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An integrated package of climate-resilient technologies was demonstrated in one village per 4 selected districts namely Bathinda, Faridkot, Roopnagar and Fatehgarh Sahib of Punjab. The major objective was to augment the resilience of agricultural systems, both crop production and livestock farming to climate vulnerability. From 2011-2020, major interventions made in crop production system were; crop residue management, zero tillage, quality seed, green manuring, biofertilizers and promotion of water saving technologies such as laser land levelling, direct seeded rice, short to medium duration rice varieties, etc. Major interventions made in livestock production system included green fodder production round the year, silage making, mineral mixture, uromin lick availability and regular vaccinations. To improve livelihood, subsidiary occupations like dairy farm, backyard poultry, piggery, jaggery production and protected cultivation units were established in the NICRA villages. Farmers were highly convinced to adopt the recommended practices but adoption level of demonstrated natural resource management technologies was variable and specific to a district. The satisfying results were witnessed under the NICRA project and there was an increase in the adaptive capacities, and enhanced incomes. NICRA villages functioned as model villages and became knowledge hubs/centres for out-scaling technologies in large areas.

Weeds are a major problem in potato production. Two years of trials were conducted to study the efficacy of herbicides and integrated use of mulch with herbicides in controlling weeds and for improving the growth and yield of autumn potato crop at Ludhiana, north-west India, during autumn 2016 and 2017. Each trial had a randomized complete block design with three replicates. There were 11 treatments including weed-free and weedy controls. Uncontrolled weeds caused a yield reduction of 49.7%. Metribuzin at 350 g/ha pre-emergence resulted in 82.4% weed control efficiency at 30 days after planting but this control was reduced to 23.9% at harvest. In contrast, metribuzin at 350 g/ha applied post-emergence controlled broadleaf weeds and grasses very effectively. Clodinafop at 60 g/ha post-emergence resulted in control of grasses only. The post-emergence application of pre-mix clodinafop plus metribuzin at 260 g/ha provided effective weed control and resulted in more tuber yield and economic returns and was significantly better than an application solely of metribuzin or clodinafop. The integrated weed control treatment of paddy straw mulch (PSM) at 6 t/ha with clodinafop plus metribuzin at 195 g/ha post-emergence resulted in the highest tuber yield with weed control efficiency of 95.3% at harvest. The next best one was an integrated treatment of PSM at 6 t/ha with metribuzin at 275 g/ha pre-emergence.

In the present research work, a novel and green TiO2 as an excellent photocatalyst has been synthesized and a comparative study of its structural, morphological and optical properties has been carried out with that of chemical synthesized. Green TiO2 has been synthesized using Titanium(IV)-iso-propoxide as a precursor and Lagenaria siceraria leaf extract has been used as a reducing and capping agent. Photocatalytic activity results indicate that TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized by green method exhibit excellent percentage removal (98.88%) of RG-19 dye in acidic medium as compared to chemical synthesized TiO2 sample which exhibits only 88.55% removal of dye. Higher apparent rate constant (0.02802 min−1) of photocatalytic reaction for green synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles as compared to that of chemical synthesized with apparent rate constant (0.0154 min−1), leads to the lower incubation time i.e., 60 min for green synthesized and 120 min for chemical synthesized. TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized via green synthesis offer high and fast removal of RG-19 dye as compared to chemical route. This study explores the green chemistry based TiO2 as an efficient photocatalyst with outstanding photocatalytic performance, which may open a new perspective for the preparation of excellent photocatalyst with cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to chemical and physical methods.

