Production Potential of Different Pasture Grasses under Off-Season Rainfall in Arid Conditions of Bikaner, India

Livestock rearing is the important source of livelihood in arid region of Rajasthan where the crop production is unstable due to low and erratic rainfall. The rangelands and pastures are important land use system and provide main support to the livestock in the arid region of Rajasthan. Grazing of livestock is a common practice in arid zone as about 50 % of total area of western Rajasthan is available for grazing mainly for cows, sheep and goat, however, the availability of green fodder is restricted to monsoon and post monsoon months only and during rest of the period livestock graze on dry grasses and crop residues available in cultivated, fallow and wastelands and other grazing lands. The perennial grasses like Lasiurus sindicus, Cenchrus ciliaris, C. setigerus, Panicum turgidum, P. antidotale etc. with some annuals are dominated in the rangelands and pastures in the arid zone of Rajasthan. Generally these grasses are grown during rainy season but also regenerated during off-season condition when sufficient moisture is available through rainfall or irrigation and provide fodder during the lean period. Productivity of these pasture grasses were assessed during rainy season but information of the production potential during off-season is not available in literature. Therefore, present study was conducted during March to May 2015 at Arid Region Campus of CSWRI, Bikaner to assess the production potential and regeneration of different grasses during off-season under arid condition

Functional Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Containing α6 Subunits Are On Gabaergic Neuronal Boutons Adherent To Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Neurons

Diverse nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes containing different subunit combinations can be placed on nerve terminals or soma/dendrites in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). nAChR α6 subunit message is abundant in the VTA, but α6*-nAChR cellular localization, function, pharmacology, and roles in cholinergic modulation of dopaminergic (DA) neurons within the VTA are not well understood. Here, we report evidence for α6β2*-nAChR expression on GABA neuronal boutons terminating on VTA DA neurons. α-Conotoxin (α-Ctx) MII labeling coupled with immunocytochemical staining localizes putative α6*-nAChRs to presynaptic GABAergic boutons on acutely dissociated, rat VTA DA neurons. Functionally, acetylcholine (ACh) induces increases in the frequency of bicuculline-, picrotoxin-, and 4-aminopyridine-sensitive miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) mediated by GABAA receptors. These increases are abolished by α6*-nAChR-selective α-Ctx MII or α-Ctx PIA (1 nM) but not by α7 (10 nM methyllycaconitine) or α4* (1 μM dihydro-β-erythroidine)-nAChR-selective antagonists. ACh also fails to increase mIPSC frequency in VTA DA neurons prepared from nAChR β2 knock-out mice. Moreover, ACh induces an α-Ctx PIA-sensitive elevation in intraterminal Ca2+ in synaptosomes prepared from the rat VTA. Subchronic exposure to 500 nM nicotine reduces ACh-induced GABA release onto the VTA DA neurons, as does 10 d of systemic nicotine exposure. Collectively, these results indicate that α6β2*-nAChRs are located on presynaptic GABAergic boutons within the VTA and modulate GABA release onto DA neurons. These presynaptic α6β2*-nAChRs likely play important roles in nicotinic modulation of DA neuronal activity. Copyright © 2011 the authors

Functional presynaptic [alpha]6-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors participate in nicotine reward in the VTA: where and how

In the ventral tegmental area (VTA), [alpha]6-nAChRs express abundantly, but their location, function, pharmacology, and roles in cholinergic modulation of dopaminergic (DA) neurons remain elusive. Using a VTA neuron-adherent bouton preparation, we report that functional [alpha]6-nAChRs are located on GABAergic presynaptic boutons, where they mediate cholinergic modulation of GABA release onto DA neurons. Smoking-relevant concentrations of nicotine desensitize [alpha]6-nAChRs, cause a disinhibition in DA neurons and consequently mediate nicotine reward

3D imaging and flow characterization of the pore space of carbonate core samples

Carbonate rocks are inherently heterogeneous having been laid down in a range of depositional environments and having undergone significant diagenesis. They are particularly difficult to characterise as the pore sizes can vary over orders of magnitudes and connectivity of pores of different scales can impact greatly on flow properties. For example, separate vuggy porosity in an underlying matrix pore system can increase the porosity, but not the permeability and lead to large residual oil saturations due to trapping in vugs. A touching vug network can have a dramatic effect on permeability and lead to higher recoveries. In this paper we image a range of carbonate core material; from model carbonate cores to core material from outcrops and reservoirs via 3D via micro-CT. Image-based calculations of porosity, MICP and permeability on 3D images of the carbonate systems are directly compared to experimental data from the same or sister core material and give good agreement. The carbonate systems studied include samples with well connected macroporous systems and other where the macroporosity is poorly connected. Simulation of permeability on these systems and direct analysis of local flow properties within the system allows one to directly illustrate the important role of the connectivity of macropores on flow properties. Pore network models generated from the images illustrate the varied topology obtained in different carbonate samples and show a dramatic difference when compared to clastic samples. Many carbonate samples can include a significant proportion of microporosity (pores of 2 microns or less in extent) which are not directly accessible via current micro-CT capabilities. We discuss how one can map the structure and the topology of microporous regions crucial in studies of flow, production and recovery in carbonates. A hybrid numerical scheme is developed to measure the contribution of microporosity to the overall core permeability. Overall these results show the important role of identifying the connectivity of the pore sizes in dictating the single phase flow properties. Implications to two phase relative permeability and recovery are briefly discussed

Selected pomegranate germplasm from Afghanistan: morphological variability and relationship among collected accessions

During the period 2008-09 and in the frame of PHDP 58 Afghan and 18 foreign pomegranate accessions have been collected and grown under homogeneous environmental and cultivation practice conditions in ex situ collections. Standardized procedures were adopted to describe mature trees, leaves, flowers and fruits for a total of 30 phenotypic traits. Within the National Collection of Pomegranate of Afghanistan, coefficients of variability ranged from 8.8 to 31.7% for fruit diameter and weight of non edible part, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed the absence of correlated variables among different organs. The whole set of accessions resulted discriminated on the basis of the studied morphological parameters and all the accessions were grouped into 3 sub-sets by hierarchical cluster analysis. Local accessions resulted distributed in the 3 clusters, nevertheless the largest one held all the foreign varieties while the second one included all the accessions collected under the putative name of ‘Bedana’. The adopted morphological studies allowed to identify one true-to-type ‘Bedana’ accession, considered the best Afghan variety for fresh consume due to its very soft seed, and to solve the cases of homonymy. Analogously, various accessions originally collected from different regions of Afghanistan under the name of ‘Kandahari’ were identified and renamed

Antiglycation and antioxidant properties of Momordica charantia

The accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and oxidative stress underlie the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. In many developing countries, diabetes treatment is unaffordable, and plants such as bitter gourd (or bitter melon; Momordica charantia) are used as traditional remedies because they exhibit hypoglycaemic properties. This study compared the antiglycation and antioxidant properties of aqueous extracts of M. charantia pulp (MCP), flesh (MCF) and charantin in vitro. Lysozyme was mixed with methylglyoxal and 0–15 mg/ml of M. charantia extracts in a pH 7.4 buffer and incubated at 37°C for 3 days. Crosslinked AGEs were assessed using gel electrophoresis, and the carboxymethyllysine (CML) content was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated using assays to assess DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, metal-chelating activity and reducing power of the extracts. The phenolic, flavonol and flavonoid content of the extracts were also determined. All extracts inhibited the formation of crosslinked AGEs and CML in a dose-dependent manner, with MCF being the most potent. The antioxidant activity of MCF was higher than that of MCP, but MCP showed the highest metal-chelating activity. MCF had the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents, whereas MCP had the highest flavonol content. M. charantia has hypoglycaemic effects, but this study shows that M. charantia extracts are also capable of preventing AGE formation in vitro. This activity may be due to the antioxidant properties, particularly the total phenolic content of the extracts. Thus, the use of M. charantia deserves more attention, as it may not only reduce hyperglycaemia but also protect against the build-up of tissue AGEs and reduce oxidative stress in patients with diabetes

Micropropagation of Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba)

Introduction: Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) is one of the most important fruit trees in Asia which has been planted from 3,000 years ago in China for medicinal purposes. Jujube belongs to the Rhamnaceae family. The Jujube fruit is used in fresh and dry forms. The fruit is full of vitamin C and has anticancer and medicinal effects. This tree can grow on salty and dry lands in Iran. Therefore, increasing the cultivation area of Jujube can be effective for soil conservation. In the last 20years, cultivation of Jujube is is considerable in Iran specially in the South Khorasan Province and 98 % of total production of Jujube in Iran belongs to this province. The low rate of seed germination and low production of shootlets are the most important problems in Jujube proliferation, so micropropagation of this plant through tissue culture was considered. Materials and methods: In this study, Cangan ecotype of Jujube was used for multiple shoot regeneration. At the end of May, apical buds of shoots were cut from mature trees of the Research Collection of Jujube at Sarbishe, Birjand, South Khorasan Province in Iran. The buds were disinfected with 70% ethanol for 1 min and 2% sodium hypoclorite for 25 min. Then the buds were rinsed with distilled water for 25 min completely. Apical buds were placed on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of BA (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 mg/L) in combination with IBA or NAA (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 mg/L). After one month, the shoots with 3-5 cm length were transferred to rooting media (1/2 MS + IBA or IAA : 0.5, 2, 5, 10 mg/L). The data were recorded after shooting and rooting and were analysed in the facorial experiment. Results and Discussion: The results of variance analysis and mean comparisons showed that there are differences between different levels of IBA and BA alone for the number of shoots and their length (

Durability of plain concrete prism strengthened with galvanized steel mesh and CFRP laminates under harsh environmental conditions

This paper investigates the bond durability of recently developed galvanized steel mesh (GSM) strengthening systems compared to the carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites under severe environments. Plain concrete prisms notched at the mid-span and strengthened with medium cord density GSM (MSM), high cord density GSM (HSM), and CFRP-epoxy systems were exposed to the laboratory environment, direct sunlight, and saline water for 180, 360, and 730 days. Prisms were tested under three-point bending after each exposure. The failure mode of the CFRP specimens changed from interfacial to pure adhesive after saline-water and sun exposures only after six months, whereas the MSM and HSM specimens exhibited cohesive failure throughout 730 days of all the exposures. After 730 days of conditioning, no significant loss in the bond strength was observed for the three strengthening systems. On the contrary, the strength retention factor was above 1 for several specimens tested after 360 and 730 days under all exposures. Bond-strength environmental degradation factors are proposed to analyze and design the strengthened reinforced concrete members with such laminates.The funding for this research was provided by the National Priorities Research Program of the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation) under the award no. NPRP 8-418-2-175. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Sponsor. The authors would like to also thank Dr. Paolo Casadei from Kerakoll Spa for providing and installing the galvanized steel mesh sheets.Scopu

Parameter Reductions of Bipolar Fuzzy Soft Sets with Their Decision-Making Algorithms

Parameter reduction is a very important technique in many fields, including pattern recognition. Many reduction techniques have been reported for fuzzy soft sets to solve decision-making problems. However, there is almost no attention to the parameter reduction of bipolar fuzzy soft sets, which take advantage of the fact that membership and non-membership degrees play a symmetric role. This methodology is of great importance in many decision-making situations. In this paper, we provide a novel theoretical approach to solve decision-making problems based on bipolar fuzzy soft sets and study four types of parameter reductions of such sets. Parameter reduction algorithms are developed and illustrated through examples. The experimental results prove that our proposed parameter reduction techniques delete the irrelevant parameters while keeping definite decision-making choices unchanged. Moreover, the reduction algorithms are compared regarding the degree of ease of computing reduction, applicability, exact degree of reduction, applied situation, and multi-use of parameter reduction. Finally, a real application is developed to describe the validity of our proposed reduction algorithms