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With the self-determination theory (SDT) as grounding, the current study uses qualitative investigation with twenty-five respondents and a two-stage quantitative validation with 782 respondents, to...

PurposeThe current work explores the attributes that serve as motivation regulations for students' selection of a higher education institute (HEI).Design/methodology/approachWith a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, the current study used a mixed-method approach to develop a scale to measure HEI attribute-based motivation regulations.FindingsA total of eight regulations were proposed: academic/extracurricular activities, infrastructure, faculty research expertise, teaching and learning quality, placement opportunities, marketing and promotion, education cost and social influence. The first four were autonomous motivations and the remaining were controlled motivations.Research limitations/implicationsThe study leverages the SDT motivation continuum into a structured HEI attribute-based student motivation framework.Practical implicationsThe study guides HEI managers with specific attributes to position the institute appropriately.Originality/valueThis is one of the few works in the higher education utilizing the complete SDT framework.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the sustainability of the grazing and feeding resources of the sheep in Kashmir, India. The study was conducted in the Ganderbal District of Kashmir to evaluate sustainability, along with the scenario of grazing pattern and feeding system of the sheep during the non-migratory period. The district was divided into three production zones based on altitude, i.e., zone I (high altitude), zone II (medium altitude), and zone III (low altitude). A total of 360 sheep farmers were interviewed from the three zones that consist of 9 blocks, with 40 sheep farmers interviewed from each block. Majority of the sheep farmers (75.00%) follow a semi-migratory type of production system, use forest, and low-mountain areas for grazing purposes (48.88%) and were having medium to high availability of grazing lands. The main feeding source available to majority of the sheep farmers (60.00%) was found to be crop residues and fodder grasses, with local markets (60.00%) and fellow farmers (71.11%) being the main source of procuring concentrates and fodders. Hybrid entropy and TOPSIS method were used for the evaluation of sustainability of grazing and feeding system in the area. The most influencing factors for sustainability of grazing pattern and feeding source were found to be production system followed and the major feed sources available respectively. Most of the variables included in the grazing system were ideally best in zone I and of feeding system were found to be ideally best in zone III. There is a need for improvement in the parameters of the grazing pattern in zone III, i.e., in low-altitude areas or planes where grazing lands are shrinking at an alarming rate. The parameters under the feeding system need due consideration in zone I, i.e., in the high altitudes where the socio-economic situation of the people is comparatively poor than the other two zones.

Soil salinity is one of the major environmental stresses faced by the plants. Sodium chloride is the most important salt responsible for inducing salt stress by disrupting the osmotic potential. Due to various innate mechanisms, plants adapt to the sodic niche around them. Genes and transcription factors regulating ion transport and exclusion such as salt overly sensitive (SOS), Na+ /H+ exchangers (NHXs), high sodium affinity transporter (HKT) and plasma membrane protein (PMP) are activated during salinity stress and help in alleviating cells of ion toxicity. For salt tolerance in plants signal transduction and gene expression is regulated via transcription factors such as NAM (no apical meristem), ATAF (Arabidopsis transcription activation factor), CUC (cup-shaped cotyledon), Apetala 2/ethylene responsive factor (AP2/ERF), W-box binding factor (WRKY) and basic leucine zipper domain (bZIP). Cross-talk between all these transcription factors and genes aid in developing the tolerance mechanisms adopted by plants against salt stress. These genes and transcription factors regulate the movement of ions out of the cells by opening various membrane ion channels. Mutants or knockouts of all these genes are known to be less salt-tolerant compared to wild-types. Using novel molecular techniques such as analysis of genome, transcriptome, ionome and metabolome of a plant, can help in expanding the understanding of salt tolerance mechanism in plants. In this review, we discuss the genes responsible for imparting salt tolerance under salinity stress through transport dynamics of ion balance and need to integrate high-throughput molecular biology techniques to delineate the issue.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how consumer-brand engagement on social networking sites (SNS) is an outcome of the message orientation/vividness. Design/methodology/approach Message design is proposed to include two components, namely, orientation and vividness. The message orientation is classified as either task/instrumental or socioemotional. The message vividness is measured through content type. The consumer-brand engagement is conceptualized at three levels, namely, cognitive (comment), affective (shares) and conative (likes). A total of 1,000 posts were collected from the official Facebook pages of the 10 most popular travel brands, five each from India and the USA. These two countries were chosen as they are culturally different, with the former representing a largely collectivist culture and greater social connectivity and the latter representing primarily an individualistic culture. Findings The study reveals that greater message vividness, with more interactive/audio-visual content, leads to higher engagement. The task/instrumental message orientation leads to low-/medium-level engagement. Overall, a combination of high-vividness and socioemotional orientation generates maximum engagement. India and the USA depict unique effects of message orientations/vividness on the consumer-brand engagement levels, indicating cultural implications for the brand SNS messages – effectiveness. Research limitations/implications The study’s conceptualization of consumer-brand engagement reflected through the consumers – responses to brands – SNS messages, represents new knowledge. The unique effects of message vividness and orientation on consumer-brand engagement and the variations across cultures is also a novel contribution to the extant branding literature. Practical implications The brand marketers should not only design their SNS messages with appropriate vividness/orientation but also tweak them across cultures, for maximum consumer engagement. Originality/value The study is a novel attempt to deploy the interaction process analysis framework in an SNS setting.

Industrialization along with population explosion in the developed and developing countries has led to accelerated degradation of natural resources on a large scale, ultimately leading to climate change. Since environment is being loaded with a large quantity of pollutants and recalcitrant compounds, environmental remediation has become a major cause of concern today. The advancement of clean technologies for reclamation of environment and sustainable development of society is very vital nowadays. Nanotechnology can help in developing clean and green technology with noteworthy benefits for human health and environment. The field of nanotechnology is now being investigated for its possible solutions for the management and mitigation of polluted water, land and air, and also to enhance the working of traditional technologies which are helpful in the remediation of contaminated environment. Green nanotechnology is the specialized branch of nanotechnology that envisions sustainable development by means of several applications. Various nanoparticles are being utilized increasingly in many areas, but there is mounting interest in the biological and environmental safety linked to their production. Green nanotechnology offers tools and techniques for the transformation of biological systems to green methods to synthesis of nanomaterial, while averting any related toxicity. Due to the large number of harmful chemicals used in the physicochemical synthesis of these nanoparticles, green methods are now being employed which utilize biological sources, such as microorganisms. Through the integration of the principles of green chemistry, engineering and microbiology, green nanotechnology can yield safe and eco-friendly metal nanoparticles that do not use toxic substances in their synthesis. The present chapter highlights the role of microbiome in nanobioremediation for treating the polluted environments and thus alleviating the impact of climate change.

Cancer, a multifactorial disease, is recognized as one of the primary reasons of mortality around the globe. In 2019 1,762,450 cancer cases with death rates of 606,880 were reported only in the United States. Despite the various advancements in the field of modern medicine, cancer treatment remains a challenging task. Treatment of cancer usually involves chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery, out of which the most common method is chemotherapy. Cancer chemoprevention by definition means making use of bioactive or chemically synthesized compounds for inhibition and prevention of the cancer relapse. The synthetic drugs used as cancer therapeutics have number of side effects and are costly, which increase the socioeconomic burden. The traditional system of medicines involves the use of compounds of natural origin. The rationale for the use of phytometabolites over synthetic drugs is their safety profile, ease of availability, and nontoxic nature. These metabolites are also known as “phytochemicals,” which has got its origin from the Greek word “phyto,” which refers to plant. Thus these are the active plant constituents found usually in fruits, cereals, herbs, and legumes. These are usually secondary metabolites produced by an organism as defense against predators or as an adaptive measure to various stressful conditions. These are not generally essential for the survival of the plant. On the basis of the chemical nature, phytometabolites are divided into polyphenolic compounds, terpenes, and thiols. The polyphenol group consists of flavonoids, phenolic acids, and other nonflavonoid polyphenols such as tannin, curcumin, and lignans. Among these the phenolic compounds have proved their worth as potent antioxidant, antineoplastic, antimicrobic, hypoglycemic, and neuroprotective agent. Phytochemicals inhibit carcinogenesis by various underlying mechanisms such as disruption in the cancer signaling pathways, antiproliferative effect, prevention of angiogenesis, and additive effect with various chemotherapeutics. These bioactive constituents have played a vital role in the treatment of infections and various cancer types. With the advancements in high-throughput screening and combinatorial chemistry, there was an increase in the screening of natural compounds as molecular leads for drug developmental processes and in the synthesis of new chemical entities. The use of the natural products and their semisynthetic derivatives as cancer chemotherapeutics started from the late 1930s to early 1940s. In the recent era, about 7000 medicinal plants are used in the modern medicine based on the use in the folklore medicine. These are used as such or provide templates for development of analogues and prodrugs. Taxol, an anticancer drug originally isolated from Taxus brevifolia (western yew) that was approved for clinical use by FDA in the year 1992, has gained utmost importance in breast cancer treatment.

