Identification and characterization of Pseudomonas fluorescensstrains effective against Xanthomonasoryzaepv. oryzae causing bacterial blight of rice in Punjab, India

For the control of bacterial blight of rice caused by Xanthomonasoryzaepv. oryzae, sixty four Pseudomonas fluorescens strains were recovered from rice and wheat rhizosphere. These strains were identified on the basis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. It was observed that the strains showing fluorescence in the selective media showed the amplification of the targeted P. fluorescens specific ITS region. The strains were also characterized for the production of the antibiotic 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) using phlDlocus. The characteristic 750bp region was amplified in all the DAPG producing strains. These strains were evaluated against X. oryzae in vitro by dual culture method. The P. fluorescens strains found effective in vitro were further tested in field for their antagonistic potentiality and disease suppression ability. P. fluorescens strain number Pf-4-R showed maximum inhibition i.e. of 5.5 mm against the test pathogen X. oryzaepv. oryzae. Talc based powder formulation of the effective strain Pf-4-R used for field evaluation, showed that pre-inoculation foliar sprays were effective in controlling bacterial blight of rice with disease suppression efficiency ranging from 29.6 to 65.6 percent in different treatments

Optimization of parameters for application of sericin on cotton knits

In this study, a process has been developed for durable coating of sericin on cotton knits. Treated samples are tested for wicking, stiffness, moisture vapour transmission rate and air permeability. Results show that cotton knits become more hydrophilic on application of sericin. Air and water vapour transmission improve, thus making the cotton sample suitable for applications in skin moisturizing and skin healing. These results indicate that sericin can be used to develop a durable finish on cotton for use in medical and sports garments

Iso-conversional study of crystallization activation energy of amorphous-crystallization transformation for Se79Te20Pb1 glass using non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry technique

135-140The ternary Se79Te20Pb1 chalcogenide glass is prepared using melt quenching technique. Differential scanning calorimetry technique (DSC) is used to investigate the kinetics of crystallization of amorphous-crystallization (a-c) phase transformation under non-isothermal conditions at three different heating rates; 5, 10 and 15° C min-1. The variation of crystallized activation energy (Ec) with crystallized fraction (ϰ) and hence, with temperature (T) is investigated using five iso-conversional methods namely KAS, OFW, Friedman, Tang and Chen and Starink. It is found that Ec is not constant but vary with ϰ as well as T. Thus, the iso-conversional analysis of investigated glass indicates that the assumption of constant Ec is not appropriate

Iso-conversional study of crystallization activation energy of amorphous-crystallization transformation for Se79Te20Pb1 glass using non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry technique

The ternary Se79Te20Pb1 chalcogenide glass is prepared using melt quenching technique. Differential scanning calorimetry technique (DSC) is used to investigate the kinetics of crystallization of amorphous-crystallization (a-c) phase transformation under non-isothermal conditions at three different heating rates; 5, 10 and 15° C min-1. The variation of crystallized activation energy (Ec) with crystallized fraction (ϰ) and hence, with temperature (T) is investigated using five iso-conversional methods namely KAS, OFW, Friedman, Tang and Chen and Starink. It is found that Ec is not constant but vary with ϰ as well as T. Thus, the iso-conversional analysis of investigated glass indicates that the assumption of constant Ec is not appropriat

Assessment of labor room communication skills among postgraduate students of obstetrics and gynecology

Background: “Communication with patients” is an important skill needed for every physician in their clinical practice.  These soft skills are required in dealing with patients at every step which include history taking from the patients, explaining them the diagnosis, the prognosis of the disease with associated complications. Dealing with empathy, taking informed consent, explaining the operative procedure and the complications associated with surgery, the art of breaking bad news are the mandatory skills for a good clinician. Labouring women like other patients also require special attention and empathy. So, the residents working in labor room need commitment to develop these soft skills in order to improve the labor room experience of expectant mothers. Objective of this study was to analyse role of a formal training in labor room communication skills among post graduate students of the department of obstetrics and gynecology.Methods: Faculty and students’ sensitization was done after approval from institutional ‘ethics committee’ for conducting this study. Pre-workshop assessment of residents for communication skills attitude and effective communication was done through ‘communication skill attitude scale’ (CSAS) and ‘GAP-KALAMAZOO scale’. Workshop for communication skills on the framework of Calgary Cambridge patient interview model and online teaching of students through what’s app videos, role-play demonstrations was followed by reassessment of the residents through above used scales.Results: Results depicted both improvements in attitude and effective communication skills among residents. 100% of the students were convinced and opined that good communication skills necessary for perfect clinical practice.Conclusions: The skill to communicate with patients is a fine art and needs to be mastered to be a good clinician. A formal training in effective communication skills is absolutely necessary to bring professionalism in medical practice

Edge Computing and AI: Advancements in Industry 5.0- An Experimental Assessment

This empirical research evaluated, via experimentation, how Edge Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) work together in the context of Industry 5.0. With a high satisfaction rating of 88%, participants in the Edge Computing condition saw an astonishing 18% decrease in task completion times. Similarly, in the AI integration scenario, participants rated AI's value at 86%, and they saw a significant 12% reduction in task completion times and a noteworthy 7% drop in mistake rates. Significantly, with an astounding 21% gain in work completion times, the Edge Computing and AI combo had the largest performance boost. These results highlight how Edge Computing and AI may dramatically improve industrial efficiency and performance in the context of Industry 5.0, providing insightful information for businesses looking to use these technologies to streamline processes and spur innovation

Molecular Basis of Plant Adaptation against Aridity

Environment fluctuations have become the greatest threat to global food security. Of various abiotic stress factors, aridity hampers the most yield contributing attributes. In the context of agriculture, term “aridity” refers to a protracted period of insufficient precipitation, having detrimental influence on crop development and overall biological output. A sustained drought has considerable negative effects on crops and livestock, including the reduced production, destruction of property, and livestock sell-offs. Consequently, plants themself exert various kinds of defensive mechanisms to combat the ill effects of climate change. For example, plants with small leaves, benefit from aridity as part of their strategy for modifying the soil to water shortages and nutrient restrictions. Furthermore, low genetic diversity among significant crop species, together with ecological productivity limits, must be addressed in order to adapt crops to episodic drought spells in the coming days. A deeper understanding of the molecular and genetic underpinnings of the most important intrinsic adaptation responses to drought stress seems to be beneficial for gene engineering as well as gene-based expression investigations in plant systems under hostile environment. Recently, molecular markers and “omics” have opened a huge opportunity to identify and develop specific gene constructs governing plant adaptation to environmental stress

Tumor reversion: a dream or a reality.

Reversion of tumor to a normal differentiated cell once considered a dream is now at the brink of becoming a reality. Different layers of molecules/events such as microRNAs, transcription factors, alternative RNA splicing, post-transcriptional, post-translational modifications, availability of proteomics, genomics editing tools, and chemical biology approaches gave hope to manipulation of cancer cells reversion to a normal cell phenotype as evidences are subtle but definitive. Regardless of the advancement, there is a long way to go, as customized techniques are required to be fine-tuned with precision to attain more insights into tumor reversion. Tumor regression models using available genome-editing methods, followed by in vitro and in vivo proteomics profiling techniques show early evidence. This review summarizes tumor reversion developments, present issues, and unaddressed challenges that remained in the uncharted territory to modulate cellular machinery for tumor reversion towards therapeutic purposes successfully. Ongoing research reaffirms the potential promises of understanding the mechanism of tumor reversion and required refinement that is warranted in vitro and in vivo models of tumor reversion, and the potential translation of these into cancer therapy. Furthermore, therapeutic compounds were reported to induce phenotypic changes in cancer cells into normal cells, which will contribute in understanding the mechanism of tumor reversion. Altogether, the efforts collectively suggest that tumor reversion will likely reveal a new wave of therapeutic discoveries that will significantly impact clinical practice in cancer therapy

Evidence of genome-wide G4 DNA-mediated gene expression in human cancer cells

Guanine-rich DNA of a particular sequence adopts four-stranded structural forms known as G-quadruplex or G4 DNA. Though in vitro formation of G4 DNA is known for several years, in vivo presence of G4 DNA was only recently noted in eukaryote telomeres. Recent bioinformatics analyses showing prevalence of G4 DNA within promoters of human and related species seems to implicate G4 DNA in a genome-wide cis-regulatory role. Herein we demonstrate that G4 DNA may present regulatory sites on a genome-wide scale by showing widespread effect on gene expression in response to the established intracellular G4 DNA-binding ligands. This is particularly relevant to genes that harbor conserved potential G4 DNA (PG4 DNA) forming sequence across human, mouse and rat promoters of orthologous genes. Genes with conserved PG4 DNA in promoters show co-regulated expression in 79 human and 61 mouse normal tissues (z-score > 3.5; P < 0.0001). Conservation of G4 DNA across related species also emphasizes the biological importance of G4 DNA and its role in transcriptional regulation of genes; shedding light on a relatively novel mechanism of regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes