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The lubrication system of an aero-engine is intended to lubricate and cool bearings, gears, and splines to ensure a high level of safety and reliability for many operating hours of an aircraft. One of the important accessories of the lubrication system of an aero-engine is the oil pump which consists of multiple pumps with tandem gerotor elements housed in a single casing. The lubrication pump consists of multi positive displacement pumps of “GEROTOR” type, driven by a single shaft. The aim of this paper is to study the influence of altitude conditions on the pump performance and develops a simulation technique for the prediction of output flow rate at various on and off-design conditions. A numerical study has been conducted using commercial CFD code ANSYS-Fluent. Volumetric efficiency is considered as the main parameter for the evaluation of pump performance at various operating conditions. Further, the experimental study has been carried out by simulating low inlet pressure conditions at the inlet of the pump. The comparison between simulation and experimental results shows that results are matching within a 6% deviation. Thus, the simulation method is appropriate for predicting the altitude performance of gerotor pump used in the lubrication system of an aero engine. The study concludes that the contribution of inlet pressure to the pump performance is significant.

Current scenario is look at Non conventional alternative fuel source to decrease its dependence on the foreign import of various oils. Amongst all alternative fuel offered Mahua oil, in which is changed to bio - diesel by means of transesterification process. The adding up of nano-metal additive to biodiesel during a variety of form considerably improves the properties and it contributes to improved behaviour of diesel engine by reduced emission. The experimental work is done to found the behavior, combustion and emission characteristic in the diesel-engine by means of Biodiesel fuels and Nano-metal Additives Titanium Dioxide. The Bio diesel is prepared by transesterification processes, then powder metal oxide is converted in to nano form by means of ball milling, CTAB (Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide) is taken as cationic agent, then known quantity of TiO2 and CTAB Nano metal additives is mixed with the base fluid Mahua oil Methyl Ester (MOME) which is the biodiesel by Ultrasonication process. The blend which is obtained is tested by single cylinder four stroke diesel engines and can be noted that the adding of nano metal additive in the bio diesel improves the behavior, combustion and the emission characteristics of diesel-engine.

Schwannomas are benign, encapsulated nerve sheath tumors arising from Schwann cells. Approximately, 25-40% of all Schwannomas occur in the head and neck region, acoustic nerve being the most frequent site. The tumors originating from nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses are rare and constitutes only four percent. A 40-year-old male presented with history of blurred vision of right eye and protrusion of right eye ball since 6 months. It was associated with history of watering and redness. Examination of right eye revealed mild proptosis and ptosis. Computed Tomography [CT] scan showed a large expansile cystic lesion measuring about 5.2x5.6x6.5cm involving entire right ethmoidal sinus. It showed expansion into anterior cranial fossa, roof and medial wall of right orbit. Radiological opinion suggested mucocele of right ethmoidal sinus. Intra-operatively, tissue specimen was sent for squash smear cytology. Cytology smears showed features suggestive of spindle cell tumor. Possibility of Schwannoma was considered. The specimen was subsequently subjected to histopathological examination. Microscopy showed tumor tissue composed of tumor cells arranged in alternate hypercellular and hypocellular pattern. Hypercellular areas showed occasional verocay bodies. Hypocellular areas showed loosely arranged spindle shaped tumor cells. Histopathological features were suggestive of Schwannoma. On Immunohistochemistry (IHC), neoplastic cells were positive for S-100 and negative for EMA. Ethmoidal sinus schwannoma extending into anterior cranial fossa is an unusual presentation. Clinically, it poses a diagnostic dilemma. Squash smear cytology is challenging, but helpful in establishing the correct diagnosis. Histopathology is confirmatory and immunohistochemistry is supportive.

Osteoarthritis causes significant pain and disability with no approved disease-modifying drugs. We systematically reviewed the evidence from both pre-clinical and human studies for the potential disease-modifying effect of metformin in osteoarthritis.Ovid Medline, Embase and CINAHL were searched between inception and June 2021 using MeSH terms and key words to identify studies examining the association between metformin use and outcome measures related to osteoarthritis. Two reviewers performed the risk of bias assessment and 3 reviewers extracted data independently. Qualitative evidence synthesis was performed. This systematic review is registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021261052 and CRD42021261060).Fifteen (10 pre-clinical and 5 human) studies were included. Most studies (10 pre-clinical and 3 human) assessed the effect of metformin using knee osteoarthritis models. In pre-clinical studies, metformin was assessed for the effect on structural outcomes (n = 10); immunomodulation (n = 5); pain (n = 4); and molecular pathways of its effect in osteoarthritis (n = 7). For human studies, metformin was evaluated for the effect on structural progression (n = 3); pain (n = 1); and immunomodulation (n = 1). Overall, pre-clinical studies consistently showed metformin having a chondroprotective, immunomodulatory and analgesic effect in osteoarthritis, predominantly mediated by adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation. Evidence from human studies, although limited, was consistent with findings in pre-clinical studies.We found consistent evidence across pre-clinical and human studies to support a favourable effect of metformin on chondroprotection, immunomodulation and pain reduction in knee osteoarthritis. Further high-quality clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings as metformin could be a novel therapeutic drug for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women world-wide. Application of preoperative Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NACT) has become a frequently employed therapeutic approach to treat breast cancer patients. Such chemotherapy alters the morphology of both malignant tumour tissue and adjacent benign breast tissue. Aim: To compare the histopathological features in mastectomies done for invasive breast carcinoma among those who received NACT with those who had not received NACT. Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective observational study of invasive breast carcinoma cases conducted at a rural tertiary care referral institute, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PESIMSR), Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India, from January 2013 to April 2015. The histopathological features in mastectomies were evaluated using a modified scoring system and compared between those who received NACT (study group) and those who had not received NACT (control group). Postchemotherapy associated histopathological features were analysed for statistical significance. Frequencies, Chi-square test and crosstabs were the statistical tools used to analyse the data. All statistical calculations were done through Statistical Software Data (STATA) version 14.1. Results: Out of 24 cases analysed, the study group (mean age=53.67 years) and control group (mean age=45.92 years) constituted 12 cases each. In postchemotherapy cases, fibroelastosis (p-value= 0.027) was a significant feature in the malignant tumour tissue. Stromal fibrosis (p-value=0.036), epithelial atypia (p-value

Doubled haploid technology is a valuable tool in plant breeding as it shortens the breeding cycle, fixes agronomic traits in homozygous state and enhances selection efficiency of useful recessive agronomic traits. However, successful adoption of doubled haploid (DH) technology for generating useful breeding material depends on intra-line uniformity and inter-line variability for agro-morphological traits. Therefore, the major emphasis of this study has been to assess these two aspects in DH population developed from F1 anthers of KRH4 rice hybrid. The developed DH lines were evaluated for agro-morphological traits to assess the uniformity of traits within and variability between the DH lines based on Z value and on the analysis of variance test respectively. The results of the experiment indicated that, the agronomic traits were indeed uniform within but different across DH lines. A wide and significant variation was observed among the DH lines for several growth and yield attributing traits. To confirm the uniformity and stability of the traits, selected DH lines were characterized in different seasons and growing conditions. The results showed a strong positive correlation in the agronomic traits within the lines under different seasons and also in contrasting environments. Further, the SSR marker analysis revealed that the DH lines are homozygous and stable across generations. From the study, it can be inferred that the DH technology forms an important tool in generating completely homozygous lines that are stable across seasons, environments and over generations.

Introduction: Diagnostic reproducibility and accuracy in pathology are the main issues in oncology screening of various malignancies. Urothelial carcinoma accounts for majority of bladder cancers in the industrialised nations. The reproducibility of histopathological features of different WHO grading systems has shown considerable variation. Aim: To evaluate the reproducibility of histopathological features of urinary bladder neoplasms (categorised according to WHO 2016 classification) on microphotographs. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of urinary bladder neoplasms conducted at a rural tertiary care referral Institute, PES Institute of Medical Sciences (PESIMSR), Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India, from January 2017 to December 2019 for a period of three years. Histopathology slides of urinary bladder neoplasms were retrieved and reviewed. The urinary bladder neoplasms were categorised according to WHO 2016 classification. Representative images of the neoplasm were captured by 13 megapixels primary mobile camera and sent to two pathologists by e-mail. The histopathological characteristics of the lesions were evaluated. Concordance was calculated. The strength of agreement was analysed by Kappa statistics (Cohen). Results: Concordance was highest in recognising deep muscle invasion {95.24% (Pathologist 1) and 100% (Pathologist 2)}, good for recognising the pattern {86.96% (Pathologist 1 and 2)} and grading the lesions {80.95% (Pathologist 1) and 68.42 (Pathologist 2)}, satisfactory for appreciation of lamina propria invasion {78.26% (Pathologist 1) and 69.57% (Pathologist 2)} and histopathological diagnosis {73.91% (Pathologist 1) and 56.52% (Pathologist 2)} and not satisfactory for identifying specific variants {50% (Pathologist 1) and 66.67% (Pathologist 2)}. Kappa value suggested almost perfect agreement for recognising deep muscle invasion (0.86), substantial agreement for both the pattern recognition (0.65) and grading (0.67), moderate agreement for lamina propria invasion (0.48), fair agreement for histopathological diagnosis (0.34)) and only slight agreement for recognising the specific variants (0.09). Conclusion: The interpretation of bladder neoplasms has satisfactory reproducibility on microphotographs. The evaluation of representative microphotographic images is a prudent and pragmatic exercise. The pathologists must train themselves to interpret the microphotographs images. The study emphasises the importance of intra-disciplinary consultation. The concept can be extrapolated and employed to solve perplexing cases my means of effective communication technology.

BackgroundOsteoarthritis causes significant pain and disability with no approved disease-modifying drugs. There is evidence emerging from pre-clinical and human studies suggesting metformin may have disease-modifying properties in osteoarthritis1-5. Given its pleiotropic effects and safety profile, metformin has the potential to be a novel therapy for osteoarthritis.ObjectivesWe systematically reviewed the evidence from both pre-clinical and human studies for the potential disease-modifying effect of metformin in osteoarthritis.MethodsOvid Medline, Embase and CINAHL were searched between inception and June 2021 using MeSH terms and key words to identify studies examining the association between metformin use and outcome measures related to osteoarthritis. Two reviewers performed the risk of bias assessment and 3 reviewers extracted data independently. Qualitative evidence synthesis was performed. This systematic review is registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021261052 and CRD42021261060).ResultsFifteen (10 pre-clinical and 5 human) studies were included. Most studies (10 pre-clinical and 3 human) assessed the effect of metformin using knee osteoarthritis models. In pre-clinical studies, metformin was assessed for the effect on structural outcomes (n=10); immunomodulation (n=5); pain (n=4); and molecular pathways of its effect in osteoarthritis (n=7). For human studies, metformin was evaluated for the effect on structural progression (n=3); pain (n=1); and immunomodulation (n=1). Overall, pre-clinical studies consistently showed metformin having a chondroprotective, immunomodulatory and analgesic effect in osteoarthritis, predominantly mediated by adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation. Evidence from human studies, although limited, was consistent with findings in pre-clinical studies.ConclusionWe found consistent evidence across pre-clinical and human studies to support a favourable effect of metformin on chondroprotection, immunomodulation and pain reduction in knee osteoarthritis. Further high-quality clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings as metformin could be a novel therapeutic drug for the treatment of osteoarthritis.References[1]Li H, Ding X, Terkeltaub R, Lin H, Zhang Y, Zhou B, et al. Exploration of metformin as novel therapy for osteoarthritis: preventing cartilage degeneration and reducing pain behavior. Arthritis Res Ther. 2020;22(1):34.[2]Li J, Zhang B, Liu WX, Lu K, Pan H, Wang T, et al. Metformin limits osteoarthritis development and progression through activation of AMPK signalling. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020;79(5):635-645.[3]Na HS, Kwon JY, Lee SY, Lee SH, Lee AR, Woo JS, et al. Metformin Attenuates Monosodium-Iodoacetate-Induced Osteoarthritis via Regulation of Pain Mediators and the Autophagy-Lysosomal Pathway. Cells. 2021;10(3).[4]Lu CH, Chung CH, Lee CH, Hsieh CH, Hung YJ, Lin FH, et al. Combination COX-2 inhibitor and metformin attenuate rate of joint replacement in osteoarthritis with diabetes: A nationwide, retrospective, matched-cohort study in Taiwan. PLoS ONE [Electronic Resource]. 2018;13(1):e0191242.[5]Wang Y, Hussain SM, Wluka AE, Lim YZ, Abram F, Pelletier JP, et al. Association between metformin use and disease progression in obese people with knee osteoarthritis: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative-a prospective cohort study. Arthritis research & therapy. 2019;21(1):127.Disclosure of InterestsYuan Lim: None declared, Yuanyuan Wang: None declared, Mahnuma Estee: None declared, Jawad Abidi: None declared, Maushmi Udaya Kumar: None declared, Sultana Monira Hussain: None declared, Anita Wluka: None declared, Christopher Little Grant/research support from: CBL receives research funding from pharmaceutical companies (Fidia Farmaceutici, Cynata Therapeutics, Ceva Animal Health Pty Ltd and Regeneus Pty Ltd) to investigate efficacy of novel osteoarthritis therapeutics in pre-clinical models, through specific services/testing-contract research agreements between and managed by The University of Sydney or the Northern Sydney Local Health District, Flavia Cicuttini: None declared

