Household dynamics and small timber consumption in rural Kashmir (J&K), India

The study examined the extraction and consumption pattern of small timber and its socioeconomic and forest resource determinants among the rural people in district Ganderbal of Kashmir. The results showed that the total extraction of small timber from different sources in the sample villages was 39.46 tons annum-1, which is mostly consumed in housing and roofing (39.63%) followed by cattle shed/ store house (15.25%), rural furniture/ packing cases (14.75%), agricultural implements (13.25%), fencing (12.50%) and others (4.62%). The total small timber demand was 47.88 m3 annum-1, which is mostly procured from agroforestry (42.57%) followed by forests (26.09%), homestead forestry (17.05%) and social/ community forestry (14.29%). The people were destitute with respect to socioeconomic attributes while they are well-off regarding forest resource characteristics. Correlation and multiple regression analysis established a robust relationship between small timber consumption and socioeconomic and forest resource parameters. The small timber flow from forests to the sample villages is excessive as compared to the national estimates, creating threats to the biodiversity conservation and ecological stability of the adjoining forests. The over-utilization of forest biomass by the local people is leading to degradation of forest resources and diminished biomass productivity, which in turn induce socioeconomic and livelihood stress. Therefore, some alternative interventions are essential to be implemented efficiently to keep pace with current development and future challenges

Cone and seed maturity indices in Pinus wallichiana under temperate conditions of Kashmir Himalayas, India

Pinus wallichiana (Blue pine) does not have a good seed every year and hence it becomes necessary to collect abundant quantity of seed during good seed year. It becomes necessary to know the exact time of seed ma-turity. To overcome this problem, the present investigation was conducted in Kashmir valley at four different altitudes and locations i.e. (1,600-2,000 masl–KFD), (2,000-2,400 masl -LFD), (2,400-2,800-PFD) and (2,800-3200 masl– SFD). The results revealed that seed collection clearly showed wide variation in the maturity of cones. Cone colour served as an indicator of maturity and it changed from light green to green and green with brown patches at maturity-ty. Seed colour changed from whitish to light brown and dark brown at maturity. The mean cone weight (118.67- 88.17gm) and specific gravity (1.13-0.90) decreased as the cones proceeded towards maturity. The mean seed weight of 21.79 to 57.13gm increased at all altitudes as the cones advanced towards maturity. Cone length, cone diameter and germination percent differed (P?0.05) significantly between altitudes and increased when the cones advanced towards maturity. The germination per cent was recorded more at altitudinal range of 1,600-2,400 masl (67.25-70.26%) at maturity, while as it was recorded lower at higher altitudes (42.12-47.25%). It is concluded that the altitudinal range of 1,600-2,400 masl is best sites for collection of phenotypically superior seeds in terms of maxi-mum cone length (18.18cm), diameter (5.23mm) and weight (108.94gm), number of seeds per cone (117.72), seed weight (79.99) and germinability (68.75)

Prediction of agroforestry adoption among farming communities of Kashmir valley, India: A logistic regression approach

The study investigated the socioeconomic and psychological variables that influence the agroforestry adoption in farming communities of Kashmir. The data were collected from 142 households of 5 villages selected in Baramulla and Kupwara districts utilizing multi-stage random sampling. The results revealed that regarding agroforestry adoption majority (52.11%) of the respondents belonged to medium category followed by low (27.47%) and high (20.42%) categories. The socioeconomic variables specified that the rural people are in underprivileged condition while they are in prosperous condition regarding psychological variables. The correlation analysis (r) indicated that among explanatory variables, education, social participation, family composition, size of land holding, main occupation, housing status, farm power, farm implements, livestock possession, wealth status, gross annual income, knowledge about agrforestry, attitude towards agroforestry and level of aspiration had shown positively significant correlation with the agroforestry adoption, while, the age had a non-significant correlation. All the explanatory variables jointly accounted 90.80 % (R2= 0.908) variation on the agroforestry adoption and among these, nine variables viz., education, size of land holding, main occupation, farm power, livestock possession, wealth status, knowledge about agrforestry, attitude towards agroforestry and level of aspiration were statistically significant (p < 0.05) in influencing the agroforestry adoption. The study recommends that recognition and exploitation of explanatory variables that predict agroforestry adoption, needs due consideration among policy makers, researchers and extension providers as prominent strategy for agroforestry promotion and development

