Pre and post Vulnerability of Floods to Mental Health Among the Residents of Srinagar City, J&K-India

Health effects occur directly through contact with flood waters or indirectly from damage to infrastructure, ecosystems, food and water supplies or social support systems. They can be immediate or can appear days, weeks or months after the floods have receded. Two thirds of flood related deaths worldwide are from drowning and one third from physical trauma, heart attacks, electrocution, carbon monoxide poisoning or fire. The main of this paper was to assess the Pre and post vulnerability of floods to mental health among the residents of Srinagar city. For the collection of primary data, sample of 200 respondents were randomly selected from various areas of the Srinagar city. A well structured questionnaire was employed for collecting primary data. The study reveals that Maximum number patients were found during post floods (974). During pre floods out of the total 418 patients, maximum were found in the month of July (116 patients) followed by August (107 patients). However in post floods out of 974, maximum cases were found in January (281 patients)  followed by march (273 patients). Females were found more vulnerable in both cases but in pre flood  62 percent females were found exposed to different mental health problems which increased to 77 percent after floods of September, 2014. Key words: Flood, Mental Health, Srinagar, Vulnerabilit

Socioeconomic status and risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) among the residents of Jammu Division (J&K-India) - A Geo Medical Analysis

The main focus of this paper is to examine the relationship between CVD risk factors and socioeconomic variables in Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) related deaths is not only the prime cause of mortality in the world, it has also continued to increase in the low and middle income countries. The study area was divided into ten districts (administrative units) in GIS environment. linear regression, binary logistic regression model, Kendal’s ranking coefficient method were employed to show the incidence, spatial variation and impact of different socioeconomic variables on CVD. The results reveals that the incidence of CVD has increased by 7.31 percent from 2008 to 2016. Samba district was having maximum change of incidence (33.24 percent), however, negative change in incidence rate was found in Udhampur district (-2.41 percent). Consumption of tobacco and alcohol are significant related to cardiovascular diseases

Development of phosphorus-doped noble metal (Pt, Pd) electrocatalysts for selective oxidation of glycerol to value added chemicals

Glycerol is a by-product of biodiesel obtained during transesterification of the vegetable oil (one kg in every 10 kg of biodiesel). Its improper handling can create environmental issues. Much work has been devoted to the transformation of glycerol by various catalytic processes involving reforming, oxidation, hydrogenolysis, etherification, esterification and so on. It can be converted into various valuable chemicals, such as dihydroxyacetone (DHA), glyceraldehyde (GALD), mesoxalic acid (MOXA), glyceric acid (GLY), tartronic acid (TAT), and oxalic acid (OXA) by using different chemo-catalytic and electrocatalytic techniques. Main target of all these techniques is to achieve efficient and economical conversion of glycerol to desired products with highest selectivity. Glycerol electro-oxidation reaction (GOR) could offer potentially safe, non-hazardous and sustainable method to produce value-added products from glycerol. In this work, the effect of noble metals (Pt & Pd) and non-metals modified nanoparticles (P-doped Pt, Pdoped Pd) supported over multiwalled carbon nanotubes in three electrode cell system is reported for electro-oxidation of glycerol. As prepared catalysts were physicochemically characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Field emission electron spectroscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to get better insight about the effect of specific surface area, crystallite size, particle size, and oxidation states of doped non-noble metal on performance of electrocatalysts for GOR. The electrochemical properties of the catalysts were measured through cyclic voltammetry and chronoampermetry using a potentiostat and HPLC was used to analyze and quantify the GOR products. Initial studies found that the Pt/CNT and Pd/CNT electrocatalysts with a particle size of about 4.2 nm and 5.13 nm respectively was prepared by using hydrazine reduction method. It was demonstrated a high durability, electrochemical activity can achieve product selectivity of 90-95% for selective synthesis of tartronic acid in alkaline media. Bi-metallic (Pt-Pd/CNT) electrocatalysts showed higher electrochemical surface area (322.0 m2/g), and selectivity of mesoxalic acid (87%). Although noble metals proved to be promising catalyst with high selectivity but due to commercial constraints of costly noble metals, incorporation of non-metal (P) was chosen as best method to solve this problem. Since, homogeneity of non-metals remains a problem, so in this work, P-doped Pt/CNT and P-doped Pd/CNT were prepared using hydrothermal method with a diameter of 6.23 nm and 3.7 nm were obtained. The results showed superior ECSA (335.95 m2/g & 392.22 m2/g, respectively) than previously mentioned noble metal catalysts. In addition, DHA and tartronic acid selectivity of 90.82% and 47% respectively was obtained. It was found that all the Pd catalyst (Pd/CNT & P-doped Pd) showed higher current density, lower onset potential, high ECSA, narrow particle size, high selectivity for desired products and better resistance (If/Ib =2.37) as compared to Pt catalysts confirming the higher catalytic activity of these catalysts. The results of P-doping into Pt and Pd suggested that addition of phosphorous (P) not only contributed for high activity but also an economical approach for future commercialization of GOR electrocatalysts. It was also found that the product selectivity remarkably enhanced for doped catalysts showing lowest; onset potential, applied potential along with high; ECSA and current density