Introduction: Haemorrhagic fluids samples are commonly received for cytological evaluation. The presence of erythrocytes obscures the morphology of cells and thus poses great diagnostic difficulty. Haemorrhagic body fluids are processed by using a variety of techniques. The idea of each technique is to select and concentrate an adequate number of tumor cells having intact cell morphologies, without losing the diagnostically important cells during processing. Aim: To evaluate the effect of known haemolysing solutions [Carnoy’s Fixative (CF) and normal saline {Normal Saline Rehydration Technique (NSRT)}] and 10% lemon solution {Lemon Solution Rehydration Technique (LSRT)} on haemorrhagic cytology samples; and to compare various cytomorphological features in haemorrhagic cytology samples processed by different haemolysing solutions. Materials and Methods: It was an analytical study done at a rural tertiary care referral institute, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PESIMSR), Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Fifty-seven haemorrhagic samples were analysed. For each case, totally eight smears were prepared. Out of eight smears, two smears served as control (not treated with any haemolysing agent. Remaining six smears (two smears each) were treated with haemolysing agents (CF, normal saline and 10% lemon solution). Smears stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and MayGrunwald Geimsa (MGG) stains were evaluated for haemolysis in the smear background, retention of cells and cytomorphological details in comparison with control smears. Each smear were scored (1-4) according to a modified scoring system. Chisquare test was the statistical tool used to analyse the data in the study. Results: MGG stained smears showed best haemolysing effect with NSRT (78.95%), maximum retention with LSRT (85.96%) and best cytomorphological details with CF (12.28%). H&E stained smears showed best haemolytic effect with LSRT (56.14%), maximum retention with LSRT (87.72%) and best cytomorphological details with CF (8.77%). Conclusion: LSRT is a novel rehydration technique developed to improve the quality of processing haemorrhagic cytology samples. LSRT showed best overall performance and it may be utilised to overcome the disadvantages of CF and NSRT.

This work is based on the performance of biodiesel blends with diesel in providing for a suitable alternative fuel. There are various methods in which the biodiesel blends are made. Every approach uses the preparation of biofuel initially from a parent oil blend. Here cottonseed oil is taken to make biodiesel. For the conversion ionic liquids have been used as catalysts. The process of transesterification has shorter reaction times with ionic liquid usage. Then subsequently test is made on a diesel engine particularly suited for alternative fuels to find out the biodiesel performance. All the tests to find the suitability of the transesterified biofuel for use in a diesel engine have been done and results presented. The performance graphs show B30 to be the optimum based biofuel blend for which maximum efficiency has been found.

Introduction: Lymphadenopathy is one of the most common clinical presentations of patients. Lymph node is a commonly aspirated organ for diagnostic purposes. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) of lymph node has become an integral part of initial diagnosis and management. Aim: To compare the cytomorphological patterns of the lymph node lesions in the paediatric population with that of the adult population and to correlate with the available histopathological diagnosis. Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective observational study of lymph node lesions conducted at a rural tertiary care referral institute, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PESIMSR), Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India, from January 2017 to June 2018 for a period of 18 months. Cytology smears were retrieved, reviewed and analysed. Cytological diagnosis was compared with available histopathological diagnosis and concordance was calculated. Chi-square test was the statistical tool used to analyse the data in the study. Results: Two hundred and seventy four cases were analysed. Adult population constituted 225 cases (82.12%). Paediatric population constituted 49 cases (17.88%). Reactive lymphadenitis was the commonest pattern in both the groups. Chronic lymphoproliferative lesions {4 cases (1.7%)} constituted the least common lesion in adults and mycobacterial lymphadenitis {1 case (2.04%)} constituted the least common lesion in paediatric population. Conclusion: Distribution of cytological patterns of lymph node lesions in paediatric and adult populations are different and are found to be statistically significant. Cytological evaluation of lymph node lesions has a high diagnostic efficacy for the diagnosis of neoplastic lesions.

Crop productivity is very much dependent on the biomass and its partition to economic parts in the plant system. In the present study, 150 recombinant lines were characterized for variability in total biomass. The mapping population was classified on the basis of biomass as low and high biomass types. Except SLA, other biometric traits varied significantly. Assessment of contribution of physiological traits other than the canopy cover that determine the variability in biomass is best done when genotypes with similar leaf area but differing in biomass are compared. All the traits varied significantly between low and high biomass types. To know the interrelationship among traits that contribute to the total biomass of the plant was also ascertained through correlation studies. A positive correlation was observed between various root, shoot associated traits and the total biomass but root to shoot ratio showed a negative relationship with biomass. Apart from root and shoot dry weight, a strong positive correlation was observed between the leaf area and the biomass suggesting that the photosynthetic surface area contributes significantly to the biomass production.

The present numerical and CFD investigations have been carriedout to examine friction factor and heat transfer rate of twisted square duct with inserts. simulation is conducted under uniform heat flux conditions with air is a working fluid, twist angle is 270 degree,Reynolds number is varied from 7500 to 38000. The results of friction factor, and enhancement ratio are presented. Friction factor for twisted circular rod is 2.85 times more than twisted duct. Efficiency of twisted duct heat exchanger 42 percentage , twisted circular rod is 36 percentage more than plain square duct under same operating conditions. In this work Numeric simulations were calculated by using the CFD software package ANSYS 18.2 FLUENT has been used.