Objective In attempt to conquer the major concerns of oral duloxetine hydrochloride (like low bioavailability, intolerable side-effects and no regeneration of demyelinated nerve fibres) for the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), an alternative delivery of duloxetine hydrochloride was aimed for in-vivo optimization. Methods A film forming dermal gel consisting of duloxetine hydrochloride was formulated and enriched with methylcobalamin and geranium oil. The formulated gel successfully qualified the various pharmaceutical characteristics of gel. Administration of paclitaxel (8 mg/kg/i.p. in four divided doses) for 4 alternate days induced the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy in rats. On 14th day, the responses to noxious stimulus (mechanical hyperalgesia, cold allodynia, and heat hyperalgesia) were increased and reached to its maximum. Thereafter, drug treatment with formulated dermal gel and oral duloxetine hydrochloride (30 mg/kg, once daily) was initiated for 2 weeks in different group of animals. On the 28th day animals were sacrificed to isolate sciatic nerve, to assess biochemical changes (TBARS, reduced GSH, total protein, TNF-α, IL-6) and for histopathological examinations of nerve sections using Hematoxylin-Eosin and Toludine blue staining methods. Results Application of formulated dermal gel to paclitaxel-treated rats significantly improved paw-withdrawal latency responses during noxious stimulus testing, reduced the levels of TBARS, TNF-α, IL-6 and elevated the levels of reduced GSH as compared to paclitaxel treated rats. Histographs also indicated marked regeneration of the damaged nerve fibers. Topical delivery of duloxetine hydrochloride produced similar results in disparity to oral route. However, no significant disparity in responses was obtained with twice application of formulated dermal gel when compared to once daily application. Conclusion Tremendous recovery from nociception, oxidation and inflammation in addition to nerve degeneration was achieved through dermal application of duloxetine hydrochloride in peripheral neuropathy.

In a wireless communication channel, when the modulation bandwidth is exceeding the coherence bandwidth ISI takes place as the transmitted pulses are spread into the adjacent symbols. To combat the effects of ISI and noise and to reconstruct the signal and minimize Bit Error Rate (BER), the adaptive channel equalizer is used at the receiver end. Various kinds of interferences in a communication channel exists like Inter symbol Interference, Multipath Interference and Additive Interference which deals with the design of an Adaptive Equalizer. The idea of the equalizer is to build filter in the receiver that counter acts the effect of the channel. In essence, the equalizer must “unscatter” the impulse response and can be stated as the goal of designing the equalizer E so that the impulse response of the combined channel and equalizer CE has a single spike. We investigate channel equalization and introduce hierarchical and adaptive nonlinear channel equalization algorithms that are highly efficient and provide significantly enhanced bit error rate (BER) performance. Due to the high complexity of nonlinear equalizers and poor performance of linear ones, to equalize highly difficult channels, we employ piecewise linear equalizers.

Channel equalization is an important aspect in high speed digital communication required for efficient and reliable data recovery and reception when the data is transmitted over band-limited channel subjected to noise and interference. We investigate channel equalization and introduce hierarchical and adaptive nonlinear channel equalization algorithms that are highly efficient and provide significantly improved bit error rate (BER) performance. Due to the high complexity of nonlinear equalizers and poor performance of linear ones, to equalize highly difficult channels, we employ piecewise linear equalizers.

Cotton is the most important cash crop in North-west India. It is highly sensitive to weed competition during initial growth stages. Lack of selective post-emergence herbicides for broad spectrum weed control has been among major cotton production constraints in the region. Farmers had to rely on non-selective herbicides and or hand-weedings for post-emergence control of weeds. Efficacy of a new pre-mix of pyrithiobac sodium plus quizalofop ethyl for selective post-emergence weed control in cotton was evaluated in a field study conducted over two consecutive cropping seasons at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, India. Pyrithiobac sodium plus quizalofop ethyl at 100–125 g ha−1 significantly reduced density and dry biomass of annual grasses and broadleaved weeds in both years; it gave effective control (>88%) of Trianthema portulacastrum L., Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Digitaria sanguinalis and Acrachne racemosa, fair to good control (

Post-emergence herbicides are useful for managing weeds in soybean fields. Use of post-emergence herbicide(s) is increasing in India because of the ease of use and control of broad spectrum of weeds. As soybean is a rainy season crop in India, weed control remains an important concern for soybean farmers. An experiment was laid out at Research Farm of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to study effect of different herbicides for control of grass weeds in soybean. Treatments comprised of post-emergence application of quizalofop 25, 37.5 and 50 g/ha, fenoxaprop 100 g/ha, weed free and unweeded control. Phyto-toxic evaluation of herbicides was carried out on succeeding wheat crop. Quizalofop 37.5–50 g/ha significantly reduced weed density and biomass of grass weeds compared to weedy check. Quizalofop 50 g/ha gave complete control (100%) of Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Digitaria sanguinalis, Acrachne racemosa and Eragrostis spp. till 40 days and > 85% till 80 days after treatment. Quizalopfop 50 g/ha recorded soybean seed yield and yield attributes similar to that of weed free check; it gave highest B:C (2.61) and net returns ($660/ha) All weed control treatments provided higher soybean seed yield compared to unweeded control. Quizalofop at all doses was safe to succeeding wheat crop.

A study was conducted to know about socio-economic scale for craftsmen in involves in Mojari craft in Rajasthan and Jutti craft in Punjab state. To devise? And test a new instrument to measure socio-economic status of craftsmen in both states. By process of random sampling, a sample of 150 respondents of both states Rajasthan and Punjab were selected. Urban and Rural respondents were selected with their families. According to socio-economic scale. It was found that maximum number of the respondents (61.33 %) had monthly income between 1500- 5000/-, (28 %) respondents earn (04.00 %) respondents earn 10000- 15000 and very few (02.00 %) lie in the category of monthly income above Rs.15000 and (04.67 %) respondents not given response about their income in Rajasthan. In Punjab data reveals that some respondents (18.67 %) had monthly income between 1500-5000/- maximum number of respondents earn (35.33 %), 10000-15000 per month and (31.33 %) had (31.33 %) monthly. Some respondents (13.33 %) had monthly income above 15000/- and (01.33 %) respondents did not revered about their income.Major finding of the study in Rajasthan that craftsmen of mojari craft had very poor income level as compared to Punjab. Most of craftsmen families of Rajasthan had poor socio-economic level.

The earliest recorded history revealed that man decorated the fabric surface with natural sources perhaps his clothing decorated first, than the other items necessary to his existence. Embroidery is a kind of surface decoration, evolving variety of threads silk, wool, synthetic and metallic threads like gold and silver. India has a rich cultural heritage and its traditional zari work, is a great source of inspiration for apparel decoration. In Rajasthan many styles of zari embroidery are famous. Laape-ka-kaam, mukke-ka-kaam, mukashi and danke-ka-kaam. Danka work is done only lengha and odhni of women only in Mewar region. A questionnaire developed by the researcher to know about the current status of danka work. Danka motifs were collected by the researcher and rating Performa developed by researcher to select 15 motifs for shawl design. Further, the selected fifteen motifs were used to develop 15 shawl designs to select the best five placements for development of danka work shawls. A five point ranking Performa and a questionnaire was given to 30 respondents (women belongs to middle income group selected purposively) to find out the acceptability of the danka work shawls. The developed /modified designs were highly appreciated by the respondents and consumers as shown by their higher acceptability (above 70% for each shawl).

The rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) has substantially contributed in making India self-sufficient in food grain production; however, rice residue management is of great concern, threatening the sustainability of this system. Rice residue is invariably disposed of by farmers through open burning. In addition to environmental pollution, residue burning of rice also leads to loss of soil nutrients. One of the alternatives to overcome these problems and sustain the RWCS is managing the rice residues in the field itself. Rice residue retention has variable effects on agricultural pests (namely, weeds, insect pests, diseases, and rodents) in the RWCS. High weed infestation in the RWCS results in high consumption of herbicides, which leads to several ecological problems and evolution of herbicide resistance. The shift from intensive tillage to conservation tillage causes major changes in weed dynamics and herbicide efficacy. Incorporation of rice residue reduces weed density and helps in improving soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Rice residue retention on the surface or mulching reduces weed density and the biomass of both grass and broadleaf weeds in wheat crop as compared to its removal. Long-term field studies involving the use of rice residue as a component of integrated weed management strategies are needed to be done in the RWCS.

Protocols are set of predefined written procedural documents that offer guidance or specifications for performing the experiments and its implementation. They are an essential component of good laboratory practice (GLP) and good clinical practice (GCP) regulations that establish the study’s rationale, objectives, design, and planned analyses of the results, as well as the conditions under which these procedures will be carried out. In addition to detailed procedures, protocols often include information on safety precautions, the calculation of results, and reporting standards, including statistical analysis and rules for predefining and documenting excluded data to avoid bias. The protocol is the heart of every experiment. It is the plan; it is a critical document for everyone involved in the conduct of the procedure—Rebecca Kush, President of CDISC Different protocols are available which provide signaling pathways of introduction to “Programmed cell death” which called “Apoptosis”. The course of programmed cell death or “Apoptosis” is generally regarded as a typical element of the human health and disease state. Normal homeostasis is sustained throughout by maintaining balance between cell death and cell division. Apoptosis is phenomenon that involves specific activation of death-signaling pathways leading to the removal of cells from tissue. The individual morphological features of apoptosis include cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing, and formation of apoptotic bodies. Inapt apoptosis is a key factor in many diseased conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, I-R injury, and many more. In addition, the area of apoptosis research is growing at an alarming rate and till date vast research has been made on the clarification and analysis of the cell cycle mechanisms and signaling pathways regulating cell cycle. The aptitude to detect and quantify apoptosis and to understand its biochemistry related to regulatory genes and proteins is highly crucial for biomedical research. This chapter is an attempt to highlight various basic as well as advanced tools and techniques (like immunohistochemistry, TUNEL assay, in-situ end-labeling techniques in conjunction with standard flow cytometry) used in area of apoptosis research in addition to focus on protocols used in qualitative and quantitative determination of apoptosis to be followed during preclinical and clinical phase of drug development. The use of aforementioned techniques for apoptosis quantification will enable clinical investigators to accurately assess apoptosis in context of various diseases.

The genus Phalaris (Poaceae) is comprised 21 species, which is distributed in temperate areas of both northern and southern hemispheres and the mountains of tropical Africa and South America. Phalaris minor and Phalaris paradoxa are highly competitive weeds in winter cropping systems involving cereals, pulses, pastures, horticultural, ornamental crops, and vineyards. Both species produce a large number of seeds with varying forms of dormancy, although their half-life in the soil seed bank is relatively short. The yield losses in wheat due to P. minor and P. paradoxa may be up to 50% and 40%, respectively. Both species are prolific seed producers, short-lived, and exhibit periodicity of emergence. With the increase in concerns about the environment and human health issues, there is a greater emphasis on predicting the emergence pattern of weed species in relation to soil environmental conditions. The cornerstone for effective weed management relies on various aspects related to seed germination, dormancy, viability, loss of vigor, and resultant seed bank dynamics and its distribution pattern in the soil. In this chapter, we described biology and ecology along with molecular, physiological, and agronomic aspects involved in herbicide resistance observed in biotypes of these weed species. New selective herbicides are needed to augment those currently available to overcome present and future resistance problems. Integrated weed management strategies involving herbicide rotation and/or mixture with different modes of action and other cultural control measures will help to reduce selection pressure and prevent further spread and evolution of herbicide resistance in Phalaris species across different continents.

Pregnane X receptors (PXRs) regulate the expression of ATP-binding cassette proteins transporters and organic anion transporting polypeptides responsible for influx/efflux of xenobiotics across the brain. Ligand activation of PXR augments the expression of P-gp and promotes amyloid-β clearance across the blood–brain barrier. Dementia was induced in mice by intacerebroventricular administration of streptozotocin (STZ) followed by treatment with meclizine, a PXR agonist, and subsequently exposed to the Morris water maze test and biochemical and histopathological analysis to evaluate the effect on cognition. STZ-treated mice exhibited significant enhancement in brain thiobarbituric acid reactive species, interleukin-1β, tumour necrosis factor-α, myeloperoxidase, and acetylcholinestrase activity in addition to diminution in glutathione levels and superoxide dismutase activity in comparison to untreated mice. Administration of meclizine to STZ mice recuperated cognition and biochemical alterations. Concomitant administration of ketoconazole, a PXR antagonist, with meclizine prevented the protective effects. The upshots of our study proclaim that meclizine protects cognitive deficits by virtue of its antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antiinflammatory properties. Results also signify the potential of PXR in neuroprotective actions of meclizine in dementia.

