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We analyzed Melia dubia leaf fodder proximate and cell wall composition to ascertain provenance and seasonal variations in Satpura and northern tip of Western Ghats (or Sahyadri) ranges falling in Gujarat, India. The study revealed significant variation (P ≤ 0.05) in proximate [moisture content (MC), dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE), organic matter (OM), total ash (TA), acid insoluble ash (AIA) and nitrogen free extract (NFE)] and cell wall attributes [neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), hemicellulose and cellulose content] among eight provenances in the winter and summer seasons. The MC, DM, CP, CF, EE, OM, TA and NFE ranged from 68.6–72.2%; 27.8–31.5%, 10.2–12.1%, 16.3–18.7%, 2.5–3.3%, 85.4–88.7%, 11.3–14.6% and 55.0–58.4%, respectively among eight provenances. DM, CP, CF, EE and OM (29.7%, 12.0%, 18.6%, 3.3% and 87.6%, respectively) were significantly higher in the summer. In contrast, MC, TA, AIA and NFE (70.9%, 13.6%, 1.0% and 58.4%, respectively) were significantly higher in the winter season. NDF, ADF, ADL, hemicellulose and cellulose content ranged from 32.2–38.5%, 23.8–30.2%, 11.8–20.8%, 6.9–9.7% and 9.3–12.3%, respectively among provenances. Further, M. dubia leaf cell wall composition varied significantly between winter and summer seasons. NDF, ADF, ADL and hemicellulose (36.2%, 27.6%, 16.9% and 8.7%, respectively) were higher during the summer season (S2); conversely, the cellulose content was higher (11.2%) in the winter season. Keeping in view the average proximate and fiber composition levels, M. dubia leaf fodder falls within the energy-rich fodder stuff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study wild pomegranate flavedo powder was used for the extraction of phenolics through various solvents by reflux method. A significant difference in all parameters was observed among the different extracts with varying solvents and extraction time after oven drying. The highest total phenolics, total flavonoids, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power and metal chelating activity among different extracts of wild pomegranate flavedo were recorded when combination of ethanol and distilled water in the ratio of 50:50 was used (1 h extraction time) after oven drying. Cluster analysis based on Ward's method showed that all treatments were divided in nine major groups and three major clusters after the application of cluster analysis. The two best selected extracts were further compared after drying in lyophilizer and tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli for antibacterial activity. In conclusion, ethanol and distilled water lyophilized extract contained higher bioactive compounds than oven dried extract, which have higher antioxidant and antibacterial effects and could be useful in the extraction of natural antioxidants. The study concluded that fruit flavedo is rich source of total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity which have beneficial natural antioxidants for health and have many health promoting properties which makes the flavedo suitable for future processing into various functional/nutraceutical foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.), commonly known as urdbean, mash, black mapte and other names, is a popular shortseason pulse crop farmed throughout India. This crop is extensively sown in conjunction with various cropping systems under residual moisture conditions after wheat harvest as summer crops under irrigated conditions and due to its high protein and carbohydrate content, as well as its short duration crop, it is suitable in summer crop grown between wheat and rice. Methods: Field experiments was carried out during two consecutive summer seasons of 2018-19 and 2019-20 to study residual effect of biofertilizer and foliar nutrition on plant height and yield attributes of summer blackgram (Vigna mungo) under different fertility levels at the Research Farm, Division of Agronomy, SKUAST-J, Chatha. The experiment was laid out in split-split plot design with three factors replicated thrice. Result: Maximize residual effect of nutrients on blackgram after raised wheat as a major crop among the fertility levels including biofertilizer and foliar application, recommended dose fertilizer achieved, growth parameters viz, yield attributing characters, number of pods/plants, number of grains/plants, 1000-grains weight, seed yield, stover yield and harvest index as compared to 75% of RDF. However, control recorded lowest values of all growth, yield attributing parameter and yield of blackgram crop. Whereas, soil application of biofertilizer consortium recorded higher plant height and yield attributing characters of blackgram in comparison to seed treatment with biofertilizer consortium applied in wheat as main crop. Among the foliar application of 2% of NPK (19:19:19) higher values of growth character, yield and yield attributing parameters of blackgram were recorded in foliar application of 2% NPK (19:19:19) at flowering stage as compared to tillering and tillering + flowering stages of wheat crop during both the years. Economics of blackgram in terms of net return and B:C ratio was influenced by residual effect of various applied in wheat crop and recorded higher in RDF fertility, soil application of biofertilizer consortium and foliar application of 2% NPK at flowering stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-sized IN718 superalloy powder with an average particle size of 70 μm has been explosively shock-processed with high pressure of the order of 41.3 GPa. A hydrocode, AUTODYNE-2D, with Eulerian mesh is used to simulate and to compute the detonation pressure, particle velocity and shock pressure on the superalloy in the reactive zone. The grazing shock pressure at different regions in the compaction system has been calculated and compared with the experimental work. Axisymmetric cylindrical compaction geometry has been used for the shock-loading of IN718 superalloy. The shock pressure at different points was calculated experimentally by pin-oscillography with the help of electrical as well as fibre optical probes. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction study indicates the intact crystalline FCC structure within the shock-processed specimen having dominating γ [Ni-Cr-Fe] and strengthening γ ′ [Ni3(Ti,Al)] phases. Laser diffraction particle size measurement points towards the reduced particle size of the shock-loaded specimen. The Line-broadening Williamson-Hall method shows a very small amount of locked-in microstrain of the order of 0.23%. Energy-dispersive analysis using X-ray examination shows no evidence of any chemical segregation within the compacts. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy shows satisfactory sub-structural strengthening and desired morphology at different regions in the fractographs of the compacted specimen without melting of the core of the specimen. Micro-indentation testing at variable loads of 0.98, 1.96 and 4.9 N shows a good hardness of the order of 642 Hv. The monolith cut-along the consolidation axes show tensile and compressive strengths of the order of 1.126 and 1.04 kN mm–2, respectively. Uniform crack/void-free compacts have been obtained with a density close to 99.2% of the theoretical value with negligible porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple tea wine having phytochemical potential of tea and apple, is an option to improve quality characteristics of wine. However, quality of wine is greatly dependent on different initial variables which need to be optimized before preparation of any wine with desirable quality characteristics. Therefore, present study was conducted to investigate the effects of different initial variables, i.e., tea concentration (3–5 g tea per 100 ml of the apple juice), sugar concentration (18–22°B), DAHP concentration (0.1–0.3%), KMS concentration (50–150 ppm) and inocula size (2.5–7.5%) on quality attributes of apple tea wine. Results indicated that for all the variables under study exerted a significant effect on the alcoholicity and sensory quality characteristics of apple tea wine and the same has been observed during the cluster analysis of the data. The optimum wine qualities; rate of fermentation (0.78°B/24 h), ethanol (7.83%), volatile acidity (0.025%), fusel alcohol (84.62 mg/l) and overall acceptability (8.27) with 0.81 desirability were obtained using 4 g tea, 20°B initial sugar concentration, 