Wild Progenitor and Landraces Led Genetic Gain in the Modern-Day Maize (<em>Zea mays</em> L.)

Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) originated from Mexico and Central America and grew worldwide for food, feed and industrial products components. It possesses ten chromosomes with a genome size of 2.3 gigabases. Teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis) is the probable progenitor of the modern-day maize. The maize domestication favored standing gain of function and regulatory variations acquired the convergent phenotypes. The genomic loci teosinte branched 1 (tb1) and teosinte glume architecture 1 (tga1) played a central role in transforming teosinte to modern-day maize. Under domestication and crop improvement, only 2% (~1200) genes were undergone selection, out of ~60000 genes. Around ~98% of the genes have not experienced selection; there is enormous variation present in the diverse inbred lines that can be potentially utilized to identify QTLs and crop improvement through plant breeding. The genomic resources of wild relatives and landraces harbor the unexplored genes/alleles for biotic/abiotic tolerance, productivity and nutritional quality. The human-made evolution led to the transformation of wild relatives/landraces to the modern-day maize. This chapter summarized the maize’s wild relatives/landraces and the genetic gain over time in biotic/abiotic, productivity, and nutritional quality traits

Diversifying vegetable production systems for improving the livelihood of resource poor farmers on the East Indian Plateau

Failure of the rice crop, or low rice yield has dire consequences for rice-dependent households, including food insecurity and malnutrition, for India’s poorest farmers in the East Indian Plateau region. Crop diversification could reduce the risks of rice production from the vagaries of rainfall and provide cash income which is not generated from subsistence rice. Being the primary household laborers women bear the brunt of these difficult conditions in patriarchal societies. For this reason we engaged with the women farmers in Bokaro and West Singhbhum in the State of Jharkhand, and Purulia in West Bengal who participated in experiments conducted with vegetable crops and legumes in the upland and medium uplands where the traditional crop is broadcasted paddy rice. We explored four different vegetable systems, (i) cucurbits (rainy/kharif) (season—June to September), (ii) growing tomatoes in the “off season” (rainy season—July to October), (iii) growing legume crops in rotation with direct sown rice (dry/rabi season—November to January), and (iv) intercropping beans with maize (rainy season—June to September). The results showed that all the above crops proved much better in terms of income to the farmers, return per person day, although the input cost varied it was higher with the new systems explored. The research with the small-holding women farmers enabled them to try new options and make informed decisions about these opportunities. This study showed that farmers can increase crop diversity and expand the area sown to non-paddy crops. The farmers are now looking for new crops where the demand exceeds the supply. Importantly this study has demonstrated that the direct involvement of communities’ in research enables the farmers to sustainability explore solutions to the future problems with limited support from the external agencies

Low voltage ride through capability for resilient electrical distribution system integrated with renewable energy resources

It is evident that renewable energy sources (RES), will soon be considered as primary energy source in electrical networks. However, the increased penetration of RES along with the variable charging profile of electric vehicles in the distribution grid will pose serious technical challenges such as network instability, protection malfunctioning, aggravated line, and low- and high-voltage ride through capabilities. Moreover, the frequent occurrence of natural disasters has posed different dimensional problems for distribution system engineers. Hence, owing to the immediate demand for resilient electrical systems, many researchers have presented planning and operating techniques for resiliency enhancement. Consequently, application of low-voltage ride through (LVRT) during grid transformation in small clusters has significant role. However, the implementation of LVRT in operational methods during the transformation of an electric grid after a natural disaster has a lean share in the literature. Moreover, the applicability of grid code during microgrid formation due to extreme events also drives the planning and operational methodology. Therefore, this article first substantiates the importance of grid codes and IEEE standards for the interconnection of RES plants into a grid. Additionally, the paper presents a succinct summary on various control strategies to overcome the challenges of fault ride through capability, reactive power support, and anti-islanding in integrated wind and solar plants. Thenceforth, the importance of LVRT visibility in resiliency enhancement validated by simulating the urban electrical grid using the DIgSILENT PowerFactory Software

