Study of adaptability and efficacy of menstrual cup in managing menstrual health and hygiene

Background: Menstrual cups have been available for decades, but their use is limited by bulky design and the need for multiple sizes. However, some benefits have been reported like improvement in managing health and hygiene during menstruation, better information on the average menstrual fluid discharged by women during menstruation and attainment of more knowledge bridging the lacuna in knowledge about the adaptability and efficacy of menstrual cup as a better alternative to conventional options. The study is aimed towards assessing the adaptability and the effectiveness of menstrual cup by naïve users who have been using sanitary pads/tampons/cloth as conventional menstrual sanitary protection.Methods: The study was conducted at conducted Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society, Medical College and Hospital, Dharpur, Patan, Gujarat, India. Total 158 participants aged between ages of 20 to 50 years with regular menstrual cycle were enrolled in the study. Participants were provided menstrual cups to be used for three consecutive menstrual cycles. They were given detailed explanation/information about its usage. Feedback was obtained after every cycle for three cycles using a structured questionnaire.Results: The cup was preferred for comfort, dryness, and less odor. Insertion was easy for 80% participants and 90% participants found removal easy. Problem of leakage was encountered in 3-6%. There were few side effects like rashes, dryness or infection.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that this reusable vaginal device has no significant health risks and is acceptable to many women without the need for fitting or other medical services

Genetic variability studies in ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi L.)

In Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi L.) extent of variability was assessed in eighty four genotypes using augmented design. The analysis of variance indicated presence of considerable amount of variability. Genetic coefficient of variation (GCV) was high for plant height, seed yield plant-1, length of internodes, and number of secondary branches, test weight, number of umbels plant-1 and number of seeds umbel-1. High heritability and genetic advance was found for number of seed umbel-1, number of secondary branches and seed yield plant-1. Hence, in ajwain ample amount of variability exists for the important component traits like number of secondary branches, harvest index, number of seed umbel-1 and number of umbellate umbel-1 thus the scope of improving the crop by selection in the available variability is high. &nbsp

Economic feasibility of weed management practices in cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.)

Field experiments conducted at Ajmer (Rajasthan), to find out the economic feasibility ofweed management practices in terms of weed control efficiency and performance of cumin(Cuminum cyminum) indicated that weed-free treatments resulted in maximum vegetativegrowth and seed yield (6.03 q ha-1) followed by pre-emergence application of   oxadiargyl @75 g ha-1 + hand weeding at 45 days after sowing (DAS). Maximum net returns (Rs. 46,365ha-1) and highest cost : benefit ratio (1:3.48) was also obtained in pre-emergence applicationof   oxadiargyl @ 75 g ha-1 + hand weeding at 45 DAS. &nbsp

Effect of water stress on seed quality of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

Twelve coriander (Coriandrum sativum) accessions comprising of released varieties, advancedbreeding material, regional and exotic collections were evaluated at Ajmer (Rajasthan) foreffect of water stress on seed quality parameters including total oil, essential oil, test weightand seed size. All the recorded parameters showed significant genotypic variation as well assignificant interaction of genotype with environment. Mid-term water stress did not haveadverse effect on the studied quality parameters while terminal water stress resulted inreduction in quality parameters in most of the accessions. &nbsp

Use of plant growth regulators for yield improvement in coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

Two genotypes of coriander viz., ACr 1 and RCr 41 were sown during rabi season in three consecutive years (2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12) and plant growth regulators (PGRs) viz., abscisic acid (ABA), betaine, acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) (1, 3, 5 and 7 μM) and proline (200, 400, 600 and 800 μM) were sprayed at flowering stage. Morphological parameters in terms of fresh: dry weight, shoot: root weight, shoot root length and seed yield was significantly increased by application of proline, betain and ASA from 1 to 7 μM. Effective concentration of PGRs was influenced by climatic conditions during growth period. In genotype ACr 1, yield was maximum (6.29 and 5.92 g plant-1) in the treatments involving betain at 1 and 5 μM while ASA at 3 and 5 μM resulted in seed yield of 4.96 and 4.97 g plant-1, respectively. Maximum seed yield (5.41 and 5.17 g plant-1) of genotype RCr 41 was recorded in the treatment involving proline at 200 and 400 μM, respectively. It is suggested that exogenous application of proline (200-800 μM), betain and ASA (1-5 μM) at flowering stage in both the genotypes will be useful to enhance the yield. &nbsp

Impacts of management practices on bioenergy feedstock yield and economic feasibility on Conservation Reserve Program grasslands

