Carbon-driven Chemical Interactions between Alumina and Iron: A possible reaction pathway in Earth's interior

Seismological and geochemical observations have revealed a complex structure for the earth's core-mantle boundary (CMB) region, with lateral and chemical heterogeneities. The presence of higher than expected concentrations of siderophile elements (Ni, Co, Pt etc) in the earth's mantle, iron enrichment of the lower mantle relative to the upper mantle, and a possible carbon flux from the core suggest the possibility of continual long-term exchange of materials between the core and the mantle. The chemical interactions of molten iron with complex mantle oxides and diffusion have been postulated as key mechanisms. A number of studies have been carried out on the reduction reactions taking into account the extreme conditions of high-temperature and high-pressure in earth's interior. These studies have, however, neglected to consider the influence of carbon on these reactions. The earth's metallic core is rich in carbon (~ 5 wt% C), and there is a growing evidence for the presence of carbon in the earth's mantle as well. Carbon can affect redox conditions through chemical interactions with oxygen, and is a critical element in determining the oxidation state of siderophile elements. Here we present a study of the interactions between liquid iron and alumina-carbon substrates at 1,823K in argon atmosphere, and report on the formation of a Fe-Al~0.25-0.5~ alloy at ambient pressure. Iron induced reduction of alumina in the absence of carbon, has been previously reported to occur only at pressures above 60 GPa and temperatures of 2,200K. Our results demonstrate that carbon enriched iron is capable of reducing alumina in regions of much lower pressures. These chemical reactions could provide an important mechanism for the reduction reactions occurring in earth's interior, and be responsible for far higher levels of heterogeneities than currently believed

Evaluation of thermotolerant rhizobacteria for multiple plant growth promoting traits from pigeonpea rhizosphere

PGPR strains exhibiting optimum functional traits at high temperature and are compatible with Rhizobium can be used in pigeonpea as biofertilizer. A total of 45 rhizobacterial isolates were isolated from 13 different locations of pigeonpearhizospheric soil of Punjab. Out of the 45 isolates, 5 isolates selected on the basis of maximum growth at 30°C and 40°C were morphologically and biochemically characterized, belonging to genera Pseudomonas (P-6, P-9) and Bacillus (P-30, P-31, P-32). Selected isolates were further evaluated for the production of IAA, GA, SA and flavonoids. IAA production was estimated in the range from 0.45-25.13 ?g/ml and 4.62-34.34 ?g/ml in the presence of tryptophan at 30 and 40°C respectively. Maximum gibberellic acid production was recorded with P-30 (108.99 ?g/ml and 112.12 ?g/ml) at 30 and 40°C respectively. Similarly maximum salicylic acid was also estimated with P-30 (157.2 ?g/ml) followed by P-31 (141.0 ?g/ml) at 40°C. All the isolates were also found to produce flavonoids ranged from 2.98 - 4.40 ?g/ml at 40 °C. Isolates P-30, P-31 showed superior production of growth hormones and flavonoid-like compounds can further be tested under the field conditions to enhance growth and yield of pigeonpea

Evaluation of thermotolerant rhizobacteria for multiple plant growth promoting traits from pigeonpea rhizosphere

In pigeonpea due to the prevailing high temperature, poor nodulation have usually been observed as a limiting factor in its productivity. Plant growth promoting traits of 5 pigeonpea rhizobacterial isolates out of 32, selected on the basis of maximum growth at 30, 40 and 50°C, were evaluated for their potential application in enhancing symbiosis and plant growth of pigeonpea. The level of IAA at 30, 40 and 50°C varied from 0.95-20.96 ?g/ml, 1.21- 34.82 ?g/ml and 0.16-17.34 ?g/ml in the presence of tryptophan respectively. Maximum flavonoid production and siderophore production was recorded bacterial isolates with S12p6 (6.68 ?g/ml) at 30°C and S1p1 (4.2 cm) at 40°C respectively. Isolates S1p1 and S12p6 showed relatively superior production of growth hormone, flavonoid-like compounds and siderophores can further be tested as co-inoculant with recommended Rhizobium for studying their efficacy under field conditions for symbiotic parameters and growth of pigeonpea

Evaluation of synergistic potential of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria with Rhizobium in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.)

