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The seismic analysis carried out assuming foundation to be perfectly rigid and bonded to the soil underneath is far from truth and therefore, the soil-structure interaction effect on the dynamic behavior of the bridge pier should be considered. The assessment of soil-structure effect on the design force generated has been estimated using Force based, Capacity Spectrum and Direct Displacement based methods considering fixed and flexible foundations. For this purpose a single cantilever bridge pier of constant diameter with varying heights has been considered for the analysis in different type of soils and earthquake zones. The study has revealed that soil-Structure Interaction index is negative in some cases, especially in soft soil, implying base shear demand being greater than that of fixed base contrary to the traditional views.

In the present investigation, four low temperature surviving PGPR strains were isolated from root nodules of pea (Pisum sativum L.) plant growing widely in different agro-climatic regions of the great northern Indian plains made fertile by the mighty river Ganges. All the PGPR strains were able to show growth at upto 5 °C in yeast extract-mannitol-mineral salts broth, but isolates PR-12-12 and PR-12-15 showing significantly higher cell growth as compared to other PGPR strains. In order to study their in-vitro characteristics, all PGPR strains are able to solubilize phosphate (Pi) on Pikovskaya agar plates ranging from 16–25 mm (7 DAI). Besides solubilizing Pi they produced phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the range of 62.7–198.1 μg/ml. These PGPR strains exhibited highest resistance to DNA gyrase inhibitor antibiotic nalidixic acid and least resistance to ciprofloxacin. The results strongly suggest that the PGPR strains characterized under present investigation may be useful as a novel biofertilizers for crop production at low temperature of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of India.

The aim of this study was to compare combined hormonal vaginal ring with ultralow-dose combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills in management of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB). Fifty patients were randomised into Group I: vaginal ring (n = 25) and group II: COC pills (n = 25). Menstrual blood loss (MBL) was assessed at baseline, 1, 3 and 6 months (while on treatment) and at 9 months (3 months after stopping therapy). There was significant reduction in baseline pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC) score from 440 ± 188 (Mean ± SD) to 178 ± 95, 139 ± 117, 112 ± 84 and 120 ± 108 in group I and from 452 ± 206 to 204 ± 152, 179 ± 125, 176 ± 164 and 202 ± 167 in group II at 1, 3, 6 and 9 months, respectively (p = 0.001). Reduction in MBL was 72% and 62% at 6 months and up to 71% and 55% at 9 months in group I and group II, respectively (p = 0.001). Reduction in MBL with ring was greater at higher baseline PBAC score but lesser in patients with fibroid > 2 cm. Combined vaginal hormonal treatment for HMB is as effective as oral hormonal therapy, with minor and transient side effects and persistence of response after cessation of therapy.

Cochrane reviews aim to produce evidence for health care practice globally including India. We wanted to assess the contribution of Indian origin studies in developing these systematic reviews in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.The objective of this study is to determine the number of Indian origin studies in obstetrics and gynecology which provided conclusive data and hence contributed toward formulating Cochrane Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology.A total of 910 Cochrane reviews were accessed from gynecology and pregnancy and child birth list from Cochrane health topics. The details of studies included for each review were accessed from references section. Indian origin studies were then identified from this for further analysis.Of the total 910 Cochrane reviews available on the subject of obstetrics and gynecology, 93 reviews had 225 studies of Indian origin. In the subject-wise categorisation, there were 404 and 506 systematic reviews in Gynecology and Obstetrics respectively. Indian studies were included in 32 and 61 systematic reviews of Gynecology and Obstetrics respectively. Regarding the details of 225 Indian studies included for our analysis, 162 were related to Obstetrics and 63 to Gynecology. The place of study could be ascertained in 81 of the 225 studies despite extensive search. Studies published after 1980 are available in the electronic databases while the earlier studies are difficult to access. Studies with duplicate mentions were counted once.There is an urgent continuing need for high quality research and its publication in India in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Awareness building measures amongst Obstetricians and Gynecologists in this regard need to be addressed. Better quality studies are especially required in specific areas posing a challenge to our country, to improve the health care practices.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek) is a short-duration pulse crop extensively grown in South and South East Asian countries. Cultivated mungbean is self-pollinating, diploid (2n = 2x = 22) species of the subgenus, Ceratotropis, in the Leguminosae genus, Vigna (tribe, Phaseoleae; family, Fabaceae). Mungbean seeds are a good source of dietary protein (24–28%) and contain higher levels of folate and iron than most other legumes. Besides high protein, seeds contain 1.0–1.5% oil, 3.5–4.5% fibre, 4.5–5.5% ash and 62–65% carbohydrates (dry weight basis). Seeds can be processed into sprouts, flour, soups, porridge, noodles and ice cream, making it highly versatile for human diet and forage and haulms as cattle feed. Roots enable atmospheric nitrogen fixation (58–109 kg/ha) in symbiotic association with Rhizobium bacteria, leading to improved soil fertility and texture. Intercropping mungbean in rice–rice and rice–wheat systems increases the yield of the subsequent cereal crop, reduces pest incidence and smother weed flora appreciably. On account of short duration and photo-thermo insensitivity, they are considered excellent crop for crop intensification or diversification and can be dubbed as remunerative cash crop. India is also the world’s largest producer of mungbean, accounting for over 50% of the global annual production (approx. six million tons), followed by China, Myanmar and Indonesia. Development of disease-resistant, short-duration and photo-thermo insensitive varieties of these crops during the last three decades has further helped in expanding the area of these crops to newer niches and cropping systems.