The target of Rapamycin (TOR) present in all eukaryotes is a multifunctional protein, regulating growth, development, protein translation, ribosome biogenesis, nutrient, and energy signaling. In the present study, ectopic expression of TOR gene of Arabidopsis thaliana in a widely cultivated indica rice resulted in enhanced plant growth under water-limiting conditions conferring agronomically important water-use efficiency (WUE) trait. The AtTOR high expression lines of rice exhibited profuse tillering, increased panicle length, increased plant height, high photosynthetic efficiency, chlorophyll content and low ∆13C. Δ13C, which is inversely related to high WUE, was as low as 17‰ in two AtTOR high expression lines. These lines were also insensitive to the ABA-mediated inhibition of seed germination. The significant upregulation of 15 stress-specific genes in high expression lines indicates their contribution to abiotic stress tolerance. The constitutive expression of AtTOR is also associated with significant transcriptional upregulation of putative TOR complex-1 components, OsRaptor and OsLST8. Glucose-mediated transcriptional activation of AtTOR gene enhanced lateral root formation. Taken together, our findings indicate that TOR, in addition to its multiple cellular functions, also plays an important role in response to abiotic stress and potentially enhances WUE and yield related attributes.

The target of Rapamycin (TOR) present in all eukaryotes is a multifunctional protein, regulating growth, development, protein translation, ribosome biogenesis, nutrient, and energy signaling. In the present study, ectopic expression of TOR gene of Arabidopsis thaliana in a widely cultivated indica rice resulted in enhanced plant growth under water-limiting conditions conferring agronomically important water-use efficiency (WUE) trait. The AtTOR high expression lines of rice exhibited profuse tillering, increased panicle length, increased plant height, high photosynthetic efficiency, chlorophyll content and low ∆13C. Δ13C, which is inversely related to high WUE, was as low as 17‰ in two AtTOR high expression lines. These lines were also insensitive to the ABA-mediated inhibition of seed germination. The significant upregulation of 15 stress-specific genes in high expression lines indicates their contribution to abiotic stress tolerance. The constitutive expression of AtTOR is also associated with significant transcriptional upregulation of putative TOR complex-1 components, OsRaptor and OsLST8. Glucose-mediated transcriptional activation of AtTOR gene enhanced lateral root formation. Taken together, our findings indicate that TOR, in addition to its multiple cellular functions, also plays an important role in response to abiotic stress and potentially enhances WUE and yield related attributes.

We have generated 3900 enhancer-based activation-tagged plants, in addition to 1030 stable Dissociator-enhancer plants in a widely cultivated indica rice variety, BPT-5204. Of them, 3000 were screened for water-use efficiency (WUE) by analysing photosynthetic quantum efficiency and yield-related attributes under water-limiting conditions that identified 200 activation-tagged mutants, which were analysed for flanking sequences at the site of enhancer integration in the genome. We have further selected five plants with low Δ

Mulberry leaves are the sole source of food for silkworms (Bombyx mori), and moisture content of the detached leaves fed to silkworms determines silkworm growth and cocoon yield. Since leaf dehydration in commercial sericulture is a serious problem, development of new methods that minimize post-harvest water loss are greatly needed. In the present study, variability in moisture retention capacity (MRC, measured as leaf relative water content after one to 5 h of air-drying) was examined by screening 290 diverse mulberry accessions and the relationship between MRC and leaf surface (cuticular) wax amount was determined. Leaf MRC varied significantly among accessions, and was found to correlate strongly with leaf wax amount. Scanning electron microscopic analysis indicated that leaves having crystalline surface waxes of increased facet size and density were associated with high MRC accessions. Leaf MRC at 5 h after harvest was not related to other parameters such as specific leaf weight, and stomatal frequency and index. This study suggests that mulberry accessions having elevated leaf surface wax amount and crystal size and density exhibit reduced leaf post-harvest water loss, and could provide the foundation for selective breeding of improved cultivars.

Development of transgenics in pigeon pea remains dogged by poor plant regeneration in vitro from transformed tissues and low frequency transformation protocols. This article presents a non-tissue culture-based method of generating transgenic pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millisp.) plants using Agrobacterium-Ti plasmid-mediated transformation system. The protocol involves raising of whole plant transformants (T0 plants) directly from Agrobacterium-infected young seedlings. The plumular and intercotyledonary meristems of the seedling axes are targeted for transformation. The transformation conditions optimized were, pricking of the apical and intercotyledonary region of the seedling axes of two-day old germinating seedlings with a sewing needle, infection with Agrobacterium (LBA4404/pKIWI105 carrying uid A and npt II genes) in Winans' AB medium that was added with wounded tobacco leaf extract, co-cultivation in the same medium for 1h and transfer of seedlings to soilrite for further growth and hardening and subsequent transfer of seedlings to soil in pots in the greenhouse. Out of the 22-25 primary transformants that survived infection-hardening treatments from each of the three experiments, 15 plants on the average established on the soil under greenhouse conditions, showed slow growth initially, nevertheless grew as normal plants, and flowered and set seed eventually. Of the several seeds harvested from all the T0 plants, six hundred were sown to obtain progeny (T1) plants and 350 of these were randomly analysed to determine their transgenic nature. PCR was performed for both gus (uid A) and npt II genes. Forty eight of the 350 T1 plants amplified both transgenes. Southern blot analysis substantiated the integration and transmission of these genes. The protocol ensured generation of pigeon pea transgenic plants with considerable ease in a short time and is applicable across different genotypes/cultivars of the crop and offers immense potential as a supplemental or an alternative protocol for generating transgenic plants of difficult-to-regenerate pigeon pea. Further, the protocol offers the option of doing away with a selection step in the procedure and so facilitates transformation, which is free of marker genes.

Photosynthetic Rate, Dry Matter Accumulation and Yield Inter-relationships in Genotypes of Rice

Leaf Area Duration and Its Relationship to Productivity in Early Cultivars of Rice

Contrasting rice genotypes differing in leaf mass ratio (LMR) and leaf nitrogen content were screened. A strong inverse relationship was observed between ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) content and its efficiency estimated as the ratio of net photosynthetic rate (PN) to Rubisco content. Similarly, an inverse relationship between the specific activity of fully activated Rubisco and its content was observed. This suggests that a down regulation of Rubisco may occur if the efficiency of the enzyme is superior. Genotypes IET 12989 and IET 13567 recorded higher PN together with lower Rubisco content in comparison with other genotypes measured. These genotypes showed low LMR and low nitrogen content and hence could be considered as efficient nitrogen users.

