Effect of Pickings on Germination Percentage and Fiber Quality Traits in Gossypium Hirsutum L

The present investigations were designed to determine the impact of picking dates on seed germination, 100 seed weight and various fiber parameters. Two genotypes FH-113 and FH-114 were evaluated under early and normal sowing. Nine and six pickings were taken under early and normal conditions, respectively. The results revealed significant variation in both the years for fiber traits but for seed germination, the results were non-significant and for seed weight remained significant under both sowing times, respectively. For picking time the estimates were significant under both sowing times thus exhibiting the major role of picking time in this experiment. For germination percentage, the results were variable for both the genotypes. For genotype FH-113, germination remained above 60% during 1st pick and for 5th, 6th, and 7th pick, the germination rates were higher and nearing almost 70%. For 2nd genotype, the germination remained below 50% from pick-1 to pick-4 and above 50% in pick 5 and 8 but for all other pickings the values remained in the range 45–50%. Under normal sowing both genotypes exhibited germination percentage near 60% at 1st pick but for 2nd and 3rd pick, the germination rate remained between 45% and 50%. Regarding correlation studies among the studied traits germination % had positive and highly significant correlation with 100 seed weight under both sowing times. Fiber fineness and strength had strong and highly significant correlation with fiber maturity under both conditions. The results from this study revealed that pickings during favorable conditions produce better quality and germination

Inheritance pattern of earliness in cotton (gossypium hirsutum L.)

Fifty one genotypes of Gossypium hirsutum L. were evaluated for variation based on earliness characteristics and seed cotton yield. Seven divergent genotypes including four early and three late maturing genotypes were crossed in a full diallel mating system. Preliminary ANOVA showed significant differences for all the traits.. Additive-dominance model was employed for the interpretation of inheritance pattern controlling earliness and seed cotton yield. The scaling tests fully met the pre-requisites of additive-dominance model and all the traits in F 1 generation showed complete adequacy. The data for seed cotton yield in F 1 and days take to 1 st boll opening in F 2 generation were partially adequate for additive-dominance model and for boll maturation period was inadequate in F 2 generation. Additive component (D) and dominance components (H 1&H 2) were found significant for all the traits thus confirming the contribution of both additive and non-additive effects in both generations except for days to 1 st flower in F 2 generation where the dominance components were non-significant. Formal ANOVA results revealed the contribution of both additive \u27a\u27 and non additive effects \u27b\u27 for all the traits in both generations except for the trait nodes for 1 st fruiting branch. Inheritance of incase of nodes to 1 st branch was controlled by partial dominance; earliness index by over dominance; and days taken to 1 st boll opening and seed cotton yield by complete dominance in both generations. In F1 generation, days to 1 st flower was controlled by over dominance while in F 2 it was inherited additively. Boll maturation period was controlled by over dominance. Heritability estimates in both generations remained moderate to high except for days to 1 st flower where it was very low. Hybrid vigour can be exploited in the case of traits controlled by complete dominance and over dominance while in cases additive control pedigree selection might be fruitful for improvement of the crop

Yield and Related Components of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Effected by Chlorophyll Contents

To study the relationship amongst leaf chlorophyll contents, yield and related parameters, 18 advanced genotypes of cotton were tested in a trial at Cotton Research Station, Faisalabad. Highly significant results were noticed in the analysis of variance. Further investigation in correlation analysis revealed that there was comendable positive association among leaf chlorophyll contents, seed cotton yield (SCY), No. of sympodia, seed index and boll weight(g). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated that only 02 out of 08 PCs showed eigen value greater than 1. The contribution of first two PCs in total variability was 70.77% amongst the genotypes assessed for chlorophyll contents, seed cotton yield and related traits. Remaining six components contributed very less viz. 30.8% in total variability. Valuable positive factor loadings on PC I was attributed by seed cotton yield, chlorophyll contents, boll weight, No. of sympodia, seed index and Ginning out turn (GOT)%. In PC II, maximum positive contribution was presented by plant height whereras maximum negative factor loadings were showed by GOT % and seed index. PCA also confirmed the results of correlation studies by presenting significant positive association among leaf chlorophyll contents, seed cotton yield, No. of sympodia, seed index and boll weight. These results will be helpful in further breeding strategies for selection of genotypes with respect to chlorophyll contents, yield and associated traits.</p

Phosphoric Acid Activated Carbon from Melia azedarach Waste Sawdust for Adsorptive Removal of Reactive Orange 16: Equilibrium Modelling and Thermodynamic Analysis

