B.V.Sc & AH, Skuast-k (Shuhama)

SKUAST-K entrance test on 28 June
6000 students to appear at 8 centres
Sachnews Jammu Kashmir
SRINAGAR, JUNE 26: Sher-e-Kashmir University of
Agricultural Sciences and Technology Kashmir (SKUAST-K)
is conducting Entrance Test for admission to various
undergraduate degree programmes offered by the university
for Academic session-2015-16.
The entrance test is scheduled to be held on 28 June 2015
between 10 am to 2 PM in the centres including College of
Education Srinagar, Government College for Women
Srinagar, SP College Srinagar, SP Higher Secondary
Institute Srinagar, Government Girls Higher Secondary
School Kothi Bagh, Government Amar Singh College
Srinagar, Government Degree College, Bemina, Srinagar.
For the students of Jammu province one centre shall be
established at Government Gandhi Memorial Science
College, Canal Road, Jammu.
Nearly six thousand students shall be appearing in the
entrance test for securing admission to various courses viz
Bachelor of veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry
(BVSC&AH), Bachelor of Science, Agriculture (BSc Agri),
Bachelor of Science Horticulture (BSc Horticulture), Bachelor
of Science, Forestry (BSc Forestry), Bachelor of Science,
Sericulture (BSc Sericulture), Bachelor of Fisheries Science
(BF Sc) and Bachelor of Agriculture engineering (BTech Agri
Engg.).

UC Davis ranked No. 1 in world for agriculture, veterinary sciences
By Karen Nikos-Rose
UC Davis ranks No. 1 in the world for teaching and research in agriculture and forestry as well as veterinary sciences, according to data released today by QS World University Rankings. This is the third consecutive year that UCD has been ranked first in agriculture and forestry by QS.
The organization ranked UCD in 27 of the 36 subjects covered, and this is the first time the subject area of veterinary sciences was included. UCD is the only University of California campus this year that is ranked first in any of the disciplines ranked by QS.
The organization ranked UCD among the top 50 universities in various subjects, including environmental sciences (15), biological sciences (29), earth and marine sciences (41), history (42) and statistics and operational research (50).
QS rankings are based on reputational surveys and research citations. The full report is at www.topuniversities.com.
“These rankings reconfirm that our faculty and researchers are respected the world over and that their work is making an impact throughout the globe,” said UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi. “This is a proud day for UC Davis and for all our faculty, staff, students and alumni.”
The UCD College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences was founded in 1905 as the University of California’s University Farm. Today, it has more than 6,200 undergraduate students in 27 majors and more than 1,000 graduate students in 45 graduate groups and programs.
Its programs have characteristically received top-tier rankings from the Chronicle of Higher Education, U.S. News & World Report and ISI Essential Science Indicators.
More than 3,000 acres of UCD’s 5,000-acre campus are devoted to agricultural research.
UCD also is home to the World Food Center, established in 2013 to increase the economic benefits from research across campus; influence national and international policy; and convene teams of scientists and innovators from industry, academia, government and nongovernmental organizations to tackle food-related challenges in California and around the world.
“UC Davis researchers are at the forefront of addressing regional and global issues related to food, the environment, health, and families,” said Helene Dillard, dean of the UCD College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “At the same time, our students graduate to become leaders in science, education, business, and decision-making, from the community to the international level.”
The UCD School of Veterinary Medicine annually cares for more than 48,000 animal patients and is educating more than 500 veterinary students plus residents and grad students. The school runs a veterinary medical teaching hospital at UCD and satellite clinics in San Diego and the San Joaquin Valley community of Tulare.
Veterinary faculty members work to solve society’s most pressing health issues by collaborating with colleagues from human medicine and other disciplines. An example of its “one health” approach is a recent $100 million grant to the veterinary school to coordinate surveillance for disease-causing microbes, discovering new viruses and strengthening global health capacity in more than 20 countries.
“The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has a rich history of educating leaders in veterinary medicine, public health, biomedical sciences and specialty disciplines,” said Dean Michael Lairmore. “Our recognition by the QS World Rankings demonstrates our global impact in advancing the health of animals, people and the environment.
“While leading veterinary medicine, we use a One Health approach, bringing together multiple disciplines to translate basic and applied knowledge to address societal needs. I am very proud of our people and programs that have worked hard to earn this new recognition for our school and UC Davis.”
Overall, UCD was ranked ninth last fall among the nation’s public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The magazine ranked UCD’s School of Veterinary Medicine No. 1 in the nation in its rankings on graduate programs and professional schools released in March.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject this year evaluated 3,467 universities and ranked 971 institutions. The rankings are prepared by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British firm that previously was the data provider for the annual Times Higher Education rankings. The firm is widely considered to be one of the most influential international university rankings providers.