SUMMARY Factors associated with variation in harvest index and approaches to improve harvest index (HI) and productivity in sunflower are discussed in this article. In recent years, higher productivity in sunflower has been achieved mainly through increased crop growth rates. Besides, an improvement in harvest index also has contributed for improved productivity to a certain extent. In our study we observed that medium duration types (100 to 110 days) had high HI compared with early or long-duration varieties and we also attempted to understand the ways and means to improve HI in sunflower types with varied duration. Genotypes which had low partitioning of dry matter to stem plus thalamus had high HI. Genotypes which accumulated high biomass during post flowering stages of development also showed high HI and seed yield. In a few genotypes remobilization of photosynthates from vegetative plant parts to the seed resulted in high HI and seed yield. Among the sink characters, the number of seed per head, test weight and seed density (weight/volume) also contributed to achieving high HI values. Identification and selection of genotypes based on these criteria will increase the production further. Since large amount of biomass is still locked up in the vegetative plant parts, any practice to manipulate the mobilization of photosynthates from vegetative parts to head also improves HI and thus seed yield. In our experiment, we observed that foliar application of boron nutrient and application of growth regulators to the head improved the translocation of photosynthates to the head and thus increased the HI and seed yield.

Background: Malignant neoplasms of the nose and paranasal sinuses are rare and account for 3% of malignancies involving head and neck region. Maxillary sinus is the commonest area affected and squamous cell carcinoma is the commonest malignancy reported. Due to nonspecific clinical features, late presentations and poor accessibility tumours in these areas are both therapeutically and diagnostically challenging. Data about maxillary sinus tumours, especially from Karaikal are lacking. This prospective hospital-based study was conducted to determine the common benign and malignant tumours affecting the maxilla, their epidemiology and to analyse their clinical presentations.Methods: Relevant epidemiological and clinical details were collected for all the patients with maxillary tumours and thorough clinical evaluation was performed. CT scan of head and neck region and histopathological examination of the lesion was carried out. All the details were tabulated and percentages were calculated for comparison and analysis. Results: During two years period of the study 44 patients with tumours affecting the maxilla were detected, 32 (72%) being benign and 12 (27%) malignant. Incidence of both benign and malignant tumours was highest in the 51-60 years age group with male preponderance. Squamous cell carcinoma (58.33%) was the most common malignant histological variant found while inverted papilloma with squamous epithelium (62.5%) was the most common benign histological variant. In TNM staging, 42% patients had T4 and the remaining were T3 and T2. Conclusions: In Karaikal region, inverted papilloma with squamous epithelial lining and squamous cell carcinoma are the commonest benign and malignant tumours of maxilla respectively. Although clinical manifestations of both benign and malignant lesions overlap, certain features like facial pain, cheek swelling, loosening of teeth which were found only in association with carcinoma should warrant thorough evaluation.

Background: Variations in sinonasal anatomy of adults are common and vary among different populations. Their role in development of pathological conditions such as sinusitis, epistaxis, etc is debated. Having clear picture of sinonasal anatomy of a person is essential in avoidance of complications during surgery. This study was done to analyze sinonasal anatomy in adults from Karaikal region having chronic sinusitis by nasal endoscopy and CT scan imaging.Methods: A total of 50 patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery were studied by preoperative nasal endoscopy, CT scanning and endoscopy at the time of definitive surgery and variations recorded and analyzed. Results: The incidence of the sinonasal anatomical variations in CT scan study were – discharge in the frontal sinus (100%), agger nasi cells (96%), deviated nasal septum (70%), anterior ethmoidal cells (86%), posterior ethmoidal cells (58%), sinus lateralis (52%), frontal cells (50%), discharge in sphenoid sinus (50%), pneumatised superior turbinate (46%), INSA (34%), prominent bulla ethmoidalis (30%), supra orbital cells (26%), pneumatised septum(16%), medialised uncinate process (16%), paradoxical middle turbinate (16%), Haller cells (14%), supreme turbinate (14%), pneumatised inferior turbinate (12%), frontal recess obliteration (12%), absent pneumatisation of frontal sinus (12%), pneumatised middle turbinate (10%), Onodi cells (6%), pneumatised uncinate process (2%), maxillary sinus septation (2%).Conclusions: The high incidence of variations emphasises the need for proper preoperative assessment for safe and effective endoscopic sinus surgery.

Silkworm ( Bombyx mori ), the primary producer of silk, has strong feeding preference for most turgid and hydrated mulberry leaves. In a previous study, we showed positive correlation between moisture retention capacity (MRC) of the mulberry leaf and leaf surface wax amount. In the present study, we examined wax constituents in genotypes that exhibited a wide range of leaf surface wax amount and MRC. Gas chromatographic analysis revealed that acids, alkanes, aldehydes, primary alcohols, iso-alkanes, triterpenoids, esters were among mulberry waxes identified and the major being alkanes. The highest total leaf wax amount was 1006.8 μg dm -2 in the V1 genotype whereas S-36 had the least wax at 436.9 μg dm -2 . The alkanes were dominated by those having 25, 27, 29, 31 and 33 carbons, with C 31 compounds being the most abundant. RNA-blot hybridization performed with 13 wax biosynthesis associated genes using heterologous probes revealed a close association between surface wax composition and expression levels of genes associated with wax elongation (CUT1, KCS1). The association was also established with homologous probes of KCS1, WAX2, CUT1 and LTP1-like genes. In summary, regulation of early wax precursor metabolism is a likely contributor to the variation observed in leaf wax composition in mulberry.

A 15-year-old boy presented with priapism of 46 h duration. There was no known cause of priapism detected in him. During evaluation, biopsy of the lymph node and bone marrow aspiration detected patient to be having Niemann-Pick disease. He was managed with cavernous aspiration, saline irrigation, and intracavernosal phenylephrine injection. Although priapism is associated with many known diseases, about half of the cases are of idiopathic origin. We are reporting the first case of priapism associated with Niemann-Pick disease in the literature.