Citation: Anderson, E. K., Aberle, E., Chen, C., Egenolf, J., Harmoney, K., Kakani, V. G., . . . Lee, D. (2016). Impacts of management practices on bioenergy feedstock yield and economic feasibility on Conservation Reserve Program grasslands. GCB Bioenergy. doi:10.1111/gcbb.12328Perennial grass mixtures planted on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land are a potential source of dedicated bioenergy feedstock. Long-term nitrogen (N) and harvest management are critical factors for maximizing biomass yield while maintaining the longevity of grass stands. A six-year farm-scale study was conducted to understand the impact of weather variability on biomass yield, determine optimal N fertilization and harvest timing management practices for sustainable biomass production, and estimate economic viability at six CRP sites in the United States. Precipitation during the growing season was a critical factor for annual biomass production across all regions, and annual biomass production was severely reduced when growing season precipitation was below 50% of average. The N rate of 112 kg ha-1 produced the highest biomass yield at each location. Harvest timing resulting in the highest biomass yield was site-specific and was a factor of predominant grass type, seasonal precipitation, and the number of harvests taken per year. The use of N fertilizer for yield enhancement unambiguously increased the cost of biomass regardless of the harvest timing for all six sites. The breakeven price of biomass at the farmgate ranged from $37 to$311 Mg-1 depending on the rate of N application, timing of harvesting, and location when foregone opportunity costs were not considered. Breakeven prices ranged from $69 to$526 Mg-1 when the loss of CRP land rental payments was included as an opportunity cost. Annual cost of the CRP to the federal government could be reduced by over 8% in the states included in this study; however, this would require the biomass price to be much higher than in the case where the landowner receives the CRP land rent. This field research demonstrated the importance of long-term, farm-scale research for accurate estimation of biomass feedstock production and economic viability from perennial grasslands. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Mesobot : An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Tracking and Sampling Midwater Targets

Mesobot, a new class of autonomous underwater vehicle, will address specific unmet needs for observing slow-moving targets in the midwater ocean. Mesobot will track targets such as zooplankton, fish, and descending particle aggregates using a control system based on stereo cameras and a combination of thrusters and a variable buoyancy system. The vehicle will also be able to collect biogeochemical and environmental DNA (eDNA) samples using a pumped filter sampler

Genetic diversity, population structure, and genome‑wide association study for the flowering trait in a diverse panel of 428 moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) accessions using genotyping by sequencing

Background Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) is an underutilized, protein-rich legume that is grown in arid and semiarid areas of south Asia and is highly resistant to abiotic stresses such as heat and drought. Despite its economic importance, the crop remains unexplored at the genomic level for genetic diversity and trait mapping studies. To date, there is no report of SNP marker discovery and association mapping of any trait in this crop. Therefore, this study aimed to dissect the genetic diversity, population structure and marker-trait association for the flowering trait in a diversity panel of 428 moth bean accessions using genotyping by sequencing (GBS) approach. Results A total of 9078 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were discovered by genotyping of 428 moth bean accessions. Model-based structure analysis and PCA grouped the moth bean accessions into two subpopulations. Cluster analysis revealed accessions belonging to the Northwestern region of India had higher variability than accessions from the other regions suggesting that this region represents its center of diversity. AMOVA revealed more variations within individuals (74%) and among the individuals (24%) than among the populations (2%). Marker-trait association analysis using seven multi-locus models including mrMLM, FASTmrEMMA FASTmrEMMA, ISIS EM-BLASSO, MLMM, BLINK and FarmCPU revealed 29 potential genomic regions for the trait days to 50% flowering, which were consistently detected in three or more models. Analysis of the allelic effect of the major genomic regions explaining phenotypic variance of more than 10% and those detected in at least 2 environments showed 4 genomic regions with significant phenotypic effect on this trait. Further, we also analyzed genetic relationships among the Vigna species using SNP markers. The genomic localization of moth bean SNPs on genomes of closely related Vigna species demonstrated that maximum numbers of SNPs were getting localized on Vigna mungo. This suggested that the moth bean is most closely related to V. mungo. Conclusion Our study shows that the north-western regions of India represent the center of diversity of the moth bean. Further, the study revealed flowering-related genomic regions/candidate genes which can be potentially exploited in breeding programs to develop early-maturity moth bean varieties

Biomass Production of Herbaceous Energy Crops in the United States: Field Trial Results and Yield Potential Maps from the Multiyear Regional Feedstock Partnership

Current knowledge of yield potential and best agronomic management practices for perennial bioenergy grasses is primarily derived from small‐scale and short‐term studies, yet these studies inform policy at the national scale. In an effort to learn more about how bioenergy grasses perform across multiple locations and years, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE)/Sun Grant Initiative Regional Feedstock Partnership was initiated in 2008. The objectives of the Feedstock Partnership were to (1) provide a wide range of information for feedstock selection (species choice) and management practice options for a variety of regions and (2) develop national maps of potential feedstock yield for each of the herbaceous species evaluated. The Feedstock Partnership expands our previous understanding of the bioenergy potential of switchgrass, Miscanthus, sorghum, energycane, and prairie mixtures on Conservation Reserve Program land by conducting long‐term, replicated trials of each species at diverse environments in the U.S. Trials were initiated between 2008 and 2010 and completed between 2012 and 2015 depending on species. Field‐scale plots were utilized for switchgrass and Conservation Reserve Program trials to use traditional agricultural machinery. This is important as we know that the smaller scale studies often overestimated yield potential of some of these species. Insufficient vegetative propagules of energycane and Miscanthus prohibited farm‐scale trials of these species. The Feedstock Partnership studies also confirmed that environmental differences across years and across sites had a large impact on biomass production. Nitrogen application had variable effects across feedstocks, but some nitrogen fertilizer generally had a positive effect. National yield potential maps were developed using PRISM‐ELM for each species in the Feedstock Partnership. This manuscript, with the accompanying supplemental data, will be useful in making decisions about feedstock selection as well as agronomic practices across a wide region of the country