EFFECTS OF VARIOUS SOIL ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES ON THE OCCURRENCE, DISTRIBUTION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF VA MYCORRHIZAE

The vesicular - arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi are geographically ubiquitous soil inhabitants and form universal symbiotic relationship with plants from every phylum. These fungi link host plants with host soils and their biota in the mycorrhizosphere and play  an  important  role  in  plant  health,  productivity  and  soil  structure. Although  VA mycorrhizal  fungi  do  not  show  any  host  specificity,  there  is  increasing  evidence  that various  climatic  and  edaphic  environmental  factors  such  as  land  use  and management practices,  physical,  chemical  and  biological  properties  of  host  soils  and  host  plant characteristics  influence  their  occurrence,  taxonomic  distribution  and  effectiveness. The interaction of these factors with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) is poorly understood except in a few cases. It is now very clear that VA mycorrhizal associations are ecologically significant factors that require more attention than previously accorded. This  paper  discusses  the  occurrence,  distribution  and  significance  of  VAM  in environmentally  stressed  soil  conditions  that  limit  plant  growth  such  as  drought, waterlogging and salinity.                                                    Key  words:  Mycorrhizas/Environmental  factors/Waterlogging/Soil  salinity/Growth  development  stages/ Inoculum

Carvings & community: inclusive heritage solutions for for protecting ancient Karakorum petroglyphs under threat

This paper presents the initial report of our “Karakorum Rescue Project 2020-21” in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The petroglyphs of the Karakorum Mountains are very important as it was crucial crossroads throughout ancient times and different routes were used by a wide diversity of merchants, travellers, caravans and pilgrims for thousands of years. These rock art sites in the region are in danger due to the construction of dam, destruction and vandalism of especially the Buddhist rock art continue to threaten the existence of these historical petroglyphs, including many that have as yet never been documented before. For the preservation and documentation of this heritage, we initiated this project with the support of the Prince Claus Heritage Emergency Grant and the Aliph Alliance. This helps us to outline the academic and fieldwork strategies we used and how we combined a (non-invasive) archaeological photographical rescue campaign with an active and inclusive outreach to the local communities of the research region.Archaeological Heritage Managemen

Causes of breakage and disruption in a homogeniser

Many authors have written in the past regarding the exact causes of breakage and disruption in a high pressure homogeniser, but there has been little agreement. This paper investigates some of the most likely causes of the rupture of the walls of unicellular organisms and offers suggestions obtained from various papers and work carried out

Prediction-error signals in anterior cingulate cortex drive task-switching

Task-switching is a fundamental cognitive ability that allows animals to update their knowledge of current rules or contexts. Detecting discrepancies between predicted and observed events is essential for this process. However, little is known about how the brain computes cognitive prediction-errors and whether neural prediction-error signals are causally related to task-switching behaviours. Here we trained mice to use a prediction-error to switch, in a single trial, between responding to the same stimuli using two distinct rules. Optogenetic silencing and un-silencing, together with widefield and two-photon calcium imaging revealed that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was specifically required for this rapid task-switching, but only when it exhibited neural prediction-error signals. These prediction-error signals were projection-target dependent and were larger preceding successful behavioural transitions. An all-optical approach revealed a disinhibitory interneuron circuit required for successful prediction-error computation. These results reveal a circuit mechanism for computing prediction-errors and transitioning between distinct cognitive states

The predictive role of serum magnesium in prognosis of critically ill medical patients

