Solar flare neon and solar cosmic ray fluxes in the past using gas-rich meteorites

Methods were developed earlier to deduce the composition of solar flare neon and to determine the solar cosmic ray proton fluxes in the past using etched lunar samples and at present, these techniques are extended to gas rich meteorites. By considering high temperature Ne data points for Pantar, Fayetteville and other gas rich meteorites and by applying the three component Ne-decomposition methods, the solar cosmic ray and galactic cosmic ray produced spallation Ne components from the trapped SF-Ne was resolved. Using appropiate SCR and GCR production rates, in the case of Pantar, for example, a GCR exposure age of 2 m.y. was estimated for Pantar-Dark while Pantar-Light yielded a GCR age of approx. 3 m.y. However the SCR exposure age of Pantar-Dark is two orders of magnitude higher than the average surface exposure ages of lunar soils. The possibility of higher proton fluxes in the past is discussed

Effect of moon light and lunar periodicity on the attraction of black cutworm Moth Agrotis Flammatara (Schiffer - Mueller) on light trap

The effect of moon light and lunar periodicty on the attraction of cutworm moth, Agrotis flammatra (Schiffer Mueller) was studied during active periods (rainy season) in 1997 and 1998 at Horticulture Research Block of Hill Campus, Ranichauri (1600m ASL). In the light trap, a mercury vapour electric bulb (160 Watt) was used as the source of light. The moths attracted to the light trap during the active period were collected and recorded daily. Number of moths trapped on the light trap was correlated with the degree of moon phase of different days of a lunar cycle. The results indicated that the number of moths attracted to light trap was consistently very low during moonlight nights around full moon. A highly significant inverse linear correlation between the degree of moon phase and light trap catches was observed. On the average, the attraction response of cutworm moths was stronger in descending phase as compared to ascending phase

Primera cita de Botrytis cinerea sobre Lilium polyphyllum, especie en peligro de extinción en Uttarakhand, India

Dhyani, A. High Altitude Plant Physiology Research Centre. Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India.Nautiyal, B. P. Department of Horticulture. Aromatic and Medicinal Plant, Mizoram University, Aizawl, India.Nautiyal, M. C. High Altitude Plant Physiology Research Centre. Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India.Rivera, Marta Carolina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Fitopatología. Buenos Aires, Argentina.Prasad, D. University of Agriculture and Technology. College of Forestry and Hill Agriculture.Plant Pathology Section. Ranichauri, India.Singh, K. P. University of Agriculture and Technology. College of Forestry and Hill Agriculture.Plant Pathology Section. Ranichauri, India.157-159Lilium polyphyllum es una planta herbácea que se encuentra en estado de peligro en ambientes naturales de Uttarakhand, India. La enfermedad conocida como moho gris fue detectada sobre esta especie desde Julio a Agosto (2008-2009) causando muerte de inflorescencias y varas. Botrytis cinerea fue aislado consistentemente de inflorescencias. Su patogenicidad fue confirmada mediante inoculación de plantas de L. polyphyllum cultivadas en macetas en un invernáculo. Como resultado, se cita a Botrytis cinerea por primera vez como causante de moho gris sobre Lilium polyphyllum en India, cuyos síntomas son tizón de flores y varas. Esta enfermedad puede afectar seriamente a este hospedante en riesgo durante su estado reproductivo. A nuestro entender, no existe otro antecedente de B. cinerea sobre este hospedante

Cultivation of Angelica archangelica Linn.: evaluation for economical viability at two different climatic conditions

ABSTRACT Cultivation of an important sub alpine-alpine medicinal and aromatic herb, Angelica archangelica Linn. (Apiaceae), was carried out at two different climatic zone at 2200 m asl (Pothivasa, PV) and 3600 m asl (Tungnath, TN) altitudes in Garhwal, North west Himalaya, India. These altitudes represent temperate and alpine region of the Himalaya. Since the species has a very few wild populations, cultivation of the species is recommended for its medicinal use. After the establishment of sufficient quantity of seedlings, they were transplanted in both sites at the age of two, three and four months for the comparative accounts on survival, growth and yield and, to test the appropriate age of seedlings for transplantation and climatic suitability for cultivation of the species. Organic cultivation protocol was adopted by using different farm yard manure (FYM) as treatments. Yield was minimum in youngest seedlings (two months old ) transplanted at TN in ordinary alpine soil (control) and maximum under polyhouse beds at PV after three years of growth. Observations on yield at different climatic zone revealed that it was maximum in PV (temperate site) as compared to alpine site (natural site) in all treatments. Seedlings of different age also had better survival, growth and yield at the temperate site though; two months old seedlings after transplantation had comparatively slow growth and yield than those of three and four months seedlings. These observations clearly suggested that temperate region (2200 m) is suitable for cultivation of A. archangelica. Addition of manure (leaf litter in particular) and polyhouse cultivation further improved the yield. Economical viability of the cultivation was also observed and presented here

Ecological features and traditional knowledge of Roscoea alpina Royle a medicinal plant in Himalaya

