Canola and mustard response to short periods of high temperature and drought stresses at different growth stages

Non-Peer ReviewedBrassica crops grown on the semiarid Canadian prairie are often subject to heat and water stress during the period of flowering. A growth chamber study was conducted at Swift Current to understand the effects of short periods of high temperature stress and/or water stress at different developmental stages on the seed yield formation of different Brassica species. Two advanced breeding lines of canola quality Brassica juncea (PC98-44 and PC98-45) along with a canola cv. Quantum (B. napus L.) and a mustard cv. Cutlass (B. juncea L.) were grown under 20/18 °C day/night temperature. High (35/18 °C) and low (28/18 °C) temperature stresses were imposed for 10 days at bolting, flowering or pod formation stages in two separate growth cabinets. At the same time, low (90% available water) or high (50% available water) water stress was imposed on half of the plants in each of the temperature treatments. All yield components were affected by temperature stress, while water stress had no effect on most yield components. The severe reduction of pods main shoot-1 (75%), seeds pod-1 (25%), and seed weight (22%) by 35/18 °C, reduced main stem seed yield of by 87% in all Brassica cultivars. However, seed yield reduction per plant by the same stress was 51%, indicating recovery from the stress treatments by Brassica species. Delaying exposure to stress to pod development stage reduced the chance of the plant to recover from the stress. The low water stress was to encouraging better recovery at 28/18 °C stress. In the controlled growth chamber, B. juncea cultivars responded to heat stress by increasing pod production but ignoring filling pods, while B. napus maintained a better seed fill. Under field conditions where plant-to-plant competition is strong, B. juncea may produce more pods with higher seed yield than canola; this needs to be confirmed with further field trials

Impact of Employee’s Behavior and Culture on Organizations Productivity in Pharmaceutical Industries of Bangaluru

The study was conducted to test the hypothesis using stratified and simple random sampling survey with a questionnaire. Social and cultural traits of individuals have  to play strong role on the performance of job in industries. The present study reveals the impact of employee’s behavior and culture on job performance as well as organizational productivity in Bangalore pharmaceutical industry. On the basis of this scores of hypothesis were made: I. There is no positive relationship between employee behaviour and culture on the productivity. So it will not give any impact on the financial health of the organization. II. There is no positive relationship between employee’s behaviour and culture on employee performance.  90% of the employees strongly agree that there is a relationship between employee behaviour and culture on employee productivity and continuous performance in the organization. Survey findings made me to accept alternative hypotheses and reject null hypothesis. In both the cases calculated values of chi-square are higher than the tabulated values. The study helps to ascertain employee’s behavior and cultural effect on the productivity of the organization and helps to formulate recommendations to improve

Stubble height and fertilizer N requirements for maximizing canola yield in the semiarid Canadian prairie

Non-Peer ReviewedCanola is becoming a viable crop when grown under fallow in the semiarid prairie, but is also grown in longer rotations, most often direct seeded into standing stubble. Taller standing stubble provides the canola seedlings with a more favorable micro-climate promoting more efficient use of water and increased yields compared to canola grown without the protection of standing stubble. When grown under the more limited moisture conditions of extended rotations but in the moisture conserving characteristics of taller standing stubble, we found canola yielded best with fertilizer N rates similar to those of the moister Black soil zone. Canola yields were consistently highest when fertilized with > 100 kg N ha-1

Plant temperature of canola direct seeded into standing stubble

Non-Peer Reviewe

Chickpea, field pea, and lentil yields when direct-seeded into standing stubble in the semiarid prairie of southwestern Saskatchewan

Non-Peer Reviewe

Extra-tall stubble and yield of wheat, canola, and chickpea

Non-Peer Reviewe

Attitudes of general dental practitioners towards biopsy procedures

Objectives: A dentist is required to detect and recognise oral lesions and inform the patient accordingly by providing a diagnosis and adequate treatment plan. Biopsy serves as an important aid in achieving this goal; however, its use is not so widespread in general dental practice. The objective of the present study was to explore the attitudes of general dental practitioners in Belgaum city towards biopsy for diagnosis of oral lesions. Material and methods: A self designed questionnaire was administered to 74 general dental practitioners in Belgaum city, in the southern region of India, consisting of several items addressing the socio-demographic and professional aspects and their attitudes towards oral biopsy procedures. Results: The response rate was exceptionally high i.e. 90.54%. All the dentists felt that biopsy was an important tool in diagnosis of oral lesions but many still did not venture to undertake it on their own and preferred referring it to a specialist or higher care centre. This was mainly due to lack of experience and patient factors. There were also conflicting results regarding referral diagnostic pathology services and preservation of the biopsy specimens. Conclusion: This emphasizes the need for higher levels of importance to be placed on this aspect in undergraduate and postgraduate dental curriculum. Organisation of specific training or continuing dental education programmes to enhance their practical skills could aid in increasing the utility of this important tool in diagnosis of oral lesion

Photoluminescence studies on MBE grown Co-doped ZnO thin films fabricated through ion implantation and swift heavy ion irradiation

The temperature dependant photoluminescence of the Co-doped ZnO thin films, prepared by ion implantation on the MBE grown ZnO thin films followed by swift heavy ion irradiation, were investigated. The phenomenon of negative thermal quenching (NTQ), where the photoluminescence (PL) intensity increases with temperature, in contrast to the usual behavior of decrease in intensity with temperature, has been observed. The I 3 peak and the peaks (a, b, c, d, and e), corresponding to t 2g and e g levels of the crystal field split Co d orbitals exhibit the NTQ behavior. The NTQ temperature range 35-45 K observed in un-doped ZnO shifts towards lower temperature with the Co doping. The increased number of dopant related and/or the vibrational/rotational resonance states with lower activation energies, from which the thermal excitation of the electrons takes place to the initial state of the PL transition, are responsible for the NTQ behavior. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Oxygen Cost of Performing Selected Adult and Child Care Activities

International Journal of Exercise Science 6(1) : 11-19, 2013. Little is known about the oxygen cost of caring for infants and older adults. Many people perform these activities so it is useful to know the energy cost and if the activities are of sufficient intensity to contribute to meeting physical activity recommendations. The purpose of this study was to assess the oxygen cost of four care-related activities in the Compendium of Physical Activities. Nineteen participants (n = 10 women, n = 9 men; Age = 36.4 ± 13.6 y; % Fat = 34.1 ± 10.5; BMI = 28.1 ± 4.5 kg/m2) performed four activities: 1) pushing an infant in a stroller, 2) pushing an adult in a wheelchair, 3) carrying an infant, and 4) bathing and dressing an infant. The oxygen cost was assessed using a portable metabolic unit. Activities were performed in random order for 8 minutes. The oxygen cost and heart rates, respectively, for healthy adults during care related activities were 3.09 METs and 90 ± 8 beats per minute (bpm) for pushing an infant in a stroller, 3.69 METs and 97 ± 9 bpm for pushing an adult in a wheelchair, 2.37 METs and 85 ± 9 bpm for carrying an infant, and 2.00 METs and 87 ± 9 bpm for bathing and dressing an infant. Carrying an infant and bathing an infant are light-intensity physical activities and pushing a wheelchair or a stroller are moderate intensity activities. The latter activities are of sufficient intensity to meet health-related physical activity recommendations

Enhancement of Aging Rat Laryngeal Muscles with Endogenous Growth Factor Treatment

Clinical evidence suggests that laryngeal muscle dysfunction is associated with human aging. Studies in animal models have reported morphological changes consistent with denervation in laryngeal muscles with age. Life‐long laryngeal muscle activity relies on cytoskeletal integrity and nerve–muscle communication at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). It is thought that neurotrophins enhance neuromuscular transmission by increasing neurotransmitter release. We hypothesized that treatment with neurotrophin 4 (NTF4) would modify the morphology and functional innervation of aging rat laryngeal muscles. Fifty‐six Fischer 344xBrown Norway rats (6‐ and 30‐mo age groups) were used to evaluate to determine if NTF4, given systemically (n = 32) or directly (n = 24), would improve the morphology and functional innervation of aging rat thyroarytenoid muscles. Results demonstrate the ability of rat laryngeal muscles to remodel in response to neurotrophin application. Changes were demonstrated in fiber size, glycolytic capacity, mitochondrial, tyrosine kinase receptors (Trk), NMJ content, and denervation in aging rat thyroarytenoid muscles. This study suggests that growth factors may have therapeutic potential to ameliorate aging‐related laryngeal muscle dysfunction