0.2% DAHP, 100 ppm KMS and 5% inoculum size. Verification experiments were conducted to compare predicted and actual values, which were found to nearly concur, confirming that models were capable of reasonably and accurately predicting the dependent variables. The developed conditions will help in improving the quality of apple tea wine and no doubt will open a new door for fruit wine industry with a new product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergence of pollutants in wastewater, expensive cultivation of microalgae, and difficulties in industrial scale production are the main challenges for successful coupling of microalgae with wastewater. Nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus in wastewater are deliberately consumed by microalgae and cyanobacteria for their growth and could act as green technology for wastewater treatment. In this review, the role and mechanistic approaches of microalgae and cyanobacteria for removal of various (in)organic compounds from wastewater have been thoroughly addressed. Distinct pathways have been reported for improving wastewater treatment technologies through large-scale cultivation of microalgal. The techno-economic feasibility and major commercial production challenges along with genetic engineering research have been addressed. A biorefinery approach with integrated biology, ecology, and engineering would lead to a feasible microalgal-based technology for various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The starting point for a good design of any building project is the analysis of the macroclimate and microclimate of the building site that encompasses an understanding of temperature, radiation, wind, precipitation, topography, vegetation, ground cover, etc., which together describe the site climate. Although urban context somewhat unifies, climate and topography prevalent in India are varied and diverse. Most part of the country is hot, while some regions are dry throughout the year, some are humid and some others are composite. The building design features, therefore, need to vary with the diversity to provide comfortable environments naturally. The context and the requirements for thermal comfort provide the basis for building siting, selection of building form and envelope, fenestration design, choice of materials, and other aspects. The paper proposes and discusses the various climate-responsive design strategies that are best adapted for the different climatic zones of India and presents such design interventions and features as a comparative matrix. Such a comparative presentation is novel, convenient, easy to comprehend, and provides a useful toolkit for building designers. The climateresponsive interventions in building design proposed in this study have the potential to enhance built environments naturally, thereby mitigating the adverse environmental impact. The proposed strategies are also validated through a sample field survey responded by building professionals from various climatic zones of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal incidence of major insect pests of apple in mid hills of Meghalaya was evaluated during 2018 at the Experimental farm of CPGSAS, Umiam, Meghalaya. A total of 43 insect species were observed. The major ones include- green apple aphid Aphis pomi De Geer, pale tussock moth Calliteara pudibunda L., tussock moth Euproctis guttata Collenette, giant looper Ascotis selenaria Denis and Schiffermuller and cocoa tussock moth Orgyia postica Walker. Also, 21 species were observed as minor pests, ten species as natural enemies, two species as pollinators and five species as occasional visitors. Results revealed that the aphid incidence is at its peak (34.75 aphids/ 10cm apical length of twig/shoot/ plant) on the 25th SMW (standard meteorological week) (3rd week of June 2018). Such a peak of pale tussock moth larval incidence (3.82 larva/ plant) was during 28th SMW (2nd week of July). Likewise, the tussock moth larval incidence (4.15 larvae/ plant) was its peak on the 35th SMW (last week of August). The giant looper was at its peak (3.46 larvae/ plant) in the 28th SMW (2nd week of July). The cocoa tussock moth incidence was at the maximum of 4.75 larvae/ plant on the 26th SMW (27th June). Correlation coefficients (r) indicated significant correlation between the incidence of green apple aphid with maximum temperature; and larval incidence of tussock moth and cocoa tussock moth exhibiting a significant correlation with minimum temperature. Regression analysis done herein will provide the impact of independent variables on the dependent variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty-seven lines of okra including ten parents, forty-five hybrids and two standard checks were evaluated in Randomized Block Design with two replications. Combining ability was carried out to study comparisons of lines in combinations for the traits days to 50% flowering, plant height at harvest, the number of branches per plant, the number of nodes per plant, days to first picking, the number of fruits per plant, the mean length of fruit, the mean weight of fruit, yield per plant, yield per plot, yield per hectare and reaction to yellow vein mosaic disease. The result revealed that the variance to general combining ability (gca) is less than specific combining ability (sca), ratio of that is less than unity indicated preponderance of non additive gene action for all the traits. The parent Akola Bahar was good general combiner, whereas, cross combination Shagun x VNR (Super Green) recorded a significant specific combining ability (sca) effects as far as yield is concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are ionotropic ligand gated channels that are highly permeable to calcium ions. In insects, NMDARs are associated with glutamatergic neurotransmission governing diverse physiological and biological processes like vitellogenesis and ovarian development. Therefore, NMDAR may act as attractive target for insect pest control. In present study, we performed structural and functional characterization of NMDARs in Bemisia tabaci, a highly invasive crop pest and potent virus vector. We identified that NMDAR consists of three subunits each encoded by single gene in whiteflies which are highly conserved among different insect orders. Expression analysis suggests that subunit 1 (BtNR1) and subunit 2 (BtNR2) are the main functional units. External supplementation of NMDAR ligand or BtNRs silencing was lethal to insects, which suggested that NMDAR function is highly balanced in whiteflies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit arils with high acid content are processed into dried arils (anardana) which is used as an ingredient in various medicinal formulations and culinary preparations. The various phenols and flavonoids are responsible for the antioxidant activity of anardana which signifies its functional benefits. The advanced packaging techniques like vacuum packaging, can retain higher antioxidant activity characteristics during storage. So, the present studies were carried out to compare the effect of packaging on total phenols, flavonoids, DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) antioxidant activity, metal chelating activity, FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and reducing power of anardana prepared in mechanical cabinet drier. Anardana was packed in different packaging materials and stored under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. The overall effect of storage during 12 months revealed that there was a significant (p< 0.05) decrease in total phenols (180.95 to 161.76 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (40.60 to 32.66 mg QuE/100 g), DPPH antioxidant activity (61.23 to 56.13%), metal chelating activity (22.25 to 19.37%), FRAP (34.60 to 31.73 µM Fe2+/100 g) and reducing power (0.610 to 0.521) which was observed less in anardana packed in ALPV (aluminium laminated pouches with vacuum) followed by ALP (aluminium laminated pouches) and gunny bags. Due to slower rates of degradation of various antioxidant compounds, the changes after 12 months of storage were lower under refrigerated conditions. The total phenols, flavonoids and DPPH antioxidant activity were reduced from 180.95 to 167.24 and 156.28 mg GAE/100 g, 40.60 to 34.95 and 30.37 mg QuE/100 g and 61.23 to 57.99 and 54.27 % in refrigerated and ambient temperature conditions, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamics of crystal water in Prussian