Mechanical and comfort properties of Hydroentangled nonwovens from comber noil

Cotton fibre is one of the most important commodity fibre and is widely employed in apparels. At present, the share of natural fibres in production of nonwoven fabrics is low and employed in opt applications. The cotton fibre is conventionally converted into woven and knitted fabrics by short staple spinning methods. The comber noil is short fibre waste during production of combed cotton yarns. The aims of the current study were to employ comber noil for preparation of Hydroentangled cotton nonwovens at varying water jet pressures and conveyor speeds. The effect of these parameters is studied with respect to mechanical and comfort properties of prepared fabrics. The results showed that these variables can help to manufacture fibrous assemblies with engineered properties according to required application area

Geospatial Dynamics of Cropping pattern and Agricultural Efficiency in Kashmir Valley-A Northwestern Himalayan Region, India

Food (in)security and agricultural efficiency is a major challenge in many of the world’s mountain ranges. The particular physical characteristics of mountains and associated socioeconomic factors, mountain regions all over the world face challenges in terms of food security and cropping pattern, although at different levels. Mountains in developing countries are sites of poverty. About 40 percent of the mountain population or nearly 300 million people are estimated to be vulnerable to food insecurity, of these, nearly 90 percent live in rural areas and almost half of those are likely to be chronically hungry. The present study also focuses on the regional disparities in agricultural efficiency and cropping pattern across different tehsils of Kashmir Valley-A north-western part of Himalayas. The study was carried out across thirty-nine spatial units (Tehsils) among different districts of Kashmir valley in GIS and remote sensing environment. Both primary and secondary data was employed. The study shows that the productivity of paddy, maize, and wheat is showing an increasing trend among all tehsils of Kashmir valley from 2011 to 2017 but the area under these crops is decreasing at an alarming rate leading a food deficit of  21.70 percent. So, agriculture planning is badly needed to curb this grave problem and impose restrictions to land conversion a burning issue nowaday

Impact of Agriculture Sector Development on Economic Growth: Application of Robust Linear Least Squares Regression on Pakistan’s Data Set

The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between economic growth and  agricultural crops, i.e., maize, rice, sugarcane, and wheat production in the context of Pakistan by using the last 14 years time period from 2003-2016. The study used some other exogenous factors, i.e., agriculture exports and agriculture employment, which gives conclusive findings in a given country context. The study employed robust least squares regression apparatus that gives unbiased, efficient, and reliable estimates. The results show that agricultural crops, i.e., maize and wheat production substantially increases country’s economic growth, while agricultural exports does not supported due to some structural flaws in agriculture commodity market. The results confirm the positive association between agriculture employment and economic growth that helpful to reduce Pakistan’s internal migration issues. The study emphasized the need to support rice and sugarcane production through protective prices, economic policies, and financialization in the commodity markets.&nbsp

THE RELATIONSHIP STUDY BETWEEN COHESION AND PERFORMANCEOF PLAYERS OF HOCKEY, IN PAKISTAN

This paper represents the findings of a larger study which highlights the relationship between cohesion and the performance among hockey players of Pakistan in view of socio-interactional context. Pakistan won laurels in Field hockey with four World Cup and three Olympics titles to its credit but no effort has been made to find out the factors which have turned Pakistan (as a team) from the status of a giant into a pygmy during the last two decades. The foremost objective of this paper is to scrutinize the relationship between cohesion and players’ performance. A sample of 296 players from 14sport departments was chosen as respondents. Adopted questionnaire was used to collect the survey data. The findings highlighted the significant (p=.001) relationship between cohesion and players’ performance. It is concluded that the cohesiveness among players is to be developed and expanded regarding players’ performance to fulfil sport requirements. Recommendations have been made to raise the excellence, relevance, and legitimacy in team regarding cohesion with players’ performance

Contextualising Sehat Sahulat programme in the drive towards universal health coverage in Khyber Pakhtunhhwa, Pakistan

OBJECTIVES: To describe the evolution of the Sehat Sahulat Programme (SSP), a large-scale health insurance scheme launched by the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and to contextualise it in the national discourse around Universal Health Coverage (UHC). METHODS: This review was based on peer-reviewed publications and publicly available grey literature over the last five years (2016-2020). We employed a combination of deductive and inductive approaches informed by the World Health Organisation's (WHO) UHC box framework. REVIEW: SSP was launched on 15 December 2015. It has been implemented in four phases, with a gradual expansion in the population, services and cost coverage. In 2015, SSP covered the poorest 21% of the population in four pilot districts. On 20 August 2020, the coverage was expanded to 100% of the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. SSP conferred free access to an expanding list of inpatient, secondary and tertiary care services. The scheme covered all expenditures during hospital admission, with a defined upper ceiling. The ceiling for secondary and tertiary care has improved, with marked changes in tertiary coverage, from PKR 0 in Phase1 – PKR 400,000 in Phase 4. Despite the progress, SSP did not cover key health-related targets under Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and partially covered Pakistan's UHC benefits package. CONCLUSION: SSP coverage of population, disease and financial protection has expanded over five years. However, SSP coverage was not aligned with the national UHC priorities and the SDGs