Anomalous radon emanation linked to preseismic electromagnetic phenomena

International audienceAnomalous emanation of radon (222Rn) was observed preceding large earthquakes and is considered to be linked to preseismic electromagnetic phenomena (e.g. great changes of atmospheric electric field and ionospheric disturbances). Here we analyze atmospheric radon concentration and estimate changes of electrical conditions in atmosphere due to preseismic radon anomaly. The increase of radon emanation obeys crustal damage evolution, following a power-law of time-to-earthquake. Moreover, the radon emanation decreases the atmospheric electric field by 40%, besides influencing the maximum strength of atmospheric electric field by 104?105 V/m enough to trigger ionospheric disturbances. These changes are within the ranges observed or explaining electromagnetic phenomena associated with large earthquakes

Empowerment of Smallholder Women Farmers through Self-Help Groups in South-West India

Though women act as the backbone of world agricultural workforce most of them are economically backward. But, self help group (SHG) movement made some tangible changes in empowering rural women in India. The study was carried out among 120 SHG women farmers and 60 non-SHG women farmers of south west India to analyze the impact of SHGs in empowering rural farm women. Results showed most of SHG women farmers as highly empowered and their economic empowerment found to be prominent compared to control group. However, empowerment score of non-SHG women farmers showed strong correlation with some social and technological indicators. Major factors that favoured sustainable high performance of SHGs were; heterogeneity of the group, proximity of the women’s households, income generation and extension contact. The study confirmed that acquisition of some autonomy by women in social participation and economic decision-making have contributed to overcome many constraints that hamper their overall empowerment

The transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans to ivermectin exposure identifies novel genes involved in the response to reduced food intake

We have examined the transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans following exposure to the anthelmintic drug ivermectin (IVM) using whole genome microarrays and real-time QPCR. Our original aim was to identify candidate molecules involved in IVM metabolism and/or excretion. For this reason the IVM tolerant strain, DA1316, was used to minimise transcriptomic changes related to the phenotype of drug exposure. However, unlike equivalent work with benzimidazole drugs, very few of the induced genes were members of xenobiotic metabolising enzyme families. Instead, the transcriptional response was dominated by genes associated with fat mobilization and fatty acid metabolism including catalase, esterase, and fatty acid CoA synthetase genes. This is consistent with the reduction in pharyngeal pumping, and consequential reduction in food intake, upon exposure of DA1316 worms to IVM. Genes with the highest fold change in response to IVM exposure, cyp-37B1, mtl-1 and scl-2, were comparably up-regulated in response to short–term food withdrawal (4 hr) independent of IVM exposure, and GFP reporter constructs confirm their expression in tissues associated with fat storage (intestine and hypodermis). These experiments have serendipitously identified novel genes involved in an early response of C. elegans to reduced food intake and may provide insight into similar processes in higher organisms

Hypersensitive Response-Like Reaction Is Associated with Hybrid Necrosis in Interspecific Crosses between Tetraploid Wheat and Aegilops tauschii Coss

BACKGROUND: Hybrid speciation is classified into homoploid and polyploid based on ploidy level. Common wheat is an allohexaploid species that originated from a naturally occurring interploidy cross between tetraploid wheat and diploid wild wheat Aegilops tauschii Coss. Aegilops tauschii provides wide naturally occurring genetic variation. Sometimes its triploid hybrids with tetraploid wheat show the following four types of hybrid growth abnormalities: types II and III hybrid necrosis, hybrid chlorosis, and severe growth abortion. The growth abnormalities in the triploid hybrids could act as postzygotic hybridization barriers to prevent formation of hexaploid wheat. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we report on the geographical and phylogenetic distribution of Ae. tauschii accessions inducing the hybrid growth abnormalities and showed that they are widely distributed across growth habitats in Ae. tauschii. Molecular and cytological characterization of the type III necrosis phenotype was performed. The hybrid abnormality causing accessions were widely distributed across growth habitats in Ae. tauschii. Transcriptome analysis showed that a number of defense-related genes such as pathogenesis-related genes were highly up-regulated in the type III necrosis lines. Transmission electron microscope observation revealed that cell death occurred accompanied by generation of reactive oxygen species in leaves undergoing type III necrosis. The reduction of photosynthetic activity occurred prior to the appearance of necrotic symptoms on the leaves exhibiting hybrid necrosis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Taking these results together strongly suggests that an autoimmune response might be triggered by intergenomic incompatibility between the tetraploid wheat and Ae. tauschii genomes in type III necrosis, and that genetically programmed cell death could be regarded as a hypersensitive response-like cell death similar to that observed in Arabidopsis intraspecific and Nicotiana interspecific hybrids. Only Ae. tauschii accessions without such inhibiting factors could be candidates for the D-genome donor for the present hexaploid wheat

Time-scale invariant changes in atmospheric radon concentration and crustal strain prior to a large earthquake

International audiencePrior to large earthquakes (e.g. 1995 Kobe earthquake, Japan), an increase in the atmospheric radon concentration is observed, and this increase in the rate follows a power-law of the time-to-earthquake (time-to-failure). This phenomenon corresponds to the increase in the radon migration in crust and the exhalation into atmosphere. An irreversible thermodynamic model including time-scale invariance clarifies that the increases in the pressure of the advecting radon and permeability (hydraulic conductivity) in the crustal rocks are caused by the temporal changes in the power-law of the crustal strain (or cumulative Benioff strain), which is associated with damage evolution such as microcracking or changing porosity. As the result, the radon flux and the atmospheric radon concentration can show a temporal power-law increase. The concentration of atmospheric radon can be used as a proxy for the seismic precursory processes associated with crustal dynamics

ITINERANT ELECTRON METAMAGNETISM IN LuCo2

Metamagnetic transitions in Lu(Co1-xAlx)2 have been observed for x = 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08. Analysing magnetizations and NMR Knight shifts of 59Co, critical fields of LuCo2 are estimated from extrapolation in two ways. The one is 1 800 kOe and the other is 1 000 kOe. The moment of Co is 0.65 µB

Impact of community based waste management effort in the socio-economic upliftment of a rural tourism village in Kerala

This paper outlines the importance of community based initiatives in managing the waste generated in the rural as well as urban areas of India. The study was carried out in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala to analyze how the lifestyle of people residing in a small village changed because of farming using the compost prepared from biodegradable waste generated in Kovalam rural tourism area. Fifty beneficiary farmers of the initiative were selected as respondents of the study. Results showed motivation and support of a non-government organization working in the locality as the major factor behind the waste management move. They created awareness about the need of composting to keep their surroundings clean and localization of chemical free food to stay healthy. It was observed that farmers adopted bio-pesticides and biodynamic preparations along with compost in their small home garden. The low cost farming not only provided chemical free food for the family and society but also improved the net income of the farmers' families. The effort taken by the promoting agency to popularize composting along with farming among the members of the society in the right time to a group of appropriate beneficiaries made the difference here