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Axillary lymph node detection is crucial to staging and prognosis of the lymph node metastatic spread in breast cancer. Currently, lymphoscintigraphy and blue dye, as the conventional methods to localize sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs), are invasive and can only be performed during surgery. This study has had a novel hybrid gadolinium oxide nanoparticle coating with Cyclodextrin-based polyester as a high-relaxivity T1 magnetic resonance molecular imaging (MRMI) contrast agent (CA). Twelve female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups of four mice; each group was injected with 4T1 cells to obtain metastasis lymph nodes and diagnosed by using the 3D T1W (VIBE) MRI (Siemens 3T, Prisma). The synthesized Gd2O3@PCD nanoparticles with a suitable particle size range of 20–40 nm have had much higher longitudinal relaxivity (r1) for Gd2O3@PCD and Gd-DOTA (Dotarem) with the values of 3.98 mM−1·s−1 ± 0.003 and 2.71 mM−1·s−1 ± 0.005, respectively. Identical MR images in coronal views were subsequently obtained to create time-intensity curves of the right axillary lymph nodes and to measure the contrast ratio (CR). The peak CR and qualitative assessment of axillary lymph nodes at five-time points were evaluated. After subcutaneous injection, the contrast ratio of axillary lymph node and tumor in mice exhibited CR peak of Gd2O3@PCD and Dotarem with the values of 2.21 ± 0.06 and 0.40 ± 0.004 for lymph node and 2.54 ± 0.04 and 1.21 ± 0.007 for the tumor, respectively. Furthermore, the lumbar-aortic lymph node is weakly visible in the original coronal image. In conclusion, the use of Gd2O3@PCD nanoparticles as novel MRMI CAs enables high resolution for the detection of lymph node metastasis in mice with the potential capability for breast cancer diagnostic imaging.

Women play an important role in agriculture. There is a need to empower these farm womento improve their overall wellbeing. An attempt was made to assess the impact oftechnological interventions in terms of participation of farm women in farming activities,change in drudgery involved, involvement in decision making and other attributes relatedto empowerment in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal involving 110 farm families.The results reveal that there is significant increase in participation in all the selected farmingactivities in post intervention period. Majority of the farm women participated in decisionmaking always in activities like drying (95%), weeding (70%) and storing (70%) in thepost intervention period. The mean drudgery score had also decreased for all the activities,the higher decrease was observed in case of retting (1.525) followed by sowing (1.225).Among the personal attributes studied, the highest difference level in mean was attained incase of self-confidence (2.45) followed by decision making ability (2.15). The present studyclearly indicate that special emphasis on women friendly technologies can make a hugechange in their existing status in agriculture by improving their participation in farmingactivities, decision making ability and self-confidence.

A field experiment was undertaken to identify profitable land use based on productivity, net present value, biomass and carbon stocks in litchi based land uses (LBLUs) during 1995–2015 established on degraded riverbed lands of western Himalaya, India. Results of LBLUs (20 years) revealed that LCT + LH + LPG land use produced 6.10–25.27%, 5.82–14.92% and 3.45–13.62% more fruit yield, 14.61–25.22%, 10.18–16.38% and 9.10–16.62% more total biomass, 2.95–9.51%, 0.03–4.54% and 1.60–8.26% higher carbon in soil and 6.93–14.76%, 4.60–10.03% and 6.29–13.14% more total carbon stocks as compared to sole litchi land use of 1st, 2nd and 3rd phase, respectively. Similarly, 80.39% and 78.56% more NPV, 11.74% and 19.77% higher BCR with shortest payback period (5 years) were realized in LCT + LH + LPG land use for 20 and 50 years, respectively. Sensitivity analysis also revealed that changes in discount rate will not affect its performance ranking.

Background Quantitative magnetization transfer imaging (qMTI) 1 is an efficient technique that is sensitive to the density of the macromolecular protons which are found mainly in white matter myelin. Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the statistical significance of complementary qMTI parameters including magnetization transfer rate (Ksat) 2 and longitudinal relaxation time under MT saturation pulse (T1sat) 3 compared to magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) 4 and longitudinal relaxation time (T1) 5 in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) 6 patients. Methods In this study, conventional MRI protocols as well as MT-3DSPGR imaging were performed on twelve clinically definite RRMS patients and twelve age-matched controls. Two general methodologies were utilized for qMTI calculations, including global volumetric measurement of MTI-T1 parameters using a pixel-based analysis method throughout the brain white matter and the regional assessments within classified MS lesions with respect to their hypointensities on T1-weighted scans. MTI-T1 parameters of segmented lesions and normal appearing white matter (NAWM) 7 in RRMS patients were evaluated in comparison with normal white matter (NWM) 8 of control subjects. Results Significant reductions of MTR and Ksat values in isointense ( p 0.0001 ), mild ( p 0.0001 ) and severe hypointense lesions in comparison with NAWM on T1-weighted scans, were associated with considerable increases in both tissue relaxation times with and without MT pulse, T1sat ( p 0.0001 ) and T1 ( p 0.0001 ) respectively. Similar significant changes of quantitative MT imaging parameters and T1 values were also seen in non-lesion areas of NAWM in MS patients compared to those of NWM in healthy volunteers. Conclusion Complementary qMT imaging parameter contributes to the magnetization transfer phenomenon including Ksat and T1sat can provide more reliable information about the magnitudes and mechanisms of myelin destruction in multiple sclerosis compared to the conventional MTR and T1 relaxation time values.

Erosion by water reduces soil quality and hence crop yield. Understanding the response of crop yields to soil erosion is vital in assessing agriculture’s vulnerability to erosion. However, these effects are difficult to quantify. The study presents a quantitative relationship between soil erosion and soil quality and productivity of rainfed wheat (Triticum aestivum) by comparing field plots with different degrees of erosion in some sub-tropical alfisols in the Doon Valley region of India. By comparing the topsoil depth with the reference site as the control, erosion severity was classified into different phases such as slight, moderate, severe, and very severe. A quantitative, weighted additive model was used to evaluate soil quality for different phases of erosion using soil clay content, water holding capacity, soil aggregate, soil organic carbon, pH, CEC, total N, available P, and available K. The synthesis of long-term experimental data revealed that the mean soil erosion rate varied from 5.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1 in slightly eroded plots to 33.4 Mg ha−1 yr−1 in very severely eroded plots. Compared with the reference forest, the soil organic carbon (SOC) declined by 81.4% and water holding capacity by 31% in severely eroded soils. A substantial loss of total N, extractable P, and available K was also observed. Water stable aggregates (WSA) decreased from 86% to 12.6%, and the cation exchange capacity (CEC) from 25 to 12.6 c mol(+) kg−1. The soil quality index was 0.7 in slightly eroded compared with 0.4 in severely eroded soil. Similarly, the sustainable yield index for wheat was 0.9 and 0.6 for slightly and severely eroded soils, respectively. Thus, there is a strong need to identify land management systems that reduce erosion risks, restore eroded soils, and enhance soil quality.

Hardwickia binata is an important fodder and timber tree of arid regions. Assessment of its biomass and carbon content is essential, for taking management decisions, and in ecosystem modelling. Sev...

The impacts of the resource conservation practices can be evaluated in short-term through carbon management index (CMI) that conceptualizes the carbon lability and soil aggregation. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the labile organic carbon (LOC) pool and CMI in relation to runoff, soil loss and maize-wheat system productivity on 2% sloping crop lands of Indian Himalayan region in a study (2009–2014) where different nutrient management practices were adopted. Results showed that all integrated nutrient management (INM) practices (mineral fertilizers with different organic sources like farmyard manure (FYM), vermi-compost (VC), green manure (GM) and poultry manure (PM) enhanced soil aggregation compared with only mineral fertilization (NPK). Among all the treatments, the highest water-stable macroaggregates (+25%) in the 0–5 cm soil layer were recorded in 50% NPK + 50% FYM (7.5 t ha−1) treatment. Aggregate size of >2000, 250–2000, 53–250 and 2000 to

Biomedical waste management (BMWM) has attracted attention across the world as improper management can pose a serious threat for healthcare workers (HCWs), the general population and the environment. This study aimed to analyse the effectiveness of a multi-modal intervention (MMI) to upgrade BMWM practices at healthcare facilities across Bangladesh.This quasi-experimental study, with a pre- and post-test design, was undertaken at nine healthcare facilities (five public, three private and one autonomous) over three phases, and concluded in 2019. The MMI included various strategies including: (i) system change; (ii) education and training; (iii) visual reminders; (iv) monitoring and feedback; and (v) ensuring sustainability at the study hospitals. Data collected from 2726 HCWs and waste handlers through direct observation were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 24.Significant improvements were seen in waste segregation practices using colour-coded bins (from 1% to 79%). The use of personal protective equipment during transportation and final management/disposal increased from 3% to 55%. Compliance with the use of standardized methods for collecting and transporting biomedical waste (BMW) increased substantially from 0% to 78%, while compliance with standardized methods for final management/disposal of BMW improved by 39%.Compliance with BMWM practices is very poor in Bangladesh due to a lack of knowledge, manpower and resources. Nevertheless, this MMI can be used as a tool to significantly improve BMWM practices in healthcare facilities. Initiatives such as this MMI will help the Government of Bangladesh to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 and universal health coverage by 2030.

Bamboos due to high soil water conservation potential are gaining increased attention in plantation programs across the globe. Large-scale plantation of fast-growing bamboo, however, can have important hydrological consequences. The study aims to quantify the eco-hydrological parameters, viz., throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), and interception (I) in seven important sympodial bamboo species in north western Himalayan foothills of India. The species selected include Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa vulgaris., Bambusa nutans, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus stocksii, and Dendrocalamus strictus. Throughfall versus gross rainfall (GR) relationship in different species indicated high throughfall production during high rainfall events with r2 > 0.90. Average throughfall was lowest (62.1%) in D. hamiltonii and highest in B. vulgaris (74.6%). SF ranged from 1.32% in B. nutans to 3.39% in D. hamiltonii. The correlation coefficient (r) between leaf area index (LAI), number of culms, and crown area with the interception were 0.746, 0.691, and 0.585, respectively. The funneling ratio (F) was highest (27.0) in D. hamiltonii and least in B. nutans. Canopy storage capacity was highest in D. strictus (3.57 mm) and least in D. hamiltonii (1.09 mm). Interception loss was highest (34.4%) in D. hamiltonii and lowest in B. vulgaris (23.5%) and D. strictus (23.6%). Higher interception in bamboos make them suitable for soil conservation, but careful selection of species is required in low rainfall areas.

Due to extensive root system, connected rhizome bamboos are considered suitable for improving soil properties within a short period, though most of the claims are anecdotal and need to be supported with quantified data. The study evaluates seven bamboo species viz., Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa nutans, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus stocksii and Dendrocalamus strictus for their rooting pattern and impact on soil health properties. Coarse and fine root intensity was maximum in B. vulgaris. Coarse root biomass ranged from 0.6 kg m−3 in B. nutans to 2.0 kg m−3 in B. vulgaris and B. bambos. Fine root biomass ranged from 1.1 kg m−3 in B. nutans to 4.5 kg m−3 in D. hamiltonii. Contribution of fine roots in terms of intensity and biomass was much higher than coarse roots. Fine root biomass showed declining trend with increase in soil depth in all the species. During sixth year, the litter fall ranged from 8.1 Mg ha−1 in D. stocksii to 12.4 Mg ha−1 in D. hamiltonii. Among soil physical properties significant improvement were recorded in hydraulic conductivity, water stable aggregates and mean weight diameter. Soil pH, organic carbon and available phosphorus under different species did not reveal any significant changes, while significant reduction was observed in total nitrogen and potassium. Significant positive correlation was observed between WSA and iron content. Soil microbial population and enzyme activities were higher in control plot. Considering root distribution, biomass, soil hydraulic conductivity and water stable aggregates, B. bambos, B. vulgaris and D. hamiltonii are recommended for rehabilitation of degraded lands prone to soil erosion.

Jute is the most important bast fibre crop of the world, which is mainly cultivated in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia and South American countries. The fibre is utilized for making apparels, ropes, bags, carpets etc (Biswas et al. 2014). This bio-fibre is gaining importance due to growing environmental consciousness worldwide. In June 2019, we noticed jute plants (less than 2%) showing virus like symptoms viz., downward curling, puckering, angular brownish to yellowish spots etc in a farmer's field at Amdanga Block, North 24 Paraganas, West Bengal, India. To identify the virus, five symptomatic leaves from five different plants were used for high throughput sequencing (HTS). We extracted total RNA from each leaf which was subjected to construction of cDNA libraries. Sequencing was done on Illumina Hiseq 4000 (CytoScan, Thermo Fisher). Approximately 46 million 105 nt paired end reads were generated. Raw reads were trimmed and filtered to perform de novo assembly as described previously by (Grabherr et al. 2013). The obtained contig was 10,326 bp nucleotides (nt) long and in BLASTn against GenBank showed highest identity with papaya ring spot virus (PRSV) with the contig covering 99.6% of the viral genome. The obtained contig shared 99.33% sequence similarity with PRSV strain P (Accession No. MT470188). The selected leaf samples were also tested by double-antibody sandwich (DAS)- enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for papaya ring spot virus (PRSV) along with some common viruses, viz., Potato leaf roll virus (PLRV), Watermelon mosaic virus, Cowpea mosaic virus and Cucumber mosaic virus with the help of commercial diagnostic kits (Agdia). However, only the test with PRSV gave positive reaction for the symptomatic samples. The major symptoms of PRSV on papaya are severe mosaic, chlorosis, reduced lamina with curling and puckering (Gonsalves et al. 2010). To confirm PRSV infection, five symptomatic leaf samples (used for HTS) were collected and whole RNA was extracted from the samples using RNeasy plant minikit (Qiagen, USA). Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was conducted by using isolated RNA. One pair of PRSV specific primer (PSRV1F: 5' TTAAATCTGATTCGTC 3' PRSV 1R: 5'GAAATTCACGCAAAGTCGA3') was developed by using primer BLAST software and was used in RT-PCR assays. Amplified fragments were cloned and sequenced and all the fragments shared 98% sequence identity with PRSV. One of the amplicons was deposited in NCBI (Accession No. MN615832). Crude sap was prepared by homogenizing PRSV-infected jute leaf tissues in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer and 2% carborundum dust was added as abrasive (Holkar et al. 2018). The sap was then gently rubbed on to the healthy papaya leaves for inoculation. Typical PRSV like symptoms appeared in inoculated leaves 10 days post inoculation which confirmed the presence of PRSV-P. PRSV was detected by RT-PCR as well as (DAS)-ELISA from all inoculated infected papaya leaf tissues, but could not be detected from uninoculated healthy papaya tissues. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of PRSV-P infecting jute in India. References: Biswas, C. et al. 2014. Plant Dis. 98(4): 565. https:// doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-08-13-0826-PDN. Gonsalves, D. et al. 2010. The Plant Health Instructor. https:// doi.org/10.1094/PHI-I-2010-1004-01 Holkar, S. K. et al. 2018. Crop Protection. 108:110-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2017.12.013 Grabherr, M. et al. 2011. Nat Biotechnol. 29(7): 644-652.

Land area is dwindling due to degradation, both natural and anthropogenic, therefore, it is reasonable to save this important resource and put focus on achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). An Investigation was taken to know the impact of erosion on soil physico-chemical and biological properties both in fertilized and unfertilized conditions in four phases of erosion viz., slightly eroded (0.5% slope), moderately eroded (2.5% slope), severely eroded (4.5% slope) and very severely eroded (9.5% slope). Productivity index (PI), vulnerability curve, soil loss tolerance limits (STL), soil quality index (SQI) and relative soil quality index (RSQI) were estimated for all phases of erosion. As the severity of erosion increases the soil quality and productivity index (PI) decreases. Very severely eroded soils have lower PI, SQI and RSQI as compared to slightly eroded soils. However, land use under fertilized condition have better soil quality with SQI value of 143.00 and 118.00 in slightly eroded and very severely eroded soils, respectively, compared to 126.00 and 106.00 in non-fertilized condition. Similarly, the productivity index ranged 0.748 in slightly eroded phase to 0.651 in severely eroded phase under fertilized condition. Compared to slightly eroded soil, severely and very severely eroded soils have lower microbial biomass carbon (MBC), CO2 evolution and dehydrogenase activities. Assessment of soil loss tolerance limit based on PI revealed that it ranged from 6.67 to 12.92 Mg ha−1 year−1 which implies that land degradation took place in the more eroded soils which needs higher priority in order to bringing these eroded land to degradation neutrality (LDN), and also requires suitable soil conservation interventions in different phases of erosion.