Current study is undertaken to examine the role of Information & Communication Technology (ICT), motivational variables, and virtual competence towards students' e-learning effectiveness. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used for data analysis. Findings revealed that different components of ICT, except perception, have a positive impact on e-learning effectiveness. Also, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, virtual self-efficacy, and virtual social skills positively contribute towards e-learning effectiveness of students which contribute to their knowledge acquisition and satisfaction. Findings of the study have unique implications for universities, faculty and students to create/use e-platforms for effective learning experiences.

Among the heavy metal poisonings, lead is considered as a major toxic metal causing hematological, neurological, immunological, hepatic, and renal dysfunctions. Lead causes inhibition of ALAD leading to the ALA accumulation inside the cells. Lead also leads to disruption of the anti-oxidative enzyme system, organ function, and lipid membranes of the cell causing oxidative stress. Zingerone, a phenolic alkanone, is an active edible ingredient present in the ginger that possess varied pharmacological properties. The aim of our study was to evaluate the protective effect of zingerone in lead-induced toxicity in wistar rats. ALAD concentration was improved in kidney and liver tissues treated with zingerone. Protective effect of zingerone was observed in terms of significant improvement in kidney and liver histology, anti-oxidant enzyme activity (CAT, SOD, GPx, and GR), organ function parameters, lipid profile, and decreased level of LPO. Therefore, zingerone pretreatment can be a promising agent for alleviation of lead-induced oxidative damage in cells. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Published reports have revealed that consumption of certain bioactive nutrients for example, flavonoids, mineral elements, and vitamins can offer defense from the environmental lead contamination. Zingerone is a strong anti-oxidant, with very less side effects and has exceptional property of scavenging free radicals, hence reducing the oxidative stresses. This fundamental property of zingerone can alone help in countering the heavy metal toxicity. Different groups have published reported numerous properties of zingerone but as per our understanding till date no study about alleviation of lead toxicity by zingerone in animal model has been undertaken. Hence, we conducted this research to explore the preventive effect of zingerone in lead induced kidney and liver toxicity. The outcome of our study shows potent anti-oxidant effect and ALAD modulatory property of zingerone which makes it suitable edible candidate for use in countering lead toxicity.