Propagation of Himalayan maple (Acer caesium Wall.) through seed and softwood cuttings

Propagation of Himalayan maple (Acer caesium Wall.) through seed and softwood cuttings was investigated to standardize nursery techniques for mass production of the species. The seedlings were raised from viable seeds in different containers filled with different combinations of growing media. Vegetative propagation of softwoodcuttings was carried out by treating with different combinations of IBA and Willow leachate of different durations. The statistical analysis revealed the differential behaviour of various nursery stocks with respect to survival, growth and biomass. The growing media soil:sand:vermicompost (2:1:2) and container (root trainer 300 cc) showed maximum germination (61.00%), seedlings height (35.17 cm), collar diameter (5.07 cm), shoot:root ratio (1.24) and survival percentage (76.33%). Conversely, the cuttings treated with IBA @ 8000 ppm showed maximum sprouting (74.50%), rooting (66.75%), length of longest root (14.65 cm), no. of roots per cutting (33.00%), shoot length (13.90 cm) and survival percentage (41.50%). Hence, the seeds of the species should be grown in Rot trainer of 300 cc having soil:sand:vermicompost (2:1:2) to get good quality planting materials. However, the softwood cuttings should be given treatments with IBA @ 8000 ppm for mass production of plants vegetatively

Perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry among rural societies of Kashmir, India

People’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry have become fundamental elements of sustainable agroforestry management. The study examined the multiplicities and dimensions of people’s perceptions about agroforestry values, attitudes towards agroforestry benefits and resources preferences in agroforestry and their socioeconomic determinants in rural societies of Kashmir. The data were collected from 142 households of 5 villages selected employing multi-stage random sampling. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used for the data analysis. Results indicated that the material values (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were perceived as the most important while the perception of the non-material values (rank 4th to 10th) were adjudged moderately important. People’s attitudes towards the tangible benefits (rank 1st to 3rd) of agroforestry were highly favourable whereas attitudes towards intangible benefits (rank 4th to 10th) were indifferent. The rural people expressed higher preferences for fuel wood, fodder, vegetable, fruit, and timber (rank 1st to 5th) while moderate or low preferences for medicine, cottage industry/ handicrafts, fiber/ floss, oilseeds and animals/ birds/ insects etc. (rank 6th to 10th). F statistics (p < 0.05) showed significant differences between the material and non-material values, tangible and non-tangible benefits and resources groups. Correlation co-efficients (r) confirmed the importance of socioeconomic attributes in influencing people’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences in agroforestry. The findings will help to refine and enrich the knowledge-base to provide an effective framework for decisions and policy making to sustain and maintain agroforestry health and services. The integration of people’s socio-psychological conditions in sustainable agroforestry management will be effective strategy commensurating the current development and future challenges

Assessing research misconduct in Iran: a perspective from Iranian medical faculty members