A pot experiment was conducted in glass house at PAU research farm, Ludhiana, Punjab, India to evaluate effect of co-inoculation of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria with Rhizobium on mungbean productivity. Coinoculation showed a significant increase at 5% in nodule number, nodule dry weight, shoot and root dry and fresh weight, plant length, no. of pods, chlorophyll and leghaemoglobin content, over Rhizobium alone. Application of PGPRs R-4, R-6, S-5, S-9 and S-11 along with Rhizobium further enhanced the grain yield over Rhizobium inoculation alone. Rizobacterial isolates R-6 and S-11 co-inoculated with Rhizobium showed better result than other isolates.These plant beneficial rhizobacteria may decrease the global dependence on various hazardous agricultural chemicals used in mungbean

Evaluation of native rhizobacteria as promoters of plant growth for increased yield in lentil (Lens culinaris)

Six rhizobacterial isolates obtained from lentil rhizospheric soils were characterized and found belonging to genera Bacillus and Pseudomonas. The isolates were evaluated for their plant growth and antagonistic traits. Maximum catechol-type siderophore was produced by B-40 (97μg/ml) and hydroxamate-type siderophore by B-20 (129.5μg/ml). A wide variation in the phosphate-solubilizing efficiency (7.1-34.4 mg/100ml) was observed. Further, all these isolates were able to secrete phytohormone Indole-acetic-acid which ranged from 12.7-106.1μg/ml. On the basis of their PGP traits B-40 and P-1 were selected for field studies. Field experiments were carried out in order to test the effect of dual inoculations (selected PGPRs and Rhizobium sp. along with check strain KB-133) on lentil growth. The system productivity was highest in case of dual inoculations of PGPRs with Rhizobium. The grain yield with dual inoculations of Rhizobium with B-40 (1703 kg/ha) and P-1 (1679 kg/ha) was statistically on par to dual inoculation with KB-133 (1698 kg/ha). These data suggest that B-40 and P-1 can act synergistically with R. leguminosarum in promoting lentil growth

Integrated nutrient management for high productivity and net returns in lentil (Lens culinaris)

The experiment was conducted to study the integrated nutrient management for high productivity and net returns in lentil. Results revealed that nodulation was significantly (P?0.01) enhanced in treatments comprising of Rhizobium and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) along with recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), farmyard manure (FYM) and vermicompost. Treatments comprising of Rhizobium + PSB along with RDF, 50% RDF, FYM and vermicompost showed higher nodule dry weight as compared to the treatments without biofertilizers. Pods plant-1 was highest in RDF + Rhizobium + PSB. Combination of different organic sources with RDF resulted in significantly (P?0.001) higher grain yield than RDF only. RDF + 5 t ha-1 FYM resulted in 26.3 and 6.7 per cent higher grain yield over control and RDF alone, respectively. RDF + Rhizobium + PSB recorded the highest net returns (Rs 40321 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.78). It can be concluded that supplementing the recommended dose of nutrients (12.5 kg N + 40 kg P2O5 ha-1) with 5 t ha-1 FYM or 2 t ha-1 vermicompost or Rhizobium + PSB inoculation help in obtaining high grain yields and net returns in lentil

Symbiotic characters, thermal requirement, growth, yield and economics of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) genotypes sown at different dates under Punjab conditions

A field experiment was conducted during kharif (rainy season) 2008 and 2009 at research farm of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, to study the effect of four/three sowing dates (1 May, 15 May, 1 June and 15 June in 2008 and 15 May, 1 June and 15 June in 2009) on the symbiotic characters, thermal requirement, growth, productivity and economics of four pigeonpea genotypes (AL 201, AL 1507, AL 1578 and AL 1593). Days taken to 50% flowering, physiological maturity, and various agroclimatic indices i.e. AGDD, AHTU, APTU and HUE decreased with delay in sowing. The crop sown on 15 May recorded the highest nodule dry weight plant -1. The grain yield was significantly higher for the 15 May sowing compared to the 15 June sowing. During the two years, the crop sown on 15 May registered on average 6.7 and 48.0 percent higher grain yield than the1 June and 15 June sowings, respectively. The crop sown on 15 May gave the maximum gross returns, net returns and benefit-cost (B:C) ratio. Among the genotypes, AL 1507 recorded the highest nodule number plant-1 and AL 1578 recorded the maximum nodule dry weight plant-1.Genotypes AL 1507, AL 1578 and AL 1593 registered on average 19.4, 19.2 and 20.0 percent higher grain yield relative to AL 201, respectively. The genotype AL 1507 in 2008 and AL 1593 in 2009 performed better in terms of heat use efficiency for grain yield

