MALE MEIOSIS AND MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ETHNOBOTANICALLY IMPORTANT ALLIUM CAROLINIANUM DC. FROM KINNAUR DISTRICT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

ABSTRACTObjective: This study is focused on the brief review on the meiosis, ethnobotany and cultivation practices of Allium carolinianum (Family: Alliaceae)from District Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh.Methods: The local inhabitants were interviews for concerning utilization of this medicinal plant. For meiotic studies the young unopened buds werefixed in carnoy's fixative, anthers were squashed in 2% acetocarmine. A number of freshly prepared slides were examined for chromosome countsand meiotic abnormalities. Pollen fertility was examined using glyceroacetocarmine (1:1). Photomicrographs were made using Nikon 80i EclipseMicroscope.Results: The present tetraploid chromosome count was in line with the previous report, but the behavioral changes and the medicinal importance ofthe plant were reported for the first time from the study area.Conclusion: At present, the biodiversity of Kinnaur is threatened by the continuous removal of plant species for various purposes. Hence, the effortsshould be made through cultivation practices for the conservation of the medicinal plants.Keywords: Morphometric analysis, Meiosis, Ethnobotany, Cultivation, Allium carolinianum, District Kinnaur

CYTOMORPHOLOGY OF SOME MEDICINAL GRASSES FROM HANGRANG VALLEY OF DISTRICT KINNAUR, HIMACHAL PRADESH

Objective: The present study is focused on the chromosome number, their meiotic behavior, pollen fertility and medicinal importance of 6 species of grasses from the remote high altitude region of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh.Methods: The young spikes of suitable sizes were fixed in carnoy's fixative (6 ethanol: 3 chloroform: 1 acetic acid v/v) for 24 h and preserved in 70% alcohol at 4 °C until use. For meiotic studies, anthers were squashed in 2% acetocarmine. Pollen fertility was examined using the glycerol-acetocarmine method.Results: The species studied have shown chromosome numbers like Arundo donax (n=12), Avena fatua (n=21), Cynodon dactylon (n=18), Cymbopogon distans (n=20), Eleusine indica (n=9), Sorghum halepense (n=20). The medicinal uses, other traditional uses and the cytological analysis of these grasses belonging to family Poaceae are studied for the first time from the study area.Conclusion: The present exploration gives useful information regarding the chromosome number and various meiotic irregularities including their medicinal importance.Keywords: Grasses, Medicinal value, Meiotic behavior, Cytomixis, Kinnaur, Himachal Prades

Synthetic Methods for the formation of Heterocyclic Compounds from Oxime Ether Derivatives

Heterocyclic ring compounds are not only ubiquitous in prime diversity of vital natural products and synthetic pharmaceuticals and thus highly important in organic synthesis. They have an extensive range of applications.  They are mainly used as veterinary products and as agrochemicals. They are also utilized as corrosion inhibitors, sanitizers, antioxidants, dye stuff and as copolymers. They are accustomed as an important source in the synthesis of bioactive organic compounds. Some natural products like antibiotics such as tetracyclines, cephalosporin, penicillin, aminoglycosides, alkaloids such as morphine, vinblastine, atropine, reserpine, tryptamine, reserpine etc. have heterocyclic constituent. Hence, synthesis of heterocyclic compounds from new procedures have been always demanding. Due to wide range of applications of heterocyclic compounds, this study is a survey of literature of last one decade, describing the methods for the heterocyclic ring formation from the oxime ether

EVALUATION OF NON-ADHERENCE TO ANTITUBERCULAR DRUGS AMONG TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Objective: The objective of present study was to examine the non-adherence among tuberculosis patients to antitubercular drugs and the factors associated with non-adherence. Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted in department of pharmacology Government Medical College, Kathua in collaboration with the district tuberculosis centre, Kathua for a period of four months. TB Patients on treatment for last 8 w were included in the study. The pre validated questionnaire was provided to patients and their responses were analysed. Morisky’s Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-4) was used to assess adherence/non-adherence to antitubercular drugs. Results: Total 72 patients were included in trial and out of which 60(83.33%) were males and12 (16.66%) were females and the maximum were between 40-50y (38%) of age, mostly illiterate (50%) and from lower socioeconomic status (38%). Out of 60 male patients, 48(80%) showed adherence to anti-tuberculosis drugs, while remaining 12(20%) were non-adherent. Whereas 10females (83%) were adherent and 2 (16.66%) were non-adherent. Forgetfulness (42%), followed by illiteracy (21.4%) and longer distance from health institute (14%) were main reasons for non-adherence. Conclusion: Present study has shown non-adherence is maximum among males, illiterate, low socioeconomic group, longer distance from the health institution

High Accuracy Determination of Rheological Properties of Drilling Fluids Using the Marsh Funnel