blue (PB), Fe(III)4[Fe(II)(CN)6]3.14H2O and its analogue Prussian green (PG), ferriferricynaide, Fe(III)4[Fe(III)(CN)6]4.16H2O have been investigated using Quasielastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) technique. PB and its analogue compounds are important materials for their various interesting multifunctional properties. It is known that crystal water plays a crucial role towards the multifunctional properties of Prussian blue analogue compounds. Three structurally distinguishable water molecules: (i) coordinated water molecules at empty nitrogen sites, (ii) non-coordinated water molecules in the spherical cavities, and (iii) at interstitial sites exist in PB. Here spherical cavities are created due to the vacant sites of Fe(CN)6 units. However, PG does not have any such vacant N or Fe(CN)6 units, and only one kind of water molecules, exists only at interstitial sites. QENS experiments have been carried out on both the compounds in the temperature range of 260-360K to elucidate the dynamical behavior of different kinds of water molecules. Dynamics is found to be much more pronounced in case of PB, compared to PG. A detailed data analysis showed that localized translational diffusion model could describe the observed data for both PB and PG systems. The average diffusion coefficient is found to be much larger in the PB than PG. The obtained domain of dynamics is found to be consistent with the geometry of the structure of the two systems. Combining the data of the two systems, a quantitative estimate of the dynamics, corresponding to the water molecules at different locations is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the Balloon-borne Investigation of Temperature and Speed of Electrons in the corona (BITSE) mission launched recently to observe the solar corona from ≈ 3 Rs to 15 Rs at four wavelengths (393.5, 405.0, 398.7, and 423.4 nm). The BITSE instrument is an externally occulted single stage coronagraph developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in collaboration with the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). BITSE used a polarization camera that provided polarization and total brightness images of size 1024 × 1024 pixels. The Wallops Arc Second Pointer (WASP) system developed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) was used for Sun pointing. The coronagraph and WASP were mounted on a gondola provided by WFF and launched from the Fort Sumner, New Mexico station of Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) on September 18, 2019. BITSE obtained 17,060 coronal images at a float altitude of ≈ 128,000 feet (≈ 39 km) over a period of ≈ 4 hrs. BITSE flight software was based on NASA’s core Flight System, which was designed to help develop flight quality software. We used EVTM (Ethernet Via Telemetry) to download science data during operations; all images were stored on board using flash storage. At the end of the mission, all data were recovered and analyzed. Preliminary analysis shows that BITSE imaged the solar minimum corona with the equatorial streamers on the east and west limbs. The narrow streamers observed by BITSE are in good agreement with the geometric properties obtained by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) coronagraphs in the overlapping physical domain. In spite of the small signal-to-noise ratio (≈ 14 ) we were able to obtain the temperature and flow speed of the western steamer. In the heliocentric distance range 4 – 7 Rs on the western streamer, we obtained a temperature of ≈ 1.0 ± 0.3 MK and a flow speed of ≈ 260 km s−1 with a large uncertainty interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was carried out on nine provenances from the north Western Ghats to quantify proximate principles, mineral matter, total phenols and other phytochemicals in Melia dubia drupe pulp. Drupe biometric, biomass attributes, proximate principles, mineral matter and total phenols differed significantly among the provenances. The average drupe length and width was 26.5 and 22.3 mm, respectively. Average drupe and pulp fresh weight, pulp dry weight and stone weight were 783.1, 552.1, 165.1, and 179.8 g/100 drupes, respectively. Pulp, dry matter and moisture per cent were 70.5%, 29.9% and 70.0%, respectively. Average crude fibre, protein, ether extract, total ash and nitrogen- free extract were 8.3%, 7.6%, 5.1%, 6.3%, and 72.6%, respectively. Average Ca, Mg, P and K levels were 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.2%, and 2.0%, respectively. Total phenols were 0.4%. Cluster analysis showed that the study area may be divided into three distinct provenances, each having different drupe traits and proximate composition, including mineral components. Gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry analysis revealed 27 phytochemicals, many of which possess beneficial biological attributes. The implications of this provenance variation study should be useful for future improvement in terms of better drupe pulp nutrition for livestock feed. Further study suggests that M. dubia pulp could be categorized as a good feed source with low fibre, energy, fat and mineral levels. All proximate parameters, mineral matter content and total phenols are within prescribed limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, phenotypic and genotypic correlations between tree growth traits (height, diameter and biomass) with some of the important wood quality parameters such as basic density, cellulose content, lignin content and fibre characteristics, viz. length, diameter, lumen diameter, double cell wall thickness and fibre content, were worked out using data from ten families of five-year-old Melia dubia raised by seed sources of ten superior candidate plus trees (CPTs). Result showed that medium to strong genetic and phenotypic correlations were recorded within and between growth traits and wood quality parameters studied. Direct positive strong association was observed between tree biomass with height and its diameter. Similarly, basic density of wood was phenotypically and genotypically associated with cellulose content, fibre length and fibre content; furthermore, all these parameters showed negative association with lignin content, fibre diameter, lumen diameter and double cell wall thickness. Genetic correlation showed that wood quality parameters, viz. basic density, cellulose content, fibre length and fibre content, were positively influenced by the height and diameter of trees. Thus, these parameters may be considered while selecting superior genotypes of M. dubia for better pulp and paper quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Himalayan region are home to the world's youngest and largest mountains, and origins of major rivers systems of South Asia. The present work highlight the importance of remote sensing (RS) data based precipitation and terrain products such as digital elevation models, glacier lakes, drainage morphology along with limited ground data for improving the accuracy of hydrological and hydrodynamic (HD) models in various Himalayan river basins such as Upper Ganga, Beas, Sutlej, Teesta, Koshi etc. The satellite based rainfall have mostly shown under prediction in the study area and few places have are also showing over estimation of rainfall. Hydrological modeling results were most accurate for Beas basin, followed by Upper Ganga basin and were least matching for Sutlej basin. Limited ground truth using GNSS measurements showed that digital elevation model (DEM) for carto version 3.1 is most accurate, followed by ALOS-PALSAR 12.5 DEM as compared to other open source DEMs. Major erosion and deposition was found in Rivers Bhagirathi, Alakhnanda, Gori Ganga and Yamuna in Uttarakhand state and Beas and Sutlej Rivers in Himachal Pradesh using pre and post flood DEM datasets. The terrain data and river cross section data showed that river cross sections and water carrying capacity before and after 2013 floods have changed drastically in many river stretches of upper Ganga and parts of Sutlej river basins. The spatio-temporal variation and evolution of glacier lakes was for lakes along with GLOF modeling few lakes of Upper Chenab, Upper Ganga, Upper Teesta and Koshi river basin was done using time series of RS data from Landsat, Sentinel-1 and Google earth images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Asthma is one of the leading chronic illnesses among children in the United States. Asthma prevalence is higher among African Americans (11.2%) compared