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Not AvailableMaize (Zea mays ssp. mays) originated from Mexico and Central America and grew worldwide for food, feed and industrial products components. It possesses ten chromosomes with a genome size of 2.3 gigabases. Teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis) is the probable progenitor of the modern-day maize. The maize domestication favored standing gain of function and regulatory variations acquired the convergent phenotypes. The genomic loci teosinte branched 1 (tb1) and teosinte glume architecture 1 (tga1) played a central role in transforming teosinte to modern-day maize. Under domestication and crop improvement, only 2% (~1200) genes were undergone selection, out of ~60000 genes. Around ~98% of the genes have not experienced selection; there is enormous variation present in the diverse inbred lines that can be potentially utilized to identify QTLs and crop improvement through plant breeding. The genomic resources of wild relatives and landraces harbor the unexplored genes/alleles for biotic/abiotic tolerance, productivity and nutritional quality. The human-made evolution led to the transformation of wild relatives/landraces to the modern-day maize. This chapter summarized the maize’s wild relatives/landraces and the genetic gain over time in biotic/abiotic, productivity, and nutritional quality traits.Not Availabl

Donor-Derived Cell-Free DNA to Diagnose Graft Rejection Post-Transplant: Past, Present and Future

Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is a non-invasive biomarker that is more sensitive and specific towards diagnosing any graft injury or rejection. Due to its applicability over all transplanted organs irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, and the non-requirement of a donor sample, it emerges as a new gold standard for graft health and rejection monitoring. Published research articles describing the role and efficiency of dd-cfDNA were identified and scrutinized to acquire a brief understanding of the history, evolution, emergence, role, efficiency, and applicability of dd-cfDNA in the field of transplantation. The dd-cfDNA can be quantified using quantitative PCR, next-generation sequencing, and droplet digital PCR, and there is a commendatory outcome in terms of diagnosing graft injury and monitoring graft health. The increased levels of dd-cfDNA can diagnose the rejection prior to any other presently used biochemistry or immunological assay methods. Biopsies are performed when these tests show any signs of injury and/or rejection. Therefore, by the time these tests predict and show any unusual or improper activity of the graft, the graft is already damaged by almost 50%. This review elucidates the evolution, physiology, techniques, limitations, and prospects of dd-cfDNA as a biomarker for post-transplant graft damage and rejection

Estimation of tuberculosis incidence at subnational level using three methods to monitor progress towards ending TB in India, 2015–2020

Objectives We verified subnational (state/union territory (UT)/district) claims of achievements in reducing tuberculosis (TB) incidence in 2020 compared with 2015, in India.Design A community-based survey, analysis of programme data and anti-TB drug sales and utilisation data.Setting National TB Elimination Program and private TB treatment settings in 73 districts that had filed a claim to the Central TB Division of India for progress towards TB-free status.Participants Each district was divided into survey units (SU) and one village/ward was randomly selected from each SU. All household members in the selected village were interviewed. Sputum from participants with a history of anti-TB therapy (ATT), those currently experiencing chest symptoms or on ATT were tested using Xpert/Rif/TrueNat. The survey continued until 30 Mycobacterium tuberculosis cases were identified in a district.Outcome measures We calculated a direct estimate of TB incidence based on incident cases identified in the survey. We calculated an under-reporting factor by matching these cases within the TB notification system. The TB notification adjusted for this factor was the estimate by the indirect method. We also calculated TB incidence from drug sale data in the private sector and drug utilisation data in the public sector. We compared the three estimates of TB incidence in 2020 with TB incidence in 2015.Results The estimated direct incidence ranged from 19 (Purba Medinipur, West Bengal) to 1457 (Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya) per 100 000 population. Indirect estimates of incidence ranged between 19 (Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli) and 788 (Dumka, Jharkhand) per 100 000 population. The incidence using drug sale data ranged from 19 per 100 000 population in Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli to 651 per 100 000 population in Centenary, Maharashtra.Conclusion TB incidence in 1 state, 2 UTs and 35 districts had declined by at least 20% since 2015. Two districts in India were declared TB free in 2020

Abstracts of National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020

This book presents the abstracts of the papers presented to the Online National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020 (RDMPMC-2020) held on 26th and 27th August 2020 organized by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Science in Association with the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. Conference Title: National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020Conference Acronym: RDMPMC-2020Conference Date: 26–27 August 2020Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizer: Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology JamshedpurCo-organizer: Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, IndiaConference Sponsor: TEQIP-