Inland waterbodies are environmentally impacted with the wastes generated through industries and domestic sewage resulting in pollution and complex ecosystem changes. Sustainable green technology has been emerging as an important tool for remediation of perturbed waterbodies as well as wastewater-fed aquaculture ponds. Various methods for bioremediation such as biostimulation, bioaugmentation, plant-based-assisted bioremediation, phytoremediation, biofilm-/periphyton-based bioremediation, biofloc technology, biodegradation, biotransformation, nano(bio)-remediation, enzymatic bioremediation/recombinant DNA technology, biosorption and nutriremediation for alleviation of the contamination in waterbodies have been discussed. In addition, improved technology interventions in terms of abiotic and biotic stress management, environmental enhancement, stock enhancement/replenishment, species enhancement/selection of the right species, environmentally sound enclosure culture technologies, management enhancement and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture have been explored.

This paper presents an analysis of the key events, impacts and issues of Lenovo buying IBM's x86 low-end server business. The analysis include (i) approval of the deal by regulatory bodies in the United States, Canada, India and China, (ii) security concerns of US government departments, (iii) pricing of the deals, (iv) possible impact on IBM in future, and (v) possibilities of Lenovo making it repeat of acquiring ThinkPad business of IBM. The paper presents analysis of qualitative and time series quantitative data. The qualitative data are mainly consists of different events before and after the acquisition of x86 server IBM business by Lenovo. The quantitative data are analyzed with respect to growth parameters of overall server business and Lenovo server business. Research paper also attempts to find out answer to specific 9 research questions with respect to impact on eco-systems of IBM and Lenovo. Based on analysis, it is inferred that IBM is not able to manage its traditional & well accepted products business in the face of fierce competition & low demand but Lenovo will manage. The deal was a financial necessity for IBM and strategic expansion in to new markets strategy for Lenovo.

Five common homoeopathic drugs viz., Belladonna, Bryonia, Colchicum, Colocynth and Lathyrus sat were selected and tested against growth and aflatoxin production of Aspergillus flavus. The result indicates that all five drugs suppressed the growth of A. flavus. The lower concentration of all the tested drugs induced maximum growth of fungi and maximum production of aflatoxin. However, the growth as well as aflatoxin production potentiality was considerably decreased when the concentration of the drug was increased. Out of all the five drugs, Bryonia was comparatively less effective with respect to inhibition in aflatoxin production. But Belladonna was found to be most effective drug on growth and aflatoxin production.

Controlled fusion is the huge energy source and able to cater the future electricity needs. To achieve controlled fusion, wide variety of power supplies are being used at experimental level, mainly categorized as converters for supplying superconducting magnets and converters for plasma heating and current drive (H&CD) systems. Power converters for supplying super conducting coils are generating very high dc current (in kA range) while high dc voltage (∼ 30–1000 kV) is required for heating and current drive systems. Present article describes stringent performance requirements demanded by H&CD system and reason for adopting Pulse Step Modulation (PSM) based or modular inverter based High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS). Article also discuss case study of PSM based HVPS along with associated challenges appearing at operation modes. A glimpse of few important behavior of H&CD load and possible solution also discussed at the end.

Pigeonpea productivity is greatly constrained by poor plant ideotype of existing Indian cultivars. Enhancing pigeonpea yield demands a renewed focus on restructuring the ideal plant type by using more efficient approaches like genomic tools. Therefore, the present study aims to identify and validate a set of QTLs/gene(s) presumably associated with various plant ideotype traits in pigeonpea. A total of 133 pigeonpea germplasms were evaluated along with four checks in the augmented design for various ideotype traits i.e. initiation of flowering (IF), days to 50% flowering (DFF), days to maturity (DM), plant height (PH), primary branches (PB), seeds per pod (SP) and pod length (PL). We observed significant genetic diversity in the germplasm lines for these traits. The genetic control of IF, DFF, DM and PH renders these traits suitable for detection of marker trait associations. By using residual maximum likelihood algorithm, we obtained appropriate variance–covariance structures for modeling heterogeneity, correlation of genetic effects and non-genetic residual effects. The estimates of genetic correlations indicated a strong association among earliness traits. The best linear unbiased prediction values were calculated for individual traits, and association analysis was performed in a panel of 95 diverse genotypes with 19 genic SSRs. Out of five QTL-flanking SSRs used here for validation, only ASSR295 could show significant association with FDR and Bonferroni corrections, and accounted for 15.4% IF, 14.2% DFF and 16.2% DM of phenotypic variance (PV). Remaining SSR markers (ASSR1486, ASSR206 and ASSR408) could not qualify false discovery rate (FDR) and Bonferroni criteria, hence declared as false positives. Additionally, we identified two highly significant SSR markers, ASSR8 and ASSR390 on LG 1 and LG 2, respectively. The SSR marker ASSR8 explained up to 22 and 11% PV for earliness traits and PB respectively, whereas ASSR390 controlled up to 17% PV for earliness traits. The validation and identification of new QTLs in pigeonpea across diverse genetic backgrounds brightens the prospects for marker-assisted selection to improve yield gains in pigeonpea. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s12298-018-0584-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) has been increasing worldwide. The increase is attributable not only to ageing population with multiple comorbidities, polypharmacy, increasing use of contrast for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures but also to the fact that now it is being recognized more often. The 'Zero by 25' initiative by International Society of Nephrology aims at preventing all avoidable deaths from AKI worldwide by the year 2025. It calls for greater awareness about management of AKI among primary care physicians. In last few years, various concepts have emerged regarding prevention and management of AKI. This review aims at consolidating and applying these concepts to the '5R approach' for management of AKI introduced by Lewington.

The sperm morphology of Jamunapari bucks reared under stall feeding (SF) and grazing cum supplementation (GS) systems was studied for continuous one year. The overall LSM for the head, midpiece, tail and total abnormal sperms were 0.95, 0.09, 0.41 and 1.97%, irrespective of management systems and seasons. The sperm head, midpiece, tail and total abnormality was significantly (P less than 0.01) higher in semen of GS bucks as compared to SF bucks. The mean head abnormal sperms irrespective of management systems were 0.71, 0.73 and 1.50 % in rainy, winter and summer seasons, respectively. The respective values for midpiece, tail and total abnormality were observed to be 0.24, 0.04, 0.05%; 0.67, 0.32, 0.30% and 2.05, 1.53, 2.38%. Analysis of variance indicated that all the sperm abnormalities varied significantly (P less than 0.01) among seasons. The results suggest that stall feeding and winter season is superior for harvesting spermatozoa with lower sperm abnormalities than other seasons and GS systems.

