Patchy layered structure of tropical troposphere as seen by Indian MST radar

The MST radar observations at Gadanki (13.47° N, 79.18° E) show, almost every day throughout the year, stratified layers of intense reflectivity near the tropopause level (17 km) and also at a couple of levels between 4 km and 10 km. Highest individual reflectivity values occur near 17 km, but they occur for a short while. The region between 11 km and 15 km shows the lowest values of reflectivity alongwith vertical downward motion almost on all days of the year. High values of reflectivity are attributed to the existence of visible or sub-visible clouds; the layered structure of clouds is attributed to inertio-gravity waves with vertical wavelength of 2-3 km. It is suggested that each high reflectivity layer consists mainly of thin sheets and patches of visible and sub-visible cloud material. Hydrometeors inside the cloud material go up and down due to gravity, precipitation-loading, Brunt-Vaisala oscillations, and Kelvin-Helmholtz waves. In these small-scale motions, thin air sheets and patches get formed with sharp temperature and humidity discontinuities through contact cooling, melting, evaporation, condensation and freezing. Also, melting and freezing at low temperatures generate electrical charges in these thin sheets and patches. These thin sheets and patches have vertical dimensions ranging from a few centimetres to several metres and horizontal dimensions of the order of 1km. These thin sheets and patches have corresponding vertical and horizontal discontinuities and sharp gradients in refractive index for the MST radar beam. These show up as regions of high values of reflectivity

Detection of Toxigenic and Atoxigenic Strains of Aspergillus flavus in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

In groundnut Aspergillus flavus causes aflatoxin contamination which is a qualitative problem occurring at both pre-and post-harvest stages. These aflatoxins have carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic and immuno-suppressive effects. The A. flavus strains which produces aflatoxins are called as toxigenic and which do not produce toxins are called as atoxigenic starins. To detect the toxigenic and atoxigenic starins of A. flavus from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP), pod samples were collected from eight selected oil mills/traders’ in Mahaboobnagar, Rangareddy, Nizamabad, Karimnagar (Telangana); and Anantapur (AP) districts. A total of 24 A. flavus cultures were isolated from the collected pod samples. These isolates were identified as toxigenic/atoxigenic using cultural detection methods on Yeast extract sucrose (YES) media and coconut agar medium (CAM). Based on cultural methods, it was confirmed that there were18 toxigenic, five atoxigenic and one false positive/negative strain out of the 24 A. flavus isolates obtained from surveyed oil mills. Atoxigenic strains were obtained from Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts of Telangana

Prevalence of Aspergillus flavus Infection and Aflatoxin Contamination of Groundnut in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

Aflatoxin contamination is a qualitative problem in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) occurring at both pre-and post-harvest stages. These aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and have carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic and immuno-suppressive effects. To evaluate the prevalence of A. flavus infection and aflatoxin contamination in groundnut oil mills/traders’ of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP) pod samples were collected from eight selected oil mills/traders’ in Mahaboobnagar, Rangareddy, Nizamabad, Karimnagar (Telangana); and Anantapur (AP) districts. A total of 24 pod samples were collected (Three samples from the each selected oil mill). Aflatoxin contamination in kernels was estimated by indirect competitive ELISA. In Telangana, kernel infection ranged from 42 (Mahaboobnagar) to 90.7% (Nizamabad). In AP, Tadimarri mandal recorded kernel infection up to 29.3% whereas Tadipatri recorded up to 59.3%. Aflatoxins in kernels from these mills in Telangana were highest in Rangareddy (1205.2 µg kg-1 ) followed by Karimnagar (365.5 µg kg-1 ). Oil mills of Nizamabad and Mahaboobnagar have recorded aflatoxins to a tune of 4.9 and 11.5 µg kg-1 in Telangana. In AP, aflatoxins in pod samples were 2.8 µg kg-1 (Tadipatri) and 6148.4 µg kg-1 (Tadimarri)

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Patchy layered structure of tropical troposphere as seen by Indian MST radar