Background: Research misconduct is a global concern in biomedical science. There are no comprehensive data regarding the perception and situation of scientific misconduct among the Iranian medical faculty members. We conducted a nationwide survey to assess the research misconduct among the medical faculty members in Iran. Methods: We used the Persian version of the research misconduct questionnaire (PRMQ) on the Google Forms platform. We sent the survey link to a systematic random sample of medical faculty members in Iran (N = 4986). Descriptive analyses were performed on the individual items of the PRMQ, with frequencies and percentages for categorical and Likert-type response items, and means and standard deviation (S.D.) for continuous variables. Chi-square analysis was conducted to test hypotheses examining differences in the frequency of responses related to factors influencing misconduct. We also defined four tenure categories (TC) based on the working years of the participants as tenured faculty members. All the analyses were performed using R 3.6.0. Results: The response rate was 13.8 (692 responses). Nearly 70 of the respondents agreed that their publication output would be of higher quality if there were no publication pressure. Approximately three-quarters (N =499, 72.1) of the respondents had been aware of some instances of research misconduct during the previous year according to their understanding of misconduct. Among the participants, 18.5 perceived the effectiveness of their associated organisation�s rules for reducing research misconduct to be high or very high. Pressure for tenure was identified as the item most frequently perceived with a strong behavioural influence on engaging in research misconduct (80.2). Conclusions: This study confirms that research misconduct needs to be actively addressed among the medical faculty members. Making policies with a focus on boosting awareness regarding the occasions of scientific misconduct and its management seems to be indispensable in the future in Iran. © 2021, The Author(s)

Nutritional concerns, health and survival in old age

The ageing process is—apart from chance or good luck—not only influenced by factors intrinsic to the individual, but also by extrinsic factors that include environmental and lifestyle variables. This paper deals with the epidemiological evidence for the role of dietary patterns and key nutritional concerns in relation to survival and ageing related disorders that present themselves in later life. Dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, characterized by mainly plant foods including protective factors e.g. vegetables, nuts and monounsaturated fatty acids and excluding harmful factors e.g. trans-fatty acids and foods with a high glycemic factor, appear to be relevant even in old age. Specific nutritional concerns focus on general undernutrition, vitamin D and vitamin B12. Prevalence of nutritional inadequacies, diagnostic criteria, causes and health consequences are described. The paper ends with recommendations for guidance on healthy diets for elderly people. An important challenge should be research to further expand the knowledge base, acknowledging the complexity of the ageing process and integrating different dimensions of research into human healthy ageing in properly designed studies. In the mean time reversing poor adherence to existing guidelines for a healthy diet remains a first challenge in public health nutritional practices

Short Communication : Studi Awal Efek Perlindungan Benalu Kakao (Dendrophthoe pentandra (L.) Miq.) terhadap Kerusakan Limfosit Akibat Radiasi Gamma: Analisis Sitogenetik

Efek paparan radiasi gamma terhadap pekerja radiasi dapat menghasilkan Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) dan radikal bebas yang menyebabkan kerusakan biologis pada sel normal, terutama DNA dan kromosom. Antioksidan merupakan senyawa yang dapat mencegah terjadinya reaksi berantai radikal bebas, yaitu dengan sifatnya yang mudah teroksidasi. Beberapa tanaman telah terbukti memiliki senyawa antioksidan, salah satunya adalah benalu kakao (Dendrophthoe pentandra (L.) Miq.). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui potensi ekstrak benalu kakao (EBK) dalam melindungi sel limfosit akibat radiasi gamma. Sampel darah diperoleh dari seorang responden laki-laki sehat, yang dibagi ke dalam enam perlakuan, yaitu tanpa radiasi (0 Gy); EBK; radiasi 1,5 Gy; EBK + 1,5 Gy; radiasi 3 Gy; dan EBK + 3 Gy. Kemudian dilakukan pengkulturan sel darah limfosit, pemanenan, pewarnaan dan pengamatan preparat. Frekuensi aberasi kromosom (ABK) disentrik dan fragmen dievaluasi setiap 100 sel, sedangkan frekuensi mikronuklei (MN), nuclear buds (NBUDs), dan 8-shaped dievaluasi setiap 1000 sel. Hasil pengamatan menunjukkan bahwa frekuensi ABK disentrik, MN, NBUDs, dan 8-shaped pada perlakuan dengan EBK lebih kecil dibandingkan tanpa EBK. Akan tetapi, frekuensi fragmen pada perlakuan dengan EBK lebih besar dibandingkan tanpa EBK, baik pada 1,5 Gy maupun 3 Gy. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah EBK memiliki potensi dalam melindungi sel limfosit terhadap kerusakan akibat radiasi gamma