Indigenous hydropriming practice for fastening seed germination might induce reciprocal effects in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under “on-farm” seed priming scenario

From the vedic times, the cultivation of crops in India, were meant for sustenance of mankind. The age old practices transferred across generations have being followed by the young and the old without a second thought. The main land agriculture that has adopted several of these practices has witnessed many a kind of ups and downs from replicating these practices. The lack of a strategic scientific validation aided with the  misinformation by passing the indigenous knowledge across generations have caused many a kind of deleterious effects too. One of such traditional practice is the soaking of seeds prior to germination that is being scientifically stated as the seed priming which enhances the process of germination. Though the “on- farm” seed priming technology have been pointed out as a sustainable option for the intensification of agriculture in marginal and tribal belts of the country, its recommendation needs prior standardization in and across various crop genotypes. Hence, in this study the effect of different durations of hydropriming on the germination and growth of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) were assessed. BGD 72 variety of Desi and BGD 128 variety of Kabuli were used for the study. It was observed that there occurs wide variation in germination and seedling growth across the intervals of priming and each positive effect is sharply - duration and genotype specific.

Effect of magnetic flux and of electron momentum on the transmission amplitude in the Aharonov-Bohm ring

A characterization of the two-terminal open-ring Aharonov-Bohm interferometer is made by analyzing the phase space plots in the complex transmission amplitude plane. Two types of plots are considered: type I plot which uses the magnetic flux as the variable parameter and type II plot which uses the electron momentum as the variable parameter. In type I plot, the trajectory closes upon itself only when the ratio $R$ of the arm lengths (of the interferometer) is a rational fraction, the shape and the type of the generated flower-like pattern is sensitive to the electron momentum. For momenta corresponding to discrete eigenstates of the perfect ring (i.e. the ring without the leads), the trajectory passes through the origin a certain fixed number of times before closing upon itself, whereas for arbitrary momenta it never passes through the origin. Although the transmission coefficient is periodic in the flux with the elementary flux quantum as the basic period, the phenomenon of electron transmission is shown not to be so when analyzed via the present technique. The periodicity is seen to spread over several flux units whenever $R$ is a rational fraction whereas there is absolutely no periodicity present when $R$ is an irrational number. In type II plot, closed trajectories passing through the origin a number of times are seen for $R$ being a rational fraction. The case R=1 (i.e. a symmetric ring) with zero flux is rather pathological--it presents a closed loop surrounding the origin. For irrational $R$ values, the trajectories never close.Comment: accepted in Int. J. Mod. Phys. B, RevTeX

Human Blood Vessel–Derived Endothelial Progenitors for Endothelialization of Small Diameter Vascular Prosthesis

BACKGROUND:Coronary bypass graft failure as a result of acute thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia has been the major challenge in surgical procedures involving small-diameter vascular prosthesis. Coating synthetic grafts with patients' own endothelial cells has been suggested to improve the patency rate and overall success of bypass surgeries. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We isolated endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from leftover pieces of human saphenous vein/mammary artery. We demonstrate that EPCs can be expanded to generate millions of cells under low-density culture conditions. Exposure to high-density conditions induces differentiation to endothelial cell phenotype. EPC-derived endothelial cells show expression of CD144high, CD31, and vWF. We then assessed the ability of differentiated endothelial cells to adhere and grow on small diameter expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) tubings. Since ePTFE tubings are highly hydrophobic, we optimized protocols to introduce hydrophilic groups on luminal surface of ePTFE tubings. We demonstrate here a stepwise protocol that involves introduction of hydrophilic moieties and coating with defined ECM components that support adhesion of endothelial cells, but not of blood platelets. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE:Our data confirms that endothelial progenitors obtained from adult human blood vessels can be expanded in vitro under xenoprotein-free conditions, for potential use in endothelialization of small diameter ePTFE grafts. These endothelialized grafts may represent a promising treatment strategy for improving the clinical outcome of small-caliber vascular grafts in cardiac bypass surgeries