Canopy management practices viz. lopping, pruning, coppicing and pollarding in trees alter branch density, height, leaf area index and rooting pattern of the trees. The present study was conducted to quantify the impact of canopy management practices and intercropping on fine and coarse roots distribution in mulberry (Morus alba). In total, six treatments comprising of three management practices (pollarding, coppicing and lopping) and two cropping situations (intercropping and without intercropping) were evaluated. Vertical and lateral distribution of fine root biomass (FRB) was recorded through sequential core method in different seasons. Coarse root distribution and biomass was studied using excavation method. Results revealed that canopy management treatments viz., coppicing and pollarding reduced the FRB as compared to lopping treatment in both intercropped and non-intercropped situation. Results also revealed that majority of the fine root biomass (67.3%) was confined in 0–15 cm soil layer. All the canopy management treatments under non-intercropped plots showed higher production rate as compared to intercropped plots. Fine root turnover rate (yr−1) was highest (0.592) in lopping treatment in non-intercropped plots whereas, the minimum turnover rate was recorded in coppicing treatment (0.331) in non-intercropped plots. Coarse root biomass was highest in case of intercropped plots in all the three canopy management treatments. Pollarding + turmeric cultivation showed the maximum root biomass followed by lopping + turmeric intercropping treatment. The main and primary roots in all the treatments accounted for > 70% biomass except for coppicng + turmeric treatment, whereas secondary and tertiary roots contributed about 40% biomass. All the treatments showed a pronounced decrease in root biomass with increasing soil depth and 75–84% of the total root biomass (main + lateral roots) was allocated in the top 30 cm of the soil profile. From the study, it can be concluded that tree management practices have direct impact on fine and coarse root distribution and should be judiciously used for avoiding competition in intercropping situation.

Humankind faces the need to achieve sustainable agriculture production, meanwhile increasing crop yields and reducing soil and water losses. Soil conservation through intercropping or crop canopy management is widely accepted as one of the ways of diversifying crop yields in rainfed agriculture in sloping landscapes. Field experiments were conducted between 2009 and 2014 to evaluate the effects of one or two rows of cowpea/okra intercropped with maize (planted either in 90 or 150 cm row spacing) on productivity, profitability, and resource conservation on 4% sloping crop land in the Himalayas. During five years of experimentation, a total of 110 runoff events were observed in the maize crop grown in rainy months of June to September. The results showed that by growing one row of cowpea in between two rows of maize (90 × 20 cm), no effect was observed on the productivity of rainfed maize. Productivity of the succeeding wheat crop was enhanced by 13% which resulted in a higher net return (117 US$ ha−1) than in a maize-wheat system. This system also reduced runoff and soil loss by 26% and 43%, respectively, compared to only a maize cropping system. Regression analysis revealed as runoff in maize crop increases, grain yield of succeeding rainfed wheat crop decreases due to the less availability of soil moisture.

Markov chain and 3-dimensional log-linear models were attempted to model drought class transitions derived from the newly developed drought index the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) at a 12 month time scale for six major drought prone areas of India. Log-linear modelling approach has been used to investigate differences relative to drought class transitions using SPEI-12 time series derived form 48 yeas monthly rainfall and temperature data. In this study, the probabilities of drought class transition, the mean residence time, the 1, 2 or 3 months ahead prediction of average transition time between drought classes and the drought severity class have been derived. Seasonality of precipitation has been derived for non-homogeneous Markov chains which could be used to explain the effect of the potential retreat of drought. Quasi-association and Quasi-symmetry log-linear models have been fitted to the drought class transitions derived from SPEI-12 time series. The estimates of odds along with their confidence intervals were obtained to explain the progression of drought and estimation of drought class transition probabilities. For initial months as the drought severity increases the calculated odds shows lower value and the odds decreases for the succeeding months. This indicates that the ratio of expected frequencies of occurrence of transition from drought class to the non-drought class decreases as compared to transition to any drought class when the drought severity of the present class increases. From 3-dimensional log-linear model it is clear that during the last 24 years the drought probability has increased for almost all the six regions. The findings from the present study will immensely help to assess the impact of drought on the gross primary production and to develop future contingent planning in similar regions worldwide.

Globally, climate change and extreme weather events are occurring more frequently, impacting water resources and farming systems. Therefore, spatio-temporal analysis of long-term rainfall is much needed to understand the variability of rainfall occurrence. The present study attempts to analyse spatio-temporal rainfall change scenarios in the 20th century (1901–2000) over Bundelkhand, one of the drought hit regions of India. Analysis shows that major rainfall contributed from 3 months, i.e. July, August and September. However, decreasing rainfall trend during monsoon season and increasing trend during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season indicates the scenario of shifting rainfall from normal occurrence. This result is supported by decreasing seasonality index (SI) (1.94–1.1). The northern part of the region witnessed positive annual and monsoon rainfall trend but the southern part observed negative trend. Pettitt's test indicates 1983 is the most probable change year with 0.95 probability, after which annual and monsoon rainfall was found decreasing. Wavelet analysis revealed that extreme rainfall occurrence was observed with a periodicity of 2–16 years. However, Bundelkhand rainfall pattern depicts declining rainfall trends, heading towards a further drier phase with more irregular rainfall in the coming era. The study will serve as future reference in similar regions in the world to determine vital weather patterns which may impact farming systems.

Tree canopies partition rainfall into throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), and interception loss (I) which have very significant effect on water balance and the nutrient cycle. In this study, we compared throughfall, stemflow and interception in Morus alba managed under different canopy management practices/treatments viz., coppicing, pollarding and lopping. TF was measured using manual gauges randomly placed beneath the canopies of each treatment. SF was collected from selected trees in each canopy management practices using SF collection collars. Measurements were made on a rainfall event basis. During the study period, 30 rainfall events were identified in the year 2014 and 25 in the year 2015 which delivered a total rain of 685.1 mm and 467.9 mm, respectively in the two consecutive years. Average TF ranged from 80.8% in lopping to 85.1% in coppicing. Relationship of gross rainfall versus throughfall in different canopy management practices indicates that high TF production was measured during high rainfall events and low TF production was measured during low rainfall events. Average SF values showed significant difference between lopping (10%) and pollarding (4.5%) treatments. Both the treatments transmitted less SF as GR event depths increased. As the size of rainfall events increased, intercepted GR by the canopies, decreased. Allometric model was used for fitting the gross rainfall versus SF depth. Total rainfall interception was 9.2% for lopping, 13.0% for pollarding and 14.9% for coppicing. Interception values were higher during small sized GR events.

This study aims to examine the spatio-temporal urban expansion pattern and its impacts on green space variation as well as thermal behavior in Doon valley over the last two decades during 2000 and 2019. Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 images of February and May month of two study years 2000 and 2019 were used for the analysis. The land use change analysis revealed notable outgrowth of urbanization with 184% increase in Doon valley during 2000–2019. To examine the effects of locational factors on urban growth, relative Shannon entropy analysis was carried out based on two factors, i.e., distances from city center and roads. It was seen that all the roads and city center have witnessed consistent and higher urban spread in its surroundings with high relative entropy value more than 0.9. Further analysis shows that there was considerable loss of agriculture crop lands and fallow lands along the major roads and around city center. Forest area was mostly affected along the road towards Mussorie hill station (road 2) because of its hilly surroundings whereas in Subhash Nagar area (road 4), fallow land and cultivated land were mainly replaced by the development activities. Analysis was also carried out to assess the spatial-temporal distribution of land surface temperature (LST) and its changing dynamics with land covers. It revealed that LST has increased in all the land use types with overall increase of 1.86 °C and 8.62 °C in the months February and May, respectively, during the study period. It is also found that normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and LST are negatively correlated with R2 0.46 and 0.28 for the months February and May, respectively. However, the correlation between NDVI and LST was found highly significant with P value less than 0.01. Therefore, spatial and temporal changes of different land use types especially rapid urbanization at the cost of green spaces with rampant anthropogenic activities is one of the main factor for LST increase in the study area. Moreover, this temperature rise with ever-increasing anthropogenic activities is not a healthy indication for the hilly region like Doon Valley which may adversely affect the ecosystem stability and its resources as well. The study may be used as reference for future ecological and urban management studies and policies.