Significance of sex in achieving sustained remission in the consortium of rheumatology researchers of north america cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients

Objective To determine whether men with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more likely to achieve remission compared to women. Methods RA patients enrolled in the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America (CORRONA) cohort between October 2001 and January 2010 were selected for the present analyses. Detailed clinical, demographic, and drug utilization data were available at enrollment (baseline) and at subsequent followup visits. We examined the influence of sex on the Clinical Disease Activity Index remission score (≤2.8) using sustained remission or point remission as the primary outcome measure in multivariate stepwise logistic regression models. We stratified the data by RA duration at baseline (≤2 years or >2 years) to investigate whether RA duration had differential effects on remission in men and women. Results A total of 10,299 RA patients (2,406 men and 7,893 women) were available for this study. In both early and established RA, women had more severe disease at baseline with worse disease activity measures, modified Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index score, pain on a visual analog scale, and depression. Women were also more likely to have been treated with disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs and anti–tumor necrosis factor therapy compared to men. In the regression models, male sex was associated with sustained remission in early RA (odds ratio [OR] 1.38, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.07–1.78, P = 0.01), but not in established RA. However, for point remission, an inverse association was observed with male sex in established RA (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.48–0.87, P = 0.005) and not in early RA. Conclusion Within the large real‐life CORRONA cohort of RA patients, men were more likely to achieve sustained remission compared to women in early RA, although not in established RA.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94462/1/21762_ftp.pd

Expression of the Arabidopsis thaliana BBX32 Gene in Soybean Increases Grain Yield

Crop yield is a highly complex quantitative trait. Historically, successful breeding for improved grain yield has led to crop plants with improved source capacity, altered plant architecture, and increased resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. To date, transgenic approaches towards improving crop grain yield have primarily focused on protecting plants from herbicide, insects, or disease. In contrast, we have focused on identifying genes that, when expressed in soybean, improve the intrinsic ability of the plant to yield more. Through the large scale screening of candidate genes in transgenic soybean, we identified an Arabidopsis thaliana B-box domain gene (AtBBX32) that significantly increases soybean grain yield year after year in multiple transgenic events in multi-location field trials. In order to understand the underlying physiological changes that are associated with increased yield in transgenic soybean, we examined phenotypic differences in two AtBBX32-expressing lines and found increases in plant height and node, flower, pod, and seed number. We propose that these phenotypic changes are likely the result of changes in the timing of reproductive development in transgenic soybean that lead to the increased duration of the pod and seed development period. Consistent with the role of BBX32 in A. thaliana in regulating light signaling, we show that the constitutive expression of AtBBX32 in soybean alters the abundance of a subset of gene transcripts in the early morning hours. In particular, AtBBX32 alters transcript levels of the soybean clock genes GmTOC1 and LHY-CCA1-like2 (GmLCL2). We propose that through the expression of AtBBX32 and modulation of the abundance of circadian clock genes during the transition from dark to light, the timing of critical phases of reproductive development are altered. These findings demonstrate a specific role for AtBBX32 in modulating soybean development, and demonstrate the validity of expressing single genes in crops to deliver increased agricultural productivity

Nations within a nation: variations in epidemiological transition across the states of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study

18% of the world's population lives in India, and many states of India have populations similar to those of large countries. Action to effectively improve population health in India requires availability of reliable and comprehensive state-level estimates of disease burden and risk factors over time. Such comprehensive estimates have not been available so far for all major diseases and risk factors. Thus, we aimed to estimate the disease burden and risk factors in every state of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016