Indigenous hydropriming practice for fastening seed germination might induce reciprocal effects in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under ―on-farm‖ seed priming scenario

518-525From the vedic times, the cultivation of crops in India, were meant for sustenance of mankind. The age old practices transferred across generations have being followed by the young and the old without a second thought. The main land agriculture that has adopted several of these practices has witnessed many a kind of ups and downs from replicating these practices. The lack of a strategic scientific validation aided with the misinformation by passing the indigenous knowledge across generations have caused many a kind of deleterious effects too. One of such traditional practice is the soaking of seeds prior to germination that is being scientifically stated as the seed priming which enhances the process of germination. Though the ―on- farm‖ seed priming technology have been pointed out as a sustainable option for the intensification of agriculture in marginal and tribal belts of the country, its recommendation needs prior standardization in and across various crop genotypes. Hence, in this study the effect of different durations of hydropriming on the germination and growth of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) were assessed. BGD 72 variety of Desi and BGD 128 variety of Kabuli were used for the study. It was observed that there occurs wide variation in germination and seedling growth across the intervals of priming and each positive effect is sharply - duration and genotype specific

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Not AvailablePurpose Potassium (K)-fractions, thresholds of K release and fixation, quantity-intensity (Q/I) parameters of K, K-release kinetics, and K-fixation capacity were compared for their effectiveness in differentiating the effect of various nutrient management practices on K supplying capacity of an Aeric Endoaquept soil after 45 years of puddled rice cultivation. Materials and methods Soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected after the completion of 45 rice-rice cycles from an on-going longterm fertilizer experiment located in ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, India. The treatments involved control (unfertilized), N (nitrogen fertilizer), NP (N+ phosphorus fertilizer), NK (N+ potassium fertilizer), NPK (N + P + K fertilizer), FYM (farmyard manure), N + FYM, NP + FYM, NK + FYM, and NPK + FYM. Results and discussion Rice cultivation without K fertilizer application resulted in lower values of soil K parameters than the Kfertilized treatments. Treatment effects were most prominent on release threshold concentration (RTC), followed by cumulativeK release, K-release rate constants, and K-fixation capacity. Parameters of K-release kinetics and Q/I relationships showed better correlation with rice grain yields than soil-K fractions. Soil K thresholds were closely related with exchangeable (Kex) and nonexchangeable K (Knx), but not clay minerals. Conclusions Among the soil K parameters, RTC, cumulative K release (Kf) with 0.01MCaCl2, release rate constants (bR and bS) of parabolic diffusion equation, and K-fixation capacity were most effective in revealing the nutrient management induced variations in soil K fertility. In the studied soil, K-thresholds were significantly related to Kex and Knx.Not Availabl

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Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) supported cobalt- nickel sulfide (CoNi2S4) nanoparticles hybrid anode for high performance lithium ion capacitor

Abstract Lithium ion capacitors possess an ability to bridge the gap between lithium ion battery and supercapacitor. The main concern of fabricating lithium ion capacitors is poor rate capability and cyclic stability of the anode material which uses sluggish faradaic reactions to store an electric charge. Herein, we have fabricated high performance hybrid anode material based on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and cobalt-nickel sulfide (CoNi2S4) nanoparticles via simple electrospinning and electrodeposition methods. Porous and high conducting CNF@CoNi2S4 electrode acts as an expressway network for electronic and ionic diffusion during charging-discharging processes. The effect of anode to cathode mass ratio on the performance has been studied by fabricating lithium ion capacitors with different mass ratios. The surface controlled contribution of CNF@CoNi2S4 electrode was 73% which demonstrates its excellent rate capability. Lithium ion capacitor fabricated with CNF@CoNi2S4 to AC mass ratio of 1:2.6 showed excellent energy density of 85.4 Wh kg−1 with the power density of 150 W kg−1. Also, even at the high power density of 15 kW kg−1, the cell provided the energy density of 35 Wh kg−1. This work offers a new strategy for designing high-performance hybrid anode with the combination of simple and cost effective approaches