182-191The MST radar observations at Gadanki (13.47° N, 79.18° E) show, almost every day throughout the year, stratified layers of intense reflectivity near the tropopause level (~17 km) and also at a couple of levels between 4 km and 10 km. Highest individual reflectivity values occur near 17 km, but they occur for a short while. The region between 11 km and 15 km shows the lowest values of reflectivity alongwith vertical downward motion almost on all days of the year. High values of reflectivity are attributed to the existence of visible or sub-visible clouds; the layered structure of clouds is attributed to inertio-gravity waves with vertical wavelength of 2-3 km. It is suggested that each high reflectivity layer consists mainly of thin sheets and patches of visible and sub-visible cloud material. Hydrometeors inside the cloud material go up and down due to gravity, precipitation-loading, Brunt-Vaisala oscillations, and Kelvin-Helmholtz waves. In these small-scale motions, thin air sheets and patches get formed with sharp temperature and humidity discontinuities through contact cooling, melting, evaporation, condensation and free zing. Also, melting and freezing at low temperatures generate electrical charges in these thin sheets and patches. These thin sheets and patches have vertical dimensions ranging from a few centimetres to several metres and horizontal dimensions of the order of 1 km. These thin sheets and patches have corresponding vertical and horizontal discontinuities and sharp gradients in refractive index for the MST radar beam. These show up as regions of high values of reflectivity

Patchy layered structure of tropical troposphere as seen by Indian MST radar

The MST radar observations at Gadanki (13.47 deg N, 79.18 deg E) show, almost every day throughout the year, stratified layers of intense reflectivity near the tropopause level (approximately 17 km) and also at a couple of levels between 4 km and 10 km. Highest individual reflectivity values occur near 17 km, but they occur for a short while. The region between 11 km and 15 km shows the lowest values of reflectivity along with vertical downward motion almost on all days of the year. High values of reflectivity are attributed to the existence of visible or sub-visible clouds; the layered structure of clouds is attributed to inertio-gravity waves with vertical wavelength of 2-3 km. It is suggested that each high reflectivity layer consists mainly of thin sheets and patches of visible and sub-visible cloud material. Hydrometeors inside the cloud material go up and down due to gravity, precipitation loading, Brunt-Vaisala oscillations, and Kelvin-Helmholtz waves. In these small-scale motions, thin air sheets and patches get formed with sharp temperature and humidity discontinuities through contact cooling, melting, evaporation, condensation, and freezing. Also, melting and freezing at low temperatures generate electrical charges in these thin sheets and patches. These thin sheets and patches have vertical dimensions ranging from a few centimeters to several meters and horizontal dimensions of the order of 1 km. These thin sheets and patches have corresponding vertical and horizontal discontinuities and sharp gradients in refractive index for the MST radar beam. These show up as regions of high values of reflectivity

Not Available

Not AvailableThe incorporation of red rot resistance in sugarcane is the foremost priority in Indian sugarcane breeding programs. An ideal parent should possess a high sucrose content, good agronomic traits, and red rot resistance. To enrich the parental pool with resistant sources having diverse backgrounds, many interspecific hybrid (ISH) clones and intergeneric hybrid (IGH) clones were identified in the previous decades from the 1960s and were utilised in the National Hybridization Programme. To further augment red rot resistance in the parental clones, we selected 27 ISH clones developed at ICAR-SBI Coimbatore and evaluated them against the prevailing Colletotrichum falcatum pathotypes in 10 locations representing major sugarcane growing regions of India. Among the clones, seven clones expressing more than 60% resistant or moderately resistant (R/MR) reactions in most locations against C. falcatum pathotypes CF06, CF07, CF08, CF09, and CF12 were identified as sources of red rot resistance. However, six clones showed more than 60% susceptible or highly susceptible (S/HS) reactions against the pathotypes across the locations. Besides Saccharum spontaneum, which is routinely used to transfer red rot resistance into sugarcane varieties, S. robustum and Erianthus arundinaceus, can also be used to introgress novel resistance genes to strengthen breeding for resistance. The multi-location testing of the clones identified resistance against major C. falcatum pathotypes in ISH/IGH clones, and such clones can be used as potential parents to obtain horizontal resistance against C. falcatum in sugarcane.Not Availabl

First two bilateral hand transplantations in India (Part 1): From vision to reality

Introduction: Vascularized composite tissue allotransplantation is a relatively new concept, which was unavailable in the Indian subcontinent till a bilateral hand transplant was carried out successfully in January 2015. Materials and Methods: The setting up of the transplant programme involved obtaining legal clearances, creating public awareness, harnessing the institutional facilities, drawing up protocols, assembling the surgical team, managing immunological issues, rehabilitation and preparing the ancillary services. Results: Both, the first and second bilateral hand transplants were resounding successes with both the recipients getting back to their original daily routines. Conclusions: The organisation of the hand transplant programme was a large task, which necessitated intensive planning, and cooperation from various teams within and outside the institution. Exemplary team-work was the key to the phenomenal success of these path breaking endeavors in the subcontinent