Waste wood biomass as precursor for manufacturing activated carbon (AC) can provide a solution to ever increasing global water quality concerns. In our current work, Melia azedarach derived phosphoric acid-treated AC (MA-AC400) was manufactured at a laboratory scale. This novel MA-AC400 was tested for RO16 dye removal performance as a function of contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH, temperature and initial dye concentration in a batch scale arrangement. MA-AC400 was characterized via scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence spectroscopy. MA-AC400 is characterized as mesoporous with BET surface area of 293.13 m2 g&minus;1 and average pore width of 20.33 &Aring;. pHPZC and Boehm titration confirm the acidic surface charges with dominance of phenolic functional groups. The average DLS particle size of MA-AC400 was found in the narrow range of 0.12 to 0.30 &micro;m and this polydispersity was confirmed with multiple excitation fluorescence wavelengths. MA-AC400 showed equilibrium adsorption efficiency of 97.8% for RO16 dye at its initial concentration of 30 mg L&minus;1 and adsorbent dose of 1 g L&minus;1. Thermodynamic study endorsed the spontaneous, favorable, irreversible and exothermic process for RO16 adsorption onto MA-AC400. Equilibrium adsorption data was better explained by Langmuir with high goodness of fit (R2, 0.9964) and this fitness was endorsed with lower error functions. The kinetics data was found well fitted to pseudo-second order (PSO), and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. Increasing diffusion constant values confirm the intraparticle diffusion at higher RO16 initial concentration and reverse was true for PSO chemisorption kinetics. MA-AC400 exhibited low desorption with studied eluents and its cost was calculated to be $8.36/kg

Synthesis and Characterization of Fe-TiO₂ Nanomaterial: Performance Evaluation for RB5 Decolorization and In Vitro Antibacterial Studies

A photocatalytic system for decolorization of double azo reactive black 5 (RB5) dye and water disinfection of E. coli was developed. Sol gel method was employed for the synthesis of Fe-TiO2 photocatalysts and were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. Results showed that photocatalytic efficiency was greatly influenced by 0.1 weight percent iron loading and 300 °C calcination temperature. The optimized reaction parameters were found to be the ambient temperature, working solution pH 6.2 and 1 mg g−1 dose to completely decolorize RB5. The isotherm studies showed that RB5 adsorption by Fe-TiO2 followed the Langmuir isotherm with maximum adsorption capacity of 42.7 mg g−1 and Kads 0.0079 L mg−1. Under illumination, the modified photocatalytic material had higher decolorization efficiency as compared to unmodified photocatalyst. Kinetic studies of the modified material under visible light irradiation indicated the reaction followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The illumination reaction followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) model as the rate of dye decolorization increased with an incremental increase in dye concentration. The L-H constant Kc was 1.5542 mg L–1∙h–1 while Kads was found 0.1317 L mg–1. The best photocatalyst showed prominent percent reduction of E. coli in 120 min. Finally, 0.1Fe-TiO2-300 could be an efficient photocatalyst and can provide a composite solution for RB5 decolorization and bacterial strain inhibition

Statins everyday versus alternate days: Is there a difference in myalgia rates?

Objective: Statins are widely used drugs, known to cause myalgia, leading to high discontinuation rates. The objective of our study was to determine the frequency of myalgia in patients on everyday-dose (EDD) regimen with those on alternate-day dose (ADD) regimen. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan. A sample size of 400 patients between the age of 40–70 years, taking simvastatin 40 mg for at least 6 months or more were selected. Patients with prior musculoskeletal or neuromuscular complains, and family history of muscular disorders were excluded. Subjects were evaluated for myalgia via a self-administered questionnaire, and those complaining of myalgia were then evaluated for serum vitamin D levels. Data was analyzed through SPSS 16.0 and compared using chi square test. Results: The overall prevalence of myalgia was 7% (28/400). Frequency of myalgia in patients taking simvastatin everyday (n = 20, 10%) was significantly higher compared to those taking it every alternate day (n = 8, 4%) (p = 0.02). There was no significant difference between the time of onset, nature, severity, type, or location of myalgia between the 2 groups. The most common cited triggering factor for pain was physical exercise. Of the patients experiencing myalgia, 13 (6.5%) from the EDD group and 6 (3%) from the ADD group had low levels of vitamin D. Conclusions: ADD regime was better tolerated by the patients than EDD regime. Alternate day therapy, with or without vitamin D supplementation, may be used by the physicians for troublesome muscular complains. Keywords: Alternate-day dosage, Everyday dosage, Myalgia, Simvastatin, Stati

Effect of Pickings on Germination Percentage and Fiber Quality Traits in Gossypium Hirsutum L

The present investigations were designed to determine the impact of picking dates on seed germination, 100 seed weight and various fiber parameters. Two genotypes FH-113 and FH-114 were evaluated under early and normal sowing. Nine and six pickings were taken under early and normal conditions, respectively. The results revealed significant variation in both the years for fiber traits but for seed germination, the results were non-significant and for seed weight remained significant under both sowing times, respectively. For picking time the estimates were significant under both sowing times thus exhibiting the major role of picking time in this experiment. For germination percentage, the results were variable for both the genotypes. For genotype FH-113, germination remained above 60% during 1st pick and for 5th, 6th, and 7th pick, the germination rates were higher and nearing almost 70%. For 2nd genotype, the germination remained below 50% from pick-1 to pick-4 and above 50% in pick 5 and 8 but for all other pickings the values remained in the range 45–50%. Under normal sowing both genotypes exhibited germination percentage near 60% at 1st pick but for 2nd and 3rd pick, the germination rate remained between 45% and 50%. Regarding correlation studies among the studied traits germination % had positive and highly significant correlation with 100 seed weight under both sowing times. Fiber fineness and strength had strong and highly significant correlation with fiber maturity under both conditions. The results from this study revealed that pickings during favorable conditions produce better quality and germination