Homeostasis is a collective name for the self-regulating cellular processes that maintain cell stability and survival. Any variation from normal functioning in any biological process can lead to different diseases or syndromes such as cancer, diabetes, and metabolic syndromes. Cancer results by the uncontrolled division of cells in any organ or tissue and can metastasize to other organs as well. Derailment in the process of cell division is the main cause for caner development. Leukemia—a type of cancer in which the function and production of blood cells gets affected, is one of the leading cancers-related mortalities throughout the world. Scientific research has witnessed a great interest in the pharmacodynamics of naturally occurring food products or other plants or plant products of medicinal value in order to make them novel drug agents to target various diseases including cancer. This chapter vividly describes phenolic compounds that can be used as signature drugs to target leukemias. Gene expression and microarray studies have depicted the various signaling pathways regulated by these compounds and, hence, serve in inducing decreased cell growth and malignancy in leukemias. Honey is well-known for its nutritional and medicinal properties since ages and is continuously being explored for its wide pharmacological properties. Studies have attributed significant anti-cancerous action to honey, but very less literature is available on its antileukemic action. In this present chapter, we have summarized the anti-leukemic activities associated with bioactive components present in honey. Honey is a storehouse of biologically essential phenolic compounds such as phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and coumarins. These compounds show tumor reduction or inhibitory action by arresting the cell cycle, up- or downregulating mRNA expression of proteins involved in apoptotic cascades like Bax, caspase-3, Bcl-2, NOXA, MCL-1, rTRAIL, FAS, SCF/c-Kit complex, p-ATM, p-ATR, 14-3-3 proteins sigma, MGMT, and HDACs; deactivating drug efflux ABC transporters; various cyclins and CDKs; and decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential. Till date no study elucidating the effect of raw honey-derived phenolic compounds has been undertaken and, therefore, a wide scope exists for studying the effective chemotherapeutic mechanisms of these compounds.

Honey is one of the most valued natural products introduced to mankind since antiquity. Traditionally, honey is not only used as a food product but also as an alternative remedy for clinical conditions ranging from wound healing to cancer treatment. Honey contains about 200 beneficial bioactive constituents primarily comprising glucose and fructose and it also encompasses some vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and enzymes from fructo-oligosaccharides. Honey is an essential source of phenolic compounds and it is of great interest to see the amount and type of phenolic acids and flavonoids as they are responsible for nutraceutical properties as well as promising pharmacological functions such as antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticancer, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and wound healing properties. Additionally, several recent reports have also verified that the phenolic compound profile in honey is closely linked to the botanical and, often, the geographic origin of this food product. In this book chapter, therapeutic effects associated with the bioactive compounds in natural honey have been thoroughly discussed.

As a result of an increase in human life span, there is a steep rise in the occurrence of a neurodegenerative disorder. Neurodegenerative disorders are of great concern as they hamper the overall quality of life, especially in elderly people. Neuro-degeneration is a complex and multi-factorial process that includes increased oxidative stress and inflammation, reduced expression of trophic factors, expression of pro-apoptotic proteins, dysfunction of the ubiquitin-proteasome system and glutamatergic neurotoxicity. Many research groups around the globe are working on bioactive natural compounds for finding effective drugs to prevent such diseases. Flavonoids are dietary components that exert a variety of biochemical and pharmacological effects. Recently, considerable interest has been focused on naringenin (4,5,7-trihydroxyflavanone) as one of the major flavone glycosides present in citrus fruits. Naringenin shows neuroprotection by exhibiting a significant effect on many downstream signaling pathways. In this review, we will be discussing bioavailability, chemical nature and mechanism of action of naringenin with reference to the therapeutic efficacy as a neuroprotectant.

The human race has been using honey for more than 4000 years. It has been described to have medicinal properties in Islamic, Hindu, and other literatures. The Islamic holy writing, Quran, mentions it as an agent to cure human illness (Khan et al. 2014). Wound healing is a multistep process orchestrated by the recruitment of many cells, cytokines, growth factors and other downstream signaling molecules. Wound management is a matter of high concern in today’s modern medicine era. Proper wound healing has a predominant effect on the quality of life. Large resources are utilized around the world for wound management, and, thus, it is a challenge for health care professionals. Skin medicine is a growing field of research and researchers all over the globe do find a great interest in naturopathy. Among various natural medicinal ways to treat wounds, apitherapy, using honey, is of real use. Apitherapy is a type of alternative therapy to treat wounds, infections, and other diseases using bee-derived products (Sun et al. 2019). Honey has been used for the treatment of wound and many other ailments since antiquity. Honey-driven wound repair has been studied in a number of experiments. Different types of honey have different pharmacological properties. As far as meta-analysis regarding this chapter that was done, we considered Manuka honey that has been extensively studied and has been found to be highly efficient in wound healing and skin regeneration. Various studies have explained the crosslink between the antiinflammatory, antioxidative, and wound healing actions of honey. Reepithelialization, fibrous tissue generation, neovascularization, release of certain growth factors, and antiinflammatory and anti-infective responses might be responsible in eliciting the wound-healing effects of honey. This might be attributed to a wide range of bioactive compounds present in honey making it suitable candidate for clinicians and researchers to use it as a healing agent. Honey has been used to make different hydrogels with agents like chitosan, pectin, etc., as dressing pads for treating a wide variety of wounds. So far many experimental trials conducted point to honey as a potential agent for wound healing, but further high-end research is required to exactly determine the mechanism of action at the genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic levels. This chapter gives a vivid insight into the applicability of honey in dermal medicine for wound healing, skin renewal, and regeneration.

