Ras hyperactivation versus overexpression : Lessons from Ras dynamics in Candida albicans

We thank Prof. Neta Dean for the CIp10ADH1-Cherry plasmid and Prof. Aaron Mitchell for the BWP17 strain. We gratefully acknowledge Prof. Sudipta Maiti, TIFR, Mumbai, India for providing the data acquisition software. We also appreciate the feedback and discussions with Dr. Rohini Muthuswami, SLS, JNU as well as from the Protein Society group, New Delhi while this study was taking shape. We thank Prof. Alok Bhattacharya for Cytochalasin D. The GC-MS and fluorescence lifetime measurements were carried out at the Advanced Instrumentation Research Facility (AIRF), JNU. Confocal images were recorded either at the central instrumentation facility (CIF), SLS, JNU or at AIRF, JNU. This work was supported by project grants from Department of Biotechnology (DBT, Project grant no. BT/PR20410/BRB/10/1542/2016) and Department of Science and Technology (DST, Project grant no. SB/SO/BB-011/2014), India to S.S.K; and project grants from Department of Information Technology, (DIT, Project grant no. 12(4)/2007-PDD), India to S.S. for FCS setup. In addition, both S.S. and S.S.K. thank DBT-BUILDER for funding support (Project grant no. BT/PR5006/INF/153/2012). S.S.K. also acknowledges funding support from UGC Resource Networking grant to the School of Life Sciences. We thank DST-PURSE and JNU for assistance with funding for publication. G.S.V. and S.C.S. received a fellowship from UGC; V.A.P., B.Y., P.J., N.P., M.F.K. acknowledge CSIR for fellowships. S.L.S. received a fellowship from ICMR. D.T.H. and M.F.K. thank DBT-BUILDER for funding.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A spatio-temporal analysis of land use pattern and land use changes in Rajasthan

Land use planning is a strategic planning exercise to enhance the future potential of the agricultural sector andachieve augmented growth through judicious management of land. The presentpaper expresses the Spatio-temporal pattern of land-use in Rajasthan during 1960-61 to 2017-18 periods. The objective of the present paper is to find out the land use in different categories and the trend of variations so that the characteristics of land utilization may be analyzed for future planning. The study examines trends of variations in land use patterns in districts of Rajasthan and provides policy implications for future planning. The proportion of net sown area in the state has increased significantly from 38.7 percent in 1960-61 to 52.21 percent in 2017-18. Forest acreage has increased considerably from 2.4 percent in 1960-61 to 8.03 percent of the reporting area in 2017-18 while barren and un-cultivable land declined from 15.2 percent to 6.95 percent over the period of time. Current Fallows and Fallow Land other than Current Fallow have significantly decreased in the same time period.Keywords: Land use, Net Sown Area, Spatio-temporal, Waste land

Traditional rain water harvesting systems in Rajasthan: water resources conservation and its sustainable management – a review

Communities all over the world have been endowed with the wisdom of indigenous technologies to collect the rain where it falls, so one can find such structures all around the world. The region of western Rajasthan in India faces frequent droughts and an acute shortages of water. This has compelled the local people to incorporate mechanisms to conserve water in their everyday life. These traditional methods have been developed over centuries and reflect the accumulated wisdom of many generations. An attempt has been made in this paper to undertake a detailed investigation of the various traditional water harvesting systems weaved in the social fabric of Rajasthan, that have been constructed using the indigenous knowledge and locally available material and are also significant for the state in present context to cope with drought. Keywords: Traditional water harvesting, Johad, Rajasthan,  Thar Desert

Correlation between female literacy and sex ratio in Rajasthan: a geographical analysis.

ABSTRACT Education changes the awareness of the society, so literacy responsible for the changing pattern of sex composition of any region. The study triumphs that Literacy has vital effects on the sex ratio. Therefore, the present paper is aimed to analyze the Correlation between female Literacy and Sex Ratio in Rajasthan using data collected by the 2011 census. Spearman’s Rank Difference method is used to analyze the correlation between literacy and sex ratio. The study reveals that the correlation between female literacy and sex ratio is r= -295. It is a moderate negative correlation. The female literacy and sex ratio have moved the opposite direction in Rajasthan. The sex ratio has been found higher in districts, which have low female literacy. Kota district has registered the highest female literacy of (65.9%) but it has a very low sex ratio of 911. Key Words: Sex-ratio, female Literacy, Correlation

Scourge of high fluoride in groundwater; its implication on human health and mitigation strategies: a case study of Sikar district, Rajasthan, India.