An experiment was conducted to find out the effect of feeding hydroponics maize fodder by replacing maize of concentrate mixture partially on digestibility of nutrients and milk production in lactating cows. Lactating cows (6) (avg. BW 437 kg, avg. milk yield 8.57 kg) were divided into 2 equal groups i.e. Maize Grain Group (MGG) and Hydroponics Maize Fodder Group (HMFG) based on their body weight and milk yield. Two types of concentrate mixture (CMmaize 100 or CMmaize 50) were prepared. CMmaize 100 contained maize grain 35, rice polish 35, soybean meal 27, mineral mixture 2 and common salt 1 parts by weight. In CMmaize 50, 50% of the maize of CMmaize 100 was replaced partially and it contained maize grain 17.5, rice polish 54, soybean meal 25.5, mineral mixture 2 and common salt 1 parts by weight. Randomly, animals of MGG and HMFG were offered 6 kg CMmaize 100 and CMmaize 50, respectively along with 10 kg fresh conventional green fodder (napier bajra hybrid, CO-3) and ad lib. jowar straw. Besides, animals of the HMFG were offered five kg fresh HMF, sprouted from approximately one kg maize, which has been withdrawn from 6 kg concentrate mixture. The experiment was conducted for a period of 45 days. The fresh yield of the HMF from one kg maize seed was 5–6 kg with 12.39% DM content. Feeding of HMF by replacing the maize grain of the concentrate mixture had not altered the DM intake (11.20 vs 11.52 kg/day) and roughage: concentrate ratio (51:49 vs 52:48) of the animals. There was nonsignificant increase in the digestibility of nutrients, nutritive value, milk yield (7.97 vs 8.59 kg/day), 4.0% FCM (8.25 vs 9.31 kg/day), and fat (%) (4.20 vs 4.50) in HMFG than the MGG. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) in terms of DM (1.51 vs 1.40), CP (0.19 vs 0.18) and TDN (1.03 vs 0.96) was better in the HMFG than the MGG. It can be concluded that hydroponics maize fodder can be fed to the lactating cows by replacing maize of the concentrate mixture partially with improvement in the performance of the animals.

The effect of different temperature regimes on ripening quality of mango cv. Dashehari was investigated. Fruits were kept at 20, 25 °C in temperature controlled chambers and at room temperature. Fruits were analyzed periodically for physico-chemical characteristics after every 24 h interval up to 168 h of ripening period. Development of soluble solid contents (SSC), flesh softening and physiological loss of weight of fruits occurred progressively during ripening. Progression of ripening changes in fruit were found to be less at 20 and 25 °C than at room temperature. β-carotene content of pulp improved with ripening but declined after 144 h. Sensory quality (SQ) of mangoes ripened at lower temperature maintained for longer duration and were more acceptable than fruits ripened at room temperature. Pearson’s correlation matrix studies showed the inverse relationship of quality parameters SSC, β-carotene and SQ with firmness and titratable acidity during progressive ripening of fruits. Further, principal component analysis for extensive view of changes in quality parameters and their contribution to overall variability revealed that sensory quality (F1) contributed to maximum variation in ripening indices of fruit.

Over recent years, the field of medicine has been challenged by the twin epidemic of heart failure and renal insufficiency. The coexistence of the two problems in the same patient, referred to as cardiorenal syndrome (CRS), is defined as 'disorders of the heart and kidneys whereby acute or chronic dysfunction in one organ may induce acute or chronic dysfunction of the other. The mechanisms underlying this interaction are complex and multifactorial in nature.Identify and classify patients admitted with cardiorenal syndrome into various subtypes and assess clinical outcome at discharge and at three months.Ours was a longitudinal study of 50 patients admitted in ICU with CRS. They were classified as per RONCO classification (2008) into various subtypes. Outcomes was addressed as favourable for patients stable at discharge and at 3 months follow up, whereas outcome was termed non-favourable for patients who expired or initiated on hemodialysis.Of 50 patients, two-third patients were males (66%), with mean age of males and females being 64.18 years and 64.64 years respectively. Majority of the patients had Type-1 CRS (46%) followed by twenty two percent Type-2, twenty six percent type-4 and six percent Type-5. There were no patients with type-3 CRS. At the end of the study, 24 (48%) patients were stable, 12 (24%) required dialysis and 14 (28%) patients had expired. The total non-favourable outcomes (dialysis / death) were higher with subtypes CRS-4 (n-11, 22%) and CRS-1 (n-8, 16%). Anemia, raised serum creatinine, low eGFR values, low ejection fraction were significant predictors of non-favourable outcome in our study.CRS occurs in all age groups, more commonly in elderlies with a male preponderance. Prevalence of CRS-1 was higher followed by CRS-4. Prognosis was unfavourable in CRS-1, CRS-4 and CRS-5. Sepsis was predominant cause of death in patients with CRS-5 with hundred percent mortality during hospital stay. Risk factors like pre-existing renal impairment, anemia, reduced e GFR and low ejection fraction were significantly associated with worse outcomes. There is need for large scale population / community based studies to chart the prevalence of cardiorenal subtypes and prognosticate each individually.

