Integrating Association Mapping, Linkage Mapping, Fine Mapping with RNA Seq Conferring Seedling Vigor Improvement for Successful Crop Establishment in Deep Sown Direct-Seeded Rice

Background: Ongoing large-scale shift towards direct seeded rice (DSR) necessitates a convergence of breeding and genetic approaches for its sustenance and harnessing natural resources and environmental benefits. Improving seedling vigour remains key objective for breeders working with DSR. The present study aims to understand the genetic control of seedling vigour in deep sown DSR. Combined genome-wide association mapping, linkage mapping, fine mapping, RNA-sequencing to identify candidate genes and validation of putative candidate genes were performed in the present study. Results: Significant phenotypic variations were observed among genotypes in both F3:4:5 and BC2F2:3 populations. The mesocotyl length showed significant positive correlation with %germination, root and shoot length. The 881 kb region on chromosome 7 reported to be associated with mesocotyl elongation. RNA-seq data and RT-PCR results identified and validated seven potential candidate genes. The four promising introgression lines free from linkage drag and with longer mesocotyl length, longer root length, semi-dwarf plant height have been identified. Conclusion: The study will provide rice breeders (1) the pre breeding material in the form of anticipated DSR adapted introgression lines possessing useful traits and alleles improving germination under deep sown DSR field conditions (2) the base for the studies involving functional characterization of candidate genes. The development and utilization of improved introgression lines and molecular markers may play an important role in genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) during the pyramiding of valuable genes providing adaptation to rice under DSR. Our results offer a robust and reliable package that can contribute towards enhancing genetic gains in direct seeded rice breeding programs

Science with the Daksha High Energy Transients Mission

We present the science case for the proposed Daksha high energy transients mission. Daksha will comprise of two satellites covering the entire sky from 1~keV to $>1$~MeV. The primary objectives of the mission are to discover and characterize electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave source; and to study Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Daksha is a versatile all-sky monitor that can address a wide variety of science cases. With its broadband spectral response, high sensitivity, and continuous all-sky coverage, it will discover fainter and rarer sources than any other existing or proposed mission. Daksha can make key strides in GRB research with polarization studies, prompt soft spectroscopy, and fine time-resolved spectral studies. Daksha will provide continuous monitoring of X-ray pulsars. It will detect magnetar outbursts and high energy counterparts to Fast Radio Bursts. Using Earth occultation to measure source fluxes, the two satellites together will obtain daily flux measurements of bright hard X-ray sources including active galactic nuclei, X-ray binaries, and slow transients like Novae. Correlation studies between the two satellites can be used to probe primordial black holes through lensing. Daksha will have a set of detectors continuously pointing towards the Sun, providing excellent hard X-ray monitoring data. Closer to home, the high sensitivity and time resolution of Daksha can be leveraged for the characterization of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to ApJ. More details about the mission at https://www.dakshasat.in

Comparative study of intravenous etomidate versus propofol during induction and

Abstract Introduction: Safe induction of anesthesia is important part of anesthesia practice as life threatening hemodynamic variations may occur during induction and intubation in hemodynamically unstable patients. Present prospective randomized observational study was conducted to compare the hemodynamic effects of etomidate and propofol during induction and intubation.Material and Methods: This study was conducted on 90 patients of ASA grade I and II scheduled for elective surgical procedure under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. Patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups of 45 patients each.Group E (n = 45) received Inj. Etomidate (0.3 mg/kg of body weight) and Group P (n = 45): received Inj. Propofol 1% (2 mg/kg of body weight). Vital parameters at induction, laryngoscopy and thereafter recorded for comparison. Adverse effects like pain on injection, apnea and myoclonus were carefully noted.Results:Both groups have comparable demographic variables.Patients in etomidate group showed little change in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) compared to propofol (p > 0.05) from baseline value. Pain on injection was more in propofol group while myoclonus activity was higher in etomidate group.Conclusion:Through this study, we concluded that etomidate is hemodynamically more stable than propofol with less incidence of pain on injection. Keywords:Induction, intubation, etomidate, propofol, hemodynamic stable

Comparative study of intrathecal bupivacaine and bupivacaine with clonidine in infra-umblical surgeries

Introduction: Intrathecal clonidine is a safe, nonopioid adjuvant to local anaesthetics to prolong the duration of anaesthesia and analgesia without any major side effects. We investigated and compare the characteristics of spinal block, duration of postoperative analgesia, hemodynamic responses and side effects using intrathecal bupivacaine and its combination with clonidine in patients undergoing infra-umblical surgeries. Material and Methods: In the present study, 70 patients of ASA grade I and II, age between 18-64 years were randomly allocated in two groups. Group A received 12.5 mg of hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine with 0.5 cc of normal saline and group B received 12.5 mg of hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine plus 75µg of clonidine. Various parameter of intrathecal block were than studied. Result: Addition of clonidine to 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine given intrathecally significantly prolonged the duration of motor blockade, time for two segment regression and the duration of postoperative analgesia with minimal acceptable side effects as compare to bupivacaine alone. Conclusion: Intrathecal addition of clonidine significantly prolongs the duration of motor block providing good postoperative analgesia as well as improves the quality of block

Hypoglycemic and anti-hyperglycemic activity of Triphalādi granules in mice

Background: Triphalādi kvātha is well known herbal Ayurvedic formulation used in Prameha (~type 2 diabetes mellitus). In the present study, kvātha was converted into granules and assessed for its hypoglycemic and anti-hyperglycemic effects in albino mice. Materials and Methods: Triphalādi granules (650 mg/kg, p.o.) were administered in normal albino mice for assessment of hypoglycemic activity. Anti-hyperglycemic activity of Triphalādi granules was assessed in glucose (5 g/kg, p.o.) solution overloaded mice. The blood sugar level (BSL) was measured with the help of one touch easy glucometer. Results: Triphalādi granules produced significant decrease in blood glucose level after one hour in comparison to initial values while decreasing BSL by 27.92% in comparison to control group in normal albino mice. In hyperglycemic study, Triphalādi granules produced significant decrease the BSL after 2 hr. of administration compared to control group. Conclusion: Triphalādi granules have significant hypoglycemic and anti-hyperglycemic activity in mice with minimal effect on BSL below normal range. The studies suggest the potential role of Triphalādi granules as an alternative adjuvant therapy in diabetic individuals for the control of the blood glucose level

Machine Learning-Based Fault Diagnosis of Self-Aligning Bearings for Rotating Machinery Using Infrared Thermography

Bearings are considered as indispensable and critical components of mechanical equipment, which support the basic forces and dynamic loads. Across different condition monitoring (CM) techniques, infrared thermography (IRT) has gained the limelight due to its noncontact nature, high accuracy, and reliability. This article presents the use of IRT for the bearing fault diagnosis. A two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform (2D-DWT) has been applied for the decomposition of the thermal image. Principal component analysis (PCA) has been used for the reduction of dimensionality of extracted features, and thereafter the most relevant features are accomplished. Furthermore, support vector machine (SVM), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) as the classifiers were considered for classification of faults and performance assessment. The results reveal that the SVM outperformed LDA as well as KNN. Noncontact condition monitoring shows a great potential to be implemented in determining the health of machine. The utilization of noncontact thermal imaging-based instruments has enormous potential in anticipating the maintenance and increased machine availability