to European Americans (7.7%). Bronchodilator medications are part of the first-line therapy, and the rescue medication, for acute asthma symptoms. Bronchodilator drug response (BDR) varies substantially among different racial/ethnic groups. Asthma prevalence in African Americans is only 3.5% higher than that of European Americans, however, asthma mortality among African Americans is four times that of European Americans; variation in BDR may play an important role in explaining this health disparity. To improve our understanding of disparate health outcomes in complex phenotypes such as BDR, it is important to consider interactions between environmental and biological variables. Results: We evaluated the impact of pairwise and three-variable interactions between environmental, social, and biological variables on BDR in 233 African American youth with asthma using Visualization of Statistical Epistasis Networks (ViSEN). ViSEN is a non-parametric entropy-based approach able to quantify interaction effects using an information-theory metric known as Information Gain (IG). We performed analyses in the full dataset and in sex-stratified subsets. Our analyses identified several interaction models significantly, and suggestively, associated with BDR. The strongest interaction significantly associated with BDR was a pairwise interaction between pre-natal smoke exposure and socioeconomic status (full dataset IG: 2.78%, p = 0.001; female IG: 7.27%, p = 0.004)). Sex-stratified analyses yielded divergent results for females and males, indicating the presence of sex-specific effects. Conclusions: Our study identified novel interaction effects significantly, and suggestively, associated with BDR in African American children with asthma. Notably, we found that all of the interactions identified by ViSEN were "pure" interaction effects, in that they were not the result of strong main effects on BDR, highlighting the complexity of the network of biological and environmental factors impacting this phenotype. Several associations uncovered by ViSEN would not have been detected using regression-based methods, thus emphasizing the importance of employing statistical methods optimized to detect both additive and non-additive interaction effects when studying complex phenotypes such as BDR. The information gained in this study increases our understanding and appreciation of the complex nature of the interactions between environmental and health-related factors that influence BDR and will be invaluable to biomedical researchers designing future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dried arils (anardana) prepared from wild pomegranate fruits (Punica granatum L.) are widely used as an acidulant in culinary purposes and in formulations of various ayurvedic medicines which are helpful in curing a number of ailments. As there is a wide variation among the quality of fruits which is due to geographic conditions, climatic factors and genetic variability so anardana was prepared from the fruits of different locations under different drying modes. The prepared product was further compared for its physicochemical, antioxidant and sensory characteristics. Anardana prepared under mechanical cabinet drier and solar tunnel drier was comparable in terms of its various quality characteristics. While comparing the locations for the procurement of raw material, best quality anardana in terms of various quality attributes like colour, TSS [(total soluble solids) (40.35 oB)], total sugars (26.15%), anthocyanins (37.97 mg/100 g), total phenols (176.46 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (39.45 mg QuE/100 g), antioxidant activity (59.53%), starch (2.87%) and sensory characteristics was prepared from the fruits of Karsog location (1265 meters above mean sea level) of Himachal Pradesh, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to screen out the suitable spatial geometry of Melia dubia, an industrially important fast-growing multipurpose tree, for Cymbopogon flexuosus by evaluating its growth, physiology, herbage, and essential oil yield and major essential oil principles. The experiment was conducted in 2 years old M. dubia plantations of 2 × 2, 3 × 3, 3 × 2, 4 × 4 and 4 × 2 m spatial arrangement. The study revealed that growth, physiological attributes, fresh and dry herbage production and essential oil yield were higher under silvi-medicinal (M. dubia–C. flexuosus) systems as compared to sole cropping. Among studied silvi-medicinal systems, C. flexuosus attained significantly maximum plant height (109.62 cm), number of tillers (36.25 tillers/clump), plant spread (75.83 cm2) and leaf area (cm2/leaf) under 4 × 4, 2 × 2, 3 × 3 and 2 × 2 m spatial geometries, respectively. Leaf area index and specific leaf weight did not bear any significant effect due to land use systems. Chlorophyll content index (26.62) and leaf nitrogen (1.03%) was maximum under 3 × 2 and 3 × 3 m spatial geometries. Significantly higher total fresh (12.94 tonne/ha) dry herbage yield (6.53 tonne/ha) was highest in 3 × 3 m and 2 × 2 m spatial geometry, respectively. However, it was the least (8.21 tonne ha−1) in C. flexuosus sole cropping. M. dubia (3 × 3 m)–C. flexuosus tree–crop combination provided higher total oil yield (108.78 kg ha−1). The major essential oil principles viz., Citral-a, Citral-b and Geranyl acetate were higher under 2 × 2, 3 × 3 and 2 × 2 m M. dubia spatial geometry. The study pinned out that tree–crop interactions under different M. dubia spatial geometries were positive and hence C. flexuosus could be adopted as intercrop for better quantitative and qualitative attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent past, rainfall-induced debris flow events in Ladakh–Nubra region have caused loss of lives and damages to civil infrastructures and army locations. Therefore, there is a need of high spatial and temporal monitoring of precipitation, and further to assess susceptible rainfall-induced debris flow zones in the area. We assessed the rainfall data collected at two gauge stations and observed a significant increase in the rainfall amount over the study region during summer-monsoonal period 1997–2017. Increasing trend was also observed from CRU gridded precipitation dataset. A GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method was performed by combining topographical, environmental and hydrological parameters for mapping of rainfall-induced susceptible zones. Suitability analysis of precipitation forecasts from WRF model at higher resolution (3 km) was also performed. A good agreement (r = 0.76) was observed between 4-day model forecast and field observed rainfall. Further, the simulated precipitation from WRF was incorporated into GIS model for assessment of debris flow susceptible zones for two cases of heavy precipitation events. The modelled high, medium, low and very low risk susceptible zones identified for the year 2015 events are validated with field survey and pre-post satellite imageries, and found in good agreement (ROC = 76.6%). The model was able to identify affected areas during the Leh cloud burst event in year 2010. In addition, a threshold value of rainfall for initiation of debris flow in the region was also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the source of > 300 MeV protons during the SOL2014-09-01 sustained gamma-ray emission (SGRE) event based on multi-wavelength data from a wide array of space- and ground-based instruments. Based on the eruption geometry we provide concrete explanation for the spatially and temporally extended γ -ray emission from the eruption. We show that the associated flux rope is of low inclination (roughly oriented in the east–west direction), which enables the associated shock to extend to the frontside. We compare the centroid of the SGRE source with the location of the flux rope's leg to infer that the high-energy protons must be precipitating between the flux rope leg and the shock front. The durations of the SOL2014-09-01 SGRE event and the type II radio burst agree with the linear relationship between these parameters obtained for other SGRE events with duration ≥ 3 hrs . The fluence spectrum of the SEP event is very hard, indicating the presence of high-energy (GeV) particles in this event. This is further confirmed by the presence of an energetic coronal mass ejection with a speed > 2000 km s − 1 , similar to those in ground level enhancement (GLE) events. The type II radio burst had emission components from metric to kilometric wavelengths