Yield and quality attributes with seasonal variation in Napier Bajra hybrid (Pennisetum purpureum × Pennisetum glaucum) under different nitrogen environments

Field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2013 in randomized block design using three nitrogen doses (50, 75 and 100 kgN/ha) with three replications for Napier Bajra hybrid. Three nitrogen fertilizers, potassium nitrate (KNO3), urea [CO(NH2)2] and ammonium sulphate [(NH4)2SO4] were used in divided doses. The crop was harvested four times in different seasons. Growth attributes viz. plant height (72.6cm), number of tillers per plant (20.1) and leaf length (91.2) found highest at 100 kgN/ha doses and maximum values were recorded in monsoon season. Green fodder yield (321.0 q/ha) and dry fodder yield (79.6 q/ha) were recorded highest with KNO3 fertilization and found maximum in monsoon season. Among all the harvest seasons, crude protein yield (19.1 q/ha) was observed maximum in summer season. Quality attributes viz. ether extract (2.6%), ash content (12.9%) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (62.6%) were observed highest in summer season. Crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre decreased with increased level of nitrogen doses and observed maximum in monsoon season

Evaluation of Quality Traits of Nitrogen Treated Napier Bajra Hybrid Plants in Different Cuts Using Different Nitrogen Sources

Napier Bajra Hybrid, cv PBN-233 is a inter-specific hybrid between Pennisetum glaucum × Pennisetum purpureum. It is an important fast growing multi-cut fodder crop and provides fodder from April to November. It is widely distributed in sub-tropical regions of Asia, Africa, southern Europe and America. Nitrogen (N) is a fundamental regulator of plant growth and its supply strongly influence plant growth. In general, the availability of the nutrients influences the quality of various crops. Due to this reason, nitrogen fertilizers were increasingly used in agricultural sectors around the world. Some researchers reported that forage quality increased with nitrogen fertilization but nitrogen use efficiency declined. The increase in nitrogen fertilization improved considerably nitrogen uptake and would contributed to large photosynthetic activity and synthesis of higher protein content. Forages with high concentrations of crude protein (CP) considered of high quality because feeding high protein forage cut down the need of supplementary protein. Generally, high protein forages are more digestible and provide more energy than low protein forages. CP content generally decreased with the advancement of the plant growth due to synthesis of structural carbohydrates with advancing plant age. The declined protein content concentration was also attributed to reduction in leaf to stem ratio with advancing age. Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) are regarded as good indicators of forage quality because of their negative relation to digestibility in animals. Low NDF containing forage preferred by animals than high NDF ones. High NDF content in forages not only decreased intake, but also reduces the availability of energy for higher milk production. Increased supply of nitrogen and other nutrients increased the protein content whereas decreased the NDF and ADF content. Therefore, an attempt was made to evaluate the effect of different nitrogen levels and sources on quality traits of Napier Bajra hybrid in different cuts

A study of maternal and fetal outcome in meconium-stained amniotic fluid-a prospective hospital-based study

Background: Meconium is a collection of secretions and desquamated cells from the digestive tract, and waste products from ingested amniotic fluid. It is a viscous, dark-green substance composed of intestinal epithelial cells, lanugo, mucus, and intestinal secretions. Intra uterine passage of meconium occurs in case of fetal distress; Important causes of in utero passage of meconium are oligohydramnios, placental insufficiency, preeclampsia.Methods: The present prospective observational study is conducted at department of obstetrics and gynecology of tertiary care centre, Lokmanya Tilak municipal medical college and hospital, Mumbai. All antenatal women attending hospital in active phase of labour who fulfilled the inclusion criteria of single term pregnancy in cephalic presentation were included. A predesigned pretested interview schedule questionnaire was prepared in accordance with study objectives and was conducted in the language which they best understood. Permission was obtained from the institutional ethics committee. Maternal outcome: Increased incidence of cesarean and instrumental deliveries, wound infection, post-partum hemorrhage. Perinatal outcome: Birth asphyxia, meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), respiratory distress syndrome (RSD), septicemia.Results: Maximum women 71% were having gestational age of 37-40 weeks. most common maternal high-risk factors were post-dated pregnancy (29%) followed by oligohydramnios (19%). Deliveries by caesarean section were more (71.4%), most common indication being fetal distress (44.7%). Perinatal complications were birth asphyxia, MAS, RDS, low Apgar score.Conclusions: Early identification of meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) in labouring women during intra-partum monitoring and availability of operation theatre for immediate intervention is required to reduce the perinatal morbidity and mortality

