Knowledge and learning in the horticultural innovation system: A case of Kashmir valley of India

The system of innovation (SI) in the agriculture sector, termed as Agricultural Innovation System (AIS), is one of the most recent trends in innovation research, especially in the developing economies. This approach considers several factors such as actors, complex networks and learning, socio-cultural and political factors that affect the innovation process within a dynamic system. Using the AIS approach, the present paper explores the knowledge and learning interactions in the horticultural sector of Kashmir Valley of India, which offers a mix of both formal and informal activities. The research methodology is qualitative in nature based on both primary and secondary data. For primary data collection, apple growers, private and government sector actors were interviewed and secondary data is based on various reports and published materials related to the apple production in Kashmir. The analysis explores the interactions of knowledge production by formal and informal means in the horticultural sector specifically focusing on the informal ways. In the study, taking the case of canker disease treatment in apple trees by informal ways depicts the productive use of informal knowledge in the horticultural system. It was observed that many factors (social networks, life-long experiences, learning, coordination and group interactions) affect the informal knowledge generation process and the connectivity between formal and informal actors is lagging in the horticulture sector.     

浅析青藏高原冻土及防治措施

本文密切结合青藏高原的实际,并参考诸多关于冻土的文献资料,从几个方面对青藏高原冻土及防治措施进行浅析。     

瞄准国家需求 破解冻土奥秘——我国冻土学家程国栋院士

程国栋院士是我国冻土学科的学术带头人之一,也是国际著名的冻土学家,中国科学院院士,为世界冻土学的发展做出了重大贡献。程国栋的名字多与冻土联     

青藏高原冰川冻土变化影响分析与应对措施

青藏高原自然环境和生态系统十分独特,对高原区域经济社会发展起着基础保障作用．在我国乃至亚洲的生态与环境安全保障中具有不可替代的重要地位。近30年来．全球正经历着以气候变暖为主要特征的显著变化．对青藏高原冰冻圈的影响极为明显。气候变暖导致山地冰川加速消融退缩,引起冰湖溃决和泥石流、滑坡等山地灾害发生频率和危害程度加大．     

Reevaluation of von Willebrand disease diagnosis in a Croatian paediatric cohort combining bleeding scores,phenotypic laboratory assays and next generation sequencing: a pilot study

IntroductionThis study reevaluated von Willebrand disease (vWD) diagnosis in a Croatian paediatric cohort by combining bleeding scores (BS), phenotypic laboratory testing, and next-generation sequencing (NGS).Materials and methodsA total of 25 children (11 males and 14 females, median age 10 years, from 2 to 17) previously diagnosed with vWD were included. BS were calculated using an online bleeding assessment tool. Phenotypic laboratory analyses included platelet count, platelet function analyser closure times, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF:Ag), vWF gain-of-function mutant glycoprotein Ib binding activity (vWF:GPIbM), vWF collagen binding activity (vWF:CBA), factor VIII activity (FVIII:C) and multimeric analysis. Next-generation sequencing covered regions of both vWF and FVIII genes and was performed on MiSeq (Illumina, San Diego, USA).ResultsDisease-associated variants identified in 15 patients comprised 11 distinct heterozygous vWF gene variants in 13 patients and one novel FVIII gene variant (p.Glu2085Lys) in two male siblings. Four vWF variants were novel (p.Gln499Pro, p.Asp1277Tyr, p.Asp1277His, p.Lys1491Glu). Three patients without distinctive variants had vWF:GPIbM between 30 and 50%. Patients with identified vWF gene variants had statistically significant lower values of vWF:GPIbM (P = 0.002), vWF:Ag (P = 0.007), vWF:CBA (P < 0.001) and FVIII:C (P = 0.002), compared to those without. Correlations between BS and phenotypic laboratory test results were not statistically significant for either of the tests.ConclusionThe applied diagnostic approach confirmed the diagnosis of vWD in 13 patients and mild haemophilia A in two. Limited utility of BS in the paediatric population was evidenced.     

美日中印四国信息化水平探究--基于网络化准备指数(NRI)体系

20世纪 90年代以来 ,信息化浪潮席卷全球 ,人类进入全新的信息时代。在全球信息化的过程中 ,作为最大的两个发达国家美国和日本 ,以及最大的两个发展中国家中国和印度 ,四国的信息化水平不一 ,信息化道路各有特色。在研究NRI体系的基础上 ,通过对四国信息化的分析 ,可以发现信息化过程的一些有用的经验教训。     

Mobile Phones and the Cultural Ecology of Fishing in Kerala,India

Studies that go beyond the ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development) framework emphasize the social and cultural dimensions of mobile phones. Nevertheless, the cultural dimension, in literature pertaining to both urban and rural use patterns, typically takes an individualistic orientation. The possibility of actualizing the collectivistic logic in a community's appropriation of new technologies is mostly overlooked. The present article explores how the fishers community in Kerala, India, use mobile phones in culturally enhancing and ecologically oriented ways that improve their working and living conditions. In the case of Kerala fishers, the impulse toward cooperation has long been ingrained in their culture, as often happens among marginalized groups. The availability of mobile technologies has allowed for the amplification of this impulse and enabled new modes of cooperation, especially in sharing of information on promising fishing spots and safety and rescue at sea.     