Draft genome sequence in pigeonpea offers unprecedented opportunities for genomics assisted crop improvement via enabling access to genome-wide genetic markers. In the present study, 421 hypervariable simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from the pigeonpea genome were screened on a panel of eight pigeonpea genotypes yielding marker validation and polymorphism percentages of 95.24 and 54.11%, respectively. The SSR marker assay uncovered a total of 570 alleles with three as an average number of alleles per marker. Similarly, the mean values for gene diversity and PIC were 0.44 and 0.37, respectively. The number of polymorphic markers ranged from 39 to 89 for different parental combinations. Further, 60 of these SSRs were assayed on 94 genotypes, and model based clustering using STRUCTURE resulted in the identification of the two subpopulations (K = 2). This remained in close agreement with the clustering patterns inferred from genetic distance (GD)-based approaches i.e., dendrogram, factorial and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). The AMOVA accounted majority of the genetic variation within groups (89%) in comparison to the variation existing between the groups (11%). A subset of these markers was implicated for hybrid purity testing. We also demonstrated utility of these SSR markers in trait mapping through association and bi-parental linkage analyses. The general linear (GLM) and mixed linear (MLM) models both detected a single SSR marker (CcGM03681) with R2 = 16.4 as associated with the resistance to Fusarium wilt variant 2. Similarly, by using SSR data in a segregating backcross population, the corresponding restorer-of-fertility (Rf) locus was putatively mapped at 39 cM with the marker CcGM08896. However, The marker-trait associations (MTAs) detected here represent a very preliminary type and hence demand deeper investigations for conclusive evidence. Given their ability to reveal polymorphism in simple agarose gels, the hypervariable SSRs are valuable genomic resource for pigeonpea research community, particularly in South Asia and East Africa where pigeonpea is primarily grown.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on the performance of Vanaraja laying hens. Five experimental diets were formulated by supplementing without (T0), and with MOLM @ 0.5 kg (T0.5), 1.0 kg (T1.0), 1.5 kg (T1.5) and 2.0 kg (T2.0) per 100 kg basal diet. Sixty laying hens (22 weeks) were divided into 5groups (each group had 4 replicates with 3 laying hens per replicate)and were randomly fed the above 5 experimental diets. All the birds were reared on wire mesh floored cages during the experimental period of 8 weeks. The MOLM contained 27.27% CP, 3.76% EE, 18.53% CF, 11.50% TA and 0.37% AIA. There was improvement (P

Introduction Until newer, rapid, economical tools are introduced for diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in resource limited settings, optimization of sputum smear examination for increasing case detection remains of utmost priority. The aim of the study was to detect presumptive TB patients using Front Loading sputum microscopy and compare it with Standard method. Methods Three sputum specimens (Spot 1- on spot at the time of first visit, Spot 2- one hour after Spot 1 and early morning-next day early morning sample) from 552TB suspect cases were collected. Zeihl Neelsen staining (spot 1, spot 2 and early morning respectively) and microscopy by Front Loading (spot 1, spot 2) and Standard method (spot 1, early morning) of sputum microscopy were done. Results Culture on LJ media being the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of the Front Loading and the Standard method of sputum microscopy were 68.65%, 94.43% and 70.14%, 93.6% respectively . The difference between two methods was not statistically significant. 91.1% patients gave preference for same day sampling process. Conclusion The sensitivity and specificity of sputum microscopy using an early morning sample followed by another sputum one hour later from the same day appears not to be inferior to using two early morning samples on subsequent days. The Front Loading sputum microscopy can be implemented in DOTS clinic on the day of first visit of patients to health care center to increase compliance of patients with diagnostic procedure and decrease drop-outs.

The research paper presents the role and utility of quality assurance and accreditation in management education in the context of India. It includes the analysis of present quality assurance and accreditation mechanism of management education in India in terms of (i) accreditation organizations viz-a-vis number of management educational institutions, (ii) the evaluation parameters of different accreditation agencies, (iii) entry and acceptability of international accreditation agencies, and (iv) impact of accreditation on management education. In addition, paper suggests role of social media and it’s connect with quality assurance and accreditation of education in general and management education in specific terms.

Software testing is an important phase of the software development life cycle to achieve highly reliable software. Due to the time and resource limitation during the testing phase, firms do not attempt to deliver a complete and perfect product in one development cycle. They plan multi upgradations of software by adding new functionalities. Many models have been developed in the past which discuss about when to stop testing and when to release the software to the users. But they have been limited to the study of single version only. In the present framework, we describe a unified approach to address an important issue of when to stop testing the multi-upgradation of software, which is a complex process. The total debugging cost for each upgradation includes the cost of debugging in the warranty period along with the testing cost. It is assumed that the software is supported till the warranty period is over. In the proposed cost model for each upgradation, we consider that some of the remaining faults of pr...

Maintaining high levels of productivity under climate change will require developing cultivars that are able to perform under varying drought and heat stresses and with maturities that match water availability. The CSM-CERES-Sorghum model was used to quantify the potential benefits of altering crop life cycle, enhancing yield potential traits, and incorporating drought and heat tolerance in the commonly grown cultivar types at two sites each in India (cv. CSV 15 at both Akola and Indore) and Mali (cv. CSM 335 at Samanko and cv. CSM 63E at Cinzana), West Africa. Under current climate CSV 15 on average matured in 108 days and produced 3790 kg ha−1 grain yield at Akola; whereas at Indore it matured in 115 days and produced 3540 kg ha−1 grain yield. Similarly under current climate, CSM 335 matured in 120 days and produced 2700 kg ha−1 grain yield at Samanko; whereas CSM 63E matured in 85 days at Cinzana and produced 2210 kg ha−1 grain yield. Decreasing crop life cycle duration of cultivars by 10% decreased yields at all the sites under both current and future climates. In contrast, increasing crop life cycle by 10% increased yields up to 12% at Akola, 9% at Indore, 8% at Samanko and 33% at Cinzana. Enhancing yield potential traits (radiation use efficiency, relative leaf size and partitioning of assimilates to the panicle each increased by 10%) in the longer cycle cultivars increased the yields by 11–18% at Akola, 17–19% at Indore, 10–12% at Samanko and 14–25% at Cinzana under current and future climates of the sites. Except for the Samanko site, yield gains were larger by incorporating drought tolerance than heat tolerance under the current climate. However, under future climates yield gains were higher by incorporating heat tolerance at Akola, Samanko and Cinzana, but not at Indore. Net benefits of incorporating both drought and heat tolerance increased yield up to 17% at Akola, 9% at Indore, 7% at Samanko and 16% at Cinzana under climate change. It is concluded that different combinations of traits will be needed to increase and sustain productivity of sorghum in current and future climates at these target sites and that the CSM-CERES-Sorghum model can be used to quantify benefits of incorporating certain traits.