Decay of spin coherences in one-dimensional spin systems

Strategies to protect multi-qubit states against decoherence are difficult to formulate because of their complex many-body dynamics. A better knowledge of the decay dynamics would help in the construction of dynamical decoupling control schemes. Here we use solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to experimentally investigate decay of coherent multi-spin states in linear spin chains. Leveraging on the quasi-one-dimension geometry of fluorapatite crystal spin systems, we can gain a deeper insight on the multi-spin states created by the coherent evolution, and their subsequent decay, than it is possible in three-dimensional (3D) systems. We are then able to formulate an analytical model that captures the key features of the decay. We can thus compare the decoherence behavior for different initial states of the spin chain and link their decay rate to the state characteristics, in particular their coherence and long-range correlation among spins. Our experimental and theoretical study shows that the spin chains undergo a rich dynamics, with a slower decay rate than for the 3D case, and thus might be more amenable to decoupling techniques.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant DMG-1005926)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Young Investigator Progra

Customer participation and service outcomes: Mediating role of task-related affective well-being

This paper contributes to transformative service research by drawing on self-determination, elicitation of emotions framework, and feelings-as-information theories to explore how customer participation, task-related affective well-being, customer knowledge, task complexity, and service outcomes relate with each other. Design/methodology/approach-A synthesis of relevant literature on customer participation and customer well-being reveals a conceptual model with eleven testable propositions. Findings-The conceptual model shows that task-related affective well-being mediates the link between customer participation and service outcomes. Moreover, customer knowledge and task complexity moderate these links. Research limitations/implications-An empirically testable conceptual model models the roles of task-related affective well-being, customer knowledge and task complexity in the process by which customer participation influences service outcomes. Practical implications-Service managers can use the model to design services based on the effects of different types of customer participation on task-related affective well-being. Originality/value-This paper is one of the first to study the mediating role of task-related affective well-being in the relationship between customer participation and service outcomes. It does so by revealing the differential impact various types of participation have on service outcomes and the moderating role of customer knowledge and task complexity

Drug utilization study in patients of hypertension in tertiary care hospital

Background: Hypertension is the most common modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, stroke and renal failure. Drug utilization research facilitates the rational use of drugs and provides an insight into the pattern of drug use. As such, the present study was conducted to assess the prescribing patterns of antihypertensive agents and to observe the disparity between the recommended and actual practices for pharmacological management of hypertension at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: A prospective, observational and cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Pharmacology in collaboration with Department of Medicine in a tertiary healthcare hospital. As per inclusion criteria, patients with hypertension visiting Medicine OPD from 1st October 2018 to 31st December 2018 were enrolled in the study.Results: A total of 390 prescriptions were collected. It was observed that majority of the study patients were female (53.84%) and were >60 years of age. Average number of drugs prescribed per prescription was 4.18. Multiple drug regimen (67.69%) was the mainstay therapy in our study. Prevalence of two drug combination was the highest (46.92%) followed by monotherapy (32.3%). Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) (amlodipine) was the most frequently prescribed class in monotherapy (19.23%). In two drug regimens, the combination of CCB with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) (combination of amlodipine and enalapril) was prescribed the most (28.46%) whereas prescription of combination of ACEI, beta-blocker (BB) and CCB (enalapril, atenolol and amlodipine combination) was the highest (13.84%) in three drug regimens.Conclusions: The prescription pattern of antihypertensive drugs was found to be rational and mainly in accordance with Joint National Committee VIII guidelines. All the drugs were prescribed by their generic names which suggests awareness among prescribers regarding WHO policies for generic prescribing

