MOLECULAR DETECTION OF HUMAN RHINOVIRUS IN RESPIRATORY SAMPLES OF SWINE FLU NEGATIVE NORTH INDIAN CHILDREN WITH FLU-LIKE ILLNESS

Objectives: Flu-like illness may also be caused by different respiratory viruses other than influenza. Human rhinovirus (HRV) shows almost flu-likesymptoms. The purpose of this study is the molecular detection of HRV in throat swab of swine flu negative North Indian children during the years2012 and 2013. Reverse transcriptase (RT) - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 5'non-coding region (NCR) was used for HRV detectionfollowed by cell culture isolation of HRV.Methods: PCR confirmed swine flu negative throat swab samples were collected from the Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Post GraduateInstitute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The RNA isolation of samples was done using the QIAampViral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen),followed by single step RT-PCR amplification (AgPath-ID, Life Technologies). All PCR positive HRV samples were cell cultured in HeLa and HEp-2 celllines for viral isolation.®Results: 135 swine flu negative throat swab samples were examined. Out of which 34 samples (25.2%) were found HRV positive by RT-PCR, while onlyfour samples (11.8%) were culture positive on HeLa cell line. Younger children (0-4 year) were found more susceptible to HRV infection. This studyindicated the highest prevalence of HRV (37.0%) during the months (September-October) of the Autumn season in 2012 and 57% in Winter-springseason (February-March) during 2013.Conclusion: HRV may be a cause of flu-like symptoms in swine flu suspected North Indian children with a higher rate during Autumn and Springseason. Molecular detection of HRV using RT-PCR is more sensitive than cell culture assay.Keywords: Human rhinovirus, Swine flu, Influenza-like illness, Lower respiratory tract infections

Marker-assisted selection for transfer of QTLs to a promising line for drought tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Wheat crop is subjected to various biotic and abiotic stresses, which affect crop productivity and yield. Among various abiotic stresses, drought stress is a major problem considering the current global climate change scenario. A high-yielding wheat variety, HD3086, has been released for commercial cultivation under timely sown irrigated conditions for the North Western Plain Zone (NWPZ) and North Eastern Plain Zone NEPZ of India. Presently, HD3086 is one of the highest breeder seed indented wheat varieties and has a stable yield over the years. However, under moisture deficit conditions, its potential yield cannot be achieved. The present study was undertaken to transfer drought-tolerant QTLs in the background of the variety HD3086 using marker-assisted backcross breeding. QTLs governing Biomass (BIO), Canopy Temperature (CT), Thousand Kernel Weight (TKW), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Yield (YLD) were transferred to improve performance under moisture deficit conditions. In BC1F1, BC2F1, and BC2F2 generations, the foreground selection was carried out to identify the plants with positive QTLs conferring drought tolerance and linked to traits NDVI, CT, TKW, and yield. The positive homozygous lines for targeted QTLs were advanced from BC2F2 to BC2F4via the pedigree-based phenotypic selection method. Background analysis was carried out in BC2F5 and obtained 78-91% recovery of the recurrent parent genome in the improved lines. Furthermore, the advanced lines were evaluated for 2 years under drought stress to assess improvement in MABB-derived lines. Increased GWPS, TKW, and NDVI and reduced CT was observed in improved lines. Seven improved lines were identified with significantly higher yields in comparison to HD3086 under stress conditions

Harnessing genetic potential of wheat germplasm banks through impact-oriented-prebreeding for future food and nutritional security

The value of exotic wheat genetic resources for accelerating grain yield gains is largely unproven and unrealized. We used next-generation sequencing, together with multi-environment phenotyping, to study the contribution of exotic genomes to 984 three-way-cross-derived (exotic/elite1//elite2) pre-breeding lines (PBLs). Genomic characterization of these lines with haplotype map-based and SNP marker approaches revealed exotic specific imprints of 16.1 to 25.1%, which compares to theoretical expectation of 25%. A rare and favorable haplotype (GT) with 0.4% frequency in gene bank identified on chromosome 6D minimized grain yield (GY) loss under heat stress without GY penalty under irrigated conditions. More specifically, the ‘T’ allele of the haplotype GT originated in Aegilops tauschii and was absent in all elite lines used in study. In silico analysis of the SNP showed hits with a candidate gene coding for isoflavone reductase IRL-like protein in Ae. tauschii. Rare haplotypes were also identified on chromosomes 1A, 6A and 2B effective against abiotic/biotic stresses. Results demonstrate positive contributions of exotic germplasm to PBLs derived from crosses of exotics with CIMMYT’s best elite lines. This is a major impact-oriented pre-breeding effort at CIMMYT, resulting in large-scale development of PBLs for deployment in breeding programs addressing food security under climate change scenarios

Heat Transfer Enhancement Of Solar Air Heater By Using Artificial Roughness –Review

Abstract—-Artificial roughness applied on the absorber plate is the most acclaimed method to improve thermal performance of solar air heaters at the cost of low to moderate friction penalty. Providing an artificial roughness on a heat transferring surface is an effective passive heat transfer technique to enhance the rate of heat transfer to fluid flow.The objective of this paper is to review various studies, in which different artificial roughness elements are used to enhance the heat transfer rate with little penalty of friction

EVALUATION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND FLOW BEHAVIOUR OF BRASS SHEET AT SUPERPLASTIC REGION AND ROOM TEMPERATURE

ABSTRACT In the current work, quasi-static uni-axial isothermal tensile tests have been performed to determine the mechanical properties and anisotropic material parameters (Lankford coefficient, normal anisotropy, and planer anisotropy) to analyze the deformation behavior at different test variables like temperature (RT and 8000C), strain rate of 0.01 S-1, and sheet orientations (rolling direction (RD i.e., 00), normal direction (ND i.e., 450), and transverse direction (TD i.e., 900) concerning with rolling direction. The result reported that the material properties changes predominantly with temperature and strain rate than the orientation. Subsequently, Stretching was performed to carry out the Nakazima test to plot the experimental Forming Limit Diagrams (FLDs) to study the formability behavior of brass sheet at a temperature of RT & 8000C, constant strain rate of 0.01 S-1 and sheet orientation of RD (00). The results showed that formability increases as temperature increases. Moreover, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was additionally employed to analyze the deformation pattern. These findings indicate that the material has greatly improved its formability and confirms carbides and shear bands, which show that ductile fracture is the most common form of fracture in every condition. Keywords: Duplex Brass, Anisotropy, Flow Stress, Deformation Behaviour, Formability, Forming Limit Diagrams (FLD

Experimental Investigation and Optimization of Material Properties of Brass at Different Temperature Conditions Using Taguchi Technique

The present investigation deals with the optimization of the parameters for better formability behaviour of brass sheet metal under uniaxial isothermal Tensile Test by using Taguchi Design of Experiments (DoE). The standard L9 (33) Orthogonal Array was formulated to run the experiments based on Taguchi robust design and accordingly uniaxial isothermal Tensile Test conducted at orientation (00, 450 and 900), temperature (300°C, 400°C, and 500 °C), and strain rate (0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 s−1). Analysis of S/N ratios for Ultimate tensile strength and % elongation reported the optimum condition as orientation at level 1 (in degrees), temperature at level 1(in degree Celsius), and strain rate at level 3 (s-1) and orientation at level 1 (in degrees), temperature at level 3 (in degree Celsius), and strain rate at level 1 (s-1) respectively. ANOVA analysis reported the Temperature as the most significant parameter and its contribution are about 62.109% and 71.924% for ultimate tensile strength and % elongation respectively

Not Available

Not AvailableIn pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), single cross hybrids based largely on exotic germplasm, have found very limited adoption in drought-prone arid regions mainly due to their inadequate adaptation to prevalent extremely harsh agroclimatic conditions. This study tested the hypothesis that the use of restorer parents derived from adapted landrace germplasm could be an alternative strategy in developing suitable hybrids for arid regions. Forty inbred restorer lines developed from two phenotypically diverse landraces were used to develop hybrids evaluated in this study for their performance in five typical arid zone environments between 2003 and 2007. Inbred lines from both landrace populations differed significantly in their combining ability for biomass, harvest index and grain and stover yields. A larger proportion of experimental hybrids, based on selected inbred lines, significantly outperformed the commercial checks for grain and stover yields. Increase in grain and stover yields was achieved primarily due to their higher biomass productivity, with no decline in harvest index. Choice of landrace determined the relative grain and stover productivity of their hybrids. Phenotypic differences observed in parental landraces in tillering and panicle length were also visible in their respective hybrids, indicating that characteristics of landrace parental populations were transmitted in their hybrids.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableIn pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), single cross hybrids based largely on exotic germplasm, have found very limited adoption in drought-prone arid regions mainly due to their inade- quate adaptation to prevalent extremely harsh agro- climatic conditions. This study tested the hypothesis that the use of restorer parents derived from adapted landrace germplasm could be an alternative strategy in developing suitable hybrids for arid regions. Forty inbred restorer lines developed from two phenotypi- cally diverse landraces were used to develop hybrids evaluated in this study for their performance in five typical arid zone environments between 2003 and 2007. Inbred lines from both landrace populations diVered significantly in their combining ability for biomass, harvest index and grain and stover yields. A larger proportion of experimental hybrids, based on selected inbred lines, significantly outperformed the commercial checks for grain and stover yields. Increase in grain and stover yields was achieved pri- marily due to their higher biomass productivity, with no decline in harvest index. Choice of landrace deter- mined the relative grain and stover productivity of their hybrids. Phenotypic diVerences observed in parental landraces in tillering and panicle length were also visible in their respective hybrids, indicating that characteristics of landrace parental populations were transmitted in their hybrids.Not Availabl

Excess Volume of Mixing for Binary Mixtures of Pyridine, Acrylonitrile, Anisole & Acetylacetone with Carbon Tetrachloride

561-56

Comparative Analysis of Waste Materials for Their Potential Utilization in Green Concrete Applications

The utilization of solid waste in useful product is becoming a great deal of worth for individuals, organizations, and countries themselves. The powder of waste glass and silica fumes are also considered major waste materials across the globe. In this paper, the physico-chemical, thermal, and morphological properties of both waste powders are investigated in order to determine their suitability for use as a partial replacement for cement in basic concrete. They are suitable for use in concrete due to their pozzolanic and other basic properties. Extensive testing, in terms of the compressive strength test, the slump test, and the flexural strength test, has been carried out to study the replacement of cement in the range of 5–15% by waste glass powder for curing ages of 7 and 28 days. The FTIR analyses of both materials are studied for determining the effect of characteristics of chemical bonding and intense bands with bending vibrations of O–Si–O bonds. Experimental results indicate towards the potential utilization of wastes in concrete in terms of green concrete