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season, 2009-2010 at Agricultural Research Farm, BHU, Varanasi, on alluvial soils to determine the effects of concentrate organic manure (wellgrow formulations) with levels of inorganic fertilizers. The results reveal that the higher soil microbial population was seen with the application of 100% NPK + 300 kg wellgrow soil ha-1. Soil enzymes varied with the production systems. The urease, phosphatase and dehydrogenase activities were higher in wellgrow dose application with recommended dose of NPK. The soil enzymes and microbial population (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes) were very responsive to organic manure application, but their levels and activities were not reflected in wheat crop under alluvial soils. Enzymatic activities were positively and significantly correlated with content of organic carbon. Key words: Dehydrogenase, phosphatase, urease, bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, wellgrow.

The recent big tickets in telecom industry include Microsoft acquiring part of Nokia for US$ 7.2 billion, Verizon buying 45% stake in Vodafone for US$130 billion, Google acquiring Motorola for 12.5 billion, and Lenovo acquiring Motorola mobility from Google for US$ 3 billion. These buyouts are analyzed and commented by experts of the industry. This research paper is an attempt to analyze and collate their views with respect to Verizon and Vodafone deal. The analysis includes reasons for buyout, size of the deal, general comments in the media, what is in the deal for Verizon and Vodafone, impact on the eco-system, etc.

‘Calcuttia’ litchi fruits harvested at the full red color stage were pre-cooled and exposed to different treatments: hot water treatment (HWT) at 55°C for 20 seconds (T1), HWT + 1M hydrochloric acid (HCl) dip for 2 minutes (T2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) fumigation at 0.6 g/kg of fruits for 15 minutes (T3), SO2 fumigation at 0.6 g/kg of fruits for 15 minutes + 1M HCl dip for 2 minutes (T4), and the control without any treatment (T5). After treatment, the fruits were removed from the bunch and packed in plastic crates, lined with low density polyethylene (LDPE) (100 gauge thickness), and stored in a walk-in cold room maintained at 2–3°C and 90–95% relative humidity (RH). The fruits were analyzed for various quality parameters, such as physiological weight loss, firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, total anthocyanin content, SO2 content, browning index, and sensory quality at weekly intervals for 4 weeks. The data revealed that fruits treated with SO2 fumigation + 1M HCl dip for 2 minutes (T4) pr...

A study was conducted to find out the effect of seed rate (3.8, 5.1, 6.4, 7.6, 8.9 and 10.2 kg/m2) on the yield and proximate constituents of different parts of the hydroponics maize fodder (HMF) produced in a hydroponics chamber (greenhouse) measuring about 25 ft length × 10 ft width ×10 ft height with a daily production potential of 600 kg fresh HMF; and equipped with automatic sprayer irrigation of tap water. The HMF looked like a mat of 20-30 cm height consisting of roots along with germinated seeds and leaves. The total yields (kg) of the HMF both on fresh basis (4.94-4.97) and DM basis (0.67-0.64) were similar and higher with a seed rate of 3.8 to 7.6 kg/m2. The yield (kg, as % of total yield) of the leaves on fresh basis (1.67-1.60, 31.59-32.49) and DM basis (0.11, 16.33-16.99) was similar and higher with a seed rate of 5.1 to 7.6 kg/m2. The fresh yield (kg) of the roots along with the germinated seeds increased with the increase in the seed rate. The yield (as % of total yield) of the roots with the germinated seeds on fresh basis remained similar up to seed rate of 8.9 kg/m2 (67.51-69.26) and increased at the seed rate of 10.2 kg/m2 (72.57). The seed rate had no effect on the proximate constituents of different portions i.e. roots with germinated seeds, leaves and plants of HMF. However, irrespective of the seed rate, there was difference in the proximate constituents of roots with germinated seeds, leaves and plants of HMF. The HMF had highest moisture content in the roots (15.68%) and lowest in the leaves (6.81%). The CP, CF and TA contents (%) of the HMF were highest in the leaves (22.15, 17.69 and 3.84) and lowest in the roots (10.25, 9.76 and 1.59). The EE content of the leaves (2.90%) was similar with the roots (3.01%) and plants (2.29%), however, the roots and plants were different. It can be concluded that the seed rate had no effect on the proximate constituents of different portions i.e. roots with germinated seeds, leaves and plants of the HMF. The seed rate of 7.6 kg/m2 can be recommended for the production of hydroponics maize fodder for optimal output and all parts of the hydroponics maize fodder are nutritious.

Pigeonpea production is severely constrained by wilt disease caused by Fusarium udum. In the current study, we discover the putative genomic regions that control resistance response to variant 2 of fusarium wilt using association mapping approach. The association panel comprised of 89 diverse pigeonpea genotypes including seven varieties, three landraces and 79 germplasm lines. The panel was screened rigorously for 3 consecutive years (2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–2016) against variant 2 in a wilt-sick field. A total of 65 pigeonpea specific hypervariable SSR markers (HASSRs) were screened representing seven linkage groups and 29 scaffolds of the pigeonpea genome. A total of 181 alleles were detected, with average values of gene diversity and polymorphism information content (PIC) of 0.55 and 0.47, respectively. Further analysis using model based (STRUCTURE) and distance based (clustering) approaches separated the entire pigeonpea collection into two distinct subgroups (K = 2). The marker trait associations (MTAs) were established based on three-year wilt incidence data and SSR dataset using a unified mixed linear model. Consequently, six SSR markers were identified, which were significantly associated with wilt resistance and explained up to 6% phenotypic variance (PV) across the years. Among these SSRs, HASSR18 was found to be the most stable and significant, accounting for 5–6% PV across the years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of identification of favourable alleles for resistance to variant 2 of Fusarium udum in pigeonpea using association mapping. The SSR markers identified here will greatly facilitate marker assisted resistance breeding against fusarium wilt in pigeonpea.