Top Universities Published annually since 2004, QS World University Rankings® is the most trusted university ranking in the world and now includes university fees information.

Iconic veterinary professor Francis H. Fox dies at 92

COMPUTER RELATED FULL FORMS
*********************************
* AVI = Audio Video Interleave
* RTS = Real Time Streaming
* SIS = Symbian OS Installer File
* AMR = Adaptive Multi-Rate Codec
* JAD = Java Application Descriptor
* JAR = Java Archive
* JAD = Java Application Descriptor
* 3GPP = 3rd Generation Partnership
Project
* 3GP = 3rd Generation Project
* MP3 = MPEG player lll
* MP4 = MPEG-4 video file
* AAC = Advanced Audio Coding
* GIF = Graphic Interchangeable
Format
* JPEG = Joint Photographic Expert
Group
* BMP = Bitmap
* SWF = Shock Wave Flash
* WMV = Windows Media Video
* WMA = Windows Media Audio
* WAV = Waveform Audio
* PNG = Portable Network Graphics
* DOC = Document (Microsoft
Corporation)
* PDF = Portable Document Format
* M3G = Mobile 3D Graphics
* M4A = MPEG-4 Audio File
* NTH = Nokia Theme (series 40)
* THM = Themes (SonyEricsson)
* MMF = Synthetic Music Mobile
Application File
* NRT = Nokia Ringtone
* XMF = Extensible Music File
* WBMP = Wireless Bitmap Image
* DVX = DivX Video
* HTML = Hyper Text Markup
Language
* WML = Wireless Markup Language
* CD - Compact Disk.
* DVD - Digital Versatile Disk.
* CRT - Cathode Ray Tube.
* DAT - Digital Audio Tape.
* DOS - Disk Operating System.
* GUI - Graphical User Interface.
* HTTP - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.
* IP - Internet Protocol.
* ISP - Internet Service Provider.
* TCP - Transmission Control Protocol.
* UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply.
* URL - Uniform Resource Locator.
* USB - Universal Serial Bus.
* VIRUS - Vital Information Resource
Under Seized.
* 3G - 3rd Generation.
* GSM - Global System for Mobile
Communication.
* CDMA - Code Divison Multiple
Access.
* UMTS - Universal Mobile
Telecommunication System.
* SIM - Subscriber Identity Module.
* HSDPA - High Speed Downlink
Packet Access.
* EDGE - Enhanced Data Rate for
GSM [ Global System for Mobile
Communication] Evolution.
* VHF - Very High Frequency.
* UHF - Ultra High Frequency.
* GPRS - General Packet Radio
Service.
* WAP - Wireless Application Protocol.
* TCP - Transmission Control
Protocol .
* ARPANET - Advanced Research
Project Agency Network.
* IBM - Internation Business Machine
Corporation.
* HP - Hewlett Packard.
* AM/FM - Amplitude/ Frequency
Modulation.
* WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network

(This undated handout image provided by “Science” and the University of Tokyo shows infectious particles of the avian H7N9 virus emerging from a cell.)


Scientists say genetically modifying the H7N9 virus in the lab will help drive efforts to develop pandemic drugs and vaccines


Scientists have unveiled plans to genetically engineer a lethal strain of bird flu to understand how it could mutate in nature and trigger a catastrophic pandemic.
The H7N9 bird flu virus has infected more than 130 people and killed 43 since it emerged in China in March. The first strong evidence that the virus can spread from person to person appeared in the British Medical Journal this week.
While the closure of poultry markets has brought the outbreak under control, researchers fear infections may rise again in the winter.
As long as the virus is in circulation, it can transform into a strain that is more dangerous, through natural mutations or by mixing with other strains of bird flu in animals such as cattle and pigs.
Scientists outlined their plans to work with the virus in joint letters to the journals Nature and Scienceon August 7, 2013. The 22 signatories include Ron Fouchier at Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam and Yoshihiro Kawaoka at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Work by the scientists on another strain of bird flu sparked security fears last year.
The controversial experiments are expected to make the H7N9 virus more virulent and increase its ability to spread between people. But researchers argue the work is crucial for public health because it will drive research into drugs and vaccines, and help identify dangerous mutations to watch out for in the wild.
“The pandemic risk rises exponentially should these viruses acquire the ability to transmit readily among humans,” the authors write. They go on to describe a raft of experiments that should reveal how the virus might adapt to humans, spread more rapidly, become more virulent and develop resistance to frontline drugs.
Scientists already track mutations in bird flu viruses found in patients, but this kind of surveillance does not give health authorities time to respond if they find a pandemic strain. The proposed experiments should give scientists early warning of the kinds of mutations that could spark a pandemic.
The work will be done in high-security laboratories to minimise the risk of the modified viruses escaping and causing precisely the kind of devastation the research aims to prevent.
In 2012, the U.S. government’s biosecurity watchdog raised the alarm over similar work on another bird flu virus called H5N1. The panel feared that details of the experiments by Dr. Fouchier and Prof. Kawaoka could help terrorists create lethal viruses as bioweapons.
Their papers were eventually published, but tougher review procedures have since been brought in by U.S. authorities on “dual use research”, along with updated guidelines to ensure the work is done under tight security.
Dr. Fouchier told the Guardian that he and the other scientists announced their plans to be as open as possible about their research. Much of the work can continue under European funding without further scrutiny.
Wendy Barclay, a virologist at Imperial College London, said it would be “ludicrous” not to do the experiments. “They allow us to see how the virus might evolve and what we can expect from nature,” she said. “This type of work is like fitting glasses for someone who can’t see well — without the glasses the vision is blurred and uncertain, with them you can focus on the world and deal with it a lot more easily.”

