Fodder Productivity of Different Genotypes of \u3cem\u3eCenchrus ciliaris\u3c/em\u3e under Hot Arid Climate of Thar Desert

Indian arid zone occupies about 31.7 million ha of land, of which 62% lies in western Rajasthan. The climate of the area is typically arid, characterized by hot dry summers, sub-humid monsoon and cold dry winters. The soils are coarse loamy sand with low level of nutrients. These factors render cropping an undependable proposition, while animal husbandry remains the main stake of the local people. Lasiurus sindicus, Cenchrus ciliaris, C. setigerus, Panicum antidotale, P. turgidum and Cymbopogon spp., are the main perennial grasses grow in this area. These grasses had three folds advantages in the arid agricultural economy, i.e., the cheapest livestock feed, soil builders and aid in soil conservation. Due to frequent droughts and overgrazing the productivity of the natural grasslands in the region has declined to \u3c 300 kg/ha per year. The ever existing gap between demand and supply of the fodder can be bridged by improving the rangelands by adopting improved grassland management techniques including genetically improved genotypes for their productivity and quality. Buffel grass (C. ciliaris L.) is one of the dominant grasses of Dichanthium-Cenchrus-Lasiurus grass cover of India (Dabadghao and Shankarnarayan, 1973). It is well distributed in hotter and drier parts of India, Mediterranean region, tropical and southern Africa. It is adapted to a wide range of soils and climatic conditions and can be cultivated in areas receiving rainfall from 150 to 1250 mm annually. It grows well on sandy to sandy-loam soils in semiarid and arid regions, forming mats or tussocks (Mansoor et al., 2002). The forage of this grass is highly palatable and rich in protein (Sawal et al., 2009). It has 6 to 10% crude protein, 34% crude fibre, 13% ash, 1.5% ether extract and 44% nitrogen free extract of dry matter at flowering. In earlier efforts at CAZRI, Jodhpur, germplasm was collected from different areas of arid zone and some accessions were identified for their fodder productivity and quality. Five genotypes were selected to assess their response for fodder production over the years under hot dry conditions

Effect of timing of cord clamping on iron stores of infants born to anemic mothers

Objective: To study the effect of timing of cord clamping on the iron stores of infants born to anemic (hemoglobin [Hb] 7-10 g/dl)mothers, and if late clamping leads to polycythemia. Design: Randomized comparative trial. Setting: Tertiary care hospital in ametropolitan city. Participants: Term, healthy, and vaginally delivered neonates without any congenital malformations or birth asphyxia,born to booked anemic (Hb 7-10 g/dl) mothers having no medical or pregnancy-related complications were included in the study.Interventions: The pregnant mothers were randomized into three groups, and their umbilical cords were clamped at 1, 2, and 3 min.Neonatal hematocrit was estimated by the capillary method at 24 h of life, and infant’s (Hb) and ferritin were obtained at 3 monthsof life. Main Outcome Measures: Hematocrit at 24 h of life and serum iron and ferritin levels at 3 months of age. Results: Theoutcome variables significantly associated (p<0.05) with hematocrit were cord clamping time, maternal Hb and cord Hb, and ferritin.That associated with infant’s Hb were cord clamping time and cord Hb and ferritin. Whereas, only cord clamp time was significantlyassociated with infant’s ferritin. None of the neonates had polycythemia, and Hb and ferritin were found to be the highest in those whosecord was clamped at 3 min. Conclusion: In resource-constrained countries, where iron deficiency anemia is a major public healthproblem, delaying the umbilical cord clamping by up to 3 min will reduce the incidence of infantile anemia. It will serve as an additionalcost-effective intervention in anemia control program without any adverse effect of polycythemia

Swift Heavy Ion Induced Modification Studies of C60 Thin Films

Modification induced by 110 MeV Ni ion irradiated thin film samples of C60 on Si and quartz substrates were studied at various fluences. The pristine and irradiated samples were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, electrical conductivity and optical absorption spectroscopy. The Raman data and band gap measurements indicate that swift ions at low fluences result in formations that involve multiple molecular units like dimer or polymer. High fluence irradiation resulted in sub-molecular formations and amorphous semiconducting carbon, indicating overall damage of the fullerene molecules. These sub-molecular units have been identified with nanocrystalline diamond and nanocrystalline graphite like formations.Comment: 7 pages, 29 references and 9 figures submitted to J. Appl. Phy

Use of polyethylene glycol coatings for optical fibre humidity sensing

Humidity induced change in the refractive index and thickness of the polyethylene glycol (PEG) coatings are in situ investigated for a range from 10 to 95%, using an optical waveguide spectroscopic technique. It is experimentally demonstrated that, upon humidity change, the optical and swelling characteristics of the PEG coatings can be employed to build a plastic fibre optic humidity sensor. The sensing mechanism is based on the humidity induced change in the refractive index of the PEG film, which is directly coated onto a polished segment of a plastic optical fibre with dip-coating method. It is observed that PEG, which is a highly hydrophilic material, shows no monotonic linear response to humidity but gives different characteristics for various ranges of humidity levels both in index of refraction and in thickness. It undergoes a physical phase change from a semi-crystal line structure to a gel one at around 80% relative humidity. At this phase change point, a drastic decrease occurs in the index of refraction as well as a drastic increase in the swelling of the PEG film. In addition, PEG coatings are hydrogenated in a vacuum chamber. It is observed that the hydrogen has a preventing effect on the humidity induced phase change in PEG coatings. Finally, the possibility of using PEG coatings in construction of a real plastic fibre optic humidity sensor is discussed. (C) 2008 The Optical Society of Japan