Introduction: Magnesium deficiency is a common disorder, but easily ignored as compared to other electrolyte abnormalities. Other studies are showing varied prevalence and increased association with morbidity and mortality. Aims & Objectives: The aim of our study is to find out the prevalence of hypomagnesemia among the critically ill medical patients and to correlate the serum magnesium levels with the mortality and morbidity outcome considering the length of ICU stay, duration of ventilatory support, APACHE 2 score, SOFA score, primary medical conditions in critically ill patients in medical ICU. Methodology: This prospective observational study was conducted in Medical intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital. After the approval from Institutional ethical committee patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit with age more than 12 years and admitted for more than 2 days were included in the study after obtaining written informed consent. Laboratory tests and radiological investigations were done. APACHE 2(acute physiology and chronic health evaluation) score, SOFA score, total ICU stay, hospital stay, need of mechanical ventilation, duration of ventilatory assistance and associated medical conditions like diabetes, sepsis and electrolyte abnormalities were followed up to assess the relation with mortality and morbidity. Results: Among total of 170 critically ill medical patients were included in the study, prevalence of hypomagnesemia was 56.8 %. The morbidity was higher in hypomagnesaemic patients (48.5% vs 23.4%), longer ICU stay (6.96 ± 3.85 vs 5.12 ± 1.31) and need of mechanical ventilation was also more (68.9% vs 40.4 % p value < 0.003). Sepsis and maximum SOFA score indicate being the predominant underlying factor for hypomagnesemia. Even though association was there between mortality and hypomagnesemia, mortality has not correlated significantly [beta -0.041, t -0.473, 95 % CI -0.219 and 0.138]. Conclusion: Hypomagnesemia is more prevalent among the critically ill medical patients. Hypomagnesemia was also associated with increased mortality, longer ICU stay, higher APACHE 2 score, SOFA score, frequent ventilatory support and significant electrolyte abnormalities also

Coronal Shock Waves, EUV waves, and their Relation to CMEs. II. Modeling MHD Shock Wave Propagation Along the Solar Surface, Using Nonlinear Geometrical Acoustics

We model the propagation of a coronal shock wave, using nonlinear geometrical acoustics. The method is based on the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approach and takes into account the main properties of nonlinear waves: i) dependence of the wave front velocity on the wave amplitude, ii) nonlinear dissipation of the wave energy, and iii) progressive increase in the duration of solitary shock waves. We address the method in detail and present results of the modeling of the propagation of shock-associated extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) waves as well as Moreton waves along the solar surface in the simplest solar corona model. The calculations reveal deceleration and lengthening of the waves. In contrast, waves considered in the linear approximation keep their length unchanged and slightly accelerate.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Synthesis of Quantum Circuits for Linear Nearest Neighbor Architectures

While a couple of impressive quantum technologies have been proposed, they have several intrinsic limitations which must be considered by circuit designers to produce realizable circuits. Limited interaction distance between gate qubits is one of the most common limitations. In this paper, we suggest extensions of the existing synthesis flow aimed to realize circuits for quantum architectures with linear nearest neighbor (LNN) interaction. To this end, a template matching optimization, an exact synthesis approach, and two reordering strategies are introduced. The proposed methods are combined as an integrated synthesis flow. Experiments show that by using the suggested flow, quantum cost can be improved by more than 50% on average.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, 3 table

The ‘uberization of policing’? How police negotiate and operationalise predictive policing technology

Predictive policing generally refers to police work that utilises strategies, algorithmic technologies, and big data to generate near-future predictions about the people and places deemed likely to be involved in or experience crime. Claimed benefits of predictive policing centre on the technology’s ability to enable pre-emptive police work by automating police decisions. The goal is that officers will rely on computer software and smartphone applications to instruct them about where and who to police just as Uber drivers rely on similar technologies to instruct them about where to pick up passengers. Unfortunately, little is known about the experiences of the in-field users of predictive technologies. This article helps fill this gap by addressing the under researched area of how police officers engage with predictive technologies. As such, data is presented that outlines the findings of a qualitative study with UK police organisations involved in designing and trialing predictive policing software. Research findings show that many police officers have a detailed awareness of the limitations of predictive technologies, specifically those brought about by errors and biases in input data. This awareness has led many officers to develop a sceptical attitude towards predictive technologies and, in a few cases, these officers have expressed a reluctance to use predictive technologies. Based on these findings, this paper argues that claims about predictive software’s ability to neutralise the subjectivity of police work overlooks the ongoing struggles of the police officer to assert their agency and mediate the extent to which predictions will be trusted and utilised