Stress-tolerant crops are expected to express genes not normally expressed in susceptible crops. We have used desiccation stress coupled with high light intensity to identify groundnut as a relatively tolerant crop. Stress-responsive genes (Gdi, Groundnut Desiccation Induced) were cloned by subtractive hybridisation. The sequence of Gdi-15 shows homology to flavonol 3-O-glucosyltransferases, which are involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Gdi-15 transcripts increase markedly in response to stress, suggestive of a role in stress tolerance.

Kumar, M.U., Mishra, A.K., Rao, J.R. and Tewari, A.K. 2010. Analytical sensitivity of 35 copy B1 PCR assay in detecting Toxoplasma gondii infection in mouse. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 38: 65–67. A 35 copy PCR assay was tested for its efficacy and in amplifying the DNA of theoretically lowest number of tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii, R.H. strain in Swiss albino mice. Two μl (20 ng) of tachyzoite DNA with F 5′-GGAACTGCATCCGTTCATGAG3′ (BG1) and R 5′-TCTTTAAAGCGTTCGTGGTC3′ (BG100) primers yielded an 194 bp product on agarose gel. The PCR assay was found sensitive in detecting as low as 1.21 pg of DNA of T. gondii, R.H. strain. Hence, the assay may be used for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in clinical samples.

Plant regeneration from mesophyll protoplasts of pepper, Capsicum annuum L. cv. California Wonder has been demonstrated via shoot organogenesis, Protoplasts isolated from fully expanded leaves of 3-week-old axenic shoots when cultured in TM medium supplemented with 1 mgl(-1) NAA, 1 mgl(-1) 2, 4-D, 0.5 mgl(-1) BAP (CM 1) resulted in divisions with a frequency ranging from 20-25%. Antioxidant ascorbic acid and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in the medium and incubation in the dark helped overcome browning of protoplasts. Microcalli and macrocalli were formed in TM medium containing 2 mgl(-1) NAA and 0.5 mgl(-1) BAP (CM II) and MS gelled medium containing 2 mgl(-1) NAA and 0.5 mgl(-1) BAP (CM III), respectively, Regeneration of plantlets was possible via caulogenesis, Microshoots, 2-5 per callus appeared on MS gelled medium enriched with 0.5 mgl(-1) IAA, 2 mgl(-1) GA and 10 mgl(-1) BAP (CM IVc). Rooting of microshoots was obtained on half strength gelled medium containing 1 mgl(-1) NAA and 0.5 mgl(-1) BAP, Protoplasts isolated from cotyledons failed to divide and degenerated eventually.

Marked differences were found among 28 finger millet genotypes (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.) in acquired tolerance to osmotic stress as assessed by the recovery of root growth from severe stress [-1·2 MPa polyethylene glycol, (PEG) or 400 mM NaCl]. However, these differences in tolerance were observed only when the seedlings were subjected to a preceding mild induction stress (-0·6 MPa PEG or 200 mM NaCl). In two contrasting genotypes, synthesis of stress-induced proteins was studied. Proteins with apparent molecular weight of 70-72, 52, 37, 34 and 23 kDa were synthesized in the highly responsive genotype (GE 415) and poorly responsive (VL 481) genotype following a mild induction stress (200 mM NaCl). However, GE-415 synthesized a 54 kDa protein that was not observed in VL-481. Addition of abscisic acid (ABA) to the induction medium containing 200 mM NaCl enhanced the acquired tolerance of finger millet seedlings over those without ABA in association with the appearance of several ABA-responsive proteins. GE-415 required much less ABA than VL-481 to obtain the same response. With 10 μM ABA + 200 mM, A NaCl induction stress, GE-415 had significantly higher endogenous ABA. In association with higher levels of ABA, GE-415 had greater recovery root growth following severe stress from 600 mM NaCl. Pretreatment with 10 μM ABA + 200 mM NaCl induced several proteins with apparent molecular weights of 70-72, 54, 45, 36, 29 and 21 kDa in both genotypes. Qualitatively, GE-415 synthesized a unique 23-24 kDa protein and quantitatively there was significantly more of the 21 kDa protein in GE-415 compared to VL-481. The results indicate that the synthesis of stress proteins is correlated with the observed variation in acquired tolerance of the two genotypes.

Demonstration of the influence of intraluminal brachytherapy dose on complications in the treatment of esophageal carcinoma.Between January 1990 and June 1991, 75 patients with esophageal cancer were treated with external radiotherapy followed by intraluminal brachytherapy. Patients had a Karnofsky score of over 70, with no supra-clavicular nodal or distant disease. An external radiotherapy dose between 40 and 55 Gy (mean 52 Gy), 5 times a week, 2 to 2.06 Gy/fraction, followed by a single session of Intraluminal brachytherapy using a locally developed, manual, afterloading applicator with Cs-137 sources with dose ranges of 8-10 Gy (Group 1: 42 patients), 10-12 Gy (Group 2: 11 patients), and 12-15 Gy (Group 3: 22 patients) at a mean dose rate of 2.09 Gy/hr was delivered.The actuarial figures at 1 year were 39% for overall survival, 29% for disease-free survival, and 38% for local control. Fourteen patients (18.6%) developed complications of either an esophageal stricture or fistula. These were dependent on intra-luminal brachytherapy dose, whereas external radiotherapy and intra-luminal brachytherapy doses did not contribute significantly to local control. For Groups 1, 2, and 3, actuarial local control were 28%, 45%, and 63% (p0.1) and of complications were 6%, 20%, and 70% (p0.001), respectively. Also, on applying the Time/Dose/Fractionation formula on brachytherapy doses, it was found that the complication rate was 6% for TDF of31, 25% for TDF of 32-37, and 70% for TDF of38 (p0.001).External radiotherapy doses in the range of 50 to 55 Gy followed by a dose of 10-12 Gy of intraluminal brachytherapy was found optimal with respect to complications and local control in the radiotherapeutic management of esophageal cancer.

Alkoxycarbonyloxy radicals from allyl and homoallyl alcohols cyclize in an exo fashion to give, respectively, 3-substituted 1,2-diol carbonates and 4-substituted 1,3-diol carbonates whereas simple alkoxycarbonyloxy radicals add intermolecularly to ethyl vinyl ether to give, ultimately, carbonates of glycolaldehyde derivatives.