US & THAILAND - The University of Minnesota (USA) and Chiang Mai University (Thailand) are engaging in the first twinning project under the OIE Veterinary Education Twinning Programme.
Veterinary Services activities including their public and private components are recognised as ‘global public goods’. Quality veterinary education is a cornerstone of good governance of national Veterinary Services. However, in many countries, mostly developing and in-transition countries, the quality of veterinary education fails to meet the requirements for the delivery of highly competent Veterinary Services.
As explained in the OIE Guide on Veterinary Education Twinning Programme, the OIE Veterinary Education Twinning Programme is expected to create opportunities for Member countries to develop modern educational facilities and methods, based on accepted international standards.
The two-year Chiang Mai-Minnesota Veterinary Education Twinning Project aims to ensure that graduates meet the OIE Recommendations on the Competencies of Graduating Veterinarians (‘Day 1 Graduates’), and their compliance with OIE international recommendations. The project will provide both establishments with the opportunity to enhance and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experience.
“Thanks to this OIE Twinning Programme, we are looking forward to improve our capacity so as to be recognised as a high quality veterinary institution within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” Associate Professor Lertrak Srikitjakarn, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University said.
“Partnering with Chiang Mai University on this OIE veterinary education twinning project will benefit us both as we strive to enhance the capacity of our veterinary graduates to support the control of transboundary diseases and zoonoses and strengthen the official Veterinary Services of our countries,” Professor Trevor Ames, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota said.
The OIE supports Member Countries to improve the capacity of both public and private components of their national Veterinary Services through the OIE PVS Pathway (Performance of Veterinary Services) and Laboratory Twinning Programme; the Veterinary Education Twinning Programme complements this global initiative.
“OIE Twinning Programmes are successful because they are strictly based on preliminary direct agreements between potential partners and because they effectively reduce the gap in scientific expertise between developed and developing countries. This Veterinary Education Twinning programme is of particular significance because education is an important foundation to any activities conducted by veterinarians; they must demonstrate a minimum level of qualification and education based on Day 1 competencies OIE guidelines in all our Member Countries,” explained Dr Bernard Vallat, Director General of the OIE.

UNMISS Indian Battalion Organizes Free Veterinary Camp In Maban County:


The Indian Military Contingent in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Veterinary team has organized a two-day free Veterinary Camping in the border town of Bunj in Upper Nile State.


Lt Col Dr Venkatesh Kumar with his dedicated team of the Indian veterinary and local veterinary staff treated animals suffering from various ailments in Bunj of Maban County.

The Weak debilitated and malnourished animals were administered with multivitamins, minerals, liver tonics and appetizers for improving their health. Livestock owners were advised on best animal management practices and prevention and control of various diseases prevalent in the region.

“A total of 338 animals of various species being; cows, sheep, goats and donkeys were given specific treatment with antibiotics and latest drugs for various ailments; parasitic disorders, tick borne skin diseases, injuries, eye infections and other infectious and contagious diseases,” Dr Kumar said.

Other common complaints of saddle injuries, dermatitis and skin infection cases were also attended to.

Dr. Kumar stressed the need of taking full advantage of such opportunity when Veterinary staff from INDBATT had come to their doorsteps.

Capt Pankaj Sharma of Melut TCC, on behalf of the INDBATT-1 Commanding
Officer, appreciated the active participation of the local administration and advised the livestock owners to avail maximum benefits of this excellent opportunity for better health care of their animals.

