Management of Resources for Sustainable Agriculture

Green Revolution triggered in India with the introduction of high yielding varieties of crops particularly wheat and rice in seventies. The cultivators rapidly adopted these varieties in North India, which produced high yields by greatly responding to modern inputs, generation of suitable crop production and protection technologies and favourable public policies. But continuation of same cropping patterns over the last three decades with inefficient and indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals inputs as well as natural resources have resulted into mounting environmental problems. The shrinking of natural resources coupled with technology and public policy related problems have caused increase in cost of production over the years. Considering various factors like optimization of agricultural productivity and profitability, employment generation, natural resource conservation and reduction in agro-chemical use, the objectives framed were i) to study utilization pattern of land, water and agro-chemicals in perspective ii) to formulate suitable farm plans for sustainable production.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

ETHNOBOTANICAL AND ETHNOVETERINARY IMPORTANCE OF PLANTS OF SCRUB AREAS OF DACHIGAM NATIONAL PARK, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA

Objective: The rich plant diversity of mountains has been used by the indigenous people for thousands of years as health-care remedies. A study on the important plant communities of scrub ecosystems of Dachigam National Park was carried out with the special aim of enlisting the ethnobotanical, and ethnoveterinary uses of plants being used by the people of the area. Methods: Data were collected by visual appraisal approach, rapid rural approach, and questionnaire methods coupled with group meetings and field discussions. Results: Data collected from the present investigation indicate that 59 plants belonging to 33 families with Rosaceae, the dominant family, were exclusively used for ethnobotanical purposes and 10 plant species belonging to 8 families were having ethnoveterinary use. These species include 14 medicinal species, 10 vegetable species, 10 with edible species, 6 fodder species, 6 species used as tea substitutes, 3 species for menstrual problems, 3 species used for religious ceremonies, 2 species used for chutney, 2 art and craft species, and 1 species used for ornamental, fuelwood, and agricultural tools each. Conclusion: The people of the area are exclusively dependent on medicinal plants using traditional knowledge that provides them with the best therapeutic and economic benefits. Such traditional knowledge could be valuable for developing local and regional conservation strategies for these fragile ecosystems. There is an urgent need to thoroughly analyze the secondary metabolite properties of such plants to validate their authenticity in the local health-care systems

Liver resection rate following downsizing chemotherapy with cetuximab in metastatic colorectal cancer: UK retrospective observational study

Aims The high objective response rate to cetuximab along with chemotherapy in patients with colorectal liver metastases makes it an effective downsizing protocol to facilitate surgery in those with initially unresectable disease. Adoption of this strategy has been variable in the UK. A retrospective observational study was conducted in 7 UK specialist liver surgical centres to describe the liver resection rate following a downsizing protocol of cetuximab and chemotherapy and to evaluate the quality and efficiency of processes by which the treatment was provided. Methods Data were collected in 2012 by reviewing medical records of patients with colorectal metastases confined to the liver, defined as unresectable without downsizing therapy at first review by a specialist Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT). Results Sixty patients were included; 29 (48%) underwent liver resection following cetuximab and chemotherapy. Of the 29, 17 (59% or 28% of all patients) achieved R0 resection and 7 (24% or 12% of all patients) R1 resection. All treated patients were KRAS wild-type. Conclusion In specialist liver surgical centres, where patients are evaluated for liver resection, optimal management by MDT using KRAS testing, cetuximab and chemotherapy results in a 28% R0 resection rate in patients with initially unresectable colorectal cancer liver metastases

Measurements of the observed cross sections for e+e−→e^+e^-\to exclusive light hadrons containing π0π0\pi^0\pi^0 at s=3.773\sqrt s= 3.773, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV

By analyzing the data sets of 17.3, 6.5 and 1.0 pb$^{-1}$ taken, respectively, at $\sqrt s= 3.773$, 3.650 and 3.6648 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC collider, we measure the observed cross sections for $e^+e^-\to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $K^+K^-\pi^0\pi^0$, $2(\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0)$, $K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\pi^0$ and $3(\pi^+\pi^-)\pi^0\pi^0$ at the three energy points. Based on these cross sections we set the upper limits on the observed cross sections and the branching fractions for $\psi(3770)$ decay into these final states at 90% C.L..Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Partial wave analysis of J/\psi \to \gamma \phi \phi

