Relationship between macrobenthos and abiotic characteristics of river Alaknanda in a stretch from Chamoli to Devprayag in Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India

Macrobenthos is the best water quality indicator for ecosystem health assessment. The present study aimed to examine the interrelationship between macrobenthos and different water quality parameters of the river Alaknanda at Garhwal Himalaya. Four demarcated sampling zones viz. zone-A (Chamoli to Nandprayag), zone-B (Karanprayag to Rudraprayag), zone-C (Rudraprayag to Srinagar) and zone-D (Srinagar to Devprayag) were taken from its approximately 170 km long stretch during 2016-2018.  River water characteristics were analyzed for the important parameters viz. substratum, water temperature (WT), water velocity, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) using standard methods. The results indicated that the river water velocity was the highest 1.02 m/s at zone-C, TDS of 114.19 mgl-1 was maximum at zone-A ; and Ca and Mg were recorded highest 23.17 mgl-1 and 5.44 mgl-1 at zone-A and zone-B, respectively. All abiotic parameters (pH, EC, TDS, DO, Ca and Mg) were recorded to be below BIS/WHO limits. A total of 27 macrobenthos taxa belonging to the five orders such as Coleoptera (6 ind./m2), Diptera (5 ind./m2), Ephemeroptera (8 ind./m2), Hemiptera (4 ind./m2),  and Odonata (4 ind./m2) were recorded. Macrobenthos represented an important relationship between the water current and water temperature. The lowest number was reported at zone-C due to the river's high water velocity (1.02 m/s). The changes like biota loss, presence of some  pollution indicator species (Cloeon sp., Bateis sp., Emphemera sp.) at zone-C, in sediment structure of habitat were due to the anthropogenic activities on the riverbank of different zones. The study will help in the conservation of macrobenthos diversity of the river Alaknanda.             

Varietal screening of rose (Rosa x hybrida) cultivars and in vitro efficacy of fungicides against black spot disease (Diplocarpon rosae Wolf.) in Arunachal Pradesh condition

Rose varieties were evaluated in field against Diplocarpon rosae cause of black spot disease of rose. Black spot resistance was visually evaluated for thirty seven rose varieties against D. rosae. Out of thirty seven varieties evaluated, none of the varieties were found immune, very highly resistant, highly resistant, resistant and moderately resistant. However, three varieties namely Paradise, Shabnam and Pixie showed moderately susceptible reaction. Whereas, eleven varieties viz., Angelica Renae, Atago, Folklore, Granada, Hot Cocoa, Mardigrass, Midas Touch, Mrinalini, Revival, Tipus Flame and Victor Hugo showed susceptible reaction. Twelve varieties viz. Baccardi, Claudia Ribond, Charles Mallerin, Crimson Lace, Dr. Pal, Impatient, Madam Dulbourde, Marcopolo, Melody, Rainbow End, Sonia and Sugandha were responded highly susceptible reaction at 75 per cent disease severity. Whereas, eleven varieties namely Angelique, Christian Dior, Gemini, Gladiator, Golden Jubilee, Priyadarsini, Sand. Centenary, R. R. M. Roy, Sweet Promise, Unforgotten and Vale of Cloyd were highly susceptible reaction at 95 per cent disease severity. Further, five fungicides [three systemic fungicides namely Carbendazim, Hexaconazole (Contaf) & Ridomil MZ 72 WP and two contact fungicides viz. Blitox-50 and Mancozeb] were evaluated in vitro for the management of D. rosae. Hexaconazole (Contaf) was found to inhibit the mycelial growth of D. rosae significantly at a concentration of 200 ppm and 250 ppm followed by Ridomil MZ 72 WP at same concentration

Character association and path analysis for yield components in turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Correlation and path analys is of 11 characters of turmeric (Curcuma longa) were carried out using 22 genotypes at Raigarh (Chhattisgarh). Plant height, leaf length, thickness of primary and secondary rhizomes and number of secondary rhizomes revealed significant positive associations with rhizome yield. Path analysis showed positive direct effect of plant height, leaf length and thickness of primary and secondary rhizomes on rhizome yield. These traits may be given due e,,'phasis while making selections for improvement in rhizome yield of turmeric. &nbsp