Draft genome sequence in pigeonpea offers unprecedented opportunities for genomics assisted crop improvement via enabling access to genome-wide genetic markers. In the present study, 421 hypervariable simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from the pigeonpea genome were screened on a panel of eight pigeonpea genotypes yielding marker validation and polymorphism percentages of 95.24 and 54.11%, respectively. The SSR marker assay uncovered a total of 570 alleles with three as an average number of alleles per marker. Similarly, the mean values for gene diversity and PIC were 0.44 and 0.37, respectively. The number of polymorphic markers ranged from 39 to 89 for different parental combinations. Further, 60 of these SSRs were assayed on 94 genotypes, and model based clustering using STRUCTURE resulted in the identification of the two subpopulations (K = 2). This remained in close agreement with the clustering patterns inferred from genetic distance (GD)-based approaches i.e., dendrogram, factorial and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). The AMOVA accounted majority of the genetic variation within groups (89%) in comparison to the variation existing between the groups (11%). A subset of these markers was implicated for hybrid purity testing. We also demonstrated utility of these SSR markers in trait mapping through association and bi-parental linkage analyses. The general linear (GLM) and mixed linear (MLM) models both detected a single SSR marker (CcGM03681) with R2 = 16.4 as associated with the resistance to Fusarium wilt variant 2. Similarly, by using SSR data in a segregating backcross population, the corresponding restorer-of-fertility (Rf) locus was putatively mapped at 39 cM with the marker CcGM08896. However, The marker-trait associations (MTAs) detected here represent a very preliminary type and hence demand deeper investigations for conclusive evidence. Given their ability to reveal polymorphism in simple agarose gels, the hypervariable SSRs are valuable genomic resource for pigeonpea research community, particularly in South Asia and East Africa where pigeonpea is primarily grown.

Background: India has the world’s largest load of cervical malignancy. A lot of it can be attributed to lack of cervical cancer screening awareness among the general population. The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) are grass root workers who have good reach in the remote areas, where health care facilities are lacking. Training these ASHAs may increasethe general awareness about cervical cancer screening. Methods: We organized a training programme of 250 ASHA workers in a tertiary care hospital with aim of improving their knowledge and attitude about cervical cancer screening which will eventually improve their practise of training women in general population. It comprised of 5 lectures in language they understand, slogans, posters, question answer session etc. A test comprising of 17 questions was conducted before and after session to check their knowledge and attitude. Results: There was an overall improvement of 25% in knowledge of the ASHAs i.e. 38% answers were correct in pre-test and 63% were correct in post-test. Questions were pertaining to symptomatology, risk factors, screening methods, their utility and prerequisites of performing the screening tests, when and how often to repeat. Improvement was seen in all the areas. There was improvement in attitude too and most of them wanted themselves (98%), their relatives (100%) and the woman within their area (98%) to be screened for cancer cervix. Conclusion: It was a small initiative and successful result was obtained after the training session of ASHAs. The impact on general population needs further evaluation.

Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral Bone Disorder(CKD-MBD) is a systemic disorder of the mineral and bone metabolism seen in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease(CKD). It is manifested by either one or a combination of the following: (a) Abnormalities of calcium, phosphorus, PTH, or vitamin D metabolism. (b) Abnormalities in bone turnover, mineralization, volume, linear growth, or strength. (c) Vascular or other soft- tissue calcification. Renal osteodystrophy measures the skeletal component of CKD-MBD. To study the histomorphology of bone marrow biopsy in patients with CKD-MBD and correlate the histological features of bone biopsy with the clinicobiochemical parameters. 32 cases of diagnosed CKD-MBD formed the study group. Detailed clinical history and biochemical analysis was done for them. Bone marrow trephine biopsies were conducted and the histology was studied. The clinicobiochemical and the histomorphological findings were correlated. Based on the bone biopsy findings, Hyperparathyroid bone disease consisted of-14 cases (44%), Mixed uremic osteodystrophy of-16 cases (50%) and one case (3%) each of Low turnover disease (Adynamic bone disease) and Normal histology. The mean blood urea, S. Creatinine, S Phosphate and the S. Vit D3 were found to be statistically significant between the two major subgroups. The area of the bone trabeculae and the osteoid percentage was found to be more in the MUO group and was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: A trephine biopsy helps us in understanding the skeletal symptoms of the CKD when the clinical and biochemical parameters are not conclusive. A biopsy in unexplained bone pain/fractures, unexplained hypercalcemia and elevated phosphate levels helps in guiding the proper management of the patient.

Hypertension is one of the important contributing factors linked with both causation and development of kidney disease. It is a multifactorial, polygenic, and complex disorder due to interaction of several risk genes with environmental factors. The present study was aimed to explore genetic polymorphism in ACE-1 gene as a risk factor for CKD among hypertensive patients.Three hundred patients were enrolled in the study. Ninety were hypertensive patients with CKD taken as cases, whereas 210 hypertensive patients without CKD were taken as controls. Demographic data including age, sex, Body mass index (BMI), and other risk factors were also recorded. DNA was extracted from blood by salting out method. Genotyping of ACE gene was done by PCR technique. All the statistical analysis was done by using Epi Info and SPSS version 16 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL).Mean age was higher in the control group (p 0.05). Variables among two groups were compared out of which age, BMI, hemoglobin (Hb) was found to be statistically significant whereas other variables like systolic blood pressure, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein were not. Blood urea and serum creatinine levels were statistically significant in the two genotypes (p 0.05). Total and HDL cholesterol were statistically significant for DD genotype of ACE gene (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 0.72-2.81). Similarly, the risk for CKD among hypertensive patients was also associated with D allele of ACE gene (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 0.86-1.79).It is concluded that ACE-DD genotype may be a risk factor for the causation and development of chronic kidney failure among hypertensive patients.