Enhancing Student Learning, Engagement, and Employment Through Inclusive Curriculum Design

The diverse student body at Queen Mary University of London requires an effective approach to ensure equal opportunity in higher education. This includes promoting equality, inclusion, equity, and access to services. To address this, the authors present a case study about a redesigned cloud computing module to enhance student engagement, employability, and intercultural learning. The module's learning outcomes are based on the students' graduate attributes and cross-disciplinary abilities, as defined by professional frameworks. To support equal opportunity and facilitate multicultural growth, they have updated the education and learning model to include innovative teaching methods and materials for efficient curriculum delivery. This study establishes the foundation for an action research review of cloud computing that aims to create an inclusive curriculum

Effect of weed management on weeds, growth and yield of toria

ABSTRACT A field experiment was carried out at Ludhiana, Punjab during 2009 and 2010 to study the effect of different weed control treatments on growth and yield of rapeseed. Eight herbicide treatments, viz. trifluralin at 0.48 kg and 0.60 kg/ha (pre-plant and pre-emergence), pendimethalin at 0.56 kg and 0.75 kg/ha (preemergence), pendimethalin at 0.75 kg/ha (pre-plant) and oxyfluorfen at 0.25 kg/ha (pre-emergence), two hand weeding (25 and 45 days after sowing) and unweeded control were kept. Two hand weedings, preplant application of trifluralin at 0.60 kg/ha, and pre-plant and pre-emergence application of pendimethalin at 0.70 kg/ha significantly decreased dry weight of associated weeds as compared to unweeded control. Weed control efficiency recorded similar trend as of dry matter of weeds. Accordingly, the increased with application of these weed control treatments. Key words: Pendimethalin, Oxyflourfen, Trifluralin, Toria, Yield Among the various oilseeds grown in India, rapeseed and mustard group is the second most important crop after groundnut, contributing nearly 18% of the total oilseed production in the country. These crops are grown on an area of 5.59 million ha with a production of about 6.61 million tonnes, out of which Punjab occupies 30,000 ha and produces 39,000 tonnes, respectively (Anonymous, 2011). The agro-climatic conditions in Punjab are congenial for the production of oilseed crops. Rapeseed (toria) is an important oilseed crop. Adoption of high-yielding varieties with the judicious use of inputs and irrigation plays an important role in boosting its production. As it is exclusively grown under irrigated conditions, problem of weeds poses a serious threat to its potential production. The crop is infested with both grasses and broad-leaved weeds, which pose a serious competition during early period of crop growth, and reduce seed yield by 15-20% (Brar et al. 1991). Weeds cause enormous damage to the mustard and the magnitude of losses ranges from 30-50%, depending upon the growth and persistence of weed population MATERIALS AND METHODS The field investigation was carried out for two years at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during 2009 and 2010. The soil of the experimental field was loamy sand in texture, low in organic C, low in available N (230 kg/ha), medium in available P (18.6 kg/ha), available K (150 kg/ ha), and neutral in reaction. The trial was laid out in randomized block design with four replications. Among the herbicidal treatments, trifluralin at 0.48 kg and 0.60 kg/ha, pendimethalin at 0.56 kg and 0.75 kg/ha as pre-emergance, pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ha as pre-plant and oxyfluorfen at 0.25 kg/ha were applied pre-emergence. In addition, two hand weedings (25 and 45 days after sowing) and unweeded control were also kept for comparison. The sowing of rapeseed (toria) variety 'TL 15' was done during mid-September, using a seed rate of 3.75 kg/ ha at a distance of 30 cm in rows. Plant to plant distance of 10 cm was maintained by thinning after 20 days of sowing. All the nutrients, i.e. 62 kg N and 20 kg P 2 O 5 /ha were applied at the time of sowing. Herbicides were sprayed after dissolving in water as per the treatment with knapsack sprayer fitted with flat fan nozzle using a spray volume of 375 litres/ha. The data on dry matter production by weeds was recorded at 45 days after sowing with the help of quadrat (30 × 30 cm) placed randomly at two spots in each plot. Observations on plant height, branches/ plant and siliqua/plant were recorded at harvest from randomly selected five plants from each treated plot. Crop was raised using recommended agronomic practices and protected against insects and diseases. The data on weeds were subjected to square root transformation to normalize their distribution. Weed control efficiency was calculated by using standard formul