Neurodegenerative disorder is the major age-related problem with no specific cure. The drugs available in the market relieve the severity of the disease and increase the average life span. There is always room for more novel therapeutic strategies for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. Honey has been used since ages for various disease prevention, and recently it has been used to combat these diseases too. The flavonoids and the phenolic acids of honey have preventive effects and have been known to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects. These phytochemicals can prevent the neurodegeneration via NAD pathway where they are responsible for inhibiting CD38, PARP and activating SIRT1 overall by increasing the concentration of NAD in the neurons. With an increase in the amount of NAD, Sirtuins can be activated which protects age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, honey can be used as “NAD compounds” in clinics but with further mechanistic research.

Nature provides a vast variety of benefits to human societies relying on the food, fibers, building material, uncontaminated water, fresh air, and regulation of climate, and each of these ecology services is dependent on soil, and their regulation is driven by the biodiversity of soil. More than 1/4 of living species of the world inhabit soils, and a single teaspoon of garden soil contains millions of living creatures, thousands of species, as well as hundreds of meters of fungal networks. Soil biota plays an essential role in the proper working of biological systems and for sustaining life on earth because they are engaged in ecological, biotechnological, and metabolic processes vital for human survival. They also maintain various crucial processes that include nutrient cycling, capture and storage of carbon, aeration, nitrogen fixation, infiltration of water, and degradation of organic substance, (toxic pollutant biodegradation), disease and pest control, etc. The effects of these ecosystem services, in particular of soil microorganisms, have not yet been completely investigated. The physical properties of soil such as structure, rate of infiltration, and water holding capacity all are affected by the activity of soil organisms especially microorganisms. Conversely various factors like human interactions, physical characteristics of soil and agricultural intensification influence soil biota activity. Therefore, environmentally friendly management practices should be followed for the conservation of the soil biota and ecosystem services provided by it.

Cancer is a dreadful disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of cells in tissues or organs. It is one of the main reasons of death and kills thousands of people every year. Currently several treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are available but still there is no cure when it is detected at late stages. Chemotherapy involves the use of anticancer drugs to eradicate the cancer cells by apoptosis. It is defined as programmed cell death, a mechanism used by body to maintain homeostasis or to kill cancer cells. Current research suggests a putative role of dietary agents in taming apoptosis of cancer cells. Honey, one of the victuals from natural treasure is a rich source of antioxidants and has greater implications in cancer prevention and treatment. Research done globally has proved the anticancerous and proapoptotic mettle of honey under various experimental set ups ranging from cancer cell lines to animal models. This chapter will provide insights about the role of honey in regulating antiproliferative and proapoptotic mechanisms in human cancers and also endorse honey as a promising candidate against cancer.

The Himalayan region harbors a rich diversity of medicinal plants and fruits which are used as traditional medicines for a variety of diseases and complications. The Himalayas has rich biodiversity of plants and the majority of these plants have medicinal properties, especially anticancer potential, that have been used in traditional health care systems for thousands of years. These have been used since the ancient past in traditional health care systems and diverse cultures around the world still depend on medicinal plants for their primary health care. With the recent advancements and technological developments in plant sciences, the people of the Himalayan region have learned and practiced the medicinal use of plants for centuries. Through the ages, this ancient prized wisdom has been transmitted from generation to generation as part of oral traditions. So the current study throws light on medicinal plant diversity and the plant parts used, and an emphasis was laid preferably on the anticancer potential of different medicinal plants, fruits, and vegetables that are found in the Himalayan regions.

