Baker Domain for a transcendental skew-product

In this note, we demonstrate the existence of a Baker domain of a transcendental skew-product by constructing a domain that is shown to be absorbing using plurisubharmonic method

Mental Illness in India

The armed territorial conflicts, terror activities, and failing economies in several countries are breeding mental health issues. Mental illness, shrouded by stigma is the elephant in the room here which is finally acknowledged by the society and the policy makers. Both the military as well as the civilian society are affected. The rigours of military life and the daily anxiety of civilian society, both appear to be leading to mental health issues in defence personnel and the civilians. In India, with limited medical resources, the situation is even grim. In this review paper, the focus remains on the issues of mental health and mental illness, which have recently come to the fore on account of many national happenings in last few years. The paper explores the extant literature on mental illness in India and outlines the meaning of mental illness, discusses the legislations and Government’s programmes and initiatives regarding the promotion of mental health. The issue of mental health is discussed in light of rising suicide incidence in our soldiers which is a cause of concern. The paper culminates with the suggestions for further research and remedial measures.  

Mating Incompatibility genes in fungal pathogen Colletotrichum lentils

Colletotrichum lentis is a serious foliar and stem pathogen causing anthracnose in lentil, which can lead to major losses in crop productivity. This fungal pathogen is asexual under field conditions but can undergo sexual reproduction in the laboratory, where two mating incompatibility groups (mIG-1 and mIG-2) were identified. Based on the absence of MAT1-1 and the presence of MAT1-2 in isolates of both mIGs, it was previously determined that C. lentis does not follow the classical mating system of heterothallic ascomycetes, which is governed through the mating type (MAT) locus. Bulk segregant analysis of an ascospore-derived population had revealed one major QTL, qClMAT3, on chromosome 3 of the C. lentis genome associated with mating incompatibility, but it is devoid of classical MAT genes. It was therefore hypothesized that genes other than the classical MAT genes may be regulating compatibility of two isolates as the first step in mating and the development of sexual reproductive structures. Using Colletotrichum gene-specific parameters, a total of 106 genes were predicted at QTL qClMAT3 through the gene prediction tool FGENESH. Blasting (BLASTx) against the genera Colletotrichum, Neurospora and Podospora to identify homologous genes, and a search of the literature for evidence of an involvement in various pathways regulating mating identified 28 genes with a role in mating. As C. lentis appears to follow a heterothallic incompatibility system the status of these 28 genes in isolates of the two mIGs was analyzed in terms of presence or absence and sequence polymorphisms. Presence or absence of genes was not correlated with mIG, nor were there polymorphisms that were characteristic for specific mIGs. To study the temporal dynamics of candidate genes in vegetative mycelium and at several sexual stages, four developmental stages of perithecia were determined based on morphological characters such as the shape and color of perithecia as well as the development of asci and ascospores. Gene expression studies in individual mycelia, a vegetative co-culture of two compatible isolates and in two developmental stages of perithecia through RT-qPCR of 11 most promising candidate genes revealed that two genes, Cl_Nop2 and Cl_IDC1, showed differential expression in the vegetative mycelia of CT-21 and CT-30. Cl_IDC1 plays a role in mRNA trafficking during chemotropic interactions in model species P. anserina and N. crassa, and Cl_Nop2 plays a role in cell viability. Four genes (Cl_HP3, Cl_SART1, Cl_Hpt and Cl_KH) associated with signaling pathways during chemotropic interactions showed upregulation in the co-culture compared to other stages, except for Cl_HP3, which was also upregulated in stage 3 perithecia. Expression of Cl_BING4CT associated with vegetative incompatibility and Cl_HP9 involved in cell cycle was downregulated in the co-cultures. The expression of Cl_Cro1, a gene expressed mainly during the dikaryotic stage and ascospore maturation in P. anserine, and mutation of which resulted in defects in septum formation in that species, was downregulated in stage 2 perithecia as compared to other stages. Expression of Cl_BING4CT, Cl_HP9 and Cl_IDC1, specifically in the mycelial co-cultures, identified them as the most promising candidates for regulating mating incompatibility, which requires further validation through a gene silencing approach or the creation of mutants followed by mating experiments

A study of the long term evolution of quasi periodic oscillations in the accretion powered X-ray pulsar 4U 1626-67

We report here a study of the long term properties of Quasi Periodic Oscillations (QPO) in an unusual accreting X-ray pulsar, 4U 1626--67. This is a unique accretion powered X-ray pulsar in which we have found the QPOs to be present during all sufficiently long X-ray observations with a wide range of X-ray observatories. In the present spin-down era of this source, the QPO central frequency is found to be decreasing. In the earlier spin-up era of this source, there are only two reports of QPO detections, in 1983 with EXOSAT and 1988 with GINGA with an increasing trend. The QPO frequency evolution in 4U 1626--67 during the last 22 years changed from a positive to a negative trend, somewhat coincident with the torque reversal in this source. In the accretion powered X-ray pulsars, the QPO frequency is directly related to the inner radius of the accretion disk, as per Keplerian Frequency Model (KFM) and Beat Frequency Model (BFM). A gradual depletion of accretion disk is reported earlier from the X-ray spectral, flux and pulse profile measurements. The present QPO frequency evolution study shows that X-ray flux and mass accretion rate may not change by the same factor, hence the simple KFM and BFM are not able to explain the QPO evolution in this source. This is the only X-ray pulsar to show persistent QPOs and is also the first accreting X-ray pulsar in which the QPO history is reported for a long time scale relating it with the long term evolution of the accretion disk.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Hadamard Coded Modulation for Wavelet based Radio Over Fiber Networks

With the advancements in the technology of communication, there has been an increase in demand of higher data rates for the services such as voice, multimedia and data over both wired and wireless links. Therefore there is the requirement of new modulation schemes to transfer the large amount of data that existing techniques may not be capable of supporting in future. OFDM so far has resulted in good performance on the implementation level but, these techniques must be able to provide high data rate, allowable Bit Error Rate (BER), and minimum delay. In this paper, PAPR, CCDF of OFDM is implemented using wavelet transform based Hadamard Coded Modulation (HCM) and discusses relationship between them for RoF networks. This paper also presents comparison of OFDM and DWT-HCM BER performance for different SNR values

Transbordamento da Nova Pandemia de Covid-19 no Turismo De Punjab

The paper purposes to describe the spread of Covid-19 in Punjab, pre Covid-19 period, its effects on Punjab Tourism, and also put forwards a set of recovery measures for tourism sector. The data used is secondary in nature, collected from news broadcasted by several media outlets, various journals, newspapers, articles and official website of Punjab Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, WHO.  The study investigated that the outbreak of the global pandemic Covid-19 (Corona Virus Disease -2019) pandemic is an unprecedented shock to the state’s tourism industry. The Punjab Tourism was in a prospering state before Covid-19 struck. With the prolonged country-wide lockdown, global economic downturn and associated disruption of movement of tourists, the Punjab tourism industry is facing an extended period of decline.  The study indicates the effects of Covid-19 in Punjab Tourism and also extends the preventive measures to tackle the pandemic. Although, the length of the impact will depend upon the duration and gravity of the health crisis, the duration of the lockdown and the manner in which the situation unfolds once the lockdown is lifted yet the situation can be tackled by adopting the suggestive recovery measures.  Key words: COVID-19 Pandemic; Punjab Tourism; Tourists Arrival; Spill Over; Recovery Measures.El objetivo de este artículo es describir la propagación de Covid-19 en Punjab, el periodo anterior a Covid-19, sus efectos en el turismo de Punjab y también proponer una serie de medidas de recuperación para el sector turístico. Los datos utilizados son de carácter secundario, recogidos de las noticias emitidas por varios medios de comunicación, varias revistas, periódicos, artículos y el sitio web oficial de Punjab Tourism, el Ministerio de Turismo y la OMS.  El estudio investigó que el estallido de la pandemia mundial Covid-19 (Enfermedad del Virus de la Corona -2019) es una conmoción sin precedentes para la industria turística del estado. El turismo de Punjab se encontraba en un estado próspero antes de que se produjera la Covid-19. Con el prolongado cierre del país, la recesión económica mundial y la consiguiente interrupción del movimiento de turistas, la industria turística del Punjab se enfrenta a un prolongado periodo de declive.  El estudio indica los efectos de Covid-19 en el turismo de Punjab y también amplía las medidas preventivas para hacer frente a la pandemia. Aunque la duración del impacto dependerá de la duración y la gravedad de la crisis sanitaria, de la duración del cierre y de la forma en que se desarrolle la situación una vez que se levante el cierre, la situación puede afrontarse adoptando las sugerentes medidas de recuperación. Palabras clave: Pandemia de COVID-19; Turismo en Punjab; Llegada de turistas; Desbordamiento; Medidas de recuperaciónO documento tem o objetivo de descrever a disseminação do Covid-19 no Punjab, período pré-Covid-19, seus efeitos sobre o Turismo do Punjab, e também apresentar um conjunto de medidas de recuperação para o setor turístico. Os dados utilizados são de natureza secundária, coletados de notícias transmitidas por diversos meios de comunicação, vários jornais, jornais, artigos e site oficial do Punjab Turismo, Ministério do Turismo, OMS.  O estudo investigou que o surto da pandemia global da Covid-19 (Doença do Vírus Corona -2019) é um choque sem precedentes para a indústria turística do estado. O Turismo do Punjab estava em um estado próspero antes da epidemia de Covid-19. Com o bloqueio prolongado de todo o país, a retração econômica global e a consequente interrupção do movimento de turistas, a indústria do turismo do Punjab está enfrentando um período prolongado de declínio.  O estudo indica os efeitos do Covid-19 no Turismo do Punjab e também estende as medidas preventivas para enfrentar a pandemia. Embora, a duração do impacto dependerá da duração e gravidade da crise sanitária, da duração do bloqueio e da forma como a situação se desenrolará uma vez que o bloqueio for levantado, ainda que a situação possa ser enfrentada adotando as sugestivas medidas de recuperação. Palavras-chave: COVID-19 Pandemia; Punjab Turismo; Chegada de Turistas; Spill Over; Medidas de Recuperação

SWOT Analysis of Health Literacy in India

Health literacy (HL) is defined as the personal characteristics and social resources needed for individuals and communities to access, understand, appraise and use information and services to make decisions about their health. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is an effective way of finding out what improvements are needed to promote health literacy, leading to better health. This paper is SWOT analysis of health literacy in India. The paper highlights many key points. The need for improvement in health literacy is of utmost importance and it is possible by making health information accessible, easily understandable, and need-based in order to garner effective outcomes

Dynamics on Bungee Set of Transcendental entire Functions

In this paper, we have explored some of the basic properties of the Bungee set of a transcendental entire function. We have provided a class of permutable entire functions for which their Bungee sets are equal. Moreover, we have obtained a result on permutable entire functions for which the escaping set of the composite entire function equals the union of the escaping sets of the two functions. In addition, we provide an important relation between the Bungee set of composite entire function with the Bungee set of individual functions.Comment: 9 pages. Work in progress. Comments are welcom

The analysis of Metarhizium robertsii potential as endophytic plant root coloniser, plant growth enhancer and antagonist to bean root pathogen Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseolis.

The soil-inhabiting insect-pathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii also colonizes plant roots endophytically, thus showing potential as a plant symbiont. M robertsii is not randomly distributed in soils but preferentially associates with the plant rhizosphere when applied in agricultural settings. Root surface and endophytic colonization of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and haricot beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) by M robertsii were examined after inoculation with fungal conidia. Light and confocal microscopies were used to ascertain this rhizosphere association. Root lengths, root hair density and emergence of lateral roots were also measured. Initially, M robertsii conidia adhered to, germinated on, and colonized, roots. Furthermore, plant roots treated with Metarhizium grew faster and the density of plant root hairs increased when compared with control plants. The onset of plant root hair proliferation was initiated before germination of M robertsii on the root (within 1-2 days). Plants inoculated with M robertsii AMAD2 (plant adhesin gene) took significantly longer to show root hair proliferation than the wild type. Cell free extracts of M robertsii did not stimulate root hair proliferation. Longer term (60 days) associations showed that M robertsii endophytically colonized individual cortical cells within bean roots. Metarhizium appeared as an amorphous mycelial aggregate within root cortical cells as well as between the intercellular spaces with no apparent damage to the plant. These results suggested that not only is M robertsii rhizosphere competent but displays a beneficial endophytic association with plant roots that results in the proliferation of root hairs. The biocontrol of bean (Phaseolis vulgaris) root rot fungus Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseolis by Metarhizium robertsii was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Dual cultures on Petri dishes showed antagonism of M robertsii against F. solani. A relative inhibition of ca. 60% of F. solani growth was observed in these assays. Cell free culture filtrates of M robertsii inhibited the germination of F. solani conidia by 83% and the inhibitory metabolite was heat stable. Beans plants colonized by M robertsii then exposed to F. solani showed healthier plant profiles and lower disease indices compared to plants not colonized by M robertsii. These results suggested that the insect pathogenic/endophytic fungus M robertsii could also be utilized as a biocontrol agent against certain plant pathogens occurring in the rhizosphere