A study was conducted at Nsukka, Nigeria to determine the effects of cutting height and N fertilizer application on the growth and tiller production of Panicum maximum pasture. The experiment was a 3 × 3 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments comprised three cutting height (5, 10 and 15 cm) and three levels of nitrogen (0, 200 and 400 kg N ha-1) resulting in nine treatment combinations per block. Plant height was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by 34 and 56% in 2008 and 2009, respectively, when cutting height increased from 5 to 15 cm. Grass tiller number per square metre varied inconsistently among the cutting heights at different harvest periods in both years. Grass height remained statistically similar among the nitrogen rates in both years but increased significantly (P < 0.05) with fertilizer N application compared with the control at some periods in both years. Grass tiller number obtained in 2008 from plots cut at 10 cm stubble height with 400 kg N ha-1 was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those cut at 5 cm with zero N application. Cutting height × fertilizer-N interaction effect on plant height was significant (P < 0.05) in all the periods in both years. Key words: Grass height, stubble height, tiller population, fertilizer N.

2D and 3D seismic reflection and well log data from Andaman deep water basin are analyzed to investigate geophysical evidence related to gas hydrate accumulation and saturation. Analysis of seismic data reveals the presence of a bottom simulating reflector (BSR) in the area showing all the characteristics of a classical BSR associated with gas hydrate accumulation. Double BSRs are also observed on some seismic sections of area (Area B) that suggest substantial changes in pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions in the past. The manifestation of changes in P–T conditions can also be marked by the varying gas hydrate stability zone thickness (200–650 m) in the area. The 3D seismic data of Area B located in the ponded fill, west of Alcock Rise has been pre-stack depth migrated. A significant velocity inversion across the BSR (1,950–1,650 m/s) has been observed on the velocity model obtained from pre-stack depth migration. The areas with low velocity of the order of 1,450 m/s below the BSR and high amplitudes indicate presence of dissociated or free gas beneath the hydrate layer. The amplitude variation with offset analysis of BSR depicts increase in amplitude with offset, a similar trend as observed for the BSR associated with the gas hydrate accumulations. The presence of gas hydrate shown by logging results from a drilled well for hydrocarbon exploration in Area B, where gas hydrate deposit was predicted from seismic evidence, validate our findings. The base of the hydrate layer derived from the resistivity and acoustic transit-time logs is in agreement with the depth of hydrate layer interpreted from the pre-stack depth migrated seismic section. The resistivity and acoustic transit-time logs indicate 30-m-thick hydrate layer at the depth interval of 1,865–1,895 m with 30 % hydrate saturation. The total hydrate bound gas in Area B is estimated to be 1.8 × 1010 m3, which is comparable (by volume) to the reserves in major conventional gas fields.

Extracellular secretion of lignin peroxidase from Pycnoporus sanguineus MTCC-137 in the liquid culture growth medium amended with lignin containing natural sources has been shown. The maximum secretion of lignin peroxidase has been found in the presence of saw dust. The enzyme has been purified to homogeneity from the culture filtrate of the fungus using ultrafiltration and anion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. The purified lignin peroxidase gave a single protein band in sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis corresponding to the molecular mass 40 kDa. The K m, k cat and k cat/K m values of the enzyme using veratryl alcohol and H2O2 as the substrate were 61 M, 2.13 s−1, 3.5 × 104 M−1s−1 and 71 M, 2.13 s−1, 3.0 × 104 M−1 s−1 respectively at the optimum pH of 2.5. The temperature optimum of the enzyme was 25°C.

Triple hybrid materials based on polyaniline-polyethylene glycol and cadmium sulphide have been prepared by the duffusion-limited biomimetic route and characterized by a number of spectroscopic, XRD, SEM, thermal and electrical measurements. These hybrid materials have been prepared by controlled precipitation of cadmium sulphide by passing H2S gas and mixing the resultant colloid with the acidic solution of aniline. In situ polymerization of adsorbed anilinium ions on anionic surface of CdS resulted in hybrids. Water-soluble polyethylene glycol led to diffusion-limited growth of polyaniline and CdS resulting in a nanosized hybrid material as indicated by UV-visible spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). AC impedance spectroscopic studies on binary and ternary nanocomposites of polyaniline with polyethylene glycol and cadmium sulphide separately and triple hybrid system have been reported. Equivalent circuits were determined and discussed in the light of contributions made from different sources such as grain, grain boundary and electrode.

Fertilization is a vital input in fruit production to determine yield, size and high quality fruits. To investigate the effect of fertilization on pomegranate ‘Kandhari’, the plants were fertilized on individual nutrient basis for the period of three years at the experimental orchard of the Department of Horticulture, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The treatments consisted of four levels of N (0, 20, 40 and 60 g/tree/year), three levels of P2O5 (0, 20, 40 g/tree/year) and four levels of K2O (0, 20, 40 and 60 g/tree/year). The age of trees was three years in 2006. While applying a particular variable fertilizer nutrient, the level of the rest of the nutrients was kept constant. The dose of nutrients was stabilized after five years of age. Nitrogen increased the growth of plant in terms of higher girth, height, spread and volume of tree as compared to rest of the treatments. The number of fruits per plant, largely contributing to the yield, increased linearly with the increase in nitrogen up to maximum level. Similarly, all the P and K treatments also recorded higher yield as compared to yield that was obtained when respective elements were omitted, though the increase was not linear. The fruit size increased under all N, P and K treatments. However, the trees receiving no K produced the lowest fruit size. Quality analysis of the fruits showed maximum TSS with the 40 g N tree-1 year-1 treatment, however, the acid content was not significantly affected by any of the treatments. Invariably, all the N, P and K doses improved the rag as well as grain juice percentage. However, high doses of N, P and K slightly reduced the amount of juice percentage but increased seed weight. In overall, N3, P1, and K2 treatments are showing encouraging results as far as fruit weight, yield and quality are concerned.