Water is a crucial natural resource for sustaining life and the environment but over the last few decades, the water quality is deteriorating due to its overexploitation. Fluoride is one of the critical chemical parameters, which impacts the quality of groundwater. Excess ingestion of fluoride (F) through drinking water causes ‘Fluorosis’ on human beings in many states of India, including Rajasthan. Sikar district in Rajasthan is also such a region where a high concentration of fluoride is present in groundwater. Due to the unavailability of surface water in Sikar district, groundwater plays an important role for all uses particularly as a drinking water source. The study was carried out to assess the fluoride contamination status and to understand its spatial variation. The fluoride concentration in groundwater of this region ranged from 0.1 to 9.94 mg/l. Physicochemical settings like decomposition, dissociation and subsequent dissolution with long residence time are responsible for leaching of fluoride into the groundwater. Artificial recharge structures are proposed to minimize the stress on groundwater extraction from deeper aquifers that are discharging fluoride in the area. There is an instant need to take urgent steps in this region to prevent the population from fluorosis. Keywords: Groundwater, Fluoride, Fluorosis, Sikar District

On Improved Estimation of Population Mean using Qualitative Auxiliary Information

This paper deals with the estimation of population mean of the variable under study by improved ratio-product type exponential estimator using qualitative auxiliary information. The expression for the bias and mean squared error (MSE) of the proposed estimators has been derived to the first order of approximation. A comparative approach has been adopted to study the efficiency of proposed and previous estimators. The present estimators provide us significant improvement over previous estimators leading to the better perspective of application in various applied areas. The numerical demonstration has been presented to elucidate the novelty of paper. Keywords: Exponential estimator, auxiliary attribute, Proportion, bias, mean squared error, efficiency. Mathematics Subject Classification 2010: 62D0

A Ratio-cum-Dual to Ratio Estimator of Population Variance Using Qualitative Auxiliary Information Under Simple Random Sampling

In this paper we have proposed a class of ratio-cum-dual to ratio estimators for estimating population variance of the variable under study, using known values of some population parameters of auxiliary variable, which is available in the form of an attribute. The expressions for the bias and mean squared error of the proposed estimators have been derived up to the first order of approximation. A comparison has been made with some well-known estimators of population variance available in the literature when auxiliary information is in qualitative form. It has been shown that the proposed estimator is better than the existing estimators under the optimum condition. For illustration, an empirical study has been carried out

Differential in Utilization of Maternal Care Services in Empowered Action Group States, India (1990-2006)

Background: Low use of maternal care services is one of the reasons why child mortality and maternal mortality is still considerably high in India. Most maternal deaths are preventable if mothers receive essential health care before, during, and after childbirth. In India, the eight socioeconomically backward states referred to as the Empowered Action Group (EAG) states; lag behind in the demographic transition and low utilization of maternal health care services. Addressing the maternity care needs of women may have considerable ramifications for achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG – 5). Aims & Objectives:  To explore the prevalence, trends and factors associated with the utilization of maternal care services in Empowered Action Group States, India (1990-2006). Material Methods: Data from three rounds of the round of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), known as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of India were analyzed. Bivariate and multivariate-pooled logistic regression model were applied to examine the utilization of the maternal and child health care trends over time. Result: The results from analysis indicate that the full ANC and skilled birth attendant (SBA) has increased from 17% and 20% to 25% and35% respectively during the last one and half decade (1990-2006). Conclusion: Various socioeconomic and demographic factors are associated with the utilization of maternal care services in EAG states, India. Promoting the use of family planning, female education, targeting vulnerable groups such as poor, illiterate, high parity women, involving media and grass root level workers and collaboration between community leaders and health care system could be some important policy level interventions to address the unmet need of maternal and child health care services among women. The study concludes that much of these differentials are social constructs that can be reduced by prioritizing the needs of the disadvantaged and adopting appropriate policy change options in EAG states in Indi