Using $5.8 \times 10^7 J/\psi$ events collected in the BESII detector, the radiative decay $J/\psi \to \gamma \phi \phi \to \gamma K^+ K^- K^0_S K^0_L$ is studied. The $\phi\phi$ invariant mass distribution exhibits a near-threshold enhancement that peaks around 2.24 GeV/$c^{2}$. A partial wave analysis shows that the structure is dominated by a $0^{-+}$ state ($\eta(2225)$) with a mass of $2.24^{+0.03}_{-0.02}{}^{+0.03}_{-0.02}$ GeV/$c^{2}$ and a width of $0.19 \pm 0.03^{+0.06}_{-0.04}$ GeV/$c^{2}$. The product branching fraction is: $Br(J/\psi \to \gamma \eta(2225))\cdot Br(\eta(2225)\to \phi\phi) = (4.4 \pm 0.4 \pm 0.8)\times 10^{-4}$.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. corrected proof for journa

Direct Measurements of Absolute Branching Fractions for D0 and D+ Inclusive Semimuonic Decays

By analyzing about 33 $\rm pb^{-1}$ data sample collected at and around 3.773 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC collider, we directly measure the branching fractions for the neutral and charged $D$ inclusive semimuonic decays to be $BF(D^0 \to \mu^+ X) =(6.8\pm 1.5\pm 0.7)$ and $BF(D^+ \to \mu^+ X) =(17.6 \pm 2.7 \pm 1.8)$, and determine the ratio of the two branching fractions to be $\frac{BF(D^+ \to \mu^+ X)}{BF(D^0 \to \mu^+ X)}=2.59\pm 0.70 \pm 0.25$

A study of charged kappa in J/ψ→K±Ksπ∓π0J/\psi \to K^{\pm} K_s \pi^{\mp} \pi^0

Based on $58 \times 10^6$ $J/\psi$ events collected by BESII, the decay $J/\psi \to K^{\pm} K_s \pi^{\mp} \pi^0$ is studied. In the invariant mass spectrum recoiling against the charged $K^*(892)^{\pm}$, the charged $\kappa$ particle is found as a low mass enhancement. If a Breit-Wigner function of constant width is used to parameterize the kappa, its pole locates at $(849 \pm 77 ^{+18}_{-14}) -i (256 \pm 40 ^{+46}_{-22})$ MeV/$c^2$. Also in this channel, the decay $J/\psi \to K^*(892)^+ K^*(892)^-$ is observed for the first time. Its branching ratio is $(1.00 \pm 0.19 ^{+0.11}_{-0.32}) \times 10^{-3}$.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Dilepton mass spectra in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)= 200 GeV and the contribution from open charm

The PHENIX experiement has measured the electron-positron pair mass spectrum from 0 to 8 GeV/c^2 in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. The contributions from light meson decays to e^+e^- pairs have been determined based on measurements of hadron production cross sections by PHENIX. They account for nearly all e^+e^- pairs in the mass region below 1 GeV/c^2. The e^+e^- pair yield remaining after subtracting these contributions is dominated by semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons correlated through flavor conservation. Using the spectral shape predicted by PYTHIA, we estimate the charm production cross section to be 544 +/- 39(stat) +/- 142(syst) +/- 200(model) \mu b, which is consistent with QCD calculations and measurements of single leptons by PHENIX.Comment: 375 authors from 57 institutions, 18 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physics Letters B. v2 fixes technical errors in matching authors to institutions. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Inclusive cross section and double helicity asymmetry for \pi^0 production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV: Implications for the polarized gluon distribution in the proton

The PHENIX experiment presents results from the RHIC 2005 run with polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV, for inclusive \pi^0 production at mid-rapidity. Unpolarized cross section results are given for transverse momenta p_T=0.5 to 20 GeV/c, extending the range of published data to both lower and higher p_T. The cross section is described well for p_T < 1 GeV/c by an exponential in p_T, and, for p_T > 2 GeV/c, by perturbative QCD. Double helicity asymmetries A_LL are presented based on a factor of five improvement in uncertainties as compared to previously published results, due to both an improved beam polarization of 50%, and to higher integrated luminosity. These measurements are sensitive to the gluon polarization in the proton, and exclude maximal values for the gluon polarization.Comment: 375 authors, 7 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, Rapid Communications. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm