Role of Paclobutrazol and Ethephon in Reproductive Growth of 'Allahabad Safeda' Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Plants at Different Spacing

A study on 4-year 'Allahabad Safeda' guava plants was made to assess the influence of Paclobutrazol (PP 333), [(2RS, 3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4 triazol-1-yl) pentan-3-ol], a gibberellin-inhibitor, and Ethephon [(2-chloroethyl) phosphonic acid], a vegetative growth inhibitor and a ripening promoter, on reproductive growth of plants. Treatments in the form of foliar application at 500 and 1000 ppm were applied consecutively during March 2007 and 2008 on plants at 6m x 2m, 6m x 3m, 6m x 4m and 6m x 5m spacing. Maximum flowering and fruit set was recorded in paclobutrazol treated plants in both rainy and winter crops. Ethephon reduced flower bud density (FBD) and fruit set during both the cropping seasons. However, Ethephon treated plants exhibited slightly higher fruit retention. Ethephon advances fruit maturity by upto a week during rainy season and two weeks during winter season. Paclobutrazol treated plants exhibited significantly higher fruit number, fruit yield, yield efficiency, fruiting density compared to Ethephon treated and control plants. Reproductive growth of plants at wider spacing of 6m x 5m and 6m x 4m significantly improved compared to closer spacings of 6m x 2m and 6m x 3m during both cropping seasons. Plants at wider spacing responded better to Paclobutrazol applications with respect to flowering and fruiting

Inverse Transport Theory of Photoacoustics

We consider the reconstruction of optical parameters in a domain of interest from photoacoustic data. Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) radiates high frequency electromagnetic waves into the domain and measures acoustic signals emitted by the resulting thermal expansion. Acoustic signals are then used to construct the deposited thermal energy map. The latter depends on the constitutive optical parameters in a nontrivial manner. In this paper, we develop and use an inverse transport theory with internal measurements to extract information on the optical coefficients from knowledge of the deposited thermal energy map. We consider the multi-measurement setting in which many electromagnetic radiation patterns are used to probe the domain of interest. By developing an expansion of the measurement operator into singular components, we show that the spatial variations of the intrinsic attenuation and the scattering coefficients may be reconstructed. We also reconstruct coefficients describing anisotropic scattering of photons, such as the anisotropy coefficient $g(x)$ in a Henyey-Greenstein phase function model. Finally, we derive stability estimates for the reconstructions

Effect of Growth Regulator and Nutrients Spray on Control of Fruit Drop, Fruit Size and Quality of Ber under Sub-Montane Zone of Punjab

The effect of foliar spray of plant growth regulators and nutrients on fruit drop, fruit size and quality was studied in ber cv Sanuar-2 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hoshiarpur, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during 2005-2006. Plants were sprayed with NAA (20, 30 or 40 ppm), KNO3 (0.5, 1.0 or 1.5%) and ZnSO43333</sub (1.5%)

Seasonal changes in carbohydrate and mineral composition of overvigorous and devitalized Anab-e-Shahi grapevines in relation to uniruitiulness

Total carbohydrates in shoots, canes and old wood were higher in fruitful vines than in overvigorous or devitalized ones. The highest percentage of total carbohydrates was observed from December to February in all three types of vines. The minimum values for total carbohydrates in shoots of bearing vines were recorded in May. Total sugars were highest in bearing vines, followed by overvigorous and devitalized ones, respectively. Non-bearing (overvigorous and devitalized) vines had maximum sugar content in February, while bearing vines reached the maximum in January. Non-reducing sugars were practically absent in all vines from March to September. The first evidence of their presence was obtained in October.Nitrogen concentration was higher in overvigorous vines, followed by bearing and devitalized ones, respectively. Its level in devitalized vines was very low throughout the year. Also the nttrogen status of devitalized vineyard was very low, as observed in soil analysis. In bearing and overvigorous vines the percentage nitrogen was higher in shoots than in old wood. There was no significant difference in the phosphorus levels of bearing and overvigorous vines. Potassium level of overvigorous vines was slightly higher than that of bearing and devitalized vines.Overvigorous vines had low carbohydrates and very high ni,trogen, bearing vines had moderate carbohydrates and moderate nitrogen, while the devitalized vines had low carbohydrates and very low nitrogen level.Die jahreszeitlichen Veränderungen der Kohlenhydrat- und Mineralstoffzusammensetzung bei luxurierenden und kümmernden Anab-e-Shahi-Reben in Beziehung zu ihrer UnfruchtbarkeitDer Gesamtkohlenhydratgehalt in grünen Trieben, Tragruten und altem Holz war bei fruchttragenden Anab-e-Shahi-Reben größer als bei luxurierenden oder kümmernden Reben. Die höchste Konzentration der Gesamtkohlenhydrate wurde bei allen drei Rebtypen von Dezember bis Februar beobachtet; in den Trieben der traubentragenden Reben wurden im Mai die niedrigsten Werte festgestellt. Die Gesamtzuckerkonzentration nahm in der Reihenfolge fruchttragende, luxurierende, kümmernde Reben ab. Bei nicht-traubentragenden (luxurierenden und kümmernden) Reben war der Zuckergehalt im Februar am größten; traubentragende Reben erreichten ihr Zuckermaximum schon im Januar. Nichtreduzierende Zucker fehlten bei allen Reben von März bis September praktisch vollständig und waren erst von Oktober an nachzuweisen.Luxurierende Reben zeigten einen höheren Stickstoffgehalt als traubentragende und kümmernde Reben. Die letzteren wiesen das ganze Jahr über sehr niedrige Stickstoffkonzentrationen auf. Bodenanalysen ergaben, daß auch ihre Parzelle sehr schwach mit Stickstoff versorgt war. Bei fruchttragenden und luxurierenden Reben enthielten die grünen Triebe prozentual mehr Stickstoff als das alte Holz. Zwischen eiern Phosphorgehalt normaler und luxurierender Reben bestand kein signifikanter Unterschied. Bei den luxurierenden Reben war der Kaliumgehalt etwas höher als bei den traubentragenden und kümmernden Reben.Luxurierende Reben besaßen wenig Kohlenhydrate und sehr viel Stickstoff, traubentragende Reben wiesen mittlere Kohlenhydrat- und Stickstoffkonzentrationen auf, während die kümmernden Reben einen niedrigen Kohlenhydrat- und einen sehr geringen Stickstoffgehalt zeigten

The use of pedicled prepucial skin flap urethroplasty for proximal bulbomembraneous urethral stricture in children: an easy alternative to transpubic urethroplasty

Objective: Pediatric urethral strictures are not uncommon, and a myriad of treatment options is available. The use of pedicled prepucial skin to augment a narrowed urethra is one of the useful methods. In this study, we describe the successful use of this technique in three children with stricture of the proximal bulbomembranous urethra.Materials and methods: In this study, we reviewed three children aged 4, 7, and 10 years, respectively, with proximal bulbomembranous urethral stricture, who were treated at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, between 2012 and 2014, using a pedicled prepucial skin flap.Results: The mean follow-up time was 28 months (range: 20–41 months). There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. All three children were symptom-free with a good urinary stream at last follow-up.Conclusion: The pedicled prepucial flap technique for proximal bulbomembranous urethral stricture in children is simple and easy to perform with good overall outcome.Keywords: children, prepucial flap, urethral stricture, urethroplast

Effect of Spacing on Canopy Microclimate, Vegetative Growth and Yield Attributes in Guava (Psidium guajava L.)

The present investigation was conducted to examine the effect of spacing on variation in canopy microclimate, vegetative growth and yield attributes in guava (cv. Allahabad Safeda). Oservations revealed that with wide plant spacing (from 6x2m to 6x4m), interception of solar radiation increased significantly. Similarly, with increase in spacing between plants, mean canopy temperature was need to increase while relative humidity decreased. Plant growth in terms of stock and scion girth, tree spread (N-S) and canopy volume increased with wide plant spacing, while tree height decreased with increase in plant spacing. Number of fruits per plant, yield per plant and fruiting density was higher at 6x5m and least in 6x2m spacing. Wider plant spacing was found to be better owing to maximum absorption of solar radiation and optimum microclimate in the orchard leading to better yield in plants, higher fruiting density and yield efficiency. However, yield/ha was maximum in 6x2m spacing during rainy season and in 6x3m spacing during winter

The role of inhibitory feedback for information processing in thalamocortical circuits

The information transfer in the thalamus is blocked dynamically during sleep, in conjunction with the occurence of spindle waves. As the theoretical understanding of the mechanism remains incomplete, we analyze two modeling approaches for a recent experiment by Le Masson {\sl et al}. on the thalamocortical loop. In a first step, we use a conductance-based neuron model to reproduce the experiment computationally. In a second step, we model the same system by using an extended Hindmarsh-Rose model, and compare the results with the conductance-based model. In the framework of both models, we investigate the influence of inhibitory feedback on the information transfer in a typical thalamocortical oscillator. We find that our extended Hindmarsh-Rose neuron model, which is computationally less costly and thus siutable for large-scale simulations, reproduces the experiment better than the conductance-based model. Further, in agreement with the experiment of Le Masson {\sl et al}., inhibitory feedback leads to stable self-sustained oscillations which mask the incoming input, and thereby reduce the information transfer significantly.Comment: 16 pages, 15eps figures included. To appear in Physical Review

Corticothalamic projections control synchronization in locally coupled bistable thalamic oscillators

Thalamic circuits are able to generate state-dependent oscillations of different frequencies and degrees of synchronization. However, only little is known how synchronous oscillations, like spindle oscillations in the thalamus, are organized in the intact brain. Experimental findings suggest that the simultaneous occurrence of spindle oscillations over widespread territories of the thalamus is due to the corticothalamic projections, as the synchrony is lost in the decorticated thalamus. Here we study the influence of corticothalamic projections on the synchrony in a thalamic network, and uncover the underlying control mechanism, leading to a control method which is applicable in wide range of stochastic driven excitable units.Comment: 4 pages with 4 figures (Color online on p.3-4) include