The prevention and management of weeds have been difficult throughout the history of food production. We are now entering into a new era where new challenges are arising more rapidly due in part to the rapid population growth, which places an unprecedented demand upon both natural and agricultural ecosystems to fulfil food, fibre, and feed for at least another two billion people by 2050. Climatic change is associated with a higher frequency of extreme weather events, and it is generally agreed that this will have a drastic impact on ecosystem productivity and biodiversity. The present world atmospheric temperature has increased by 1.0 °C since 1900 with half of this rise coming in the past 30 years. Crop production is directly affected by the direct effects of climate change (temperature and water stress) and indirect effects of increased competition from weeds and other pest species. In a field situation, crop plants are inevitably surrounded by an assemblage of C3 and C4 plants, and a considerable variation in the growth response of weeds to climate change have been reported. In this chapter, we present an overview of the impact of temperature rise, carbon dioxide increase, and changed rainfall patterns on weed composition, distribution, abundance, and our current approaches to weed management. There is a high risk that some weed species will shift their range with the change in temperature and precipitation patterns. The efficacy of chemical weed control depends on the environmental conditions before, during and after the herbicide application. The changes in physiology, morphology, and anatomy of plants will result in altered weed growth, crop-weed competition, and herbicide efficacy under elevated temperature and/or carbon dioxide. Global warming may increase the risk of evolution of nontarget site resistance mechanisms against herbicides in the weed plants and thus decrease herbicide efficacy. The anticipated actions in these areas are also discussed in the end which may enhance our understanding of the impact of climate change on the practice and future of weed management and crop production.

Weeds are a major biotic constraint in agricultural systems. Farmers need to quantify the damage that weeds cause to crops, and many models have been developed to predict yield loss. Empirical functions are the most commonly used models, which additionally provide information for weed threshold values. The limitations of such models are that they are based on statistical functions and usually do not consider biological insights for crop-weed interference. Conversely, mechanistic models take into account various underlying processes but are rather complex in nature; thus, their major utility lies in generating information for weed studies under different locations/conditions. Mechanistic models are based on simulation models that mingle both explanatory and descriptive features, with well-known plant processes studied in a mechanistic fashion, and poorly understood processes considered as a descriptive approach. Weed interference models are an important part of the decision support systems to establish recommendations based on the economic quantification of different weed management strategies. Thus, these models are very useful tools for the development of integrated weed management. In this chapter, we present empirical and mechanistic models that are currently in use for studying crop-weed interference.

Crops and weeds share the same aboveground/aerial (sunlight, space, atmospheric gases, etc.) and underground/soil (water and nutrients) resources. Competition is a predictable response of organisms living in communities, and is a struggle between two organisms for a limited resource that is essential for their growth. Crop-weed competition causes an alteration in the utilization of various resources and also affects complex interactions between plants and environmental factors. Water, nutrients, light, and space are the major factors for which organisms compete. Light and space are the main aboveground resources, and the effects of competition for these resources can be visually observed. This article focusses on crop-weed interactions for underground resources - nutrients and water. Weeds, being more aggressive, adaptive and persistent than crops, pose a serious threat to crop production as they have the ability to survive under adverse conditions and extract more water and nutrients from the soil; thereby, reducing crop yields. Fertilizer application and inherent soil fertility have a definite influence on weed diversity, emergence, growth, dormancy, persistence, and crop-weed competition. Weed suppression with balanced fertilization through increased competition for light has been regarded as one of the most important determinants of the yield advantage of a crop, and the effect on yield depends upon the interaction of crop and weed flora. The elimination of weeds from crops is the most efficient and practical means of reducing transpiration and thus saving water for crop use. Additional fertilizer and water amounts cannot compensate fully for yield losses due to weed competition, but appropriate fertilizer and water management could be used as an important tool in integrated weed management systems, which may prove helpful for achieving higher net returns.