Mr. Ramlei Abiel, the Maban County Acting County Commissioner said, “In the absence of any significant veterinary facility nearby, the locals have benefited from the timely help. I hope such free veterinary aid camps would be a normal feature by INDBATT in the
future.”

He lauded the well thought of initiative of the Commanding Officer of INDBATT-1, Col Sandeep Vasudeva, in reaching out to the locals for betterment of their livestock.

Abiel said Indian Battalion came in for this assistance when the local administration and the natives are facing huge refugee influx at the border town of Bunj from Blue Nile state.

He said that this Veterinary Aid Camp has also provided an opportunity in synergizing the efforts of the Ministry of Animal Resources and INDBATT.

“It also provided opportunity to young local par veterinary staff, Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) and others in understanding the prevalence of various endemic diseases in the area,” he added.

Louk Shauna, a local livestock owner said “We are extremely happy about the organization of this free veterinary camp in our area, as it has provided much needed relief to our animals, especially in this dry season.”

“The vet staff from INDBATT has educated us about routine de-worming of our livestock and modern methods of rearing cattle and sheep and we are indebted to them for providing free medication to our livestock,” he added.

Mohammed al Fateh Basheer, a local veterinary assistant attending the camp said “Such mass de-worming and anti tick treatment will be extremely useful in reducing the parasitic burden on the animals. This free medication will improve health of our livestock and bring prosperity to the owners.”

Thirty-six neo-veterinary graduates from Dr GC Negi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences were administered oath at Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University (HPAU) on Tuesday.

Minister of animal husbandry, rural development and panchayati raj Anil Sharma presided over the function. Sharma advised the veterinary graduates to serve the farming community with unflagging zest.

He said efforts would be made to provide employment to the veterinary graduates so that they were able to provide veterinary services in far-flung areas of the state.

'Give animal husbandry, veterinary sciences their due':

NAGPUR: For the first time in the country, all the state veterinary councils have come together under the banner of the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) to demand a separate ministry of animal husbandry, breaking away from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and creating a separate Indian Council for Veterinary Research (ICVR).

The bold decision to demand a ministry and a council at the Centre came from VCI president retired Lt Gen Dr Narayan Mohanty at the national seminar of state veterinary councils in the city. Talking to TOI, Dr Mohanty categorically stated though livestock contributes about 35% of the total agricultural GDP, animal husbandry and veterinary sciences have never been given their due under the ICAR. This, he said, was funny since the overall agriculture growth rate was just 2% while it is 6% for the animal husbandry sector.

Mechanism of Action: Hormones with Cell Surface Receptors


Protein and peptide hormones, catecholamines like epinephrine, and eicosanoids such as prostaglandins find their receptors decorating the plasma membrane of target cells.

Binding of hormone to receptor initiates a series of events which leads to generation of so-called second messengers within the cell (the hormone is the first messenger). The second messengers then trigger a series of molecular interactions that alter the physiologic state of the cell. Another term used to describe this entire process is signal transduction.

Structure of Cell Surface Receptors

Cell surface receptors are integral membrane proteins and, as such, have regions that contribute to three basic domains:

Extracellular domains: Some of the residues exposed to the outside of the cell interact with and bind the hormone - another term for these regions is the ligand-binding domain.
Transmembrane domains: Hydrophobic stretches of amino acids are "comfortable" in the lipid bilayer and serve to anchor the receptor in the membrane.
Cytoplasmic or intracellular domains: Tails or loops of the receptor that are within the cytoplasm react to hormone binding by interacting in some way with other molecules, leading to generation of second messengers. Cytoplasmic residues of the receptor are thus the effector region of the molecule.

Several distinctive variations in receptor structure have been identified. As depicted below, some receptors are simple, single-pass proteins; many growth factor receptors take this form. Others, such as the receptor for insulin, have more than one subunit. Another class, which includes the beta-adrenergic receptor, is threaded through the membrane seven times.
Receptor molecules are neither isolated by themselves nor fixed in one location of the plasma membrane. In some cases, other integral membrane proteins interact with the receptor to modulate its activity. Some types of receptors cluster together in the membrane after binding hormone. Finally, as elaborated below, interaction of the hormone-bound receptor with other membrane or cytoplasmic proteins is the key to generation of second messengers and transduction of the hormonal signal.
Second Messenger Systems

Consider what would happen if, late at night, you noticed a building on fire. Hopefully, you would dial 911 or a similar emergency number. You would inform the dispatcher of the fire, and the dispatcher would, in turn, contact and "activate" a number of firemen. The firefighters would then rapidly go to work pouring water on the fire, setting up roadblocks and the like. They would also probably activate other "players", such as police and fire investigators that would come in later to try and determine the cause of the fire. Importantly, once the fire is out (or the building totally destroyed), the firemen go back to the station and to sleep.