as in events associated with GLE events. All these factors indicate that the high-energy particles from the shock were in sufficient numbers needed for the production of γ -rays via neutral pion decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have controlled the nature of magnetic ordering in RbxBayMn[3-(x + 2y)]/2[Fe(CN)6]·zH2O prussian blue analogues by alkaline earth metal cation (Ba2+) substitution and application of an external magnetic field. Structural analysis, by employing Rietveld refinement of X-ray and neutron diffraction patterns, reveals a tetragonal crystal structure for all these compounds. The presence of Fe3+-C ≡ N-Mn2+ chains in the structure, and absence of both cyanide flipping (Mn2+-C ≡ N-Fe3+) and charge transfer from Mn2+ to Fe3+ (Fe2+-C ≡ N-Mn3+) have been confirmed by infrared and Mössbauer studies. The analysis of the low temperature neutron powder diffraction data reveals a long-range antiferromagnetic ordering in these compounds. The magnetic structure is layered, consisting of an antiparallel stacking of ferromagnetic sheets along the crystallographic c-direction. Within each sheet in the ab plane, the ordered moments of Mn2+ [5.04(1) μB for (x = 0.84, y = 0) and 4.99(7) μB for (x = 0.19, y = 0.3) sample at 1.5 K] and Fe3+ [0.98(3) μB for (x = 0.84, y = 0) and 0.99(3) μB for (x = 0.19, y = 0.3) sample at 1.5 K] are aligned ferromagnetically along the c-axis. Interestingly, dc magnetization study indicates that on application of an external magnetic field, an antiferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic-like phase transition occurs below ∼5 K. This phase transition becomes more and more prominent with increasing magnetic field as well as for higher Ba substitution. The role of a number of factors (such as ionic radius of Ba2+ ion and change in net ligand strength around Mn due to chemical insertion of Ba2+ ions) on the affecting nature of magnetic ordering has been discussed. The observed magnetism in these compounds is seen in light of the orbital model of superexchange interaction between magnetic ions (Mn2+ and Fe3+) mediated by cyanide ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the effect of a 4d ion (Ru3+) substitution on structural disorder and magnetic ordering in the cyanide-bridged molecular magnets, RuxNi3-3x/2[Cr(CN)6]2·zH2O (0≤x≤0.5). Structural analysis, by employing Rietveld refinement of x-ray diffraction patterns, reveals a face centered cubic structure for all these compounds. In the present study, we have controlled the [Cr(CN)6] vacancies by substituting Ru at the Ni site and then the role of varying [Cr(CN)6] vacancies on the structural correlations and consequently on the magnetic properties has been investigated. We have succeeded in increasing the magnetic ordering temperature (TC) with increasing Ru concentration up to x=0.2. The IR spectra of the Ru doped compounds indicate the presence of Cr2+–C≡N–Ru4+ type sequences amounting to an additional structural disorder. The magnetic Bragg scattering in the neutron diffraction patterns is masked by a large diffuse scattering arising due to the structural disorder. The reverse Monte Carlo calculations quantify the total structural disorder, which enhances with increasing x. With x>0.2, a combined effect of the stronger magnetic interaction between the 3d/4d-3d spin carriers (due to reduction in vacancies) and the reduction in the average spin of the Ru/Ni site leads to a decrease in the TC. An antiferromagnetic coupling of Ru3+ (low spin, S=1/2) moments with both Ni2+ (S=1) and Cr3+ (S=3/2) moments is found. The present study thus gives a pathway for designing new molecular magnets by controlling vacancies, which leads to a tuning of the intertwined structural and magnetic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High resistivity in nanostructured Pb(Fe0.012Ti0.988)O3 system prepared by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in chemical route is observed. The PVA acts as a surfactant to limit the particle size. The Fe substitution for Ti controls the chemical stoichiometry and reduces the lattice distortion, i.e., c/a ratio, and hence the transition temperature reduces with Fe content. The phase structure, morphology, particle size, dc resistivity, and dielectric and magnetic properties of Pb(Fe0.012Ti0.988)O3 nanoparticles have been characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission/scanning electron microscopy, source meter, LCR meter, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The results indicate that the nanosize particles have high resistivity, which improves the dielectric constant at high-frequency region and increases magnetization of the specimens. The observed variable-range-hopping conduction mechanism indicates that Fe doping leads to the occurrence of local defect states in the PbTiO3 lattice. The dispersionless dielectric properties with low loss are observed up to 15 MHz. The dielectric properties are improved than those obtained by the conventional process. The initial permeability values do not exhibit much variation up to ferromagnetic transition temperature after which it falls sharply. The large value of saturation magnetization is observed at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was undertaken to analyse the allelochemicals in Melia dubia Cav. leaf litter and to test the allelopathic proclivity of aqueous leaf extracts and leaf litter on germination and early growth, and biomass of chilli (Capsicum frutescens L.) and eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) in laboratory and pot culture bioassay. A separate pot experiment was conducted to examine the allelopathic effect of leaf litter on growth, biomass and fruit yield of test crops. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of M. dubia leaf litter revealed many compounds, which were phenolic acids and their derivatives, alkaloids, methyl ketones (volatile allelochemical), unsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acid, aromatic ketone, chromene and others. The leaf aqueous extract and leaf litter inhibited the germination traits (germination per cent, mean daily germination, peak value, germination value and germination rate index) as well as early growth and biomass of both the test crops in laboratory bioassay and pot culture. The inhibitory effect was higher in laboratory bioassay as compared to pot culture. However, in pot experiments, none of the leaf litter treatments significantly affected the later growth, biomass and fruit yield. The allelochemicals detected in leaf litter of M. dubia, thus, have ephemeral allelopathic proclivity. Allelochemicals might have diluted through cultural practices or due to their ephemeral nature and, hence, allelopathic effect was only seen in germination and early stage of growth and it disappeared in later stage of growth and fruit yield of test crops. Hence, M. dubia is suggested for growing in different agroforestry systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild prickly pear (Opuntia dillenii Haw.) is one of the wild fruit with great importance because of its high antioxidants, colour pigments and other quality parameters besides its medicinal properties. In India, there are only a limited number of reports pertaining to utilization of this fruit which further lack the development of value added novel products. So, the present studies were carried out for the development of spiced squash or appetizer from wild prickly pear fruit and its quality evaluation during storage. Different combinations of fruit juice (25, 30, 35 and 40%) and sugar syrup (40 and 45 °B) were tried to standardize a proper combination for appetizer. The appetizer prepared by using the best recipe with 35% juice, 45 °B TSS (Total soluble solids) and 1.20% acidity was packed in two packaging materials viz. glass and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles which were further stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Appetizer packed in glass as well as in PET packaging material can be stored successfully for a period of six months under both the temperature conditions. However, various quality parameters of appetizer were retained higher in glass bottles stored under refrigerated storage conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple is one of the widely consumed fruits which constitute an important part of the human diet as a source of sugars and dietary fibres. But, it is poor in proteins and some minerals like calcium. On the other hand, whey- a