The present communication reports on the kinetics of immunoglobulin isotype response in Fasciola gigantica infected bovine calves. Fifteen Holstein-Friesian cross-bred male calves were assigned to 3 groups (Gr) of 5 calves each and infected with 4-month (Gr-A) and 16-month-old (Gr-B) F. gigantica metacercariae (n=400), respectively, while Gr-C calves served as uninfected control. Infection was terminated by treating the animals with triclabendazole on 28 weeks post-infection (WPI). Sera were collected on 0, 4, 10 and 14 days post-infection (DPI) and subsequently at weekly interval up to 32 WPI. The immunoglobulin isotype response was analyzed by ELISA, using anion exchange purified antigen fraction. An IgG response against F. gigantica infection was evoked by 3 and 2 WPI in animals of Gr-A and Gr-B, respectively with peak antibody response at 13 WPI. Elicitation of an early IgG1 response by 10 and 14 DPI but a delayed IgG2 response at 6 and 4 WPI, in animals of Gr-A and Gr-B, respectively was recorded. An early IgM response was evoked by 10 and 14 DPI and the level peaked at 13 and 12 WPI, with no detectable level at 21 and 15 WPI in animals of Gr-A and Gr-B, respectively. IgA response was elicited at 4 WPI in both the groups and showed the highest titre at 25 and 27 WPI in animals of Gr-A and Gr-B, respectively. Present study indicated an early and predominant response of IgG1, with concurrent expression of delayed and weak IgG2 in calves experimentally infected with F. gigantica.

Germplasm lines of finger millet (400 lines) with diverse genetic background were screened to identify high CER and CGR genotypes. Considerable variation was noticed in LA, biomass and all the growth and yield attributes but range in stomatal frequency was relatively less. The difference in plant stomatal number was more due to variation in LA but not the frequency. Since high TDM is a primary criteria for achieving higher grain yield, from amongst the high biomass types, genotypes differing in LA/DM ratios but with similar DM and HI were selected. In six genotypes each from low and high LA/DM group which showed stability across the environment, gas exchange characteristics were studied. The CER in low LA/DM types was 45 per cent higher. A significant negative relationship (r = -0.87) exists between CER and LA/DM ratios. Higher net assimilation rate in these genotypes therefore could be attributed mainly due to CER rather than the dark respiration. An approach to identify high CER types with high CGR and low plant conductances from the germplasm lines has been proposed. These conceptual types will have high CGR but with low functional LA, thus low transpiration leaf surface. These conceptual types will have specific advantage under rainfed water limited conditions.

A variety of reagents have been evaluated for trapping carbon radicals formed from aminium cation radical cyclizations. Rapid “self-trapping” of these radicals by their PTOC carbamate precursors requires highly reactive trapping agents. Synthetically useful trapping reagents include t-BuSH, CBr4, phenyl vinyl sulfone and Ph2Se2in addition to the PTOC carbamate radical precursors.

A technique for the estimation of carbonic anhydrase (CA) using the infra-red-gas analyser (IRGA) has been developed. Instead of determining pressure changes in the dehydration reaction catalysed by the enzyme, the IRGA was used to determine the increase in carbon dioxide content in the enzymatic and non-enzymatically catalysed dehydration reaction. The reliability of this method was assessed using pure carbonic anhydrase. Although the method has not been compared with other methods, the known sensitivity of the IRGA (resolution of 0.1–1.0 μmol/mol) was exploited. The differences in CA activity of two finger millet (Eleusine coracana) genotypes differing markedly in photosynthetic rate but showing similar leaf conductances was assessed.

Proteinase inhibitors (PI) occur ubiquitously across microorganisms, plants, and animals [1-3] and have been shown to inhibit "unwanted or foreign" proteolysis and to defend the host tissues against herbivore predation [4, 5]. In plants, PIs are found at very high levels in storage tissues such as tubers and fruits and are argued to serve as defense against herbivores [3, 5]. Recently, Pearce et al. [6] showed that PI accumulation in wild tomato followed a parabolic pattern with age of the fruit; the PI level was low at early (2-3 weeks after anthesis) and late (ripened) stages of fruit growth, but very high at peak fruit growth. They suggested that such a pattern of accumulation may help deter premature dispersal of seeds by dispersers. In this paper, we extend this idea and argue that the dispersal mode of a spedes may strongly influence both the level and the temporal pattern of PI accumulation in its fruit. Analyzing the trypsin inhibitors, a major class of PI in 47 plant species representing various dispersal modes, we offer a test of this hypothesis. Fruits of animal-dispersed compared to those of wind/water or passively (explosively) dispersed species are mostly modified into rich storage organs containing a relatively high level of soluble compounds. A characteristic feature of fruits is the temporal separation of the growth of the mesocarp/pericarp (fleshy part) and the embryo [7]. In most species the embryo initiates growth much later than that of the mesocarp. Such a pattern has important implications for the successful dispersal of fl'uit in animaldispersed species. If dispersers remove fruits when much of the mesocarp growth is complete, but the embryo is still immature (usually coinciding with the peak growth stage of the fruit), plants do not gain any dispersal advantage. Selection in these species should favor the preferential removal of fruits by dispersers at a time when the embryo is mature (usually at the ripened stage of fruit) to gain effective dispersal of their seeds. Accordingly, in species where fruits are dispersed by animals, selection can be expected to favor a high accumulation of PI at the peak growth stage of the fruit (to deter dispersers from removing premature fruits) and low or negligible accumulation at the ripened stage of fruit (to encourage dispersers to remove the fruits). In contrast to fleshy fruits, nonfleshy fruits dispersed passively or by wind, do not run the risk of being removed prematurely by dispersers because, unlike fleshy fruits, their pericarp is not generally modified into rich storage organs. Thus, in these species, selection should not favor the accumulation of PI in fruits. Further, for the same reason, though the temporal pattern of growth of pericarp and embryo in nonfleshy fruit is also separated as in the fleshy fruits, selection should not favor any temporal pattern of PI accumulation in fruits dispersed passively or by wind. Randomly collected fruits of species representing the three dispersal modes, animal, wind/water, and passive (Table 1), available at the Botanical Garden, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (12 ° 58'N, 77 ° 35'E), were assessed for a major class of PI, namely, trypsin inhibitors (TI). The TI levels were determined in the rues©or pericarp during the peak growth phase of the fruits, when the growth of the fruit tissue was nearly complete. To examine the temporal pattern of TI accumulation for two randomly selected species of each dispersal mode, the TI levels of the fruit tissue were estimated at three stages of growth, namely, immediately following fertilization; at the peak growth stage; and at the ripened stage. Five hundred mg of the fruit tissue (mesocarp or pericarp) from randomly collected fruits of each species was macerated in 2.5 ml of 0.01 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7) containing 1 M KC1, and centrifuged at 18000 g for 10 min at 4 °C. The supernatant was depigmented by gel filtering through a Sephadex G-25 column (1 x 10 cm), equilibrated with 0.01 M phosphate buffer containing 0.15 M NaC1 (pH 7.6); 1-ml fractions were eluted with the same buffer. The fractious containing proteins, as detected by the dye-binding method [8], were pooled and analyzed for the presence of trypsin inhibitors. The trypsin inhibitors in the samples were estimated according to [9]. The data were expressed as trypsin inhibitory units (TIU) per gram fresh weight as

Carcinoma of the oesophagus occurs in a good number of patients in any oncology department. Management is either by surgery or radiotherapy. In view of the proximity of the oesophagus to the critical organs in the thorax, effective external beam radiotherapy becomes difficult. A possible solution could be the use of intra luminal brachytherapy (ILB) in addition to external radiotherapy. In this paper a simple and locally developed method of ILB is described which delivers an effective boost to the oesophageal lesion in radical treatments and gives good palliation in advanced cases. Also, this system takes the load off the low dose rate afterloading machines used for intracavitary therapy in gynaecological cancers which otherwise would have also been used for the ILB treatment of oesophageal cancers. A description of the manual afterloading ILB applicator, the technique of its application, and a review of literature, is presented.

Genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency (TE) was investigated in a set of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) genotypes grown as isolated plants in pots and under canopy conditions in the field. In the field, plants were grown in mini-lysimeters embedded in the ground around which a crop was grown, to simulate crop canopy condition. Two moisture regimes (100 and 60% of field capacity) were imposed from 30 to 60 days after sowing in both pot and field experiments. TE was determined by measuring transpiration and dry matter (DM) produced by the genotypes during the treatment period. Genotypes differed significantly in DM although the variation in the amount of water transpired (T) was relatively small. The TE ranged from 2.2 to 3.7 g kg–1, representing a significant genotypic and environmental effect on the variation. There was a significant negative correlation (r = –0.77, P

The nature of the solutes accumulated in the grains of ten finger millet genotypes grown under rain-fed conditions with moisture stress during panicle and grain development were determined. Although grain yield decreased under stress, the solute potential (SP) of seeds from stressed plants was significantly lower (more negative), probably due to the increase in sucrose content. There were no significant changes in the content of total amino acids, free proline, reducing sugars or potassium. The contribution of sucrose to total solute potential was approximately 32% in seeds obtained from stressed plants as compared with only 15% in seeds from irrigated treatment. The germinability and seedling vigour of the seeds from stressed plants was significantly higher under simulated stress with polyethylene glycol (PEG), but was similar to that of seeds of non-stressed plants under normal conditions.

SUMMARYTranspiration rate, diffusive resistances, canopy conductances and water potentials were determined at three canopy positions in non·stressed and stressed plants of sunflower hybrid BSH·1 and five other cultivars of sunflower under field conditions. The leaf area (LA) and stomatal frequency (f) was determined at the three canopy positions in field·grown plants and the total number of stomata per plant was calculated as the product of LA and f. These variables were then related to the dry·matter accumulation and seed yield in these cultivars. Cultivars with either a high leaf area or high number of stomata per plant were more productive under non-stress conditions. Under stress conditions, cultivars differed in the extent of change in conductance (g) and transpiration rate at different canopy positions. In the hybrid BSH·1, g was low at all levels in the canopy associated with a higher (less negative) water potential and this hybrid had lower transpiration rates at all canopy levels under stress although the number of stomata per plant was high. Stomatal sensitivity associated with a higher threshold water potential for stomatal closure is discussed as a possible explanation for the higher dry·matter accumulation and productivity of hybrid sunflower BSH·1 under moisture stress conditions.

Free proline content in Ragi (Eleusine coracana) leaves increased markedly (6 to 85 fold) as the degree of water stress, created by polyethylene gylcol treatment, was prolonged There was also a marginal increase in soluble proteins in the stressed leaves as compared to that in the controls. Water stress stimulated the activities of ornithine aminotransferase and pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase, the enzymes of proline biosynthesis and markedly inhibited the enzymes involved in proline degradation viz., proline oxidase and pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase. These results suggest that increase in free proline content of Ragi leaves could be due to enhanced activities of the enzymes synthesizing proline but more importantly due to severe inhibition of the enzymes degrading proline. These observations establish for the first time, the pathway of proline metabolism in plants by way of detection of the activities of all the enzymes involved and also highlight the role of these enzymes in proline accumulation during water stress.

The crystal structure of C12OH20 (lR-6R-4R-2 R-3,7,7-trimethyl-4-(2-hydroxyethyl) bicyclo [4.1.0] hept-2-ene) has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The compound crystallizes in space group P212121 witha = 5.893(1),b = 22.572(2), c = 26.164(3) A,V = 3480.3 A3, Z= 12. The structure was solved by modified direct methods and refined to anR value of 0.081 for 607 unique reflections. Each asymmetric unit has three molecules which are held together through intermolecular hydrogen bonds resulting in a novel spiral-type arrangement of molecules. The six-membered ring has a half-chair conformation.

The epimeric ketones 1 and 2 have been shown to display conformation-specific photo-behaviour, especially in liquid media.

The effect of calcium in the water relations and tolerance to moisture deficits was tested in groundnut and cowpea. In both species, enrichment of tissue with calcium resulted in maintenance of a higher water status under stress associated with low proline accumulation. The extent of membrane damage (as reflected by the absorbance at 273 nm) was lesser in leaves of plants fed with higher levels of Ca++ when subjected to simulated stress. The rate of water loss from the leaves of Ca++-enriched plants was also lower. The possible role of Ca++ in inducing membrane stability and maintenance of higher water status is discussed.