Human C1q Induces Apoptosis in an Ovarian Cancer Cell Line via Tumor Necrosis Factor

Copyright: © 2016 Kaur, Sultan, Murugaiah, Pathan, Alhamlan, Karteris and Kishore. Human C1q is the first recognition subcomponent of the complement classical pathway that plays a vital role in the clearance of immune complexes, pathogens and apoptotic cells. C1q also has a homeostatic role involving immune and non-immune cells; these functions not necessarily involve complement activation. Recently, C1q has been shown to be expressed locally in the microenvironment of a range of human malignant tumours, where it can promote cancer cell adhesion, migration and proliferation, without involving complement activation. C1q has been shown to be present in the ascitic fluid formed during ovarian cancers. In this study, we have examined the effects of human C1q and its globular domain on an ovarian cancer cell line, SKOV3. We show that C1q and the recombinant globular modules induce apoptosis in SKOV3 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. C1q expression was not detectable in the SKOV3 cells. Exogenous treatment with C1q and globular heads at the concentration of 10μg/ml induced apoptosis in approximately 55% cells, as revealed by immunofluorescence microscopy and FACS. The qPCR and caspase analysis suggested that C1q and globular head modules activated TNF-α and upregulation of Fas. The genes of mTOR, RICTOR and RAPTOR survival pathways, which are often over-expressed in majority of the cancers, were significantly downregulated within few hours of the treatment of C1q and globular head modules. In conclusion, C1q, via its globular domain, induced apoptosis in an ovarian cancer cell line, SKOV3 via TNF-α induced apoptosis pathway involving upregulation of Bax and Fas. This study highlights a potentially protective role of C1q in certain cancers

Differentially expressed seed aging responsive heat shock protein OsHSP18.2 implicates in seed vigor, longevity and improves germination and seedling establishment under abiotic stress

Small heat shock proteins (sHSP) are a diverse group of proteins and are highly abundant in plant species. Although majority of these sHSPs were shown to express specifically in seed, their potential function in seed physiology remains to be fully explored. Our proteomic analysis revealed that OsHSP18.2, a class II cytosolic HSP is an aging responsive protein as its abundance significantly increased after artificial aging in rice seeds. OsHSP18.2 transcript was found to markedly increase at the late maturation stage being highly abundant in dry seeds and sharply decreased after germination. Our biochemical study clearly demonstrated that OsHSP18.2 forms homooligomeric complex and is dodecameric in nature and functions as a molecular chaperon. OsHSP18.2 displayed chaperone activity as it was effective in preventing thermal inactivation of Citrate Synthase. Further, to analyze the function of this protein in seed physiology, seed specific Arabidopsis overexpression lines for OsHSP18.2 were generated. Our subsequent functional analysis clearly demonstrated that OsHSP18.2 has ability to improve seed vigor and longevity by reducing deleterious ROS accumulation in seeds. In addition, transformed Arabidopsis seeds displayed better performance in germination and cotyledon emergence under adverse conditions as well. Collectively, our work demonstrates that OsHSP18.2 is an aging responsive protein which functions as a molecular chaperon and possibly protect and stabilize the cellular proteins from irreversible damage particularly during maturation drying, desiccation and aging in seeds by restricting ROS accumulation and thereby improves seed vigor, longevity and seedling establishment