Yield stability in coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

The yield stability of eight elite accessions of coriander (Coriandrum sativum) was estimated under Chattisgarh plains condition at Raigarh (Chattisgarh). The accession JCO-387 yielded the highest, exhibiting above average response but unstable reaction (high S'di) while UD-744, DH-246 and UD-743 were promising and suitable for favourable environment. &nbsp

Biomass and Carbon Stock Estimation in Woody Grass (\u3cem\u3eDendrocalamus strictus\u3c/em\u3e L.) in Doon Valley, India

Bamboos commonly kown as woody grass are one of the most important species particularly in Asia, where it is frequently considered as the ―timber of the poor‖ (Rao et al., 1985). With about 23 genera and 136 species, India is the second largest reservoir of bamboos, next only to China (SFR, 2013 and Nath et al., 2009). Bamboos occur extensively in the managed ecosystems of India—both as plantations (and in agroforestry (scattered clumps, hedgerows on farm boundaries etc. Dendrocalamus strictus L. is most commonly found bamboo in India. It is widely distributed in dry deciduous forests and grows rapidly in all climatic conditions and occupies about 53 % of total bamboo area in India. It grows better in the drier parts and on sandstone, granite and coarse grained soils with low moisture- retaining capacity and soils with pH range 5.5–7.6. It grows more than 8 feet in 6–8 months. The species is used widely for as raw material in paper mills and also for variety of purposes such as construction, agricultural implements, musical instruments, furniture etc. The species is also suitable for reclamations of degraded and ravine lands. The accurate assessment of biomass estimates of a forest is important for many applications (Brown, 2002; Chave et al., 2004; Arora et al., 2014; Verma et al., 2014). In recent years, the carbon cycle has become an important issue in the world and plants play a major role in carbon storage. Biomass estimation enables us to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that can be sequestered from the atmosphere. However, most of the carbon and biomass studies focus on assessing the capability of trees viz., poplar, eucalyptus, shisham, chir teak, subabul etc. The studies related to biomass and carbon stock estimation in bamboos is limited. The present study examine specifically the above ground stand biomass, biomass structure and C storage in D. strictus

Design and statistical analysis of oral medicine studies: common pitfalls

A growing number of articles are emerging in the medical and statistics literature that describe epidemiological and statistical flaws of research studies. Many examples of these deficiencies are encountered in the oral, craniofacial and dental literature. However, only a handful of methodological articles have been published in the oral literature warning investigators of potential errors that may arise early in the study and that can irreparably bias the final results

Opportunities for improving pLDH-based malaria diagnostic tests

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Monoclonal antibodies to <it>Plasmodium </it>lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) have been previously used to format immunochromatographic tests for the diagnosis of malaria. Using pLDH as an antigen has several advantages as a sensitive measure of the presence of parasites within patient blood samples. However, variable results in terms of specificity and sensitivity among different commercially available diagnostic kits have been reported and it has not been clear from these studies whether the performance of an individual test is due simply to how it is engineered or whether it is due to the biochemical nature of the pLDH-antibody reaction itself.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A series of systematic studies to determine how various pLDH monoclonal antibodies work in combination was undertaken. Different combinations of anti-pLDH monoclonal antibodies were used in a rapid-test immunochromatographic assay format to determine parameters of sensitivity and specificity with regard to individual <it>Plasmodium </it>species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Dramatic differences were found in both species specificity and overall sensitivity depending on which antibody is used on the immunochromatographic strip and which is used on the colorimetric colloidal-gold used for visual detection.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The results demonstrate the feasibility of different test formats for the detection and speciation of malarial infections. In addition, the data will enable the development of a universal rapid test algorithm that may potentially provide a cost-effective strategy to diagnose and manage patients in a wide range of clinical settings.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data emphasize that using different anti-pLDH antibody combinations offers a tractable way to optimize immunochromatographic pLDH tests.</p