鄂西神农架地区的植被和植物区系

 Shennungia is generally known as “The highest mountain in Central China”. It is situated at latitude 31°342'N., longitude 110°35'E. in western Hupeh.       The area explored is deeply cut in all sides by five V-shaped valleys, giving the landscape a steep topography.  Its summit is about 3105 meters above the sea level, and the relative altitude is from 1000-2000 meters.      The climate of the region is warm temperate.  The differences of humidity-warmth condition between the eastern and the western flanks are quite marked.      In western Hupeh and the adjacent area of Szechuan the rugged topography still preserves some tracts of natural forests at higher elevations.  Our vegetational survey is confined to localities above 1500 meters. The collection of plant samples of the flora is extended to the whole mountain from the foothill to the peak.  The present article deals with only a part of the results of our survey.      1.  The vertical vegetation belts of Mt. Shennungia and relationships with other regions:  The vegetation belts on the eastern and the western flanks of the mountain are shown in diagram 2 and 3.  The comparison of the vertical vegetation zones of the Mt. Shennungia with those of the Yülungshan in N. W. Yunnan and the eastern Himalaya to the west and with those of Hwangshan and Central Japan to the east is shown in table 4, It shows that the plant communities of the Mt. Shennungia are of temperate nature, and they are more closely related to those of Hwangshan in S. Anhwei and of Central Japan than to the eastern Himalaya.      2.  Floristic composition: The generic ranges of flowering plant are relatively distinct and stable. Various distributional patterns of genera are analysized.      1)  Statistics of the genera in various distributional patterns: The total number of genera of flowering plants in this region are 762, belonging to the following four categories. A) tropical genera 239 (31.3%), B)  temperate  genera  416 (54.7%),  C) endemic genera 47 (6%), and D) comsmopolitan genera 61 (8%).       2)  Endemic genera:  An examination of the composition of the flora in western Hupeh reveals that 47 endemic Chinese genera occur in this mountain of which 24 are monotypic genera, 20 oligotypic and 2 multitypic as shown in Table 4. The arborescent genera are nearly all deciduous. They are of temperate nature.       3)  Temperate genera:  There are 416  genera in  wastern Hupeh.  They  are subdivides into the following three groups according to their distributional patterns: A)  The north temperate genera: There are 159 genera belonging to 62 families in western Hupeh. B)  Eastern Asian genera:  There are 117 genera belonging to 69 families in western Hupeh.  Among them 22 are common to the western Szechuan, adjacent regions of Yunnan and the Eastern Himalaya.  The remaining 95 genera are commom to both eastern China and Japan. C) The Eastern Asian-eastern North- American genera:  Of the total 762 genera known in western Hupeh, 64 are disjunc- tively distributed in both eastern Asia and eastern North-America.       4)  The tropical genera: Of the 762 genera of the flowering plant of western Hupeh, 239 (31%) are of tropical nature.       Finally, our survey shows:  1. Many of the primitive temperate genera and ende- mic relicts concentrate in western Hupeh and the adjacent region of Szechuan indica- ting that it might be one of refuges of tertiary flora. Moreover, it might also be one of the most important regions of differentiation, development and distribution of tem- perature flora. 2.  The vegetation of this region is not only of temperate nature, but also of a transitional nature. 3.  According to an analysis of the flora and a compari- son of the vertical distribution of the vegetation of Yülungshan and Eastern Himalaya to the west with Hwangshan and Central Japan to the east, the floristic affinity of western Hupeh is more closely related to eastern China and Central Japan rather than to the Eastern Himalaya, and phytogeographically this region is intermediate between the Sino-Himalayan and the Sino-Japanese patterns.  However, the problem of phyto- geography of western Hupeh and the adjacent region of Szechuan is a complicated one requiring further study.       

我国东、中、西部区域经济发展差异和对策

从东、中、西部地区的经济差异发展出发，引用分指标东、中、西部的差异，再结合我国综合经济发展差异动态，分析了东、中、西部的发展趋势，提出了缩小我国区域经济差异相应的对策。     

Diagnostic Laboratories in India: Investigating Quality Characteristics,Productivity and Time of Reporting

This is the result of a Survey of diagnostics laboratories in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region with perspectives on India, investigating the three key aspects that are central to the success of a laboratory: quality, cost and speed. This Survey provides a comparison in selected performance indicators in a large number of diagnostic laboratories in a broad range of countries in the APAC region. The Survey provides data on some key performance characteristics such as quality improvement activities, staff productivity and Turnaround Time (TAT). This Survey also demonstrates in India the common issues facing all the laboratories surveyed but also common solutions using a Quality Systems approach which involves Accreditation, customer responsiveness, greater use of IT, automation and Lean principles. Indian laboratories reported less automation and fewer laboratories have Laboratory Information Systems. The productivity by various measures in Indian laboratories was less than in other APAC laboratories. TAT was more commonly monitored in the Indian specimens though there were fewer laboratories compared with the APAC specimens where there were separate TATs for Short Turnaround Time and Routine specimens.     

Synthesis,characterization, and in vitro evaluation of gamma radiation-induced PEGylated isoniazid

BackgroundThe search for innovative anti-tubercular agents has received increasing attention in tuberculosis chemotherapy because Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection has steadily increased over the years. This underlines the necessity for new methods of preparation for polymer-drug adducts to treat this important infectious disease. The use of poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG) is an alternative producing anti-tubercular derivatives. However, it is not yet known whether PEGylated isonicotinylhydrazide conjugates obtained by direct links with PEG are useful for therapeutic applications.ResultsHere, we synthesized a PEGylated isoniazid (PEG-g-INH or PEG–INH) by gamma radiation-induced polymerization, for the first time. The new prodrugs were characterized using Raman and UV/Vis spectrometry. The mechanism of PEGylated INH synthesis was proposed. The in vitro evaluation of a PEGylated isonicotinylhydrazide macromolecular prodrug was also carried out. The results indicated that PEG–INH inhibited the bacterial growth above 95% as compared with INH, which showed a lower value (80%) at a concentration of 0.25 μM. Similar trends are observed for 0.1, 1, and 5 μM.ConclusionsIn summary, the research suggests that it is possible to covalently attach the PEG onto INH by the proposed method and to obtain a slow-acting isoniazid derivative with little toxicity in vitro and higher anti-mycobacterial potency than the neat drug.How to cite: González-Torres M, Guzmán-Beltrán S, Mata-Gómez M, et al. Synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of gamma radiation-induced PEGylated isoniazid. Electron J Biotechnol 2019; 41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2019.07.005.     

加快西部大开发步伐切实加强环境保护工作

加快西部大开发步伐，为西藏经济发展注入了活力，带来了新的机遇。西藏自然资源丰富，生态环境十分脆弱，因而给西藏环境保护工作提出了新的挑战。实施大开发不能以牺牲生态环境为代价，更不能走只顾眼前利益而不顾社会的可持续发展，必须走开发与保护相结合的道路。     

北淮阳古碑花岗闪长岩侵位时代及地球化学特征：对大别山中生代构造体制转换的启示

SHRIMP锆石U-Pb定年表明大别山北淮阳带古碑花岗闪长岩形成于125±3Ma,而不是以前所认为的属晚侏罗世岩体.古碑花岗闪长岩的SiO2为61%～63%,K2O为3%～3.7t%,Al2O3＞15%,Mg#[100×Mg^2＋/（Mg^2＋ ＋FeT）]为45～49,具有准铝质（A/CNK=0.84～0.88）和高钾钙碱性特征.岩石富集大离子亲石元素（Sr 500×10^-6～650×10^-6,Ba 1640×10^-6～2053×10^-6）和轻稀土元素[（La/Yb）N比值为13～20],亏损高场强元素（Nb、Ta、Ti）,具有富集且均一的锶和钕同位素组成[（87Sr/86Sr）i=0.709240～0.709315,εNd（t）=-17.96～-18.05].这些地球化学特征及同位素组成与早白垩世毛坦厂组幔源火山岩及镁铁-超镁铁侵入岩很相似,表明古碑花岗闪长岩起源于富集地幔的部分熔融.该岩体的侵位可能代表了大别山强烈伸展活动的开始.大别山地区晚中生代的岩浆活动可能是古太平洋板块俯冲引起的中国东部早白垩世岩浆活动的一部分,而与三叠纪造山旋回无关.     

Stabilized generation of precise triangular waves,square waves and trapezoidal waves in three phases

A new three-dimensional compact oscillator model for generating three phases of triangular waves and square waves (and also trapezoidal waves) is developed by considering carefully a recently suggested model for the precise quadrature generation of similar waves in two phases. The properties of the solution of the new model equations are investigated and they suggest that the oscillator should possess applications for the design of relatively simple electronic three phase triangular and square wave generators. “Software” applications of the model and its employment for power systems simulations are also discussed briefly.     

