EFFECTS OF PISOLITHUS TINCTORIUS AND LACCARIA FRATERNA ON THE GROWTH AND MYCORRfflZAL DEVELOPMENT OF PINUSPATULA SEEDLINGS*)

Vegetative inoculum of Pisolithus tinctorius and Laccariafraterna were inoculated to Pinuspatula seedlings grown in both steam sterilized and unsterilized shola soil. After 4 months of seedling growth, 10 seedlings from each treatment were harvested and various growth parameters were studied. Inoculation of these two fungi resulted in  the  production  of  ectomycorrhizas  and  increase  in  growth  of  P.  patula  seedlings when  compared  to uninoculated  seedlings.  Laccariafraterna  inoculated  seedlings  showed  more  number  of mycorrhizas  than  P. tinctorius inoculated seedlings at the end of one year. Both these fungi poorly colonized the root system in both soil treatments. There was no significant difference between these two fungi in improving the seedling growth in the nursery.Key words: Pisolithus tinctorius/Laccaria fraterna/Pinus patula/Inoculum/Seedlings/Growth

A Study on Fish Classification Techniques using Convolutional Neural Networks on Highly Challenged Underwater Images

Underwater Fish Species Recognition (UFSR) has attained significance because of evolving research in underwater life. Manual techniques to distinguish fish can be tricky and tedious. They might require enormous inspecting endeavours, but they can be costly. It results in limited data and a lack of human resources, which may cause incorrect object identification. Automating the fish species detection and recognition utilizing technology would assist sea life science to evolve further. UFSR in wild natural habitats is difficult because the images open natural habitat, complex background, and low luminance. Species Visualization can assist us with deep knowledge of the movements of the species underwater. Automation systems can help to classify the fish accurately and consistently. Image classification has been emerging research with the advancement of deep learning systems. The reason is that the convolutional neural networks (CNNs) don't require explicit feature extraction methods. The vast majority of the current object detection and recognition mechanisms are based on images in the outdoor environment. This paper mainly reviews the strategies proposed in the past years for underwater fish detection and classification. Further, the paper also presents the classification of three different underwater datasets using CNN with evaluation metrics

Kloniranje, ekspresija i karakterizacija paraflagelarnog gena Rod 2 bičaša Trypanosoma evansi

Paraflagellar rod is the major structural component of the trypanosomatid flagellum and is identified as a complex lattice of filaments which runs parallel to the axoneme throughout most of the flagellar length. The present study was carried out to investigate the existence of the paraflagellar rod (PFR 2) gene in Trypanosoma evansi infecting Indian cattle. Local isolates of T. evansi collected from naturally infected cow were multiplied in Wistar rats. Complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized from the RNA of host cell free T. evansi parasites by reverse transcription. The gel purified PCR product (PFR 2 gene of T. evansi) was cloned into the pTZ57R/T vector system. The nucleotide sequence of the PFR 2 gene of the T. evansi S.V.V.U. isolate (Accession No. KT277497) obtained in the present study revealed 100% homology with T. evansi China isolate and 99% homology with T. evansi Izatnagar and Bikaner isolates. The recombinant protein was sub-cloned into pET 32a and expressed in the BL21 (DE3) pLysS expression system. The PFR 2 gene of T. evansi S.V.V.U. isolate was further characterized by determination of its protein profile with SDS-PAGE and western blotting. Indirect ELISA was optimized for detection of the specific antibody titre against the recombinant protein of the PFR 2 gene of T. evansi. In the kinetoplastid species the PFR 2 gene is highly conserved. Therefore the PFR 2 gene was suggested as a vaccine candidate, as well as a diagnostic antigen.Paraflagelarni štapić glavna je strukturna komponenta tripanosomskog biča i dio je kompleksa filamenaza koji teku paralelno s aksonemom duž biča. Istraživanje je provedeno kako bi se ispitalo postojanje paraflagelarnog gena Rod 2 (PFR2) u bičaša Trypanosoma evansi koji invadira goveda u Indiji. Lokalni izolat T. evansi prikupljen od prirodno invadiranih krava umnožen je u Wistar štakora. Komplementarna DNA (cDNA) sintetizirana je iz RNA obrnutom transkripcijom iz stanica neinvadiranih nositelja T. evansi parazita. Pročišćeni PCR produkt (gen PFR2 bičaša T. evansi) kloniran je u vektorski sustav pTZ57R/T. Nukleotidna sekvencija gena PFR2 bičaša T. evansi, izolat S.V.V.U. (pristupni broj KT277497) dobivena u ovom istraživanju pokazala je 100 %-tnu sličnost s izolatom T. evansi China i 99 %-tnu s izolatom T. evansi Izatnagar i Bikaner. Rekombinantni protein ponovno je kloniran u sustavu pET 32a i prikazan u sustavu BL21 (DE3) pLysS. Gen PFR2 bičaša T. evansi, izolat S.V.V.U. dalje je karakteriziran određivanjem proteinskog profila metodama SDS-PAGE i Western blotting. Indirektni test ELISA optimiziran je za dokaz titra specifičnih protutijela za rekombinantni protein gena PFR2 bičaša T. evansi. U kinetoplastida gen PFR2 izrazito je očuvan. Stoga bi se gen PFR2 mogao upotrijebiti za cjepivo te kao dijagnostički antigen

Oral hygiene practices and habits among dental students and staff in a dental college, India.

