Management of Lantana, an invasive alien weed, in forest ecosystems of India

Lantana is one of the world's worst weeds of South American origin that threatens native biodiversity of forest ecosystems across India. It was introduced into India as a garden ornamental and or a biohedge plant in the early part of the 19th century and now it has virtually invaded all the tropical and subtropical regions of India. Although attempts have been made to control Lantana by physical, chemical and biological methods, there is no success either in its control or the prevention of its spread. No effective management strategy is yet available for the containment of this obnoxious alien weed. On the basis of critical assessment of the biological and ecological attributes of Lantana that enabled it to overcome all the existing management practices, we have developed a new management strategy. The new strategy involves (i) its removal by cut rootstock method, (ii) weeding of saplings from beneath the trees used for perching by generalist birds that disperse the seeds throughout their home range and from surface drainage channels originating from the area covered by such trees and (iii) ecological restoration of weed-free landscapes, preferably to the grassland, or forest communities according to the needs of stakeholders to prevent reinvasion of the same species or secondary invasion by another alien species. The new strategy developed has been implemented successfully in demonstration plots of 2-5 hectares at the Corbett Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand), Kalesar National Park (Haryana) and Satpura Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh). The advantages of the new management strategy over other control methods currently used are: (i) cost effectiveness, (ii) simple and easy to adopt and (iii) ensures successful control of Lantana without using chemicals and exotic biological control agents, and with minimum disturbance of soil

Reduction of Total Harmonic Distortion in Cascaded H-Bridge Inverter by Pattern Search Technique

Pattern Search technique can be used to find the solution for the optimization problem. In this paper, pattern search algorithm has been utilized to calculate the switching angles for the cascaded H-bridge inverter with  the consideration of minimizing total harmonic distortion. Mathematical equations for the optimization problem were formulated by fourier analysis technique. Lower order harmonics such as third, fifth, seventh, ninth and eleventh order harmonics were taken into account to mitigate the total harmonic distortion of the inverter. Simulations have been carried out for thirteen level, fifteen level and seventeen level cascaded H-bridge inverter using matlab software. Total harmonic distortion of voltage and current for resistive load, resistive-inductive load and motor load were analyzed

MUTATIONS IN THE RPOB GENE OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS IDENTIFIED BY SEQUENCING METHOD

ABSTRACTObjective: To identify the mutation in the rpoB gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), using by sequencing method from pulmonary specimensof presumptive TB patients belonging to the districts of Tamil Nadu.Methods: A total of 8697 clinical specimens of presumptive MTB patients were collected from various districts of Tamil Nadu. Smear microscopy wasperformed by light emitting diode fluorescent microscopy and all the smear positive samples were tested using line probe assay (LPA) to detect thepercentage of drug resistance pattern and to identify the missing mutation in LPA by the sequencing method.Results: Among 4897 smear positives subjected to LPA method; 407 (8.3%) MTB was not detected and 16 (0.3%) showed invalid result; 4473 (91.4%)strains showed MTB positive; 3695 (82.6%) were sensitive for both rifampicin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) drugs; 502 (11.2%) were resistance for INH;73 (1.6%) resistant for RIF; 203 (4.5%) were resistance for RIF and INH. Totally, 52 (1.2%) strains results cannot be confirmed by LPA and reportedas sensitive for RIF, because of the faint and the missing bands in both wild type and mutation. These strains were sequenced and 39 (75%) strainsshowed resistant to RIF.Conclusion: Hence LPA may be the molecular technology for the rapid, feasible and reliable method for the detection of multidrug resistant mutationbut few confusion bands cannot be reported as resistance, which should be confirmed by either conventional phenotypic drug susceptibility testingor by sequencing method.Keywords: Line probe assay, Sequencing, Mutation, Multidrug resistant tuberculosis

Power Loss Minimization in a Radial Distribution Network by Optimal Sizing and Placement of Energy Storage Units

It is possible to reduce distribution losses by strategically placing and sizing DG and BESS sources. Assuring low loss requires strategically placing the aforementioned devices; otherwise, the system may experience either under- or overvoltage. It is preferable to choose bus stations with less risk for loss. The proposed approach tries to pinpoint the optimal BESS size and placement to cut down on investment and operating expenses while still achieving the desired level of energy reduction. The development of optimisation algorithms for finding and scaling BESS units is the fundamental focus of this study. Two such strategies are being explored here: the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm (ACOA). The goal function, like the original issue, seeks to minimise system-wide power losses while adhering to specified levels of equality and inequality. This article explores the appropriate capacity and placement of the DGs in a 33-bus radial distribution grid to reduce power dissipations. Matlab code is used to perform a simulation, and the results are put to use gauging the method's sturdiness

Studies on \u3cem\u3eIn Vitro\u3c/em\u3e Antimicrobial Activity of Ethanol Extract of \u3cem\u3eRauvolfia tetraphylla\u3c/em\u3e

The antimicrobial activity of ethanol extract obtained from Rauvolfia tetraphylla was tested against bacterial species of Escherichia coli, Streptococcus lactis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Alcaligenes faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, and fungal species of Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria helianthii, Curvularia lunata, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium spp. Better antimicrobial activity was observed when the extracts showed maximum activity against E. coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Alcaligenes faecalis. Among different fungi tested, A. niger and Penicillium spp were found to be more sensitive to crude extract when compared to others

Callus Induction and Plant Regeneration of \u3cem\u3eVigna mungo\u3c/em\u3e (L.) Hepper via Half Seed Explant

The present study optimized the regeneration protocol by using half seed explant in Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper organogenesis. Half seed explants were inoculated onto B5 medium supplemented with kinetin (4.7 μM to 23.5 μM), 6- benzyladenine (4.4 μM to 22.2 μM), naphthaleneacetic acid (5.4 μM to 27.0 μM), indolebutyric acid (4.9 μM to 24.5 μM) and 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (4.5 μM to 22.5 μM). Callus initiation was observed in all media evaluated and the highest cell proliferation was obtained from explants cultivated in the presence of 13.3 μM BAP and 13.5 μM 2,4-D. Shoot induction was obtained from callus induced on 13.3 μM BAP and 13.5 μ 2,4-D at 6 weeks after transferring the callus to a B5 medium supplemented with 13.3 μM BAP. Roots were induced from shoots on B5 media with indolebutyric acid (IBA, 14.7 μM) and then regenerated plants were hardened and acclimated in greenhouse conditions

Multigroup Synchronization in 1D-Bernoulli Chaotic Collaborative CDMA

Code-division multiple access (CDMA) has played a remarkable role in the field of wireless communication systems, and its capacity and security requirements are still being addressed. Collaborative multiuser transmission and detection are a contemporary technique used in CDMA systems. The performance of these systems is governed by the proper accommodation of the users and by proper synchronization schemes. The major research concerns in the existing multiuser overloaded CDMA schemes are (i) statistically uncorrelated PN sequences that cause multiple-access interference (MAI) and (ii) the security of the user's data. In this paper, a novel grouped CDMA scheme, the 1D-Bernoulli chaotic collaborative CDMA (BCC-CDMA), is introduced, in which mutually orthogonal chaotic sequences spread the users' data within a group. The synchronization of multiple groups in this scheme has been analyzed under MAI limited environments and the results are presented. This increases the user capacity and also provides sufficient security as a result of the correlation properties possessed by the chaotic codes. Multigroup synchronization is achieved using a 1D chaotic pilot sequence generated by the Bernoulli Map. The mathematical model of the proposed system is described and compared with the theoretical model of the synchronization in CDMA, the simulation results of which are presented

ANTILITHIATIC EFFECT OF CISSAMPELOS PAREIRA LEAVES IN AMMONIUM CHLORIDE AND ETHYLENE GLYCOL INDUCED UROLITHISIS IN RATS

  Objective: To study the antilithiatic activity of ethanolic extract of leaves of Cissampelos pareira (EELCP) in 2% ammonium chloride (AC) and 0.75% ethylene glycol (EG) induced urolithiasis in albino rats.Methods: Kidney stones were induced in rats by feeding drinking water mixed with 2% (AC) and 0.75% (EG) for 10 days. Stones were confirmed by the increased urinary levels of calcium, uric acid and decreased levels of magnesium and increased levels of serum creatinine and calcium. The rats were treated with 03 doses of EELCP i.e. 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg respectively, orally in different groups of albino rats once daily for 10 days along with 2% (AC) and 0.75% (EG) containing drinking water. On 11th day, 3 rats from each group were kept in one metabolic cage and urine (pooled) collected for 24 hrs was subjected for assessment of various biochemical parameters. Blood was collected on the same day and analyzed for various parameters. Kidneys were observed for the histopathological changes.Results: Rats treated with 03 doses of EELCP significantly (p≤0.05) decreases the urinary calcium, uric acid and enhanced urinary magnesium levels, decreased serum calcium, creatinine and enhanced serum magnesium. Histopathology of kidneys in groups treated with EELCP at 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg doses revealed less tissue damage and the cytology of nephrotic tissue was almost similar to the control Group I rats.Conclusion: Results showed EELCP has shown significant antilithiatic effect against chemical induced urolithiasis in rats.Keywords: Cissampelos pareira, Leaf extract, Antilithiatic activity, Urolithiasis, Ethylene glycol