The presence of gas hydrates, one of the new alternative energy resources for the future, along the Indian continental margins has been inferred mainly from bottom simulating reflectors (BSR) and the gas stability zone thickness mapping. Gas hydrate reserves in Krishna Godawari Basin have been established with the help of gas-hydrate related proxies inferred from multidisciplinary investigations. In the present study, an analysis of 3D seismic data of nearly 3,420 km2 area of Mahanadi deep water basin was performed in search of seismic proxies related with the existence of natural gas hydrate in the region. Analysis depicts the presence of BSR-like features over a large areal extent of nearly 250 km2 in the central western part of the basin, which exhibit all characteristics of a classical BSR associated with gas hydrate accumulation in a region. The observed BSR is present in a specific area restricted to a structural low at the Neogene level. The coherency inversion of pre-stack time migration (PSTM) gathers shows definite inversion of interval velocity across the BSR interface which indicates hydrate bearing sediments overlying the free gas bearing sediments. The amplitude versus offset analysis of PSTM gathers shows increase of amplitude with offset, a common trend as observed in BSR associated with gas hydrate accumulation. Results suggest the possibility of gas hydrate accumulation in the central part of the basin specifically in the area of structural low at the Neogene level. These results would serve as preliminary information for selecting prospective gas hydrate accumulation areas for further integrated or individual study from geophysical, geological, geochemical and microbiological perspectives for confirmation of gas hydrate reserves in the area. Further, on the basis of these results it is envisaged that biogenic gas might have been generated in the region which under suitable temperature and pressure conditions might have been transformed into the gas hydrates, and therefore, an integrated study comprising geophysical, geological, geochemical and microbiological data is suggested to establish the gas hydrate reserves in Mahanadi deep water basin.

Defined solid angle absolute beta counting technique is used to measure the equilibrium equivalent concentration (EEC) of radon and thoron from the filtered aerosol samples collected at Sirsa, India, in the months of September-October 2009. The value of (220)Rn EEC determined during the same measurements varies from 0.98 to 3.27, minimum for afternoon and maximum for morning. An effective equivalent dose outdoor of 0.023 mSv y(-1) due to the average EEC(Th) of 1.65 Bq m(-3) was calculated with a conversion factor of 10 nSv Bq(-1) h(-1) m(-3) and an occupancy factor of 0.2. For EEC(Rn) with an average value of 13.02 Bq m(-3), the effective equivalent dose calculated using the conversion factor of 9 nSv Bq(-1) h(-1) m(3) and the occupancy factor of 0.2 was 0.164 mSv y(-1). The world average inhalation effective dose due to radon and its progeny is 1.2 mSv y(-1) as recommended by UNSCEAR, which reveals that the studied area is safe from health hazards.

In the present research, an attempt is made to derive the generalized expressions for the transient electromagnetic response of a large loop source over the surface of a homogeneous earth model for arbitrary receiver positions inside or outside the source loop. Expressions are derived for the impulse as well as step excitations of the source loop. As a cross check for validity of expressions, the step response expression is obtained from the impulse response expression and vice versa. Computations are performed for the TEM response over a homogeneous earth model for source-receiver offset (r = 0) pertinent to the central loop configuration and the results are compared with the published results for the central loop TEM responses. The results are in well coincidence with each other and thus provide the check for the authenticity of the expressions. To exemplify the nature of TEM response at various source receiver offsets, results are presented for the TEM response at source receiver offsets r = 0, r = a/2, r = a and r = 2a, 6a, 12a pertaining to the central loop, in-loop, on-loop and offset loop configurations, respectively. The results depict their characteristic variations. At receiver positions inside the loop source, both the impulse as well as step responses are of same sign, whereas at the receiver positions outside the loop source, both the curves exhibit a change of sign that shifts towards the later times with increase in the offset distances. The change of sign in impulse response occurs at a relatively later time than that in the step response. This is the initial presentation of TEM response expressions for the large loop source over a homogeneous earth model for arbitrary receiver position inside and/ or outside the loop source except for the case of receiver at the center of the loop and at the coincident loop point. This research would be of immense use in the development and use of the large loop TEM method in its various configurations and thus would enhance the applicability and cost effectiveness of the large loop source TEM method.

Phase diagram of benzoic acid (BA)–o-chloro benzoic acid (o-CBA) system has been studied by thaw melt method and the results show the formation of a simple eutectic mixture. Heats of fusion values of the components and eutectic mixture were determined with the help of differential scanning calorimeter. Excess Gibb's free energy (GE), excess enthalpy (HE), and excess entropy (SE) of mixing of pre-, post-, and the eutectic mixture were calculated. FT-IR spectroscopic studies and ab initio calculations were done to have an idea about the nature of interaction between the molecules in the eutectic mixture. Linear velocities of crystallization of the two components and the eutectic mixture were determined at different undercoolings. Microstructural studies of BA and o-CBA showed the formation of broken lamellar and lamellar type microstructure, whereas for the eutectic mixture growth of flat crystals in different directions from a particular point was obtained. The isotropic as well as the anisotropic solidifi...

Peripartum acute renal failure is an important complication related to pregnancy leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a severe necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma, with formation of gas within the collecting system, renal parenchyma, or perirenal tissues. EPN is common in persons with diabetes or urinary tract obstruction. Herein we report a case of bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis in a postpartum lady who had no evidence of diabetes or urinary tract obstruction. Management of this condition has traditionally been aggressive, and surgery has been considered mandatory. Our patient was managed successfully with antibiotics and supportive measures alone.