Impact of organic techniques of seed crop management on seed yield and quality in rice

A study was conducted at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore in June - July season of two different years to find out suitable organics for enhanced productivity of rice cv ADT 43 for organic seed production. The results revealed among the organic soil application of neem cake (1786 kg ha-1) along with 3 per cent panchakavya foliar spray maximized the yield along with yield attributing characters (plant height, total number of tillers hill-1, productive tillers hill-1, chlorophyll content, panicle length) and resultant organic seed quality characters. However, the yield was higher with basal nutrients applied as inorganic (3537 kg ha-1 in initial and 4352 kg ha-1 in confirmation), which was on par with neem cake + panchakavya (3500 kg ha-1 in initial and 4315 kg ha-1 in confirmation), GLM + azolla (3380 kg ha-1 in initial) and GLM + azolla + panchakavya (4213 kg ha-1 in confirmation) treatments and sprayed with panchakavya at vegetative, flowering and maturity. These findings are highly useful for paddy organic seed production programme

Development of breathable and liquid/microbes barrier woven surgical gowns for hospital usage

An attempt has been made to develop a breathable woven surgical gown with antimicrobial and liquid repellent properties by finishing with nanoparticles of silver and fluorocarbon using pad-dry-cure method. Box-Behnken design has been used to optimize the coating parameters, i.e. concentrations of nanosilver (NS), nanofluorocarbon (NFC) and binder. The selected coating parameters has decisive influence on the fabric properties, such as air permeability, moisture vapour permeability, antimicrobial and tensile behaviour. The optimum coating parameters such as concentrations of NS, NFC and binder result in improved air permeability and moisture vapour permeability of the fabric for 3 g/L of NS and 40 g/L of NFC. The antibacterial activity of fabric is found to be higher for increased NS concentration and lower for increased NFC. In case of tensile properties of coated fabrics, the increase in NS concentration increases the tensile strength and decreases the bending modulus of fabrics

HYDROGEOCHEMICAL QUALITY OF GROUNDWATER IN PERUMAL LAKE, KURINJIPADI TALUK, CUDDALORE DISTRICT, TAMILNADU, INDIA

A study was carried out to determine the groundwater quality in parts of Perumal Lake, Kurinjipadi Taluk, Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu. Totally, 12 groundwater samples were collected at different parts of study area and 16 water samples from surface reservoirs (Perumal lake) and analyzed for physicochemical parameters (pH, EC, TDS, TH, Na, K, Ca, Mg and Cl, SO4 , HCO3- , NO3 ) in order to understand the hydro geochemistry of the water. The results of analysis were interpreted with geology and geomorphology of the area and also by various geochemical diagrams such as Piper trilinear plot and USSL classification diagram. Suitability of this water for its utility was verified using Indian standards. The result indicates irrespective of the seasons that only one well is suitable for drinking purpose, with remaining suitable for domestic and irrigation purpose. Further, from the results, it is pointed out that most of the well water falls in Na-Cl type indicating the influence of seawater in these wells which was confirmed by Piper plot. According to SAR (alkali hazard) and specific conductance (Salinity hazard) is plotted in USSL diagram, classification of water for irrigation purpose can be determined. Majority of groundwater samples fall in C3S1 zone indicating high salinity and low sodium hazard, satisfactory for plants having moderate salt tolerance on soils. In surface water most of the samples fall in C2S1 indicates medium salinity and low sodium hazard

Cyclic bursting loading on needle-punched nonwovens: Part I – Distention behavior

The present study aims at examining different needle-punched polypropylene nonwovens under different cyclic bursting pressure. Various fabric parameters including mass density, punch density and fibre fineness have been investigated. For the cyclic test, the distension is measured at different cyclic bursting pressures proportionate to the bursting strength of the fabric. Other parameters including the cyclic pressure magnitude, the number of cycles, and the rest time at peak pressure have also been investigated. It has been found that the bursting strength and distension of fabric increase with an increase in mass density, while they show opposite trend with punch density and fibre denier (p < 0.01). The distension value of each sample increases with an increase in the cyclic parameters i.e. number of loading cycle, rest time and pressure peak

Study of cyclic bursting loading on needle-punched nonwovens: Part II – Change in air permeability and compression behavior