Honey, a supersaturated concentrated solution with complex constituents, has been used as therapeutic agent since ancient times. Natural products have been used as a substitute for various conventional treatments and drug discoveries. Different in vivo and in vitro studies have shown properties of honey including antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous, and much more. Therapeutic properties of honey greatly depend on its constituent composition which may vary based on various factors like species of bee, environmental conditions, type of flower, and processing methods. Oxidative stress due to cellular metabolism and other physio-biochemical activities of the body demand the necessity of antioxidants in diet which can be fulfilled by honey. Antioxidant and other biological properties of honey are greatly determined by the polyphenol composition. This chapter comprises honey composition, type, antioxidant properties, and antioxidant mechanism of honey according to different research studies.

Endurance events are becoming popular globally and at the same time demands higher energy levels to sustain the performance in the form of carbohydrates. Different carbohydrate loading at various stages like pre-competition, and during the exercise has been prescribed for athletes depending upon the nutritional demands of that particular sport. Honey is a natural source of energy rich in carbohydrates and other minerals and vitamins. Carbohydrates like fructose and glucose present in honey and low glycemic index makes it eligible for consumption for endurance athletes. There are limited studies that show the honey improves the physical performance among endurance athletes and it seems promising to be ingested as an alternate health drink for such athletes.

Purpose – Current study focus on measuring the customer based brand equity of a tourist destination (CBBETD) named Kashmir valley (India). Design – A structured questionnaire was prepared, using Man (2010) consisting of 21 items. Single stage cluster sampling and systematic simple random techniques were used to collect final responses of 290 responses with a response rate of 87%. Findings – Findings of the study revealed a high destination based brand equity for select destination. Analysis also revealed lowest mean for perceived service quality dimension for Kashmir which needs to be relooked into by policy makers. Age and length of stay were found to have associated with each other. Also, length of stay was found to have an impact on CBBETD. Originality – Originality and core beneficence of the current study lies in the fact that brand equity measurement of Kashmir valley (mini Switzerland of the world) as a destination brand has been taken for the first time with an empirical evidence supporting the findings. It is evident from the study that Kashmir as a destination is very popular among travelers and destination image dimension for Kashmir has a strong and affirmative influence on the overall development of the destination equity.

Phytohormones are key-regulators mediating environmental stress-responses and are the potential candidates for genetic manipulation to obtain abiotic stress tolerant crops. Plant stress responses occur through various signal transduction networks involving transcription factors regulating abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. The transcriptional regulation can occur in both ABA dependent manner via ABA-responsive element binding factors (ABF), MYC and MYB transcription factors and in an ABA-independent manner via drought-responsive element-binding factors (DREB). The transcript accumulation of RD29A gene is reported to be regulated in both ABA-dependent and ABA-independent manner and plays a vital role is stress tolerance. ABA is a quintessential messenger implicated in abiotic stress response in plants and synchronizes the expression of stress responsive proteins that play a major role in accumulation of compatible osmolytes, synthesis of Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins, dehydrins and other protective proteins. The foremost function of ABA is in the regulation of plant water balance and osmotic stress tolerance. In response to stress conditions, ABA is synthesized in different organs and initiates a cascade of signal transduction pathways that regulate an array of defense mechanisms against stress including regulation of stomatal aperture and expression of genes imparting resistance to environmental stresses. Among various transcription factors DREB2A/2B, AREB1, RD22BP1 and MYC/MYB regulate the ABA-responsive gene expression by interacting with their corresponding cis-acting elements viz. DRE/CRT(A/GCCGAC), ABRE (PyACGTGGC) and MYCRS(CANNTG)/MYBRS (C/TAACNA/G), respectively. These cis-acting elements have a role in inducing ABA dependent expression in plants under stress. cis-Elements such as ABA-responsive element (ABRE) are present upstream of the ABA-dependent stress responsive genes, that have a core sequence (PYACGTGGC) along with one or two coupling elements (CE) also found upstream of stress-responsive genes. ABA-regulated (ABR), ABA-dependent (ABD), VP1-dependent (VPD), VP1 and ABA-dependent (VAA), VP1 or ABA-dependent (VOA) are the five classes of ABA dependent gene promoters having ACTG flanking motifs and are known to be activated in response to plant stress. The ABRE-binding (AREB) proteins or ABRE-binding factors (ABFs) encode bZIP transcription factors among which AREB1/ABF2, AREB2/ABF4 and ABF3 are induced by dehydration, high salinity or ABA treatment in vegetative tissues, and are involved in enhanced drought stress tolerance. Present review is an attempt to discuss the role of transcription factors that regulate ABA signal transduction in response to abiotic stress.