167-173Roscoea alpina Royle (Zingiberaceae) commonly known as Kakoli is a perennial medicinal plant endemic to the Himalayas. It has been used in vitality strengthening Ayurveda groups i.e., Astavarga and Jeevaniyagana and in preparation of Ayurvedic formulations e.g., Chyavanprasha and Divya Pidantak Tail. Considering its medicinal uses, high demand and overexploitation, natural habitats were surveyed in subalpine and alpine regions of Garhwal Himalaya for population estimation and to identify elite germplasm. R. alpina frequency was recorded more than 60% in Tungnath, Dayara, Valley of Flowers and Kedarnath populations. However, plant density and area occupied were low compared to other species of subalpine and alpine site. For threat category assessment, IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria were used and conservation status was assigned, based on site to site and for entire Garhwal region of the Western Himalaya. R. alpina, based on extent of occurrence was categorized as Vulnerable and based on number of mature individuals as Endangered for the Garhwal Himalaya. Further, habitat destruction and degradation were the major threats for population reduction in the wild. Morphological variation revealed plants from Tungnath and Kedarnath may be used for future propagation and domestication programs

Clues to multiple exposure history of some meteorites

This article does not have an abstract

NK cells augment oncolytic adenovirus cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) can trigger profound innate and adaptive immune responses, which have the potential both to potentiate and reduce the activity of OVs. Natural killer (NK) cells can mediate potent anti-viral and anti-tumoral responses, but there are no data on the role of NK cells in oncolytic adenovirus activity. Here, we have used two different oncolytic adenoviruses—the Ad5 E1A CR2-deletion mutant dl922-947 (group C) and the chimeric Ad3/Ad11p mutant enadenotucirev (group B)—to investigate the effect of NK cells on overall anti-cancer efficacy in ovarian cancer. Because human adenoviruses do not replicate in murine cells, we utilized primary human NK cells from peripheral blood and ovarian cancer ascites. Our results show that dl922-947 and enadenotucirev do not infect NK cells, but induce contact-dependent activation and anti-cancer cytotoxicity against adenovirus-infected ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, manipulation of NK receptors DNAM-1 (DNAX accessory molecule-1) and TIGIT (T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains) significantly influences NK cytotoxicity against adenovirus-infected cells. Together, these results indicate that NK cells act to increase the activity of oncolytic adenovirus in ovarian cancer and suggest that strategies to augment NK activity further via the blockade of inhibitory NK receptor TIGIT could enhance therapeutic potential of OVs

Effect of seed moisture content and storage temperature on seed longevity of hemp (Cannabis sativa)

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is one of the earliest domesticated plants grown for its protein and oil rich seed, fiber and psychoactive substances and it is one of the earliest known medicinal plants in human history. Studies were conducted on seed germinability (germination test) and viability (topographical tetrazoliun chloride test) in three seed lots to determine the seed quality. Studies conducted on effect of five seed moisture contents (5, 7, 8, 10 and 12 % on fresh weight basis), three storage temperature (ambient, 15°C and -20°C) and eight storage periods (0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months) on seed longevity revealed that the critical moisture content (moisture content required in seeds for retaining initial germination after storage of seeds up to 36 months) of seeds for ambient storage condition of Delhi was 5 %, which increased to 7 % in 15°C and 12 % at -20°C storage temperature. The seeds are desiccation as well as chilling tolerant, therefore, exhibit orthodox storage behavior and are ideal for ex-situ conservation of seeds in seed/gene banks

Deviation From \Lambda CDM With Cosmic Strings Networks

In this work, we consider a network of cosmic strings to explain possible deviation from \Lambda CDM behaviour. We use different observational data to constrain the model and show that a small but non zero contribution from the string network is allowed by the observational data which can result in a reasonable departure from \Lambda CDM evolution. But by calculating the Bayesian Evidence, we show that the present data still strongly favour the concordance \Lambda CDM model irrespective of the choice of the prior.Comment: 15 Pages, Latex Style, 4 eps figures, Revised Version, Accepted for publication in European Physical Journal

Perceptions of change in the environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for environmental policy

COVID-19 lockdown measures have impacted the environment with both positive and negative effects. However, how human populations have perceived such changes in the natural environment and how they may have changed their daily habits have not been yet thoroughly evaluated. The objectives of this work were to investigate (1) the social perception of the environmental changes produced by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and the derived change in habits in relation to i) waste management, energy saving, and sustainable consumption, ii) mobility, iii) social inequalities, iv) generation of noise, v) utilization of natural spaces, and, vi) human population perception towards the future, and (2) the associations of these potential new habits with various socio-demographic variables. First, a SWOT analysis identified strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T) generated by the pandemic lockdown measures. Second, a survey based on the aspects of the SWOT was administered among 2370 adults from 37 countries during the period from February to September 2021. We found that the short-term positive impacts on the natural environment were generally well recognized. In contrast, longer-term negative effects arise, but they were often not reported by the survey participants, such as greater production of plastic waste derived from health safety measures, and the increase in e-commerce use, which can displace small storefront businesses. We were able to capture a mismatch between perceptions and the reported data related to visits to natural areas, and generation of waste. We found that age and country of residence were major contributors in shaping the survey participants ´answers, which highlights the importance of government management strategies to address current and future environmental problems. Enhanced positive perceptions of the environment and ecosystems, combined with the understanding that livelihood sustainability, needs to be prioritized and would reinforce environmental protection policies to create greener cities. Moreover, new sustainable jobs in combination with more sustainable human habits represent an opportunity to reinforce environmental policy