The community response to a fire is, at least in some ways, analogous to a second messenger system involved in a hormone's action. In the scenario described, you are the "first messenger", the dispatcher is "receptor", the firefighters are "second messengers".

Currently, four second messenger systems are recognized in cells, as summarized in the table below. Note that not only do multiple hormones utilize the same second messenger system, but a single hormone can utilize more than one system. Understanding how cells integrate signals from several hormones into a coherent biological response remains a challenge.


In all cases, the seemingly small signal generated by hormone binding its receptor is amplified within the cell into a cascade of actions that changes the cell's physiologic state. Presented below are two examples of second messenger systems commonly used by hormones. The examples used are of glucagon and insulin, both of which ultimately work through a molecular switch involving protein phosphorylation. Be aware that in both cases, a very complex system is being simplified considerably.
Cyclic AMP Second Messenger Systems

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is a nucleotide generated from ATP through the action of the enzyme adenylate cyclase. The intracellular concentration of cAMP is increased or decreased by a variety of hormones and such fluctuations affect a variety of cellular processes. One prominent and important effect of elevated concentrations of cAMP is activation of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase called protein kinase A.

Protein kinase A is nominally in an catalytically-inactive state, but becomes active when it binds cAMP. Upon activation, protein kinase A phosphorylates a number of other proteins, many of which are themselves enzymes that are either activated or suppressed by being phosphorylated. Such changes in enzymatic activity within the cell clearly alter its state.

Now, let's put this information together to understand the mechanism of action of a hormone like glucagon:

Glucagon binds its receptor in the plasma membrane of target cells (e.g. hepatocytes).
Bound receptor interacts with and, through a set of G proteins, turns on adenylate cyclase, which is also an integral membrane protein.
Activated adenylate cyclase begins to convert ATP to cyclic AMP, resulting in an elevated intracellular concentration of cAMP.
High levels of cAMP in the cytosol make it probable that protein kinase A will be bound by cAMP and therefore catalytically active.
Active protein kinase A "runs around the cell" adding phosphates to other enzymes, thereby changing their conformation and modulating their catalytic activity - - - abracadabra, the cell has been changed!
Levels of cAMP decrease due to destruction by cAMP-phosphodiesterase and the inactivation of adenylate cyclase.

In the above example, the hormone's action was to modify the activity of pre-existing components in the cell. Elevations in cAMP also have important effects on transcription of certain genes.
Tyrosine Kinase Second Messenger Systems

The receptors for several protein hormones are themselves protein kinases which are switched on by binding of hormone. The kinase activity associated with such receptors results in phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on other proteins. Insulin is an example of a hormone whose receptor is a tyrosine kinase.

The hormone binds to domains exposed on the cell's surface, resulting in a conformational change that activates kinase domains located in the cytoplasmic regions of the receptor. In many cases, the receptor phosphorylates itself as part of the kinase activation process. The activated receptor phosphorylates a variety of intracellular targets, many of which are enzymes that become activated or are inactivated upon phosphorylation.

The animation to the right is meant to depict a tyrosine kinase receptor like that used by insulin. Following binding of hormone, the receptor undergoes a conformational change, phosphorylates itself, then phosphorylates a variety of intracellular targets.


As was seen with cAMP second messenger systems, activation of receptor tyrosine kinases leads to rapid modulation in a number of target proteins within the cell. Interestingly, some of the targets of receptor kinases are protein phosphatases which, upon activation by receptor tyrosine kinase, become competent to remove phosphates from other proteins and alter their activity. Again, a seemingly small change due to hormone binding is amplified into a multitude of effects within the cell.

In some cases, binding of hormone to a surface receptor induces a tyrosine kinase cascade even through the receptor is not itself a tyrosine kinase. The growth hormone receptor is one example of such a system - the interaction of growth hormone with its receptor leads to activation of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases, with results conceptually similar to that seen with receptor kinases.
Fate of the Hormone-Receptor Complex

Normal cell function depends upon second messenger cascades being transient events. Indeed, a number of cancers are associated with receptors that continually stimulate second messenger systems. One important part of negative regulation on hormone action is that cell surface receptors are internalized. In many cases, internalization is stimuated by hormone binding.

Internalization occurs by endocytosis through structures called coated pits. The resulting endosomes (sometimes called "receptosomes") may fuse with lysosomes, leading to destruction of the receptor and hormone. In other cases, it appears that the hormone dissociates and the receptor is recycled by fusion of the endosome back into the plasma membrane.