RESEARCH ARTICLE TRENDS IN CEREAL CROP PRODUCTION IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR INDIA

ABSTRACT Within the spectrum of agricultural geography trends are being studied to find out the changes taking place in a particular period. The present study has been undertaken to study the trends in cereal crops of Jammu and Kashmir state for a period of 2000-2011 and accordingly assessments can be formulated for better agriculture growth and development. Coupled with this possible factors have been taken into consideration for finding out the causes for fluctuating trends in cereal crops. Significance: The study is useful to agronomists, planners, administrators, and social scientists in viewing out priority regions for planning purposes and that way future plans can be designed and implemented accordingly. In so doing balanced growth in agriculture sector can take place which is of course one of the major objectives of going for a research in the field of agricultural geography. Data Base and Methodology: The present study has been carried out in a systematic order. Both primary and secondary data was utilized to find out the results. Data was collected, tabulated and analyzed. To Study trends in cereal crops various statistical methods were applied viz Time series analysis, correlation, Kendal's method, etc .To find out the future trends regression analysis was applied

Anti Proliferative Effect of Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead on Human Placental Chorion Cells

Abstract.-Heavy metals present in environment can effect human health in different ways. These heavy metals can even cross placenta and cause harm to the developing fetus. In the present study the anti-proliferative effects of arsenic, cadmium and lead were studied on human placental chorion cells (PCCs). The cells were isolated by explant method from placental tissue. Anti-proliferative effects of arsenic, cadmium and lead were tested by neutral red uptake assay. Both arsenic and cadmium proved to be very toxic for PCCs. There was marked decrease in cell proliferation when cells were exposed to different metal concentrations for 24 h. There was reduction in proliferation of cells on exposure to lead but the effect of lead on PCCs was not as severe as that of arsenic and cadmium. It is concluded that arsenic, cadmium and lead are toxic to PCCs and hence there is a need to adopt proper measures to reduce the exposure of animals and human

Pesticide Residues: Impacts on Fauna and the Environment

Pesticide residues are the traces of pesticide compounds that remain on or in the crop, water, soil and air after the application. Pesticide residues get into the environment as a result of application or by accident and can be found in the air, water and soil. Pesticide residues, if present in air, soil and water can pose a serious threat to biological diversity and human health. After depositing in the environment, the pesticides start to break down and forms metabolites that are more or less toxic. Pesticide residues decline as the pesticide breaks down over time, therefore the levels of residues are highest immediately after the application and diminish as the crops continue to grow. When exposed to sunlight or microorganisms in the soil, most pesticides degrade easily however, the utmost number of pesticides after application scatter into non-target areas or leach into groundwater or move in surface runoff by misuse and misapplication while handling or spraying. The impact of widespread usage of chemical pesticides has made an uncountable number of effects on human health, environment and other life forms and has turned into a serious issue across the globe. The present study aims to present an introduction to the environmental pesticide residues and various aspects highlighting their impact on nature and biodiversity

Nature and Magnitude of Climatic Change in Turkmenistan with Special Reference to Temperature and Precipitation

A Particular region is a bi-product of particular eco-habitat. It is basically an environmental spectrum that shapes and reshapes physical, social, cultural, biological and all ecological variables of micro or macro region with the broader perspectives of environmental ecology. The climatic factors play an important role for sustenance of biosphere at large. Spatial Analysis of weather phenomenon in broader perspectives is the science of climatology. A climatologist as geographer deals with spatial and temporal aspects of weather elements of any region of the globe and as such significance of climatology gets exclusively important and broader accordingly. Weather phenomenon consequently have their impacts on ecology, temperature variations, seasonal cycles, biodiversity models, cyclic movement of nutrients in biosphere, ecological habitats and their significance extends latitudinally and longitudinally

Insect Conservation and Management: A Need of the Hour

Insects play a very vital role in divergent ecosystems and have gained great economic and medical importance as pollinators, pests, predators, parasitoids, decomposers and vectors. With the large-scale practice of synthetic pesticides, the diminishing rate of beneficial and pollinator insects is increasing rapidly. Environmental pollution, climate change, global warming, urbanization, industrialization and some natural calamities like wildfires add more fuel to the acceleration of insect decline all over the world. Alternative steps should be employed to replace the toxic pesticides and implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) should be put forward to reduce the overuse of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which have a great impact on beneficial insects as well as birds, aquatic organisms, and also on human health. The present study aims to create awareness among the researchers and general public by providing a brief review of insect importance, decline and conservation strategies

Electrochemical investigations of unexplored anthraquinones and their DNA binding

The redox behaviour of two potential anticancer anthraquinones, 9,10-anthraquinone and 2-chloromethyl-9,10-anthraquinone was investigated in a wide pH range. Cyclic voltammetry based assay was developed for the assessment of the effect of medium, substituents, potential scan rate and number of scans on the voltammetric response of anthraquinones. The electrode reaction mechanism was suggested on the basis of cyclic and differential pulse voltammetric results. The effect of DNA on anthraquinones was also probed at physiological pH which could lead to further investigation of possible citotoxic activity in vitro. The results revealed that anthraquinones interact with DNA more strongly than the clinically used anticancer drug, epirubicin

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Comparative analysis of the mitochondrial genome of Hypospila bolinoides and Lygephila dorsigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae), with implications for their phylogeny

To analyse the phylogenetic relationships of members of the family Erebidae, the mitogenomes of two species namely, Hypospila bolinoides Guenée, 1852 and Lygephila dorsigera (Walker, 1865) were sequenced. H. bolinoides and L. dorsigera have circular genomes that are 15,640 bp and 15,567 bp long, respectively. Despite their different lengths, both genomes contain an identical gene order, which includes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes and an A+T-rich region. The nucleotide composition of the H. bolinoides mitogenome vis-à-vis the A+T rich region was 80.08%, which is higher than that of L. dorsigera (78.03%). The AT skew and GC skew were mostly negative for both species. The A+T-rich regions of H. bolinoides and L. dorsigera were 287 bp and 383 bp long, respectively, and confined to common characteristics of Noctuoidea. Concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs from 170 taxa belonging to the five families of the superfamily Noctuoidea and two butterfly mitogenomes used as outgroups were utilized for Bayesian inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) analyses. The first-ever comprehensive analysis of the mitogenomes of the genera Lygephila (Billberg, 1820) and Hypospila (Guenée, 1852) revealed that the superfamily Noctuoidea has a well supported monophyletic relationship with (Notodontidae + (Erebidae + (Nolidae + (Euteliidae + Noctuidae))). In support of previous partial genome analyses, the present study provides phylogenomic evidence that L. dorsigera, hitherto classified as a member of the subfamily Erebinae, can be placed within the subfamily Toxocampinae