors, such as age, gender, and experience, along with job-related aspects like workload, shift schedules, and role clarity, influence stress perceptions. Additionally, organizational conditions, such as management support, resources, and workplace culture, are examined for their effects on stress levels. The study uses advanced statistical methods, including multivariate regression and structural equation modeling, to identify the most significant stress factors and their relative influence. The findings emphasize the intricate relationships between personal, organizational, and environmental elements in shaping nurses\u27 stress experiences. “This research provides valuable insights for healthcare administrators and policymakers to develop targeted strategies aimed at reducing job stress, boosting job satisfaction, and improving overall well-being for nursing professionals
Periodontal Disease in Adults and Associated Risks for Alzheimer’s Disease: Population-Oriented Cross-Sectional Study in Uttar Pradesh
No full textThe study identifying the relationship between the longitudinal risks of developing periodontal disease within a group of Alzheimer\u27s sufferers of 231,502,578 individuals. The groups\u27 incidence rates of Alzheimer\u27s disease were contrasted. Cox regression was used to examine the relationship between Parkinson\u27s disease (PD) and Alzheimer\u27s disease, taking into account factors such as comorbidities, age, sex, monthly income, and residence urbanicity. When compared to individuals who had dental prophylaxis and rigorous treatment (0.41% year), the incidence rate of Alzheimer\u27s disease was significantly greater among those who did not receive treatment or had teeth pulled (0.63% annually) (P <.001). The group with Parkinson\u27s disease (PD) who did not receive treatment (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06–1.25) and the group that had teeth extracted (HR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.05–1.18) had a higher risk of Alzheimer\u27s disease after controlling for confounders, according to the Cox proportional hazards model. The study also found that severe periodontal disease or non-treatment was associated with an advanced threat of developing Alzheimer\u27s disease
Molecular mechanisms of chromium(VI)-induced apoptosis and malignant transformation
No full textHexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] compounds are redox cycling environmental carcinogens that induce apoptosis as the primary mode of cell death. Apoptosis is abnormally regulated in various disorders including cancer. Therefore, to understand the etiologies of these diseases, it is important to delineate the biochemical and molecular pathways involved in the regulation of apoptosis. The main objective of this study was to characterize the molecular mechanisms involved in Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis and malignant transformation. We found that both death receptor and mitochondrial pathways of apoptosis are involved in Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis, with the latter being more dominant. Consequently, overexpression of the mitochondrial anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 blocked Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis in human lung epithelial cells. We further observed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a critical role in Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis by acting through the mitochondrial death pathway. Superoxide anion (˙O2 -) was found to be the major ROS involved in Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis that exerted its effect by degrading Bcl-2 protein through the ubiquitin-proteasomal pathway. Furthermore, nitric oxide (NO) scavenged ˙O2 - to form peroxynitrite (ONOO-) and negatively regulated Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis. The mechanism by which NO exerted its anti-apoptotic effect involved upregulation of Bcl-2 via S-nitrosylation that prevented its ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Additionally, we established an in vitro model for studying Cr(VI)-induced malignant transformation by subjecting non-tumorigenic human lung epithelial Beas-2B cell line to long-term Cr(VI) exposure. Cr(VI) transformed cells exhibited clear signs of malignancy such as loss of contact inhibition and increased colony formation as compared to the passage-matched original cell-line. Cr(VI) transformed cells showed decreased apoptosis and ROS production and increased NO as well as Bcl-2 expression. These observations confirmed that NO mediated stabilization of Bcl-2 is an important event in Cr(VI) induced carcinogenesis. Taken together, our study reveals a novel regulatory mechanism that could be important in apoptosis resistance in response to Cr(VI) exposure. Additionally, this study demonstrated Cr(VI)-induced malignant transformation of a human lung epithelial cell line, establishing an important in vitro model for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in Cr(VI)-induced carcinogenesis. This study provides new mechanistic insights about environmental carcinogen induced human lung cancer. Since Cr(VI) is a paradigm of carcinogenic transition metals, the inferences from this study may be broadly applied to general metal carcinogenesis
Traditional knowledge on herbal drinks among indigenous communities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan
No full textAbstract Background Traditional knowledge about the use of medicinal plants for herbal drinks (HDs) is not well documented in the Azad Kashmir region despite their widespread use. This study highlights the taxonomic diversity and traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used for HDs while examining the diversity of diseases treated with HDs in the study area. Methods Individual discussions were conducted with 255 informants (84 women and 171 men). Data gathered included (i) informant age and gender, (ii) HD species and respective plant parts used, (iii) health disorders treated, and (iv) mode of preparation and utilizations. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices including relative frequency of citation (RFC), informant consensus factor (ICF), and use value (UV) were used for data analyses. Results Altogether, 73 medicinal plants belonging to 40 families and 66 genera were reported to be used in HD preparations, with Asteraceae being the richest family. The average number of HD species cited was 9.09 ± 0.17 per informant and did not vary either by age or gender. In addition, men and women, and adults and the young used the same pool of species (dissimilarity nearly zero). The most used plant parts were leaves (20.00%), roots (17.25%), and fruits (16.47%). Based on UV, the top five most used species were Valeriana jatamansi, Isodon rugosus, Onopordum acanthium, Acacia nilotica, and Viola canescens; and the UV was similar among gender and age categories too. The most utilized herbal preparation forms included decoctions, infusions, and tea. One hundred and eleven diseases grouped into 13 ailment categories were reported to be cured using HDs. The main category of disease treated with HDs was gastrointestinal (GIT) disorders (RFC = 17.43%). Relatively few species were used by a large proportion of informants for each category of ailment (ICF ≥ 0.60). Only one species was used for “glandular disorders” and “eye diseases” (ICF = 1). A novelty of about 22% (16 species) was recorded for HD species in the present work. Conclusion The diversity of medicinal plant species used as HDs and the associated traditional knowledge are of considerable value to the indigenous communities of the Azad Kashmir region. Therefore, there is a need for conservation and preservation of medicinal HD species as well as the wealth of indigenous knowledge. The conservation effort should be high for species in the ailments categories glandular disorders and eye diseases. The therapeutic uses of HDs have provided basic data for further research focused on phytochemical and pharmacological studies and conservation of the most important species
- …