Background: Numerous unique characteristics of the nanosized gold, including high atomic number, low toxicity, and high biocompatibility make it one of the most appropriate nanostructures to boost radiotherapy efficacy. Many in-vivo and in-vitro investigations have indicated that gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can significantly increase tumor injuries in low kilovoltage radiotherapy. While deep-lying tumors require much higher energy levels with greater penetration power, and investigations carried out in megavoltage energy range show contradictory results. Objective: In this study, we quantitatively assess and compare dose enhancement factors (DEFs) obtained through AuNPs under radiation of Cobalt-60 source (1.25MeV) versus Iridium-192 source (0.380 KeV) using MAGAT gel dosimeter. Material and Methods: MAGAT polymer gel in both pure and combined with 0.2 mM AuNPs was synthesized. In order to quantify the effect of energy on DEF, irradiation was carried out by Co-60 external radiotherapy and Ir-192 internal radiotherapy. Finally, readings of irradiated and non-irradiated gels were performed by MR imaging. Result: The radiation-induced R 2 (1/T 2 ) changes of the gel tubes doped with AuNPs compared to control samples, upon irradiation of beams released by Ir-192 source showed a significant dose enhancement (15.31% ±0.30) relative to the Co-60 external radiotherapy (5.85% ±0.14). Conclusion: This preliminary study suggests the feasibility of using AuNPs in radiation therapy (RT), especially in low-energy sources of brachytherapy. In addition, MAGAT polymer gel, as a powerful dosimeter, could be used for 3D visualization of radiation dose distribution of AuNPs in radiotherapy.

The present study was conducted in Doon valley of north western Himalaya to estimate biomass and carbon storage in male bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) raised on degraded bouldary land. Different non-linear models (Monomolicular, Logistic, Gompetz, Allometric, Rechards, Chapman) were fitted to the relationship between total biomass as dependent variable and diameter at breast height (DBH) as independent variable. The adjusted R2 values were > 0.85 for all the six models indicating that all models are apparently equally efficient. Allometric model (Y = a × DBHb) was found to be best performing and was used for fitting different biomass components using DBH as explanatory variable. The estimated total aboveground biomass from the developed allometric model was 18.91 Mg ha− 1 in 6 year and 109.30 Mg ha− 1 in 20 years old plantation. Carbon content in different components revealed that it was higher in culm (48.66%) followed by branch (48.09%) and leaf (44.68%). The total biomass carbon stocks mitigated were 8.39 and 49.08 Mg ha− 1 in 6 and 20 year old plantations.

Psidium guajava Linnaeus., popularly known as ‘Apple of Tropics’ is one of the major fruit crops undertaken on the bouldery riverbed lands of North-Western Himalayan region. Different predictive models were fitted to establish a functional relationship between biomass and collar diameter (CD) of the tree. Out of seven different models attempted viz, Monomolecular, Logistic, Gompetz, Allometric, Rechards, Chapman and Linear, Allometric model (Y = a Xb where Y = total biomass, X = collar diameter, a and b = parameter estimates) fulfills the validation criteria to the best possible extent and is considered as best performing. Allometric model has been fitted to find the relationship between biomass of different tree components and collar diameter. All the equations indicated high correlation between biomass and collar diameter and the R2 values for the fitted functions varied from 0.89 to 0.99. The calculated t-statistic values for all the components found to be non-significant (p > 0.05) which clearly reveals the validity and reliability of the model. The developed allometric models were used to estimate the biomass and carbon stocks of P. guajava plantations of the study site. The estimated total biomass varied from 1.43 Mg ha−1 in 4 year to 40.54 Mg ha−1 in 14 year old plantation. Mitigated carbon varied from 0.26 in 4 year to 7.75 Mg ha−1 in 14 year of plantation. The total biomass carbon stocks varied from 0.48 Mg ha−1 (4 year) to 13.66 Mg ha−1 (14 year) guava plantation.

Industrialization and globalization have resulted in pollution of all the three ecosystems, including soil, water, and air. Among these, air pollution has generated much interest, since it has a major influence on the transboundary dispersion of pollutants globally. Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) value represents tolerance level of plants which help in selecting the most suitable plant species for plantation in/around affected areas. This parameter in conjunction with Anticipated Performance Index (API) can provide a logical solution for green belt development by considering biological and socio-economic aspect of the species and help in reducing the levels of pollutants. The present study was conducted in Himachal Pradesh, constituting a very vital part of the Indian Himalayan Region. In the present study, APTI and API values of six commonly growing temperate and sub-temperate plant species viz., Quercus leucotrichophora, Rubus ellipticus, Debregeasia saeneb, Hypericum oblongifolium, Punica granatum, and Grevillea robusta, were evaluated along the National Highway-5 in Himachal Pradesh. The highest value of APTI was observed for Grevillea robusta (12.89), followed by Punica granatum (10.87), Debregeasia saeneb (10.50), Hypericum oblongifolium (10.43), Rubus ellipticus (10.18), and Quercus leucotrichophora (9.68). Upon assessment of API, it was observed that Grevillea robusta (62.50%) was the highest scoring plant species in trees, while Rubus ellipticus and Debregeasia saeneb were the highest scoring shrub species (56.25% each) and thus can be recommended for green belt development and attenuation of air pollution in the region. Punica granatum can be suggested for plantation among the native species.

Rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS), a lifeline for the majority of the population in South Asia is under stress, due to the imbalanced and indiscriminate use of fertilizers. Therefore, we conducted an on-farm study at eight locations (Amritsar, Katni, Nainital, Samba, Pakur, Kanpur, Ambedkarnagar, and Dindori) covering five agro climatic zones of six Indian states (Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand) to (i) calculate the partial factor productivity (PFP) and agronomic use efficiency (AUE) to judge the response of NPK and Zn on grain yield of rice and wheat in RWCS and (ii) to work out the economic feasibility of different combinations of NPK in rice and wheat. Seven fertilizer treatments: Control (0-0-0), N alone (N-0-0), NP (N-P-0), NK (N-0-K), NPK (N-P-K), NPK+Zn (N-P-K-Zn), and FFMP (Farmers Fertilizer Management Practice) were assigned to all the locations. The levels of applied nutrients were used as per the standard recommendation of the location. The average of all the locations showed that the use of NP enhances the grain yield of rice and wheat by 105% and 97% over control, respectively. System productivity of RWCS was expressed in terms of rice grain equivalent yield (RGEY), Mg ha&minus, 1. Among the locations, Samba recorded the lowest productivity of RWCS with fertilizer treatments. In contrast, the highest productivity of RWCS with fertilizer treatments was recorded at Amritsar, except with NPK and NPK+Zn fertilization, where Katni superseded the Amritsar. An approximately 3-fold productivity gain in RWCS was recorded with the conjoint use of NP over control across the locations. Overall, the results of our study showed that the balance application of NPK increased the productivity of RWCS 245% over control. Partial factor productivity of Nitrogen (PFPn) N alone in rice varied across locations and ranged from 19 kg grain kg&minus, 1 N at Pakur to 41 kg grain kg&minus, 1 N at Amritsar. PFPn of N alone in wheat also ranged from 15.5 kg grain kg&minus, 1 of N at Ambedkarnagar to 28 kg grain kg&minus, 1 N at Amritsar. However, across locations the mean value of PFPn of N alone was 29 kg grain kg&minus, 1 N in rice and 21 kg grain kg&minus, 1 N in wheat. PFPn increased when combined application of N and P sorted in both rice and wheat across the locations. Similarly, combined application of NPK increased partial factor productivity of applied phosphorus (PFPp) in both the crops at all the locations. The combined application of NPK increased the PFPk for applied K at all the location. The response of K application with N and P when averaged over the location was 114% in rice and 93% in wheat over the combined use of N and K. In our study, irrespective of fertilizer treatments, the agronomic use efficiency of applied N (AUEn) and agronomic use efficiency of applied P (AUEp) were greater in rice than in wheat across the location. With regards to the economics, the mean net monetary returns among the fertilizers treatments was minimum (INR 29.5 &times, 103 ha&minus, 1) for the application of N alone and maximum (INR 8.65 &times, 1) for application of NPK+Zn. The mean marginal returns across the locations was in order of N alone &gt, NK &gt, FFM &gt, NPK &gt, NP &gt, NPK+Zn.

Introduction: Electrical impedance of tissues on low frequencies includes useful information about functional and structural changes in tissues. This property is used in Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) imaging modality for the detection of lesions in tissues.Objective: The goal of this article is to study changes in electrical impedance of tissues in the presence of gold nanoparticles.Materials and Methods: Spherical gold nanoparticles with size of 20-25 nm were synthesized with Turkevich method. Size distribution and shape of nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrical impedance of two types of phantoms (chicken fat and muscle paste tissues) was measured by 4-electrode method with and without gold nanoparticles.Results: Results demonstrate a reduction in electrical impedance of tissues in the presence of gold nanoparticles. However, this reduction is not the same for fat and muscle tissues. Reductions in resistive impedance are for fat and muscle tissues on the frequency of 1 KHz, respectively. A reduction in electrical impedance is accompanied by a rise in electrical conductance leading to increase in EIT signal.Conclusion: As signal enhancement is different for fat and muscle tissues; presence of gold nanoparticles could be used to improve EIT image contrast.