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Abstract Background Improving the quality and shelf life of groundnut oil is one of the foremost objectives of groundnut breeding programmes. This can be achieved by marker-assisted introgression, a technique that efficiently and precisely enables breeders to develop plants with enhanced qualities. This study focused on improving the oleic acid content of an elite groundnut variety, TMV 7, by introgressing a recessive mutation responsible for the increase in oleic acid from ICG 15419. Hybridization was performed between the donor and recurrent parents to develop the F1, BC1F1, BC2F1 and BC2F2 populations. Introgressed lines with increased oleic acid in the genetic background of TMV 7 were identified using allele-specific marker, F435-F, F435SUB-R and a set of SSR markers were employed to recover the genome of the recurrent parent. Results With two backcrosses, a total of ten homozygous plants in the BC2F2 population were identified with oleic acid content ranging from 54.23 to 57.72% causing an increase of 36% over the recurrent parent. Among the ten lines, the line IL-23 exhibited the highest level of recurrent parent genome recovery of 91.12%. Conclusions The phenotypic evaluation of 10 homozygous introgressed lines indicated fewer differences for all other traits under study compared to the recurrent parent, except for oleic acid and linoleic acid content confirming the genetic background of the recurrent parent. The identified lines will be subjected to multilocation trials before their commercial release.

The traditional Radio-Frequency Systems (RFS) authentication methods, designed to ensure secure data transmission on the web, may not always effectively prevent adversaries from gaining access to concealed IDs or asymmetric cryptography through infiltrative, side-channel, training, and computer attacks. In contrast, Unaccounted Information (UAI) has the potential to exploit irregularities in production systems to automatically identify microchips, offering a highly robust and cost-effective security solution. This approach introduces RFS-UAI, a deep neural network-based system that efficiently manages wireless node identification by leveraging synthetic RFS characteristics of remote controls (Tx) learned through supervised methods in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Unlike traditional methods that require the development of specialized transistors for UAI or semantic segmentation, this approach utilizes the existing asymmetrical RFS communication networks. Similar to the way the human brain processes information, Rx handles the entire device identification process at the gateway. According to test results, which include assessing process capability at a specified 65 nm threshold voltage and characteristics such as Local Oscillator (LO) misalignment and I-Q disparity using a probabilistic model with 52 hidden units, the system can distinguish up to 4800 transmitters with a remarkable 99.9 % accuracy under various channel conditions, all without the need for regular preambles. This recommended method can serve as a standalone security measure or be integrated into a biometric identification system.

The idea of electric vehicles (EVs) is relatively new in the transportation industry. EVs are becoming increasingly popular due to many advantages. Apart from various advantages, some drawbacks of these vehicles are also a concern. One of the concerns for these vehicles is the substantial power requirement to charge the batteries. During charging, EVs deteriorate the power quality by injecting harmonic current into the system. As poor power quality is undesirable, the mitigation of this harmonic current is essential. Therefore, in this study, an optimal design of a shunt active power filter (SAPF) based EV charging system is suggested. The optimal design of the SAPF ensures that the DC-link voltage is efficiently regulated. To test the performance of the suggested scheme, a simulation system is developed and tested in MATLAB Simulink. The results show that the developed optimal control can efficiently regulate the DC-link voltage. The results, pre and post-compensation, show that the total harmonic distortion in the system is reduced to 4.33 % from 26.72 % using the suggested approach. This is even better by 12.93%, 7.39%, 14.32% and 20.32% in comparison to particle swarm optimization, whale optimization algorithms, bee colony optimization and ant colony optimization used for comparison.

As energy demand and electricity costs continue to rise, consumers are increasingly adopting energy-efficient practices and appliances, underscoring the need for detailed metering options like appliance-level load monitoring. Non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) is particularly favored for its minimal hardware requirements and enhanced customer experience, especially in residential settings. However, commercial power systems present significant challenges due to greater load diversity and imbalance. To address these challenges, we introduce a novel neural network architecture that combines sequence-to-sequence, WaveNet, and ensembling techniques to identify and classify single-phase and three-phase loads using appliance power signatures in commercial power systems. Our approach, validated over four months, achieved an overall accuracy exceeding 93% for nine devices, including six single-phase and four three-phase loads. The study also highlights the importance of incorporating nonlinear loads, such as two different inverter-type air conditioners, within NILM frameworks to ensure accurate energy monitoring. Additionally, we developed a web-based NILM energy dashboard application that enables users to monitor and evaluate load performance, recognize usage patterns, and receive real-time alerts for potential faults. Our findings demonstrate the significant potential of our approach to enhance energy management and conservation efforts in commercial buildings with diverse and complex load profiles, contributing to more efficient energy use and addressing climate change challenges.

This research aims to design and process a low elastic modulus near -β Ti–30Nb–3Ag at% (TNA) alloy with enhanced corrosion and antibacterial characteristics for bioimplant uses. Powder metallurgy was used to process the TNA alloy, which was designed via a combined approach of molybdenum equivalency and the d-electron alloy design method. The alloy powder samples were sintered at 1100, 1200, and 1300 °C. XRD and SEM were utilized to examine the phases and microstructure. The modulus of elasticity and microhardness were evaluated using microindentation. The in vitro corrosion properties were also examined in artificial body fluid medium. The results showed that TNA alloy was predominantly composed of β-Ti, with trace amounts of α-Ti, α’’, and Ti2Ag phases. The density and microhardness were increased by increasing the sintering temperature, and the sample sintered at 1300 °C exhibited a homogeneous microstructure with 89.7% densification. The modulus of elasticity of the designed TNA alloys lowered by (28.5–43) % and (24–38) % compared to Ti6Al4V alloy and CP-Ti, respectively, which potentially contributes to a decrease in the stress-shielding effect. The in vitro corrosion results indicated that the resistance to corrosion of the TNA alloy improved with increasing sintering temperature as evidenced by an increase in charge transfer resistance, noble corrosion potential, and passive current density. Furthermore, the TNA alloy also demonstrated a higher antibacterial capability (82.9%) compared to Ti6Al4V alloy. The designed TNA alloy with low elastic modulus exhibits higher in vitro corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties making it a potential bioimplant material.

In recent years, fault diagnosis in the Induction Motor Drive (IMD) has been a popular and important field in the motor-drive research area. The development of control circuits for induction motors has prompted the attention of both researchers and industrialists. This paper proposes a broken bar fault diagnosis using Hilbert Transform (HT) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), with the drive regulated through the Indirect Field Orientation Control (IFOC). The HT obtains the spectrum of stator current, which is utilized to identify the Broken Rotor Bar (BRB) failure. The magnitude and side-band frequency of the drive are extracted using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), and these parameters are fed into the ANN inputs. The fault severity is computed by the ratio of mean side-band frequency amplitude to the main frequency amplitude for finding the impact of failure in the drive. ANN is used to diagnose failure with high accuracy. The tested and training results are used to attain the minimum Mean Square Errors (MSEs). The IFOC is involved in this proposed system to ensure high performance under the variable speed drives. The proposed scheme is validated in both MATLAB/Simulink and experimental platforms.

WSNs are now widely used for information gathering and transmission using WSN. Due to its low cost and simple communication, this type of network is widely used in many applications. Although hierarchical routing protocols may handle a variety of applications, choosing a Cluster Head (CH) and balancing network overload are difficult problems. This recommended strategy provides LEACH Protocol based on Novel Trust Management with Cryptographic RSA algorithm (NTM-LEACH-RSA) to extend the lifetime of network and to consume less energy. Here the proposed methodology includes two aspects for improving Security in WSN. Using the suggested NTM-LEACH technique, cluster formation and cluster head election are carried out in the first phase. Here, the threshold function value, the distance and density between nearby nodes, and the trust value are used to elect the cluster head. Based on the energy domain and the distance domain, the threshold function value is estimated in this case. The RSA cryptography technique is employed in the second phase to protect data transmission and guarantee data integrity. By using simulation tools, the proposed NTM-LEACH-RSA methodology's performance analysis is estimated. In comparison to other algorithms currently in use, it also offers higher performance results.

Deep learning and computer vision algorithms will be applied to find the breed of the dog from an image. The goal is to have the user submit an image of a dog, and the model will choose one of the 120 breeds stated in the dataset to determine the dog’s breed. The proposed work uses various deep learning algorithms like Xception, VGG19, NASNetMobile, EfficientNetV2M, ResNet152V2, Hybrid of Inception &Xception, and Hybrid of EfficientNetV2M, NASNetMobile, Inception &Xception to predict dog breeds. ResNet101, ResNet50, InceptionResNetV2, and Inception-v3 on the Stanford Dogs Standard Datasetswere used in the existing system. The proposed models are considered a hybrid of Inception-v3 &Xception and a hybrid of EfficientNetV2M, NASNetMobile, Inception & Xception. This hybrid model outperforms single models like Xception, VGG19, InceptionV3, ResNet50, and ResNet101.The authors used a transfer learning algorithm with data augmentation to increase their accuracy and achieved a validation accuracy score of 71.63% for ResNet101, 63.78% for ResNet50, 40.72% for InceptionResNetV2, and 34.84% for InceptionV3. This paper compares the proposed algorithms with existing ones like ResNet101, ResNet50, InceptionResNetV2, and InceptionV3. In the existing system, ResNet101 gave the highest accuracy of 71.63%. The proposed algorithms give a validation accuracy score of 91.9% for Xception, 55% for VGG19, 83.47% for NASNetMobile, 89.05% for EfficientNetV2M, 87.38% for ResNet152V2, 92.4% for Hybrid of Inception-v3 &Xception, and 89.00% for Hybrid of EfficientNetV2M, NASNetMobile, Inception &Xception. Among these algorithms, the Hybrid of Inception-v3 &Xception gives the highest accuracy of 92.4%.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a rapidly growing neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects the elderly population. Until now, there has been no antidote for PD. However, diagnosing Parkinson’s disease in its early stages is difficult. Early treatment will help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their quality of life. The primary goal of this work is to increase the early diagnostic accuracy of Parkinson’s disease using deep learning models and to make the models more transparent and trustworthy. It proved challenging to comprehend the methods by which the classifiers made predictions about Parkinson’s disease. It would be valuable if the outcomes generated by these classifiers could be clarified in a reliable and trustworthy manner. Explainable Artificial Intelligence (EXAI) focuses on enhancing clinical health practises and bringing transparency to predictive analysis, both of which are critical in the healthcare arena. We proposed a new hybrid deep transfer learning model to distinguish PD patients from healthy individuals. The proposed architecture combines the advantages of both VGG19 Net and Google Net. This study also shows the experimental outcomes of various pre-trained models such as Alex Net, DenseNet-201, VGG-19 Net, Squeeze Net1.1, and ResNet-50. The VGG19-INC model predicts PD with an accuracy of 98.45%, which is greater than other state-of-the-art approaches, demonstrating the proposed work’s superiority and robustness. To demystify the VGG19-INC model, explainable AI approaches such as LIME are used to identify the specific parts of the spiral and wave drawings that contribute most to the model’s prediction. These methods provide local interpretation, making it easier to understand how the model arrives at its conclusions.

This study attempts to analyze the microstructure and interface behavior of aluminum 6061 (Al 6061)-V-grooved stainless steel (SS304) explosive cladding by numerical and experimental methods. Numerical simulation was performed by Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) technique, in ANSYS AUTODYN, and the results are correlated with experimental outcome. The machining of V-grooves on the base plate transform the melted layer formed in conventional cladding (without grooves on the base plate) into a smooth undulating interface, for a similar experimental condition. The flyer plate and collision velocities, observed in numerical simulation, are in good agreement to the analytical expectations. The pressure developed in the flyer plate is higher than the base plate and the maximum pressure is witnessed at the collision point irrespective of grooved base plate or otherwise. The temperature developed in the collision point of conventional explosive cladding exceeds the melting point of both the participant metals, whereas, it exceeds the melting point of aluminum alone, in case of V-grooved base plate cladding. The shear and impact strengths of the V-grooved base plate clads are higher than the conventional clads and the fracture surfaces exhibit mixed modes of fracture.

Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration is generally expected to enhance plant growth, allocation and chemical composition of alkaloids in medicinal plants. The response to the elevated CO2 concentrations of various medicinal plants were studied with reference to growth and biochemical changes. Catharanthus roseus is an important medicinal plant which is being cultivated commercially in India for different purposes. It has gained interest from the pharmaceutical industry; the alkaloids vincristine and vinblastine from its sap have been shown to be an effective treatment for leukemia and lymphoma. It has a great importance in studying different parameters of C. roseus. The present study was carried out for growth and bio-chemical changes of C. roseus in different elevated CO2 levels. Open top chambers (OTCs, 3.0 m diameter, 3.0 m in height) were used to expose plants to ambient and elevated CO2 concentration (600 and 900 ppm).The experiment was conducted for five months. Carbon-dioxide enrichment studies in special open top chambers help us in understanding the changes at individual Biochemical changes and plant growth. The bio-chemical analysis revealed that the highest phenol, flavonoid, carbohydrate and tannin were recorded at 600 ppm+rh, and alkaloid was at 900 ppm. In ambient condition the highest protein was recorded in C. roseus. The plant growth revealed that the maximum fresh weight, shoot length and number of leaves were observed in 900 ppm. The maximum number of roots was observed in 600 ppm and the highest root length observed in 600+Rh. In the ambient condition, the above said characters were found to be in the lowest level.

Integral form expressions are obtained for the Mathieu-type series and for their associated alternating versions, the terms of which contain a (p,ν)-extended Gauss hypergeometric function. Contiguous recurrence relations are found for the Mathieu-type series with respect to two parameters, and finally, particular cases and related bounding inequalities are established.

Welding process is found to be a predominant procedure in most of the processing industries, especially in the automobile sector for maintenance operation and fabrication. Ultrasonic Polymer Welding (USW) is used for the joining process because of its flexibility and short needed welding time. In this article, two different polymer materials PC and ABS are blended in the ratio of 60:40 and molded into a sheet. Furthermore, molded PC/ABS sheets are joined using USW with different processing parameter settings. Three major influencing process parameters like pressure (P), amplitude (A) and weld time (Tw) are considered and other processing parameters are kept at constant. The experiment is carried out for 26 welded samples and from the obtained results it is noticed that the above-mentioned process parameters directly influence the tensile strength of welded joints. Additionally, the ultrasonically welded samples tensile strength is analyzed with the help of Artificial Neural Network technique (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System method (ANFIS). From the simulation results, an optimized ANFIS model provides the superior result as compared to ANN. Moreover, Scanning Electron Microscope analysis is carried out to visualize the weld interface between the joint. Also, Finite Element Modeling (ANSYS) is performed to understand the heat dissipation during the welding process.

Aluminium composites are inevitable in the manufacture of aircraft structural elements owing to less weight, superior corrosion resistance and higher specific properties. These composites reduce the weight of the aircraft, improve the fuel efficiency and enhance the maintenance duration. This study proposes the development of dissimilar grade aluminium (aluminium 1100-aluminium 5052) composites with different reinforcement’s viz., stainless steel wire-mesh, silicon carbide (SiC) powders and SiC powder interspersed wire-mesh, by explosive cladding technique. Wire-mesh enhances the friction and restricts the movement of flyer plate to craft a defect free clad, while SiC particles form a band on the interface. Highest strength is obtained when SiC powder interspersed wire mesh is employed as reinforcement. The dissimilar aluminium explosive clad with SiC particle reinforcement results in lower strength, which is higher than that of the weaker parent alloy and that of the conventional dissimilar aluminium explosive clads without any reinforcement.

Eucalyptus are among the most widely cultivated forest trees in the world under a range of different climates for products that include pulp, paper fuel wood and solid wood products such as poles, furniture and construction timber. Productivity and profitability of plantations of Eucalyptus have been revolutionized with the development of genetically improved, fast growing and high yielding Clonal planting stock of Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus Clonal planting has been said to have advantages which includes quick provision of benefits associates with fast growth, short rotation for production of pulp wood (of around 70 MT ha-1 in 6 years) ready marketing and easy establishment and less maintenance needs. Clonal planting one among the approach for management of water and nutrients compared to the other conventional strategies. Studies relating to Clonal difference and evaluation for dry matter production will help to overcome productivity loss due to deficit rainfall and optimum utilization of available natural resources for higher wood production. The present study was carried out to test the hypothesis that there exists a Clonal variation in growth, biomass production and yield and the present study gives an insight in to Clonal variation in with reference to growth, biomass production and yield.

Aluminium composites are inevitable in ship building, commercial and defence aircrafts construction due to their light weight, high strength to weight ratio, admirable properties and cost affordability. In this study, the microstructural characteristics of explosive cladded dissimilar grade aluminium (Al 1100-A1 5052) clad composites reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) particles is presented. Microstructure taken at the interface by optical and scanning electron microscopes (SEM) revealed the formation of a silicon carbide layer between the dissimilar grade aluminium sheets. Though reaction layers were witnessed at few locations along the interface, the diffusion of atoms between the participant metals is not visible as confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy, elemental mapping, line analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The variation in microhardness at various regions of the silicon carbide reinforced dissimilar aluminium explosive clad is reported. The increase in tensile strength of the SiC laced clad is also presented.

Background and Aim: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an acute viral infection affecting cloven-hoofed animals causing vesicular erosions in the oral cavity and interdigital space. The present study was undertaken to ascertain the time-dependent changes in clinical, hematological, and biochemical profiles in different breeds of cattle following experimental infection. Materials and Methods: The animals were inoculated with 1.0×104 50% bovine tongue infectious dose (BTID50) by intradermolingual route. Clinical signs were observed, and blood/serum samples were collected at different time intervals. Results: The white blood cell count declined sharply on days 7-13 and recovered on day 14 post-FMD infection. Biochemical analysis of serum markers for vital organ profile revealed no marked damage. However, a significant increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) value indicated pre-renal azotemia. Transient hyperthyroidism was indicated by the rise in T3 and T4 that can be correlated with a decrease in triglyceride and total cholesterol levels. In the cardiac damage assessment study, a distinct breed difference was observed wherein Malnad Gidda calves showed no cardiac damage. Conclusion: Except thyroid profile, BUN, and creatine kinase-myocardial band, all other serum biochemical parameters showed no significant abnormalities, whereas lymphopenia is the only hematological change and it is suggested that effective ameliorative measures should be targeted mainly on the feed/water intake, thyroid gland, and the level of lymphocytes.

The focus of this study is to produce zinc-based iron oxide nanocomposite as a catalyst for biodiesel and antibiofilm applications, which were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). The nanocomposite was evaluated as a catalyst for biodiesel production by using lipid extracted from Entermorpha intestinalis, Caulerpa racemosa, and Hypnea musicoformisis. All were highly yielding saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Traditional transesterification methods have proven in alcoholysis with methanol yields reasonably in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst. Moreover, heterogeneous catalyst exhibits potential conversion in the reaction and having reliable reusability. The presence of metal ions from zinc oxides exhibits from the catalyst minimized the course of the reaction. H. musicoformisis shown the topmost conversion of 78% and C. racemosa, E. intestinalis shows reliable conversions of 72% and 70.5%, respectively. In the optimization of different parameters. The methyl ester presence was determined by FT-IR and GCMS analysis. In reusability aspects, we utilized Fe2ZnO4 composite after transesterification for antibiofilm analysis also. The results indicate that leftover nanoparticles have strong antibiofilm properties and could be applied as an efficient osteoconductive functional material. Keywords: Entermorpha intestinalis, Caulerpa racemosa, Hypnea musicoformisis, Fe2ZnO4, Antibiofilm

Several industries have become major contributors to waterbody contamination due to the improper removal of dyes and effluents into water bodies. Due to their carcinogenic properties and low biodegradability, dye degradation is a considerable danger to people, animals, and the oceanic environment. As part of this study, Andrographis paniculata leaf extract was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent to synthesize zinc nanoparticles and degrade dyes such as methyl red and eosin. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) showed a surface plasmon resonance peak at 430 nm in the UV spectrum. The FTIR result showed a band at 597.93 cm−1 that confirmed the formation of zinc nanoparticles. AFM results revealed spherical ZnONPs. The SEM results predicted an average particle size of 60 nm for crystalline particles. Biologically synthesized zinc nanoparticles exhibited greater antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas spp. and Proteus spp. but lesser activity against Klebsiella spp. and S. aureus. At 1000 μg/ml concentration, ZnONPs had the highest antioxidant activity of 45.34%. An ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer measured dye degradation progress between 300 and 800 nm. For methyl red, the maximum absorption peak was measured at 415 nm, and for eosin, the maximum peak value was measured between 500 and 515 nm.

The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore, India functioning under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehara Dun, India, has a long term systematic tree improvement programme in Eucalyptus spp. aimed to enhancing productivity and screening of clones for site specific. In the process, twenty four clones of Eucalyptus spp. were studied for the nutrient use efficiency (NUE) from the established clonal trials. It also provides valuable information for establishing plantations at different geographic locations. Considerable variations were observed when the selected 24 clones of Eucalyptus spp. were subjected to NUE studies. The clones of C-188, C-10, C-14, C-19, C-123 and C-186 are falls in one cluster and the NUE for production of biomass and the commercial wood, the Eucalyptus clones of are registered lower consumption of available nutrients for production of biomass and commercial wood compared to ruling clones and the seed origin seedlings. Further, the clonal variations in NUE are discussed in detail in this article and clones suitable for large scale planting with higher productivity and NUE.

This study applies L9 orthogonal array of Taguchi design to obtain an optimum combination of oxygenated additive, its blending proportion with diesel and injection timing in a naturally aspirated, direct-injection diesel engine with an objective to achieve maximum reduction in smoke emissions with minimum increase in NOx emissions and minimum decrease in brake thermal efficiency (BTE) at various load conditions. Experiments are designed based on design of experiments (DOE) method to reduce the number of trials. Multi-response signal-to-noise ratio (MRSN) technique is incorporated into the conventional taguchi design to obtain the optimum level of factors according to the set objective. Confirmation experiment is conducted to verify the predicted optimum combination of factors and the results were compared in the same engine operated with baseline diesel fuel injected at its original injection timing. The results indicated that the response variables presented significant improvements with the predicted combination, thus validating the use of Taguchi method in reducing emissions and improving performance simultaneously. Keywords: Diesel engine, Optimisation, Emission control, NOx, Smoke, Taguchi method

The present study was conducted during Rabi 2018 utilizing selected mung bean germplasm for validation of genetic variability and correlation among yield and yield contributing traits of mung bean. One hundred and ten indigenous mungbean germplasm were investigated for this study for ten biometrical traits viz., day to 50% flowering (days), plant height (cm), number of primary branches per plant, no. of clusters per plant, no. of pods per cluster, no. of pods per plant, no. of seeds per pod, pod length (cm), 100 seed weight (g) and single plant yield (g). Phenotypic co-efficient of variation (PCV) was slightly higher than genotypic co-efficient of variation (GCV) for most of the traits that pronounces the expression of these traits being influenced by both genotype and environment. Higher estimates of PCV and GCV were observed in the traits pods per plant, 100 seed weight and single plant yield suggesting that these traits offer a scope of direct selection. The traits days to 50% flowering (98 per cent), plant height (83 per cent), number of pods per plant (86 per cent) and single plant yield (98 per cent) have shown high heritability besides higher genetic advance as percent of mean (20 per cent) indicating that the above mentioned characters display a strong additive gene action and they can be subjected to genetic improvement through simple selection. Genotypic correlation construes higher values than phenotypic correlation for most of the traits. Single plant yield showed highly significant correlation with all the characters at 1 per cent level. Path analysis of the 110 green gram genotypes indicated that the number of pods per plant exhibited a direct effect which is very high positive effect whereas number of seeds per pod showed moderate direct effect. Hence, simultaneous selection for the above traits would be more rewarding to bring improvement in mung bean.

In the present investigation, a total of 50 indigenous rice genotypes collected from rice growing regions of Tamil Nadu were screened for their drought tolerance ability. The experimental setup comprises of hydroponic treatments with different levels of osmotic potential, upto (-) 15 bars in a progressive manner. Phenotypic responses showed that,30% of the landraces tested were highly susceptible and only 12% were highly tolerant to moisture stress on 26 DAS. The germination percent (GP) was significantly varied between 0.83 to 1.14 for stress (S) and control treatments respectively. The genotypes viz., kuliyadichan and rajalakshmi recorded high germination percent (1.18) compared to other land races under moisture stress condition. The significant mean root length varied from 10.65cm to 4.05cm and 13.65cm to 5.60cm at an OP of (-) 15 bars and control respectively. Similarly, the significant mean shoot length varied from 24.15 cm to 7.35cm under moisture stress ((-) 15 bars) and 38.25cm to 17.15cm under control. The highest R/S ratio was observed in kuliyadichan (0.87) while the lowest ratio was recorded by the genotype annada (0.18) at OP of (-) 15 bars. In addition, high SHR ratio (120.26) was also recorded for kuliyadichan and low SHR (8.99) for virendra. These results suggest that the genotypes kuliyadichan, chandaikar, mallikar, mattaikar, rajalakshmi and nootripattu represent better source-sink relationship. It is concluded that these genotypes can be used as donor candidates towards genetic improvement of drought tolerance (DT) in rice.

The present investigation was conducted in the F2 population of CR 1009 × WP 22-2 for earliness and semi-dwarfism. The yield contributing traits viz., plant height, days to fifty per cent flowering, number of productive tillers, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, thousand grain weight, grain length, grain breadth, length breadth ratio were interpreted based on their exposition of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance besides correlation and path coefficient analysis. Negligible values of difference between PCV and GCV were recorded for plant height, number of grains per panicle, grain length and grain breadth suggesting lower environmental influence on the expression of these traits. The results of correlation and path analysis indicated that the number of productive tillers shows significantly positive and highest correlation with single plant yield pursuing selection of this trait is rewarding for grain yield improvement.

Salinity is a major abiotic factor that affects rice cultivation in the world along the coastal areas. The salt affected areas in India is estimated to be around 8 to 10 million hectares that causes significant reduction in rice growth and yield. In order to improve the rice cultivars for salt tolerance, selection of the suitable genotypes is necessitated. Hence, in this experiment ninety seven rice genotypes including traditional landraces were collected and subjected to screening under salt stress by hydroponics system on Yoshida nutrient solution of EC 8 dSm-1and 12 dSm-1 with 4 replications. The genotypes were scored on 15th day after sowing based on standard evaluation scoring system of IRRI. Among the 97 rice genotypes scored, 5% were tolerant, 21% were moderately tolerant, 54% genotypes were susceptible and 18% were highly susceptible. The rice genotypes viz., Pokkali, FL478, Kuliyadichan, Gurukot and IR12L-107 revealed significant level of tolerance to salt stress. The rice genotypes, Pokkali and FL478 showed no symptoms at 8 dSm-1 and leaf rolling alone at 12dSm-1. Kuliyadichan, Gurukot and IR12L-107 showed leaf rolling at 8dSm-1 and leaf rolling and leaf tip burning at 12dSm-1. Screening of the rice genotypes for salinity tolerance only by visual symptoms is not reliable and hence the selected rice genotypes will further be characterized based on the morphological and biochemical parameters under salt stress in order to select elite salt tolerant rice genotypes for use in developing salinity tolerant somaclones by in vitro culture.

In this paper we focus on microfinance institutions in South Asia. These microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide credit to the poor who have no access to commercial banks. This is done to reduce poverty and to help the poor with setting up their own income generating businesses. There appears to be in general a conflict between the outreach activities of such MFIs and their sustainability. It may also influence the efficient functioning of such organizations. Therefore, the focus in literature has shifted from subsidizing MFIs to their financial sustainability and efficiency. It is now presumed that such institutions should be able to cover the cost of lending money out of the income generated from the outstanding loan portfolio and to reduce these costs as much as possible. Besides it there is an element of increasing competition among MFIs which is coupled with factors like commercialization, technological change and financial liberalization and regulation policies of the government. In view of such developments we analyze the behavior of microfinance institutions in South Asia comprising MFIs in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We look into major aspects of access to poor by MFIs, sustainability in activities and finances as well as the efficiency of such organizations from different parameters. Using data for 5 years for 142 MFIs across these nations, our results indicate that the goals of sustainability and efficiency are not always mutually supportive. In the long run thus these organizations should choose their focus to those outreach activities in which they exhibit efficiency from different angles such that sustainability along with reduced dependence on lenders as well survival in competitive environment is feasible.

Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and mouse epiblast stem cells (mEpiSCs) are the pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of preimplantation embryos at embryonic day 3.5 (E3.5) and postimplantation embryos at E5.5-E7.5, respectively. Depending on their environment, PSCs can exist in the so-called naïve (ESCs) or primed (EpiSCs) states. Exposure to EpiSC or human ESC (hESC) culture condition can convert mESCs towards an EpiSC-like state. Here, we show that the undifferentiated epiblast state is however not stabilized in a sustained manner when exposing mESCs to hESC or EpiSC culture condition. Rather, prolonged exposure to EpiSC condition promotes a transition to a primitive streak- (PS-) like state via an unbiased epiblast-like intermediate. We show that the Brachyury-positive PS-like state is likely promoted by endogenous WNT signaling, highlighting a possible species difference between mouse epiblast-like stem cells and human Embryonic Stem Cells.

This paper deals with an integrated and interconnected stochastic queuing-inventory system with a fresh item, a returned item, and a refurbished item. This system provides a multi-type service facility to an arriving multi-class customer through a dedicated channel. It sells fresh and refurbished items, buys used items from customers, refurbishes the used items for resale, and provides a repair service for defective items. The assumption of purchasing a used item from the customer and allowing them to buy a fresh item is a new idea in stochastic queuing-inventory modeling. To do so, this system has four parallel queues to receive four classes of customers and five dedicated servers to provide a multi-type service facility. Customers are classified according to the type of service they require. Each class of arrival follows an independent Poisson process. The service time of each dedicated server is assumed to be exponentially distributed and independent. This system assumes an instantaneous ordering policy for the replenishment of a fresh item. In the long run of this considered system, the joint probability distribution of the seven-dimensional stochastic process, significant system performance measures, and the optimum total cost are to be derived using the Neuts matrix geometric technique. The main objective of the system was to increase the occurrence of all kinds of customers by providing a multi-type service facility in one place. Buying a used item is unavoidable in an emerging society because it helps form a green society. Furthermore, the numerical result shows that the assumption of a system that allows a customer to sell their used item and purchase a new item will increase the number of customers approaching the system.

Forty hybrids incurred from five high yielding genetically diverse lines and eight testers for appraise eleven important quantitative and qualitative traits of mungbean. Mid parent, better parent and standard parent heterotic effects were estimated. The highest standard heterosis is observed for number of cluster per plant. The highest mid parent, better parent and standard parent heterosis for number of cluster per plant viz., 182.66 per cent, 173.44 per cent 196.61 per cent respectively, for the hybrid EC 396120 x IPM 99125. The highest standard heterosis of 31.5 percent for seed protein content was recorded for the hybrid between EC 396126 and CO GG 930. Based on per se performance and standard heterosis, hybrids were identified for heterosis breeding. The crosses, PANT M 103 x COGG 930, EC 396120 x IPM 99 125, AGG 10091 x CO 7, PANT M 103 x MH 565, AGG 100 91 x IPM 99 125, EC 396120 x IPM 0214, PANT M 103 x CO 7 and EC 396120 x PUSA VISHAL exhibited significant per se and standard heterosis for single plant yield. So these crosses were considered as superior crosses and further utilized in the breeding programme.

The present experiment was carried out during Kharif2016 to assess the genetic variability and correlation among yield and yield attributing characters of mungbean. Thirty six mungbeangermplasm were investigated for this study for 10 quantitative characters viz., days to 50% flowering, plant height (cm), number of primary branches per plant, number of clusters per plant, number of pods per cluster, number of pods per plant, pod length (cm), number of seeds per pod, 100 seed weight (g) and seed yield per plant (g). On the basis of genetic variability study all the characters exhibited high heritability coupled with high genetic advance, indicating the preponderance of additive gene action. Selection based on this trait will be fruitful. Phenotypic correlation is higher than the genotypic correlation for all the characters under study. From the correlation studies, seed yield per plant showed positive significant correlation with the traits viz., number of pods per plant, number of clusters per plant and number of pods per cluster. Hence, simultaneous selection for the above traits would be more rewarding to bring improvement in mungbean.

The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, India functioning under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehara Dun, has a long term systematic tree improvement programme in Eucalyptus spp. aimed to enhancing productivity and screening of clones for site specific. In the process, twenty four clones of Eucalyptus spp. were studied for the physiological parameters and water use efficiency from the established clonal trials. It also provides valuable information for establishing plantations at different geographic locations. Considerable variations were observed when the selected 24 clones of Eucalyptus spp. were subjected to physiological and WUE studies. The clones of C-188, C-186, C-14, C-10, C-123 and C-19 are falls in one cluster and the water use efficiency values are lower when compared to other clones and these clones are ranked first for high water use efficient clones for better productivity. Further, the clonal variation in physiological parameters and water use efficiency are discussed in detail in this article and clones suitable for large scale planting with higher productivity and WUE.

In the present investigation, the power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells has been remarkably increased by incorporation of green synthesized silver nanoparticles into TiO2 photoanodes. Uniform silver nanoparticles were developed by treating silver ions with Peltophorum pterocarpum flower extract at room temperature. The obtained silver nanoparticles have been characterized by UV-vis. spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction analysis and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the obtained silver nanoparticles were polycrystalline in nature with face centered cubic lattice. Silver nanoparticles, with an approximate size in the range of 20–50 nm were examined by the TEM. The plasmonic nanocomposite material was prepared by mixing different green synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag content of 1, 2 and 3 wt%) with P25TiO2 nanoparticles and used as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells. Due to the plasmonic effect of the modified electrode, the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell was improved from 2.83% to 3.62% with increment around 28% after incorporation of the 2 wt% of the silver nanoparticles. Maximum increases in open-circuit voltage (up to 12.1%) and in short-circuit current density (up to 10.7%) were observed.

The coastal landuse and land cover features in the South West coast of Kanyakumari are dynamically regulated due to marine and terrestrial processes and often controlling by natural and anthropogenic activities. The primary objective of this study is to estimate the decadal changes and their transformations of landuse and land cover (LULC) features under Level II category of USGS-LULC Classification System using Landsat ETM+ and TM images using Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) algorithm for the period 2000–2011. The classified LULC features are categorized as beachface land cover, cultivable lands, plantation and shrub vegetation, fallow land, barren land, settlements and built-ups, water bodies, and mining area, etc. The geo-database is prepared for LULC feature class with an attributes of name, location, area and spatial distribution, etc. It shows the larger area in beachface land cover (sandy beaches, foredunes, uplands, Teri dunes (laterite) and associated nearshore landforms), plantations, cultivable lands, fallows, and barren lands are converted into built-ups and it increases more than twice in the period of 10 years. Using GIS techniques, the analysis of change detection matrix reveals that the total area of 45.90 km2 in different LULC features periodically shifted or transformed from one state to another one or more states, i.e. the beachface land cover area of 1.24 km2 is encroached for built-ups and 0.63 km2 for placer mining during the decade. Meanwhile, the area of 0.21 km2 in this cover is transformed into wetlands and saltwater bodies. During the past decade, the expansion of area in the built-ups and settlements are directly proportional to the growth of population, which produces severe threat to the coastal resources. Accuracy assessment of classified images shows the overall accuracy is estimated as 81.16% and 77.52% and overall Kappa coeffient statistical values of 0.83 and 0.76 for the year 2000 and 2011 respectively. Ground truth verification of the extracted LULC features performed using 120 samples (10 samples per class) reveals that the accuracy of classified features is 89%. This indicates the acceptable accuracy of the classified LULC features for landuse and land cover change studies. The geodatabase of LULC features is used as primary source for sustainable land resource management in the coastal region.

The last few years have witnessed great deal of research activities in the area of reversible logic; the intrinsic functionality to reduce the power dissipation that has been the main requirement in the low power digital circuit design has garnered more attraction to this field. In this paper various power gating techniques for power minimization in adder and 4 bit serial in serial out (SISO) shift register circuits is proposed. The work also analyze various leakage reduction approaches such as sleep approach, sleepy stack approach, dual sleep technique and zig-zag technique for gate diffusion input technique, self resetting gate diffusion input technique for complementary metal oxide semi conductor (CMOS) technology and forced stack and multiplexer based SISO registers. A 4 bit SISO and full adder was designed in a cadence virtuoso 180 nm technology and the simulated results show the trade-off between power, delay and power for the sequential circuits and the results demonstrate that minimum power consumption can be achieved when the adder and SISO are designed for clock gating.

A high yielding blackgram variety KKM 1 (KKB 05011 culture) is a cross derivative of COBG 653 x VBN 3 and matures in 65-70 days. This culture recorded a mean grain yield of 645 and 570 Kg/ha in station trials which is 16.2 and 12.4 per cent increased yield over check variety ADT 3 under irrigated and rice fallow condition respectively. It has bold seeds with a mean 100 seed weight of 4.47 grams. It is determinate and has synchronized maturity. The protein content of KKB 05011 is 20.8 per cent and has good batter qualities like high initial batter volume and volume after fermentation. The blackgram KKB 05011 culture is moderately resistant to Yellow mosaic virus, Powdery mildew and Pod borer but resistant to root knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica). The blackgram KKB 05011 was released as TNAU blackgram KKM 1 in the year 2017 for large scale cultivation in Tamil Nadu.

This paper analyses large panel of Self-Help Group (SHG) financing across 30 Indian states over the period 2007 to 2015. Classifying the panel across four different bank based on financing, we find a significant and positive association of both outstanding loan and savings of SHGs to that of bank financing across the states. Applying panel regression frameworks of both time varying and state specific fixed effects, we have obtained positive association between outstanding loans, savings rate of SHGs to that of bank loans. Our panel model has further confirmed that increases in the number of SHGs have positively influenced the bank loans particularly from public and private sectors over the years. The results thus suggest that financial inclusion drive in India has made financial institutions across the sectors to extend loan for small sector initiatives.

In the present work effect of EGR at advanced injection on combustion characteristics of a diesel engine was investigated. A 4.4 kW stationary diesel engine was used in this work and test was conducted at different percentage of EGR at advanced fuel injection timing. When compared to standard injection timing longer delay period, higher cylinder peak pressure, higher maximum heat release rate and shorter combustion duration were observed at advanced injection timing. When exhaust gases were recycled into the combustion chamber at advanced injection timing, delay period, peak pressure, MHRR and combustion duration were found to be increased than those of measured without EGR.

Rhizophora mucronata var. alokii (Rhizophoraceae), a new variety of Rhizophora from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, is described and illustrated. The new variety is remarkable in having four stamens, laterally folded leaves, a short peduncle, thick leathery petals, and a four-sided ovary with a sessile style. A key for the species of Rhizophora of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is also provided.

This study aims to provide an accurate and realistic prediction model for electricity demand using population, imports, exports, per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and per capita Gross National Income (GNI) data for India. Four different models were used for different combinations of the above five input variables and the effect of input variables on the estimation of electricity demand has been demonstrated. In order to train the network 29 years data and to test the network 9 years data have been used. The future electricity demand for a period of 8 years from 2013 to 2020 has been predicted. The performance of the ANFIS technique is proved to be better than Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN).

The main objective of the present work was to reduce the higher NOx emission of a stationary engine fueled with diesel with less increase in smoke density and compare the results with that of crude rice bran oil methyl ester (CRBME). Design of experiments method was employed to design the experiments and Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array was used to conduct the engine tests. Experiment results were analyzed by calculating multi response signal-to-noise ratio (MRSN) and the optimum combination level of factors for the chosen objective was obtained simultaneously using Taguchi’s parametric design. Variance of the MRSN ratio was analyzed through analysis of variance method and the most influencing factor for the chosen objective was obtained for diesel and compared with CRBME. Confirmation experiment was conducted for the obtained optimum combination level of factors and the results were compared with normal operating conditions.

The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, India functioning under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehara Dun, has a long term systematic tree improvement program for Tectona grandis aimed to enhancing productivity and screening of clones for site specific. In the process, twenty clones of T. grandis L. were studied for the physiological parameters and water use efficiency with reference to the elevated CO2 levels. CO2 enrichment studies in special chambers help in understanding the changes at individual level, and also at physiological, biochemical and genetic level. It also provides valuable information for establishing plantations at different geographic locations. Considerable variations were observed when the selected 20 clones of T. grandis were subjected to physiological studies under elevated CO2 conditions (600 and 900 mol mol-1). Eight clones exhibited superior growth coupled with favorable physiological characteristics including high photosynthetic rate, carboxylation and water use efficiency under elevated CO2 levels. Clones with minimal variation in physiological characteristics under elevated levels of CO2 suggest their ability to overcome physiological stresses and adapt to varying climatic conditions.

Aim: To assess the humoral immune response of Eimeria tenella sporozoites in broiler chickens by a developed enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the efficacy in terms of bodyweight, lesion score and oocysts excretion in immunized broilers. Materials and Methods: Purified live E. tenella sporozoites were administered subcutaneously in neck region of broiler chickens in the early life (first week) at different concentrations. The potency of the sporozoite vaccine as assessed by IgG levels and the performance in immunized broilers as assessed by body weight, lesion score and oocysts excretion in faeces after challenge with 10, 000 live E. tenella oocysts at 49 days of age were evaluated. Results: The chickens of group (T4) immunized with 20 µg of antigen on day 6 showed an increase in IgG levels (0.161±0.004) two weeks post immunization (PI) peaking (0.399± 0.016) at 5 weeks PI. The mean weekly weight gain (g) after challenge, at 56 days of age was high in T4 (148±4.751 g) with a low mean lesion score (2.5±0.22) and mean oocyst output (x103 oocytes per gram (OPG) in faeces (100.3± 45.72) when compared to unimmunised infected controls. Conclusion: An early but partial immune response against caecal coccidiosis could be achieved by immunization with E. tenella specific sporozoites in chickens of less than a week old. Moreover, the performance of immunized chickens as indicated by weight gain, lesion score and oocyst output was found to be superior to the unimmunized infected controls.

Inter-specific cross of Arachis hypogaea (2n=4x=40) and Arachis correntina x Arachis helodes (2n=2x=20) yielded the unstable triploid and sterile derivatives. The ploidy level of this triploid (3x) was then doubled with colchicine to get an unstable hexaploid derivative. The paper presents the cyto-morphological features of the produced unstable derivatives so as to frame a suitable breeding strategy to evolve the stable culture tolerant to major foliar diseases. Phenotypic attributes like leaf colour, length and width of calyx tube, poor pollen fertility and abortive ovarian system were found to be dominant in the triploid. Hexaploid progeny possessed leaves with larger veins, semi spreading habit, slow growth, shriveled anthers and improved pollen fertility as compared to triploid. The normal meiotic behaviour was witnessed among diploid and tetraploid parents while abnormal meiotic system as evidenced from the formation of trivalents and quadrivalents was noticed among triploid and hexaploid derivatives. Abnormal sporads also recorded among triploid and hexaploid leading to formation of sterile pollen grain.

The design of low power high performance Multiply and Accumulate (MAC) unit is presented in this paper. The power analysis for MAC unit is carried out for image filtering application exploiting insignificant bits in pixel values. The developed technique is found to reduce dynamic power consumption by analyzing the bit patterns in the input data which reduces the switching activities. The power consumption of the developed multiplier is compared with existing multiplier techniques and found that is performs better. It is observed from the simulation using SYNOPSIS EDA tool that the proposed pixel properties reusability technique saves power up to 88% with small area over head when used in MAC unit.

Power System planning starts with Electric load (demand) forecasting. Accurate electricity load forecasting is one of the most important challenges in managing supply and demand of the electricity, since the electricity demand is volatile in nature; it cannot be stored and has to be consumed instantly. The aim of this study deals with electricity consumption in India, to forecast future projection of demand for a period of 19 years from 2012 to 2030. The eleven input variables used are Amount of CO2 emission, Population, Per capita GDP, Per capita gross national income, Gross Domestic savings, Industry, Consumer price index, Wholesale price index, Imports, Exports and Per capita power consumption. A new methodology based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) using principal components is also used. Data of 29 years used for training and data of 10 years used for testing the ANNs. Comparison made with multiple linear regression (based on original data and the principal components) and ANNs with original data as input variables. The results show that the use of ANNs with principal components (PC) is more effective.

Twenty four inter specific desi cotton hybrids developed in a line x tester were studied to find out the extent of heterosis for 14different characters viz., yield, days to flowering, plant height, sympodia per plant, bolls per plant, boll weight, seed index, lintindex, ginning per cent, micronaire value, uniformity ratio, bundle strength, 2.5 per cent span length and elongation ratio. Therewas appreciable heterosis for all the traits studied. The best performing F1 hybrid, AH 60 x RAHS 129 showed the highest midparent heterosis and heterobeltiosis. For seed cotton yield per plant, heterosis ranged from 33.61 to 431.32 and –48.08 to 426.36per cent over mid parent and better parents respectively. The hybrid, AH 60 x RAHS 129 found to be superior for seven traitswhile the crosses AH 56 x G. Cot. 17 and AH 56 x RAHS 129 registered superiority for six and five different traits, respectively.

Recent herpetological surveys in northern Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh yielded sightings of Jerdon’s Gecko Hemidactylus subtriedrus Jerdon 1853. Little is known about its distribution and taxonomic status. This species closely resembles the Termite Hill Gecko Hemidactylus triedrus (Daudin 1802) and it has often been taxonomically confused with it. Therefore, through this communication we provide information on the occurrence of Jerdon’s Gecko along with details showing the level of resemblance and differences from Termite Hill Gecko.

A carbonaceous adsorbent prepared from an indigenous waste by acid treatment was tested for its efficiency in removing chromium ion. The parameters studied include agitation time, initial chromium ion concentration, carbon dose, pH and temperature. The adsorption followed first order reaction equation and the rate is mainly controlled by intra-particle diffusion. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models were applied to the equilibrium data. The adsorption capacity (Qm) obtained from the Langmuir isotherm plots were 27.40, 26.06, 26.06 and 26.17 mg/g respectively at an initial pH of 7.0 at 30, 40, 50 and 60°C. The temperature variation study showed that the chromium ion adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous with increased randomness at the solid solution interface. Significant effect on adsorption was observed on varying the pH of the chromium ion solutions. Almost 70% removal of chromium ion was observed at 60°C. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms obtained, positive ∆H0 value, pH dependent results and desorption of dye in mineral acid suggest that the adsorption of chromium ion on PDC involves physisorption mechanism.