THE CREATION STORY OF KASHMIRI PEOPLE: THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

If a group wishes to exercise the right to self-determination, they need to establish that they are a “people” within the international law definition, thereby triggering the ability to claim this right.  Thus, the definition of the term “people” is the key in cases of self-determination and always posits difficult challenges.  This article aims to determine whether the “Kashmiri people” could be identified as a group that fits within the contemporary non-exhaustive definition of people.  Having ascended from the level of subjects of an autocratic rule to victims of human rights violations, are Kashmiris now in a position to exercise a right to self-determination? 

Gene action studies in early maturing maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines

The present investigation was aimed to investigate the gene action in early maturing maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines. The experimental material comprised of 30 crosses generated by crossing six maize inbred lines in a diallel mating design during Kharif 2013. These 30 crosses along with standard checks viz., SMH-2 and VMH-45 were evaluated in randomized block design in three replications during Kharif 2014 and Kharif 2015. Significant variation was observed for all studied traits during both the seasons. Both additive (D) and dominance (H1 and H2) components of genetic variance were found significant under the study. Preponderance of non-additive gene action was observed for all traits under study. Average degree of dominance was in over dominance range for all characters. The gene distribution was asymmetrical for all traits. The value of KD / KR indicated presence of excess of dominant genes for all traits except 100-grain weight and ear girth. Heritability of most of the traits was low to medium

Maternal anaemia and its impact on perinatal outcome in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

Maternal anaemia is a common problem in pregnancy, particularly in developing countries. We investigated the relationship between maternal anaemia and perinatal outcome in a cohort of 629 pregnant women from October 2001 to 2002. Of these, 313 were anaemic (haemoglobin \u3c 11 g/L). Perinatal outcomes included preterm delivery, low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, perinatal death, low Apgar scores and intrauterine fetal death. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. The risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight among the anaemic women was 4 and 1.9 times more respectively than the non-anaemic women. The neonates of anaemic women also had 1.8 times increased risk having low Apgar scores at 1 minute and there was a 3.7 greater risk of intrauterine fetal death among the anaemic women than the non-anaemic women

Multilayer Security of RGB Image in Discrete Hartley Domain

In this article, we present RGB image encryption and decryption using random matrix affine cipher (RMAC) associated with discrete Hartley transform (DHT) and random matrix shift cipher (RMSC). The parameters in RMAC and RMSC phases act as two series of secret keys whose arrangement is imperative in the proposed algorithm. The computer simulations with results and examples are given to analyze the efficiency of the proposed approach. Further, security analysis and comparison with the prior techniques successfully supports the robustness and validation of the proposed technique

Comparison of survival and adverse effect profile in patients with esophageal cancer treated with the combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel vs. 5-flourouracil and cisplatin

Objective: Esophageal cancer (EC) is a form of gastrointestinal cancer with the worst malignant potential and poor prognosis. This study sought to compare the survival and adverse effect profile in patients with EC treated with Carboplatin and Paclitaxel or 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and Cisplatin regimen.  Patients and Methods: The study was conducted at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, Srinagar, J&K, India for a period of 7 months. A total of 251 patients were included in this retrospective study, of which 177 (Group I) had been treated with the combination of Carboplatin and Paclitaxel while 74 patients (Group II) had been treated with 5-FU and Cisplatin combination. Results: The median overall survival (OS) was 20.7 months for patients in Group I and 17.1 months for patients in Group II (HR: 1.200; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], p=0.176). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 12.26 months for subjects of Group I and 12.33 months for Group II subjects (HR: 0.609; 95% CI; p=0.909). Haematological toxicity (≥ grade III) in terms of anaemia, leukocytopenia and thrombocytopenia in Carboplatin and Paclitaxel group (1.7%, 8%, and 18%) was significantly higher than in the 5-FU and Cisplatin group (1.36%, 0%, and 38%) (95% CI; p<0.05). Among non-haematological toxicities, bradycardia was the most notable side-effect of 5-FU and Cisplatin group (18.9%) followed by diarrhoea/vomiting (6.75%) and cough (2.7%). The major side-effect seen in patients treated with the combination of Carboplatin and Paclitaxel was diarrhoea/vomiting (4.52%), followed by mucositis (3.39%) and cough (2.25%) (95% CI; p<0.05). Conclusions: Results suggest that Carboplatin and Paclitaxel regimen is the preferred regimen for patients with potentially curable EC and has higher patient compliance compared to 5-FU and Cisplatin regimen. Toxicity, excluding haematological events, occurred less frequently in the group that received Carboplatin and Paclitaxel compared to toxicity rates in patients who received 5-FU and Cisplatin regimen

A comparative study of Ilizarov ring fixators and limb reconstruction system fixators in the treatment of compound tibial shaft fractures

Background: Tibia is the most commonly fractured long bone, and the prevalence of compound fractures has risen due to an increase in high-energy traumatic incidents. In addressing challenging tibial fractures with significant soft tissue damage, infected tibial nonunion, and compound tibial fractures, medical professionals have turned to specialized treatments, such as Ilizarov ring fixators and limb reconstruction system fixators. These fractures typically cannot be managed effectively with traditional internal fixation methods. To facilitate early weight-bearing, limb lengthening, and efficient wound care, two minimally invasive fixation systems have been developed: the Limb Reconstruction System and the ring fixator. Methods: The study was conducted on 40 patients with compound tibial shaft fractures treated by Ilizarov ring fixators and limb reconstruction system fixators with the aim to evaluate the functional outcome, union rate and amount of limb lengthening using Ring and ILRS fixators in compound tibial fixators. Results: In our study, a significant portion of the participants fell within the age range of 28 to 37 years, comprising 45% of the total sample. Furthermore, the majority of the study subjects were male, constituting 65% of the participant pool. The primary mode of injury reported in our study was road traffic accidents, accounting for 77.5%. Conclusions: The study concluded that LRS fixators show good and promising results like easy to apply, carry, compress, distract and clean while Ilizaro ring fixator is technically demanding, difficult to carry and cumbersome to the patient