Efforts have been made to investigate the physical properties of needle-punched nonwovens, such as compression and air permeability, before and after the application of cyclic bursting pressure. It is observed that the structural parameters, such as areal density, needling density and fibre fineness, have significant effect on the aforementioned fabric characteristics. More compression is observed in a sample with low mass density. Sample made of coarser fibre shows lower compression as compared to finer fibre samples. The air permeability decreases with increase in mass density. On conducting cyclic bursting test on a sample, the values of air permeability and compression change significantly. The cyclic parameters, such as pressure magnitude and rest time at cyclic peak pressure, cause significant structural changes and reorientation of the fibre during deformation. Increase in pressure and rest time causes increase in compression parameter (α) and air permeability. Nevertheless, at low cyclic pressure level (10% of bursting pressure), the network becomes compact due to fibrous reorientation, and therefore both the values of compression parameter (α) and air permeability show initial drop. On examining the samples made of coarser and finer fibres, the variation is observed in the extent of change in the air permeability

On the Specificity of Heparin/Heparan Sulfate Binding to Proteins. Anion-Binding Sites on Antithrombin and Thrombin Are Fundamentally Different

Background The antithrombin–heparin/heparan sulfate (H/HS) and thrombin–H/HS interactions are recognized as prototypic specific and non-specific glycosaminoglycan (GAG)–protein interactions, respectively. The fundamental structural basis for the origin of specificity, or lack thereof, in these interactions remains unclear. The availability of multiple co-crystal structures facilitates a structural analysis that challenges the long-held belief that the GAG binding sites in antithrombin and thrombin are essentially similar with high solvent exposure and shallow surface characteristics. Methodology Analyses of solvent accessibility and exposed surface areas, gyrational mobility, symmetry, cavity shape/size, conserved water molecules and crystallographic parameters were performed for 12 X-ray structures, which include 12 thrombin and 16 antithrombin chains. Novel calculations are described for gyrational mobility and prediction of water loci and conservation. Results The solvent accessibilities and gyrational mobilities of arginines and lysines in the binding sites of the two proteins reveal sharp contrasts. The distribution of positive charges shows considerable asymmetry in antithrombin, but substantial symmetry for thrombin. Cavity analyses suggest the presence of a reasonably sized bifurcated cavity in antithrombin that facilitates a firm ‘hand-shake’ with H/HS, but with thrombin, a weaker ‘high-five’. Tightly bound water molecules were predicted to be localized in the pentasaccharide binding pocket of antithrombin, but absent in thrombin. Together, these differences in the binding sites explain the major H/HS recognition characteristics of the two prototypic proteins, thus affording an explanation of the specificity of binding. This provides a foundation for understanding specificity of interaction at an atomic level, which will greatly aid the design of natural or synthetic H/HS sequences that target proteins in a specific manner

Developing virtual field trips for Agriculture

Field trips play an important role in teaching and learning, ranging from stimulating students’ motivations to allowing students to make connections between in-class concepts and the real world. Including field trips in an agricultural-based curriculum is essential as concepts are highly interdisciplinary and application of knowledge to a range of production systems and environments is critical for graduates. Despite their importance to teaching and learning, a myriad of factors such as high enrolments and cost, present challenges for the integration of field trips into courses. This has been exacerbated by the prolonged impact of COVID-19. Virtual field trips allow universities to exploit the affordances of technology and its fail-safe environment to help students develop, practice and hone skills while also enhancing their confidence in employing those skills, in the real world. A virtual field trip application has been developed and piloted. Using a web-based interface and in collaboration with industry partners, virtual field trips were successfully integrated to incorporate and enhance experiential learning in undergraduate Horticulture in the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences. This will be expanded in future across a range of agricultural disciplines and undergraduate teaching scenarios to improve experiences and outcomes for graduates

Developing Virtual Field Trips for Agriculture

Field trips play an important role in teaching and learning, from stimulating students’ motivations to allowing students to connect in-class concepts and the real world. Including field trips within an agricultural curriculum is essential as concepts are highly interdisciplinary, and knowledge application to a range of production systems and environments is critical. Despite their importance, many factors, such as high enrolments, present challenges to its successful integration. Virtual field trips (VFT) allow universities to leverage the affordances of technology to mitigate some of the associated challenges while maintaining quality course delivery. In this pilot study, an experiential learning activity was designed around a VFT application, and the student experience and outcome were investigated. The student experience measures indicated satisfaction with multimedia elements, although it is noted that improvements to the user interface would enhance the experience. Students had positive reflections on the learning experience, including an increased interest in the field of study but did not see VFTs as replacing actual field trips. Paired t-tests showed students’ attainment of learning outcomes. This pilot implementation provides an activity design for other courses with similar challenges and highlights the value of VFTs to the curriculum for undergraduate agricultural courses