An Overview of Black Holes

Black holes are one of the fascinating objects in the universe with gravitational pull strong enough to capture light within them. Through this article we have attempted to provide an insight to the black holes, on their formation and theoretical developments that made them one of the unsolved mysteries of universe

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कृपया पूरा लेखा पढ

Response of potato clones to planting dates in Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal

A field trial was conducted to optimize the planting date and appropriate clone for ware potato production at Horticulture Research Station, Malepatan, Pokhara from October 2015 to March 2016. The trial was laid out in two factors Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design. There were nine treatments with three replications. The treatments comprised of three dates of planting (30th October, 14th and 29th November) and three potato clones (Janakdev, Lbr 40 and PRP 266264.1). The results showed that the main effects of planting dates and potato clones significantly (P<0.05) affected most growth, yield and yield attributing parameters of the crop. Interaction effect of planting dates and potato clones also significantly influenced the number of above-ground stems per plant, ground cover percentage, number of tubers per plant, number and weight of small size tuber (<25 g), weight of medium or seed size (25-50 g) tuber and large size (>50 g) tuber, number and yield of tubers per plot, and yield t/ha. The highest yield (37.05 t/ha) was obtained from 14th November planting. The clone Lbr 40 produced a higher yield (36.05t/ha). The clone PRP 266264.1 planting on 30th October planting produced significantly a higher yield (41.34t/ha). The clone Lbr 40 produced significantly highest number and weight of large size (>50 g) tuber. Number of small size (<25 g) tuber per plot or unmarketable tuber significantly increased on delayed planting

Habitat Suitability and Conflict Zone Mapping for the Blue Bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) across Nepal

Rapidly changing environmental conditions (bioclimatic, anthropogenic, topographic, and vegetation-related variables) are likely to alter the spatial distribution of flora and fauna. To understand the influence of environmental variables on the Blue bull’s distribution and to identify potential conflict zones, the habitat suitability analysis of the Blue bull was performed using ensemble modeling. We modelled the distribution of the Blue bull using an extensive database on the current distribution of the Blue bull and selected 15 ecologically significant environmental variables. We used ten species distribution modeling algorithms available in the BIOMOD2 R package. Among the ten algorithms, the Random Forest, Maxent, and Generalized linear model had the highest mean true skill statistics scores, ensuring better model performance, and were considered for further analysis. We found that 22,462.57 km2 (15.26%) of Nepal is suitable for the Blue bull. Slope, precipitation seasonality, and distance to the road are the environmental variables contributing the most to the distribution of Blue bull. Of the total predicted suitable habitats, 86% lies outside protected areas and 55% overlaps with agricultural land. Thus, we recommend that the future conservation initiatives including appropriate conflict mitigation measures should be prioritized equally in both protected areas and outside protected areas to ensure the species’ survival in the region

Diversity of wild edible plants, nutrition and phytochemical evaluation of certain plants with ethnobotanical importance from Tinsukia district, Assam, India

The present study was conducted in 2021-2023 and recorded a total of 96 species, out of which 56 % were used as vegetables, 30 % as edible fruits and 7 % as masticatory, spice and condiments. This study also aims to evaluate the nutritionally important minerals concentration and phytochemical constituents of 5 plant taxa, i.e., Sarcochlamys pulcherrima (Roxb.) Gaud., Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum Edgew., Smilax perfoliata Lour., Portulaca oleracea L. and Phlogacanthas thyrsiformis (Hardw.) Mabb.  which are widely used in folk healing practices and folk medicine by the various ethnic communities of Tinsukia district. The concentration of 5 macro minerals Na, K, Ca, Mg and P is in the range of 12.5 -18.4, 90.4 -246.9, 140 -214.3, 84.9 - 112.2, 23.7 - 41.2 mg/100 g respectively. The ratio of K/Na (5.9:1 to13.4:1), Ca/P (4.1:1 to 9.1:1) and K/(Ca+Mg) (0.11:1 to 0.32:1) are found to be adequate ratios ranging from respectively. Microminerals like Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and Ni are found in the range between 5.90 -16.17, 0.41-0.91, 0.13 -0.32, 0.07 -0.27 and 0.07 - 0.17 mg/100 g respectively. Some of the important phytochemicals are also found to be present in the analyzed plants. The study shows that consumption of these species may be beneficial for maintaining good mineral nutrition among the common people at a minimum cost

Evaluation of foliar application of zinc at different doses on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) growth, yield, and economic feasibility in Dolpa of Nepal

Improper nutrient management has limited potato production in Nepal's mountainous region. Farmers prioritize macronutrients but neglect essential micronutrients like zinc (Zn), which are crucial for potato growth and enzymatic functions. However, Zn deficiency is prevalent in these regions and very few studies have highlighted its role in potato production. A field experiment with seven different concentrations of Zn-EDTA was conducted at three different locations with three replications to assess the effect of foliar application of Zn on growth, yield, and economic aspects of potatoes. The treatments were: control, single foliar spray (SS) of Zn at 50, 100, and 150 ppm, and double foliar spray (DS) at 50, 100, and 150 ppm. Results showed that the foliar application of Zn at the highest concentrations (DS-100 and DS-150) increased plant height, leaf number, and canopy diameter. Maximum tuber yield (29.99 t·ha−1), tuber number (51.00), tuber diameter (1.44 cm), and B:C ratio were found with DS-150 ppm followed by DS-100 ppm. The maximum marketable tuber number (47.00) and marketable tuber weight (2,973.67 g) were found with the highest Zn concentration of DS-150 ppm whereas the maximum non-marketable tuber number (10.67) and non-marketable tuber weight (82.33 g) were obtained with control. All DS treatments produced higher yields and B:C ratios. However, DS-100 and DS-150 showed greater profitability due to marginal cost rise and higher income. Therefore, either DS-100 or DS-150 ppm Zn spray can be used. However, further research is needed to establish the threshold levels of Zn foliar application and micronutrient recommendations

Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of radish

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) is necessary to enhance sustainable yield in an eco-friendly way. A field experiment was conducted in the research field of Midwest Academy and Research Institute College of Live Sciences, Tulsipur, Dang from November 2018 to January 2019 to investigate the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of radish. Mino Early variety was used in the experiment. The experiment was laid out on Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications and 5 treatments. Nitrogen (N) was supplied through different sources. The treatment combinations were: control (T1), 100% recommended N through chemical fertilizer (T2), 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through farmyard manure (FYM) (T3), 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure (T4) and 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% vermicompost (T5). Significant effect was noted on leaf numbers, root length, root diameter and yield per ha but no significant effect was noted on the germination percentage and plant height. The highest germination percentage  (77.00 %), plant height (13.27 cm), root length (16.94 cm), root diameter (3.01 cm), and yield per ha (16.55 t/ha) was recorded at T4 (50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure). T5 (50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% vermicompost) recorded the highest leaf numbers (10.40). In our experiment, T4 (50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure) was found to be superior, so in inner terai places like Tulsipur, Dang it is suggested to apply 50% recommended N through chemical fertilizer + 50% N through poultry manure to obtain a high yield of radish

A novel DUF569 gene is a positive regulator of the drought stress response in arabidopsis

In the last two decades, global environmental change has increased abiotic stress on plants and severely affected crops. For example, drought stress is a serious abiotic stress that rapidly and substantially alters the morphological, physiological, and molecular responses of plants. In Arabidopsis, several drought-responsive genes have been identified; however, the underlying molecular mechanism of drought tolerance in plants remains largely unclear. Here, we report that the “domain of unknown function” novel gene DUF569 (AT1G69890) positively regulates drought stress in Arabidopsis. The Arabidopsis loss-of-function mutant atduf569 showed significant sensitivity to drought stress, i.e., severe wilting at the rosette-leaf stage after water was withheld for 3 days. Importantly, the mutant plant did not recover after rewatering, unlike wild-type (WT) plants. In addition, atduf569 plants showed significantly lower abscisic acid accumulation under optimal and drought-stress conditions, as well as significantly higher electrolyte leakage when compared with WT Col-0 plants. Spectrophotometric analyses also indicated a significantly lower accumulation of polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, and chlorophylls in atduf569 mutant plants. Overall, our results suggest that novel DUF569 is a positive regulator of the response to drought in Arabidopsis

Evaluation of an electronic clinical decision support algorithm to improve primary care management of acute febrile illness in rural Cambodia: protocol for a cluster-randomised trial

Introduction: Acute febrile illness (AFI), traditionally attributed to malaria, is a common reason for seeking primary healthcare in rural South and Southeast Asia. However, malaria transmission has declined while health workers are often poorly equipped to manage non-malarial AFIs. This results in indiscriminate antibiotic prescribing and care escalation, which promotes antibiotic resistance and may increase healthcare costs. To address this problem, an electronic clinical decision support algorithm (eCDSA) called ‘Electronic clinical Decision support for Acute fever Management (EDAM)’ has been developed for primary health workers which integrates clinical, epidemiological and vital sign data with simple point-of-care tests to produce a diagnosis and management plan. Methods and analysis: This is a pragmatic cluster-randomised trial aiming to assess the effect of EDAM and related training on antibiotic prescribing rates in rural Cambodian primary health centres (PHCs) as the primary outcome, along with a range of secondary outcomes including safety. Patients with AFI are eligible for recruitment if they are aged ≥1 year. A cluster is defined as a PHC and PHCs will be randomised to control (standard of care) and intervention (EDAM and associated training) arms, with 15 PHCs per arm. Patients will be followed up after 7 days to ascertain the safety profile of EDAM. Each PHC will recruit 152 patients (total 4560), based on a baseline antibiotic prescription rate of 25% and expected reduction to 17.5% with EDAM. Ethics and dissemination: Results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals to inform the design of future versions of EDAM and of future trials of similar eCDSAs and other digital health interventions targeted towards rural populations. This study was approved by the Oxford University Tropical Research Ethics Committee (550-23) and the Cambodian National Ethics Committee for Health Research (395-NECHR). Trial registration number: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Registry (ISRCTN15157105)