by-product of dairy industry is an excellent source of proteins and calcium. Therefore, in the present study, apple-whey based functional ready-to-serve (RTS) beverage was developed by blending apple juice with whey and jaljeera extract and was evaluated for quality under ambient and refrigerated conditions during storage. The incorporation of whey had increased the calcium content from 3.96 to 15.64 mg/100 mL and total proteins from 0.07 to 0.29% in the developed beverage. Further addition of jaljeera extract not only enhanced the sensory quality of the beverage, but also improved the ascorbic acid content (10.57 mg/100g) total phenols (37.86 mg/100g) and antioxidant activity (40.34%). The developed product was stored safely for a period of sixty days under refrigerated storage conditions with minimum changes in chemical and sensory attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 14 years old female Asiatic elephant was presented to the hospital with a history of mucoid watery diarrhea, inappetence and lethargy. Clinical examination revealed normal body temperature (98.2 °F), tachycardia (42 bpm), eupnoea (14/min), congested mucous membrane and dehydration. Haemato-biochemical parameters are well within the range. Microscopic examination of faecal sample revealed presence of live, motile and pear shaped ciliated Balantidium coli protozoa. Based on clinical and laboratory examination, the condition was diagnosed as balantidiasis. The animal was treated with Tab. Metronidazole (10 mg/Kg, PO, BID) for 5 days. Supportive treatment was done with antacids, hepatoprotectants and multivitamin supplements. An uneventful recovery was noticed after 5 days of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment conducted at Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) during summer season of 2013 to study the influence of sowing dates and varieties on the yield, heat use efficiency, helio-thermal use efficiency, energy utilization efficiencies and economics of summer mungbean. The experiment was conducted in a split plot design consisting of four sowing dates (20th March, 5th April, 20th April and 5th May) as main-plot treatments and four varieties (SML 668, Samrat, Meha and IPM 02- 3) as sub-plot treatments. Higher grain yield (9.33 q ha-1) of summer mungbean was recorded under 20th March sowing date, which was statistically at par with 5th April sowing but significantly higher than 20th April and 5th May sowing. Among the varieties, Samrat produced significantly higher grain yield (7.82 q ha-1) than all other varieties except SML 668. But, the heat use efficiency (HUE), helio-thermal use efficiency (HTUE) and energy pattern was significantly higher at 20th March than other dates of sowing. The varieties Samrat and SML 668 recorded significantly higher HUE, HTUE and energy pattern than IPM 02-3 and Meha. The highest benefit cost ratio (1.42) was recorded with 5th April sowing date closely followed by 20th March (1.39). The variety Samrat also registered the highest benefit cost ratio (1.07) followed by SML-668. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northeastern region of India, one of the mega biodiversity hot spots has enormous potential for the production of fruits and vegetables. Fruit flies of the genus Bactrocera Macquart are important pests of fruits and vegetables, and one of the limiting factors in successful production of these commodities. The relationship among some of the species is unclear due to their high molecular and morphological similarities. Moreover, due to the significant morphological resemblance between fruit fly species, reliable identification is very difficult task. We genetically characterized 10 fruit fly species of the genus Bactrocera by using standard DNA barcoding region of COI gene. The characterization and identification of eight species were straight forward. This study was unable to establish the molecular identity of Bactrocera sp. 2. Within the 547 bp region of partial COI gene, there were 157 variable sites of which 110 sites were parsimony informative, 153 were synonymous substitutions and 4 were non-synonymous substitutions. The estimate of genetic divergence among the ten species was in the range of 0-21.9% and the pairwise genetic distance of Bactrocera. (Bactrocera) dorsalis (Hendel) with B. (B.) carambolae was only 0.7%. Phylogenetic analysis formed separate clades for fruit and vegetable infesting fruit flies. B. (B.) aethriobasis Hardy, B. (B.) thailandica and B. (B.) tuberculata (Bezzi) have been reported for the first time from the Northeastern India. The information generated from this study would certainly have implications for pest management, taxonomy, quarantine and trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild pomegranate fruit is a rich source of organic acids apart from having appreciable amount of sugars, anthocyanins, phenols, ascorbic acid and minerals like phosphorus, calcium, potassium, iron etc. The present studies were undertaken for the development of squash from wild pomegranate fruit and its quality evaluation during storage of six months. Different combinations of juice and sugar syrup/TSS (Total soluble solids) were tried to standardize proper combination for squash. The squash prepared by following the best selected recipe (42% juice and 45 oB TSS) was packed in glass and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Squash could be safely stored for a period of six months under both the storage conditions without much change in various quality characteristics. Various physico-chemical characteristics increased/decreased like TSS (45 to 45.68 oB), reducing sugars (22.66 to 31.50%), titratable acidity (1.51 to 1.40%), ascorbic acid (6.74 to 3.26 mg 100 ml-1), total phenols (48.34 to 38.89 mg 100 ml-1) and anthocyanins (9.15 to 3.58 mg 100 ml-1). Various sensory characteristics scores of squash like colour (8.00 to 6.37), body (8.10 to 6.97), taste (8.10 to 6.97), aroma (8.20 to 6.57) and overall acceptability (8.05 to 6.39) decreased during storage. However, the changes in the quality characteristics of the squash were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions. Both the packaging materials viz. PET and glass bottles were found suitable, with comparatively less changes occurring in glass bottles stored under refrigerated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigations were conducted to develop a commercial appetizer (spiced squash) from mulberry and its quality evaluation during storage. Different combinations of juice (20, 25, 30, 35 and 40%) and TSS (40 and 45oB) were tried to standardize proper combination for appetizer. Out of 10 different treatment combinations of juice and TSS tried, appetizer recipe (A5) prepared with 40% juice, 40 oB TSS and 1.30% acid was found to be best on the basis of sensory and some physico-chemical characteristics of the product. The appetizer prepared by following the best selected recipe was packed in glass and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and stored for six months under ambient (20-25oC) and refrigerated temperature conditions (4-7oC). Overall effect shows that various quality characteristics like TSS, apparent viscosity, reducing sugars, and total sugars of appetizer increased from 40.00 to 40.63, 185.08 to 193.75, 28.37 to 31.80, 37.12 to 38.53 and other chemical characteristics like acidity, ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, total phenols and sensory characteristics scores of colour, body, taste, aroma, overall acceptability score decreased from 1.30 to 1.21, 5.18 to 3.75, 8.60 to 5.75, 58.22 to 49.23, 8.15 to 7.52, 8.00 to 7.30, 8.20 to 7.26, 8.00 to 7.03, 8.10 to 7.15, respectively during storage. However, quality of the product was retained better in glass than PET bottles under refrigerated condition as compare to ambient storage condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Box myrtle (Myrica nagi) belongs to family Myricaceae is a sub-temperate tree found throughout the mid-Himalayas at an elevation of 1300 to 2100 meters above mean sea level. Its fruits are known for their ravishing taste and have been reported as rich source of anti-oxidants like phenols and anthocyanins. In the present study drink was prepared from box myrtle juice and quality evaluation was carried out during six months of storage of fruit drink. Different combinations of juice (8%, 10%, 12%, 14% and 16 %) and sugar syrup/TSS (Total soluble solids) (12oB and 15oB) were tried to standardize proper combination for drink. The drink prepared by following the best selected recipe (14 % juice and 12 oB TSS) was packed in glass and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Drink could be safely stored for a period of six months under both the storage conditions without much change in various quality characteristics. Various physico-chemical characteristics increased/decreased like TSS (12.05 to 12.48oB), reducing sugars (7.80 to 8.69 %), titratable acidity (0.30 to 0.27 %), ascorbic acid (1.09 to 0.47 mg/100 g), total phenols (27.35 to 19.11 mg/100 g) and anthocyanins (6.14 to 3.69 mg/100 g).However, the changes in the quality characteristics of the drink were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions. Both the packaging materials viz. PET and glass bottles were found suitable, with comparatively less changes occurring in glass bottles stored under refrigerated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study presents the spatio-temporal winter snow albedo analysis over different mountain ranges of north-west Himalaya ( NWH) for a period of approximately 24 years. Here we assess the temporal albedo variations in past two decades (1991-2010) in comparison to the recent 14 years (2000-2014). The field collected manual data of two representative observatories of Lower Himalaya ( LH) and Great Himalaya ( GH), and six automatic weather stations in LH, GH and Karakoram Himalaya ( KH) were analysed. Satellite derived MODIS albedo data (MOD10A1) over these stations between 2001 and 2014 were analysed. A good correlation ( r = 0.59) was observed between monthly average MODIS retrieved albedo and field collected albedo for GH with a relative error of 11%. In past two decades, a statistically significant (99%) decreasing rate of −0.011 per year in winter snow albedo was observed over GH (1993-2010), while in recent decade (2001 onward), no statistically significant increasing trend was observed. The change in albedo of GH is attributed to winter mean air temperature, which shows a significant rise in the past two decades, but there has been a hiatus in winter mean air temperature rise in recent decade. The higher winter mean air temperature above 0 °C since beginning of the study period (1991 onward) kept albedo of moist/wet snow approximately stable in LH. Further, insignificant increasing trend of albedo was observed over KH range in recent decade, and it is attributed to persistent very low temperatures and an increase in the frequency of snowfall days. This albedo study over NWH supports the recently reported findings on Himalayan snow cover and glacier variations during different durations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken for the development of jelly from cultivated and wild pomegranate fruit juice mix and its quality evaluation during storage of six months. A product with 55 % mixed fruit juice content (cultivated and wild pomegranate juice in 80:20 ratio) with 45 % sugar was found to be the best on the basis of sensory analysis of prepared jelly. Jelly could safely be stored for a period of half year under both the ambient and refrigerated conditions without much change in its various chemical attributes viz., total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, pectin, total phenolics and sensory quality characteristics viz., colour, texture, flavour and overall acceptability. However, the changes in the quality characteristics of the jelly were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions. Under refrigerated conditions, changes in TSS from 67.00 to 67.36 0B,titratable acidity from 0.75 to 0.71%, ascorbic acid from 9.18 to 7.35 mg/100 g, anthocyanins from 11.34 to 10.17 mg/100 g and total phenols from 63.10 to 60.06 mg/100 g were observed after 6 months of storage. Both the packaging material viz., polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and glass jars were found suitable with comparatively slower changes occurring in glass jars under refrigerated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian horse chestnut (Aesculus indica Colebr.) is a rich source of starch but contains toxic compound known as saponins which makes it bitter and unsuitable for edible purposes. To exploit the starch source for edible purpose first of all the saponins were removed to a acceptable limit by pretreating the crushed mass of Indian horse chestnut as suggested earlier. Edible mass of Indian horse chestnut was dried and milled into flour and packed in different packaging materials and further stored under refrigerated (4-7°C) and ambient (18-25°C) storage conditions for 6 months. The flour packed in aluminium laminated pouches and stored under refrigerated condition showed minimum increase in physico-chemical and rheological characteristics like moisture content (6.49%), water activity (0.155), reducing sugars (1.72%) and retained highest amounts of total solids (93.50%), total sugars (3.75%), starch (63.89%), ash (2.36%), proteins (102.23 mg/100g) along with oil absorption capacity (1.54 ml/g), water absorption capacity (4.44 ml/g) and bulk density (0.635 g/ml). The sensory characteristics scores like colour (7.60), taste (7.25), aroma (6.88), texture (6.87) and overall acceptability (7.08) were retained highest in this packaging material as compared to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is one of the underutilized fruit which is a rich source of antioxidants like phenols and anthocyanins besides its delicious taste and strong aroma. In India the mulberry fruit trees are generally grown for rearing silkworms and to a small extent for its fruits. Therefore, investigations were conducted to develop syrup in the Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr YSP UHF Nauni, Solan (HP) during the year 2015 and its quality evaluation during storage. Different combinations of juice (20, 25, 30 and 35%) and TSS (65 and 70 °B) were tried to standardize proper combination for syrup. The syrup prepared by following the best selected recipe was packed in glass and PET bottles and stored for six months under ambient (20-25 °C) and refrigerated temperature conditions (4-7 °C). Out of 8 different treatment combinations of juice and TSS tried, syrup prepared with 25% juice, 70 °B TSS and 1.60% acid was found to be best on the basis of sensory and some physico-chemical characteristics of the product. Syrup could be safely stored for a period of six months under both the ambient and refrigerated conditions without much change in various quality characteristics. However the changes in the quality characteristics of the syrup were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions. Both the packaging materials viz., PET and glass bottles were found suitable, with comparatively less changes occurring in glass bottle under refrigerated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted during kharif 2011 and 2012 at Sartangal to study the effect of intercropping and nutrient management on productivity and profitability of cultivating maize under sub-alpine conditions of Jammu. The inter-cropping systems were sole maize, sole rajmash, maize + rajmash in a 1:1 row (1 rows of maize alternating with 1 row of rajmash) and maize + rajmash in 2:1 row (2 rows of maize alternating with 1 row of rajmash). The nutrient management treatments were, T1 =control (no fertility), T2 = 100% NPK (RDF, recommended dose of fertilizers), T3 = 75% RDF + 25% N through farmyard manure (FYM) and T4=50% RDF + 50% N (FYM). Among cropping system maize + rajmash (1:1) produced highest maize grain equivalent yield (MEY, 7772 kg ha-1), net returns (INR 52190 ha-1), B:C ratio (1.81), land equivalent ratio (LER, 1.40) and area time equivalent ratio (ATER, 1.38). Whereas among nutrient management techniques, 75% RDF + 25% N (FYM) produced highest MEY (7681 kg ha-1), net returns (INR 52585 ha-1) and B:C ratio of 1.88 with highest LER (1.36) and ATER (1.33). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field experiments were conducted at ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, India during 2011-2012 to evaluate some bio-pesticides and newly introduced insecticides against shoot and fruit borer of brinjal. The experiments were laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The treatments viz., azadirachtin 1 EC (2 ml l-1), karanjin 2 EC (2 ml l-1), anonin 1 EC (2 ml l-1), Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt.) (2 g l-1), emamectin benzoate 5 SG (0.4 ml l-1), flubendiamide 480 SC (0.3 ml l-1), chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC (0.4 ml l-1), chlorpyriphos 20 EC (2 ml l-1) were applied thrice at fifteen days interval starting from initiation of shoot and fruit borer infestation. Results showed that chlorantraniliprole (2.46%) was the best treatment in reducing the shoot infestation (81.88% reduction) which was statistically at par with flubendiamide (3.08%) and emamectin benzoate (3.76%) with 77.37% and 71.95% reduction over untreated control, respectively. The overall mean fruit infestation were also minimum in chlorantraniliprole (5.76%) and flubendiamide (5.93%) treated plots with 79.45% and 78.84% reduction over untreated control plots (28.03%), respectively. Pooled data of two years experimental results indicated that highest marketable yield was recorded in chlorantraniliprole treated plots (155.01 q ha-1) followed by flubendiamide (149.50 q ha-1), emamectin benzoate (134.24 q ha-1) and chlorpyriphos (125.43 q ha-1). Among bio-pesticides, highest mean marketable yield was recorded inBacillus thuringiensis treated plots (114.45 q ha-1) followed by azadirachtin (101.11 q ha-1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper provides alternative improved Factor-Type (F-T) estimators of population mean in presence of item non-response for the practitioners. The proposed estimators have been shown to be more efficient than the four existing estimators which are more efficient than the usual ratio and the mean estimators. Optimum conditions for minimum mean squared error are obtained for the new estimators. Empirical comparisons based on three different data sets establish that the proposed estimators record least mean squared error and hence a substantial gain in Percentage Relative Efficiency (P.R.E.), over these five contemporary estimators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable progress has been made for the solidification of metal powders with improved properties by using varieties of metallurgical methods. However, solidification of superalloy powders offers many difficulties under traditional processes. This article outlines an extensive program being undertaken to produce monoliths of superalloys with enhanced microstructural and mechanical properties. EP741NP superalloy has been subjected to explosive shock wave loading to obtain uniform and crack-free monoliths. An axisymmetric cylindrical configuration with a plastic explosive of high-detonation velocity has been used to consolidate the superalloy powder nearer to its theoretical density (~98 pct). By careful design of experiments, detonation velocity has been measured vis-à-vis compaction of metal powders in a single-shot experiment by employing instrumented detonics. The shock-processed specimens characterized for phase, lattice parameter, and structural variation by X-ray diffraction technique show intact crystalline structure. Results obtained from Williamson-Hall method indicate small micro-strain (2.8 × 10) and decreased crystallite size. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy suggests no segregation within the specimens. Scanning electron microscopy shows fracture-less and micro-cracks/void-free compacts of superalloy indicating satisfactory sub-structural strength. Indentation experiments with variable loads (1.96 N and 2.94 N) performed on the shock-processed specimen cut along transverse section show high order of Vicker's micro-hardness value up to 486 H. The tensile and compressive strengths of the superalloy monoliths cut along the consolidation axes have been found to be 824 and 834 MPa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Ideal treatment modality for patients with large impacted proximal ureteral stone remains controversial. We compared laparoscopic transperitoneal ureterolithotomy (Lap-TPUL) and semirigid ureteroscopy for large proximal ureteric stones to evaluate their efficacy and safety. Patients and Methods: From November 2012 to December 2014, we enrolled 122 patients with large (≥1.5 cm) proximal ureteral stone in the study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: Group A (60 patients), retrograde ureteroscopic lithotripsy using a semirigid ureteroscope; Group B (62 patients), transperitoneal LU (Lap-TPUL). Results: The overall stone-free rate was 71.6% and 93.5% for Group A and Group B respectively (P = 0.008). Auxiliary procedure rate was higher in Group A than in Group B (27.3% vs. 5.6%). The complication rate was 11.2% in Group B versus 25% in Group A. Mean procedure time was higher in laparoscopy group as compared to ureterorenoscopy (URS) groups (84.07 ± 16.80 vs. 62.82 ± 12.71 min). Hospital stay was 4.16 ± 0.67 days in laparoscopy group and 1.18 ± 0.38 days in URS group (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Laparoscopic transperitoneal ureterolithotomy is a minimally invasive, safe and effective treatment modality and should be recommended to all patients of impacted large proximal stones, which are not amenable to URS or extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy or as a primary modality of choice especially if patient is otherwise candidate for open surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss our findings from a survey of all large solar energetic particle (SEP) events of Solar Cycles 23 and 24, i.e. the SEP events where the intensity of > 10 MeV protons observed by GOES was > 10 pfu. In our previous work (Gopalswamy et al. in Geophys. Res. Lett. 41, 2673, ) we suggested that ground level enhancements (GLEs) in Cycles 23 and 24 also produce an intensity increase in the GOES > 700 MeV proton channel. Our survey, now extended to include all large SEP events of Cycle 23, confirms this to be true for all but two events: i) the GLE of 6 May 1998 (GLE57) for which GOES did not observe enhancement in > 700 MeV protons intensities and ii) a high-energy SEP event of 8 November 2000, for which GOES observed > 700 MeV protons but no GLE was recorded. Here we discuss these two exceptions. We compare GLE57 with other small GLEs, and the 8 November 2000 SEP event with those that showed similar intensity increases in the GOES > 700 MeV protons but produced GLEs. We find that, because GOES > 700 MeV proton intensity enhancements are typically small for small GLEs, they are difficult to discern near solar minima due to higher background. Our results also support that GLEs are generally observed when shocks of the associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) form at heights 1.2 - 1.93 solar radii [ $\mathrm{R}_{\odot}$] and when the solar particle release occurs between 2 - 6 $\mathrm{R}_{\odot}$. Our secondary findings support the view that the nose region of the CME-shock may be accelerating the first-arriving GLE particles and the observation of a GLE is also dependent on the latitudinal connectivity of the observer to the CME-shock nose. We conclude that the GOES > 700 MeV proton channel can be used as an indicator of GLEs excluding some rare exceptions, such as those discussed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albedo is a critical snow physical parameter that affects the earth's climate system directly by altering the energy balance at the ground surface and indirectly by controlling the ecosystem processes. Thus spatial variability of snow albedo has immense importance in the study of geomorphology, climate dynamics, seasonal snow melt and hydrology. This paper describes and examines the retrieval of snow albedo for the period October 2012 to May 2013 by using multispectral Advance Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) on board IRS-P6 of RESOURCESAT-1. The analysis procedure to compute spectral reflectance is achieved by converting the digital numbers after an image based atmospheric and topographic correction that include dark object subtraction (DOS) and effect of Rayleigh scattering on the transmissivity in different spectral bands of AWiFS images. Snow spectral reflectance and satellite derived snow albedo has been validated with in-situ data at the time of satellite pass over the study area using spectroradiometer, pyronometer and Automated Weather Station (AWS) respectively. A fine agreement between satellite derived snow albedo and in-situ measurements shows the relative accuracy of model. Present study also reveal the temporal and spatial variability of snow albedo in a basin which is an evidently indication of the seasonal melt due to decreasing trend in snow depth, snow cover area (SCA) and increased degree day temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]