Impact and Sustainability of E-Government Services in Developing Countries: Lessons Learned from Tamil Nadu, India

We find that the presence of village Internet facilities, offering government to citizen services, is positively associated with the rate at which the villagers obtain some of these services. In a study of a rural Internet project in India, we identify a positive correlation for two such Internet services: obtaining birth certificates for children and applications for old age pensions. Both these government services are of considerable social and economic value to the citizens. Villagers report that the Internet based services saved them time, money, and effort compared with obtaining the services directly from the government office. We also find that these services can reduce corruption in the delivery of these services. After over one year of successful operation, however, the e-government program was not able to maintain the necessary level of local political and administrative support to remain institutionally viable. As government officers shifted from the region, or grew to find the program a threat, the e-government services faltered. We argue that this failure was due to a variety of Critical Failure Factors. We end with a simple sustainability failure model. In summary, we propose that the e-government program failed to be politically and institutionally sustainable due to people, management, cultural, and structural factors     

川西老君沟和孟通沟花岗岩的地球化学特征、成因机制及对松潘-甘孜地体基底性质的制约

老君沟岩体和孟通沟岩体是位于松潘-甘孜地体东部的中生代花岗岩,为碰撞过程中岩浆作用的产物,包含有地壳基底性质的重要信息.两岩体具有中等至较高的SiO2含量（63.9～75.0 wt%）,具有准铝质和轻微过铝质（ACNK=0.86～1.08）特征,属于中钾到高钾钙碱性系列.其中,老君沟岩体富Al2O3（14.2～16.0 wt%）、K2O（2.88～4.36 wt%）,贫MgO（0.38～1.98 wt%）,并具有高Sr（307～697 ppm）低Y（12.2～21.0ppm）特征以及中等至较高的稀土分馏（（La/Yb）N＞10）,这些特征非常类似于下地壳熔融形成的埃达克岩.孟通沟岩体的主微量元素特征类似于老君沟岩体,但具有相对低的Sr（110～397 ppm）、稍高的Y（12.2～21.0 ppm）和明显较低的Sr/Y比值（5～32）.两岩体均具有地壳特征的Nd-Sr同位素组成（εNd（T）=-6.02～-3.11;ISr=0.7053～0.7075）,排除了直接来自地幔岩浆的可能性,表明其可能来自于石榴石稳定区地壳物质的部分熔融.两岩体富含Rb（106～202 ppm）、Cs（3.79-25.6 ppm）而K2O/Na2O（0.56～1.12）比值较高,显示其可能来自黑云母的脱水熔融.由于黑云母的脱水熔融温度较高而剪切生热所能达致的温度较低,同造山的滑脱构造难以导致上述两个岩体的形成,地幔岩浆的底侵作用可能是导致下地壳物质部分熔融的主要原因.两岩体的源区成分和Nd模式年龄（TDM（Ⅱ）：1.23～1.44 Ga）均反映松潘-甘孜地体具有类似于扬子板块的中元古陆壳基底.     

不同轮作模式下设施菜地土壤和蔬菜中砷汞镉铬铅的分布特征

以沈阳市大民屯镇蔬菜生产示范基地为平台,进行为期一年的设施蔬菜轮作试验,结果表明:该地区土壤和蔬菜中的As、Hg、Cr、Pb含量均处在安全范围;Cd由于输入量较大,在土壤表层呈现富集状况,直接增加了该地区重金属污染风险.菠菜-西红柿-芸豆轮作模式可在一定程度上减小土壤中Cd含量,降低土壤综合污染指数.菠菜体内Cd含量超标,不宜在该地区种植.建议将轮作模式改为油麦菜(或油菜)-西红柿-芸豆.     

Purification and characterization of an aspartic protease from the Rhizopus oryzae protease extract,Peptidase R

BackgroundAspartic proteases are a subfamily of endopeptidases that are useful in a variety of applications, especially in the food processing industry. Here we describe a novel aspartic protease that was purified from Peptidase R, a commercial protease preparation derived from Rhizopus oryzae.ResultsAn aspartic protease sourced from Peptidase R was purified to homogeneity by anion exchange chromatography followed by polishing with a hydrophobic interaction chromatography column, resulting in a 3.4-fold increase in specific activity (57.5 × 10³ U/mg) and 58.8% recovery. The estimated molecular weight of the purified enzyme was 39 kDa. The N-terminal sequence of the purified protein exhibited 63–75% identity to rhizopuspepsins from various Rhizopus species. The enzyme exhibited maximal activity at 75°C in glycine–HCl buffer, pH 3.4 with casein as the substrate. The protease was stable at 35°C for 60 min and had an observed half-life of approximately 30 min at 45°C. Enzyme activity was not significantly inhibited by chelation with ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), and the addition of metal ions to EDTA-treated protease did not significantly change enzyme activity, indicating that proteolysis is not metal ion-dependent. The purified enzyme was completely inactivated by the aspartic protease inhibitor Pepstatin A.ConclusionBased on the observed enzyme activity, inhibition profile with Pepstatin A, and sequence similarity to other rhizopuspepsins, we have classified this enzyme as an aspartic protease.