Introduction: Oral health is an essential component of general health in one's life. Oral self practices are very effective in keeping up one's good oral health from an individual's point of view. Such hygienic conditions prevent many oral diseases from happening or control them from damaging oral health adversely. Aim: To investigate the oral hygiene practices and habits among dental students and staff in a dental college. Materials and methods:  A survey with the aid of specially designed questionnaire was made anonymously, in order to assess the oral health behaviour among these people. Results: A number of 425 dental students as well as faculty members was investigated. Only 34.9% of students and faculty members are following oral self health habits strictly.    It was also observed that the staff members were very much concerned about oral hygiene rather than students were. Conclusion: The results show that dental students need a lot of awareness in their oral self hygiene.  Awareness programmes  must be conducted frequently to boost up the oral self hygiene practices among them for many good reasons

EFFECTS OF PISOLITHUS TINCTORIUS AND LACCARIA FRATERNA ON THE GROWTH AND MYCORRfflZAL DEVELOPMENT OF PINUSPATULA SEEDLINGS

Vegetative inoculum of Pisolithus tinctorius and Laccariafraterna were inoculated to Pinuspatula seedlings grown in both steam sterilized and unsterilized shola soil. After 4 months of seedling growth, 10 seedlings from each treatment were harvested and various growth parameters were studied. Inoculation of these two fungi resulted in the production of ectomycorrhizas and increase in growth of P. patula seedlings when compared to uninoculated seedlings. Laccariafraterna inoculated seedlings showed more number of mycorrhizas than P. tinctorius inoculated seedlings at the end of one year. Both these fungi poorly colonized the root system in both soil treatments. There was no significant difference between these two fungi in improving the seedling growth in the nursery

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO EVALUATION OF INDIGENOUS SUILLUS ISOLATES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MYCORRHIZAL BLUE PINE (PINUS WALLICHIANA) SEEDLINGS

ABSTRACT Fresh basidiocarps of Suillus species were collected from conifer forests of the northwestern Himalayan region of India during monsoon seasons. Eight pure cultures were obtained from the basidiocarps of a range of Suillus species. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) genes of all the Suillus isolates obtained were amplified. Variations within the amplified ITS region of the rDNA genes of Suillus isolates were examined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Inter-specific variations in the length and number of restriction sites within the ITS region were observed. Restriction enzyme digests of the ITS-rDNA products for eight Suillus isolates separated the isolates into five different groups. When compared the ITS sequences with exiting database and the RFLP patterns, the Suillus species were reliably distinguished into five different species, namely S. sibiricus, S. granulatus, S. triacicularis, S. himalayensis and S. indicus. In addition, some physiological attributes of all the Suillus isolates, such as radial growth, biomass yield and in vitro mycorrhizal capacities were evaluated to select efficient native fungal inocula for the production of mycorrhizal blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) seedlings in nursery. Inter-specific and intra-specific variations were observed in radial growth, biomass yield and mycorrhizal capacities of different Suillus isolates. Furthermore, the effects of fungal isolates on growth and biomass yield of P. wallichiana seedlings were assessed after four months of the mycorrhizal inoculation. All the Suillus isolates enhanced the growth and biomass yield of P. wallichiana seedlings as compared to the control treatment, but at different rates. Suillus sibiricus isolate SNW06 showed highest improvement in plant growth, biomass and concentration of most nutrients, whereas S. himalayensis isolate SNW03 was found to be least effective. On the basis of physiological analysis, mycorrhizal colonization and growth response of P. wallichiana seedlings, S. sibiricus isolate SNW06 was found to be the most effective Suillus isolate for mycorrhizal inoculation of P. wallichiana seedlings in nurseries and experimental plantations, followed by S. indicus isolate SNW02. Thus, the present study evaluated different indigenous Suillus isolates that are best adapted to the local environmental conditions and led to the selection of native and efficient ectomycorrhizal strains for blue pine afforestation programmes

Network Reconfiguration of Primary Distribution System Using GWO Algorithm

This manuscript presents a feeder reconfiguration in primary distribution networks with an objective of minimizing the real power loss or maximization of power loss reduction. An optimal switching for the network reconfiguration problem is introduced in this article based on step by step switching and simultaneous switching. This paper proposes a Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) algorithm to solve the feeder reconfiguration problem through fitness function corresponding to optimum combination of switches in power distribution systems. The objective function is formulated to solve the reconfiguration problem which includes minimization of real power loss. A nature inspired Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm is utilized to restructure the power distribution system and identify the optimal switches corresponding minimum power loss in the distribution network. The GWO technique has tested on standard IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus systems and the results are presented

Suillus triacicularis sp. nov., a new species associated with Pinus roxburghii from

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