Purpose – Different scales available for measuring the brand-equity of destinations are found to be much tourist centric and did not present a holistic view regarding building sustainable customer based brand-equity for destinations. Current study aim at conceptually addressing this important issue and present a modified framework for developing and measuring the customer-based brand equity of tourist destinations using Keller (2001). Design – Extensive literature review was done and 84 articles published in the domain of brand-equity in tourism and related areas were downloaded from various known databases to support arguments. In addition, UNWTO reports were also used. Cooper (1980) guidelines were used for exploring relevant articles. Findings – It is argued that the first step for building strong brand-equity of destination starts with identification of destination’ salience followed by destination performance and destination imagery, destination judgements and feelings, and destination brand resonance. Consequences of having high brand-equity are also discussed. Originality – The tourist based brand-equity pyramid is the very first framework which is using Keller (2001) for explaining sustainable brand-equity formation of tourist’s destinations. Current framework not only give a deep understanding of how to build brand-equity of destinations but also on how to develop strong, emotional bonds with the tourists and hence sustaining the brand-equity.

The current trend of alarming population projection (estimated to be around 1 billion by 2030) will mandate a 70% increase in agriculture food production. Abiotic climatic factors like drought, heat stress, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation are adversely affecting the quality and quantity of crops and threatening the food security of the whole world. Abiotic stress induces premature plant senescence, which in turn leads to loss of plant products like grains and biomass yield. Senescence in plants is a genetically programmed deterioration of various metabolic processes that finally leads to death of entire organisms. Senescence in plants is mediated by factors like senescence-associated genes, certain transcription factors, and kinase-coding genes. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by abiotic-induced stress mainly targets chloroplasts and triggers the degradation of critical macromolecules, lipid peroxidation, and activation of senescence-associated signaling pathways, which finally leads to premature senescence of plants and consequently limits the agricultural crop yield. The primary challenge today is to increase agricultural yield to meet the demands of future generations for sustaining life on Earth under limited environmental conditions. In this chapter, the role of abiotic stress, significant molecular mechanistic signaling pathways triggered by ROS in plant senescence, and certain strategies to ameliorate the abiotic stress-induced plant senescence are discussed.

Ineffectiveness of conventional anticancer drugs opens new challenges for researchers to search for effective, safe, and economical anticancer agents. Currently cancer is a global health concern, and heavy efforts are being done by researchers to evolve the effective anticancer drugs having minimum toxicity and broad safety profile. Green tea is one of the natural plant product consumed by people in every corner of the world. Its phytochemical constituents are polyphenol flavonoid catechins like epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), (−) epigallocatechin, and (−) epicatechin. EGCG is the major catechin and has been found to be highly effective against carcinogenesis in animal models and human clinical trials. It has been reported that EGCG inhibit tumorigenesis and malignancies by different molecular mechanisms like restraining the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, inhibition of growth factor cell signaling, induction of apoptosis, NFκB pathways inhibition, and inhibition of other molecular mechanisms discussed in this review. Besides acting directly as potent anticancer agent, it also enhances the activity of other allopathic currently available anticancer drugs by its additive or synergistic action and minimizes their toxicity. Therefore EGCG is one of the most potent anticancer compound having maximum efficacy and minimum cytotoxicity. It not only makes green tea as anticancer remedy but also provides new clues to evolve safe and potent anticancerous agents for researchers.