Passive Solar Greenhouse for Round The Year Vegetable Cultivation in Trans Himalayan Ladakh Region, India

The trans-Himalayan Ladakh region remains cut-off for over six months in a year due to heavy snowfall. Availability of locally grown fresh vegetables is restricted to summer months and therefore, there are seasonal differences in dietary intake of food. Passive solar greenhouse has played a significant role not only in production of leafy vegetables in sub-zero temperature during winter months but also helped in extending the growing season in Ladakh. It is now a common practice to raise vegetable nurseries in spring and grow leafy vegetables during winter months in the greenhouse. Each year an average of 733 greenhouses covering 44313.4 m2 area are being established in Leh district. Passive solar greenhouse structures such as Ladakhi greenhouse, trench, polytrench, polyench, polycarbonate, FRP and polynet have been designed and tested in the inhospitable environment of trans–Himalaya. The greenhouse is used mainly during winter, and majority of farmers (91.7 %) do not use the structures in summer. Insect-pest, irrigation in winter and frequent replacement of cladding materials are the major problems being faced by the farmers in the region. There is a need to improvise the greenhouse design to make it economically viable and technologically feasible to grow a variety of crops, especially during winter months

All Year Round Vegetable Cultivation in Trenches in Cold Arid trans-Himalayan Ladakh

Trench greenhouse is a low cost underground rectangular structure (30’×10’×3’; L×W×D) in north-south orientation with stone wall on four sides. It is covered with polyethylene sheet at ground level during winter months. The air temperature inside the trench was found to be 20.7±2.8 °C warmer during day and 7.0±1.2 °C at night that support growing of leafy vegetables during winter (mid October to early March). Three cycles of crops were grown in a year in the greenhouses as against single crop in open field condition in cold trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. Spinach production was 64 kg -70 kg per trench during mid October to early March. Black plastic mulch significantly increased spinach production during winter months. Vegetable seedlings (13,000 to 39,000 numbers per trench) were raised during late March to early May, which is not possible in open field condition otherwise. A variety of warm-season vegetables were harvested (6 kg - 210 kg per trench) from the trenches during summer months

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Responses of Endoscopy Patients in Ladakh, India, to Helicobacter pylori Whole-Cell and CagA Antigens

Although Helicobacter pylori is a cosmopolitan colonizer of the human stomach, the responses among persons in remote populations from whom H. pylori was cultured have not been studied. We report on studies of 189 persons in the Ladakh region of India in whom serum immunoglobulin G responses to H. pylori whole-cell and CagA antigens were measured. H. pylori was isolated from 68 of these patients. An H. pylori whole-cell antigen derived from Ladakhi strains outperformed a similar antigen from U.S. strains, as determined by antigen-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. In total, 95% of the population was seropositive, including individuals responding only to the CagA antigen. Correlation with culture results showed that these were true positives and, therefore, that the H. pylori whole-cell serology was falsely negative in some cases. In addition to establishing a collection of H. pylori isolates from a remote area in the world, we show that use of H. pylori whole-cell and CagA serology together increases the sensitivity for the detection of colonization

Formulas Used by Tibetan Doctors at Men-Tsee-Khang in India for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Their Correlation with Pharmacological Data

The aim of the present study was to identify formulas used at Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute), India, for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders and to compare the Tibetan usage of particular ingredients with pharmacological data from the scientific database. Using ethnographic methods, five doctors were selected and interviewed. A correlation was observed between central nervous system disorders and rLung, one of the three humors in Tibetan medicine, which imbalance is the source of mental disorders, and ten multi-ingredient formulas used to treat the imbalance of this particular humor were identified. These formulas utilize 61 ingredients; among them were 48 plant species. Each formula treats several symptoms related to rLung imbalance, so the plants may have therapeutic uses distinct from those of the formulas in which they are included. Myristica fragrans, nutmeg, is contained in 100% of the formulas, and its seeds exhibit stimulant and depressant actions affecting the central nervous system. Preclinical and clinical data from the scientific literature indicate that all of the formulas include ingredients with neuropsychiatric action and corroborate the therapeutic use of 75.6% of the plants. These findings indicate a level of congruence between the therapeutic uses of particular plant species in Tibetan and Western medicines. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAP (Fundacao de Apoio a Universidade Federal de São Paulo)AFIP (Associacao Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa)UNIFESP International Affairs OfficeUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilMen Tsee Khang Gangchen Kyishong, Dharmshala 176215, HP, IndiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biol Sci, Ctr Ethnobot & Ethnopharmacol Studies, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biol Sci, Ctr Ethnobot & Ethnopharmacol Studies, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

A nation in exile : Tibetan diaspora and the dynamics of long-distance nationalism.

This essay is an attempt to explore the dynamics of Tibetan nationalism in diaspora. I do this from three perspectives. First, I examine the techniques of contemporary nationalist uprisings among displaced communities, and I argue that the nature and character of the nationalism-in-exile is determined to a great extent by the cooperation between the community within Tibet and those outside it. Secondly, I analyse the situation where a displaced community keeps the nationalism agenda alive in isolation. Specifically, I argue that beyond whatever situation may be present in the territory with a contested sovereignty, those in the diaspora always pursue a policy to establish links and ties--both clandestine and open--with their counterparts and work in tandem in order to facilitate their cause. Thirdly, I argue that fears of persecution cannot be a basis to non-engagement with those living in the contested territory: nationalist struggle is very much like a war, and it cannot be fought effectively from outside. In addition, the aspirations of the community concerned is likely to be compromised if those in the diaspora are overwhelmingly concentrated in one host country. Further, although traditional-legal or charismatic leadership is a great uniting factor and crucial to the vision of the diasporic community, excessive dependence on it can significantly alter the course of the nationalist aspiration

Charting the Tibet issue in the Sino-Indian border dispute

In official quarters in Beijing and New Delhi, the Tibet issue figures only as a bargaining chip to 'regulate' their bilateral relations, not as an issue that has an independent bearing on the intractability or resolution of the Sino-Indian border dispute. Scholars of the Sino-Indian border dispute either dismiss the relevance of the Tibet issue or treat it as only a prop in their framing of the dispute in terms of security, nationalism and great power rivalry. This article argues that the Tibet issue is more central to the border dispute than official and scholarly circles have recognised so far. The article demonstrates this through an examination of the historical roots of the border row, the centrality of Tibet and Tibetans in the boundary claims of both Beijing and New Delhi and the revelation of concurrent historical developments in the border dispute and the Sino-Tibetan conflict. On the place of Tibet in broader Sino-Indian relations, the article posits that while Tibet was a victim of India's moralistic-idealist policies toward China in the 1950s, it has now become a victim of the new realism pervading India's policy of engaging and emulating China in the post-Cold War era