Efficient and safe drilling operations require precise determination of rheological properties in drilling fluids, encompassing dynamic viscosity for Newtonian fluids, and apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, and yield point for non-Newtonian fluids. Conventional viscometers like vibrating wire, ZNN-D6, and Fann-35 offer high accuracy but are limited by cost and complexity in small-scale industries and labs. To address this, our research presents a novel mathematical model based on the Herschel-Bulkley model, aiming to accurately characterise drilling fluids' rheological properties using the Marsh funnel as an alternative device -- an economical, operator-friendly, and power-independent equipment. Drawing inspiration from seminal works by Li et al. (2020), Sedaghat (2017), and Guria et al. (2013), this innovative framework establishes a universal inverse linear relationship between a fluid's flow factor and final discharge time. For any fluid, it utilises its density and flow factor (or final discharge time) to determine all its rheological properties. Specifically, it evaluates dynamic viscosity for Newtonian fluids, apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, and yield point for weighted non-Newtonian fluids, and apparent viscosity for non-weighted non-Newtonian fluids, with average systematic errors (against Fann-35 measurements) of 0.39%, 3.52%, 2.17%, 18.38%, and 5.84%, respectively, surpassing the precision of alternative mathematical models found in the aforementioned literature. Furthermore, while our framework's precision in plastic viscosity and yield point assessment of non-weighted non-Newtonian fluids slightly lags behind the framework of Li et al. (2020), it outperforms the model of Sedaghat (2017). In conclusion, despite minor limitations, our proposed mathematical model holds huge promise for drilling fluid rheology in petroleum, drilling, and related industries.Comment: 57 pages, 1 figure, and 10 tables. Funding for this research work was provided through the IIChE Research Grant for the academic year 2022-23, granted by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE

Assessment of serum lipid profile in early pregnancy and its relation with pre eclampsia: a prospective study

Background: Pathophysiology of pre eclampsia and atherosclerosis seems to be similar as a hyperlipidemic state, due to hormonal changes in pregnancy. We tried to assess the relationship between maternal plasma lipid concentration and risk of developing pre eclampsia.Methods: This is a prospective cohort study, for a period of one year from August 2009 to August 2010. Total no of subjects (N=270) were divided into two groups: Control group:  who remained normotensive during study and Study group: who developed pre-eclampsia.Results: The mean level of cholesterol in study group was (226.74±39.77 mg/dl) significantly higher as compared to control group (164±22.48 mg/dl). That was statistically significant (p=0.001). Mean levels of cholesterol in mild PET group was 216±28.90mg/dl and in severe PET group was 252.3±50.63 mg/dl respectively, that was also significantly higher as compared to control group (p=0.001). In our study mean levels of Triglyceride was 153.95±23.52 mg/dl in control group and 205.25±42.48 mg/dl in study group. There were statistically significant difference between the groups (p=0.001). In mild PET mean value of Triglyceride was 198.99±36.12 mg/dl and in severe PET it was 220.35± 53.13mg/dl. It was seen that both the study group had significantly higher mean value as compared to control group (p=0.001).Conclusions: In present study we have observed that maternal dyslipidemia in early second trimester is associated with increased risk of developing pre eclampsia. So dyslipidemia in early second trimester is a very good predictor of pre eclampsia

Air Pollution in NCR

Since the past two decades, air pollution has become a global public health issue and identified as a major environmental health hazard. Due to rapid development, society is facing serious challenges such as: climate change, global warming, ozone hole, acid rain and smog. Increasing energy demand and growing per capita energy consumption has led to such serious challenges. Their notoriety is evidence for the growing concern about the human impacts on climate. Recently, the onset of winter in every year Delhi and National capital Region (NCR) of India witnessed hazy and dusty condition or smog, which prolonged for many days (October to November). In present investigation, on the basis of air quality monitored by various Government organizations for the years 2009 – 2015, the occurrence of smog in Delhi is studied and fog is categorized as mixture of Classical and Photochemical Smog. In present investigation the overall scientific aspects driving the research are as: important processes controlling levels of smog and surface exchange, impacts of smog on human health and the environment and important processes controlling the interaction between climate and air pollution

Validating Dalit literature as a tool to awakening Dalit consciousness

This paper attempts to understand the role of Dalit Literature and unravels the idea of consciousness as an arena for social protest. At the same time, the present study caters to underpin that concept of Dalit consciousness is a socially and culturally constructed reality which expresses, initiates, and engages social protest as a form of empowerment and emancipation discourse. Such social protests become a norm of social assertion for empowerment of the marginalized communities. This is especially the case in a society which is highly stratified in social, economic, political and cultural realms and where this stratification has been maintained through social and cultural engineering of dominationand subordination for centuries. The Dalit community, which has been pushed to the bottom in social ladder in the name of caste and untouchability, has inherently realized its sense of human dignity in recent times and started recapturing its lost identity in and through such protest movements

A new formalism for the statistical dynamics of vector spin systems

The relaxational dynamics of a classical vector Heisenberg spin system is studied using the Fokker-Planck equation. To calculate the eigenvalues of the Fokker-Planck operator, a new approach is introduced. In this connection, a number space repesentation is introduced, which enables us to visualize the eigenvalue structure of the Fokker-Planck operator. The mean field approximation is derived and a systematic method to improve the mean field approximation is presented