Standardization of soil-less nursery mixture for black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) multiplication using plug-trays

Availability of quality planting material of high yielding varieties is a major production constraint in all black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) growing countries, and hence there is a need for technology that boosts production of quality planting material. An investigation was carried out to study the effect of different combinations of soil-less coir pith based nursery mixtures on rooting and growth of black pepper cuttings in the nursery. Among the different nursery media combinations, coir pith with Trichoderma and vermicompost recorded significantly higher growth parameters. The study confirmed that composted coir pith with vermicompost and Trichoderma is an ideal potting medium for black pepper nursery. In the second experiment, among the single node cuttings with three different maturities (collected from the serpentine method runners), maximum nursery grwoth, was recorded in the terminal portion of the runners (11-15th nodes). Similarly, higher growth parameters were recorded in the cuttings planted with full leaf compared to halfleaf cuttings. The study indicated that the rooted cuttings with full leaf from middle and top portions recorded higher growth parameters. Use of Trichoderma and vermicompost enriched coir pith in black pepper nurseries minimizes chemical fungicides besides Trichoderma that colonizes the root system of seedlings will help in preventing the infection by pathogens in the main field. Since there is no high additional cost involved, the use of Trichoderma enriched coir pith can also be adopted by commercial nurseries. &nbsp

Contribution towards the development of a DNA barcode reference library for West African mammals

DNA barcoding is a widely used molecular approach for species cataloging for unambiguous identification and conservation. In the present study, DNA barcoding of some West African mammals were performed with six new mitochondrial CO1 sequences for Civettictis civetta, Tadarida nigeriae, Orycteropus afer, Heliosciurus gambianus, Equus africanus asinus and Funisciurus anerythrus which are absent in public databases such as BLAST/NCBI and BOLD. Sequence identifications were made by comparing unknown sequences against the DNA barcodes of known species through distance-based tree construction and alignment probing. The sequences have been deposited to GenBank/NCBI.Keywords: mtDNA, West African mammals, conservation, biodiversity

Comprehensive survey of VUV induced dissociative photoionization of aniline: Role of H migration assisted isomerization

A complete dissociation progression of aniline under VUV irradiation over the entire relevant internal energy range and inclusive of all decay channels is presented. The onset energy and breakdown curve was found to be instrumental in selecting relevant pathways out of multiple possibilities predicted by computation for all significant decay channels. The relevance of the ring contraction in the formation of the intermediate five-member ring structure and its consequences for the important channels such as HNC, H and HNCH losses are highlighted. In addition, a potential route for the formation of previously unexplored and astronomically important fragments HNCH and HCCN has been found. It could be deduced that aniline differs from its bicyclic nitrogenated counterpart, naphthalamine, as ring contraction in aniline is found to be favourable over ring expansion. Moreover, the role of H migration-assisted isomerization is highlighted in the context of the formation of astronomically important species

In search of universalities in the dissociative photoionization of PANHs via isomerizations

In search of the cause behind the similarities often seen in the fragmentation of PANHs, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photodissociation of two pairs of isomers quinoline-isoquinoline and 2-naphthylamine-3-methyl-quinoline are studied using the velocity map imaging technique. The internal energy dependence of all primary fragmentation channels is obtained for all four target molecules. The decay dynamics of the four molecules is studied by comparing their various experimental signatures. The dominant channel for the first pair of isomers is found to be hydrogen cyanide (HCN) neutral loss, while the second pair of isomers lose HCNH neutral as its dominant channel. Despite this difference in their primary decay products and the differences in the structures of the four targets, various similarities in their experimental signatures are found, which could be explained by isomerization mechanisms to common structures. The fundamental role of these isomerization in controlling different dissociative channels is explored via a detailed analysis of the experimental photoelectron-photoion coincidences and the investigation of the theoretical potential energy surface. These results add to the notion of a universal PANH fragmentation mechanism and suggests the seven member isomerization as a key candidate for this universal mechanism. The balance between isomerization, dissociation, and other key mechanistic processes in the reaction pathways, such as hydrogen migrations, is also highlighted for the four molecules

Outcomes of elective liver surgery worldwide: a global, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study

Background: The outcomes of liver surgery worldwide remain unknown. The true population-based outcomes are likely different to those vastly reported that reflect the activity of highly specialized academic centers. The aim of this study was to measure the true worldwide practice of liver surgery and associated outcomes by recruiting from centers across the globe. The geographic distribution of liver surgery activity and complexity was also evaluated to further understand variations in outcomes. Methods: LiverGroup.org was an international, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study following the Global Surgery Collaborative Snapshot Research approach with a 3-month prospective, consecutive patient enrollment within January–December 2019. Each patient was followed up for 90 days postoperatively. All patients undergoing liver surgery at their respective centers were eligible for study inclusion. Basic demographics, patient and operation characteristics were collected. Morbidity was recorded according to the Clavien–Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications. Country-based and hospital-based data were collected, including the Human Development Index (HDI). (NCT03768141). Results: A total of 2159 patients were included from six continents. Surgery was performed for cancer in 1785 (83%) patients. Of all patients, 912 (42%) experienced a postoperative complication of any severity, while the major complication rate was 16% (341/2159). The overall 90-day mortality rate after liver surgery was 3.8% (82/2,159). The overall failure to rescue rate was 11% (82/ 722) ranging from 5 to 35% among the higher and lower HDI groups, respectively. Conclusions: This is the first to our knowledge global surgery study specifically designed and conducted for specialized liver surgery. The authors identified failure to rescue as a significant potentially modifiable factor for mortality after liver surgery, mostly related to lower Human Development Index countries. Members of the LiverGroup.org network could now work together to develop quality improvement collaboratives

Effect of Er doping on the structural and magnetic properties of cobalt-ferrite

Nanocrystalline particulates of Er doped cobalt-ferrites CoFe(2–x)ErxO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.04), were synthesized, using sol-gel assisted autocombustion method. Co-, Fe-, and Er- nitrates were the oxidizers, and malic acid served as a fuel and chelating agent. Calcination (400–600 °C for 4h) of the precursor powders was followed by sintering (1000 °C for 4 h) and structural and magnetic characterization. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of single phase of spinel for the compositions x = 0, 0.01, and 0.02; and for higher compositions an additional orthoferrite phase formed along with the spinel phase. Lattice parameter of the doped cobalt-ferrites was higher than that of pure cobalt-ferrite. The observed red shift in the doped cobalt-ferrites indicates the presence of induced strain in the cobalt-ferrite matrix due to large size of the Er+3 compared to Fe+3. Greater than two-fold increase in coercivity (~66 kA/m for x = 0.02) was observed in doped cobalt-ferrites compared to CoFe2O4 (~29 kA/m)

The effect of povidone-iodine and chlorhexidine mouth rinses on plaque <i> Streptococcus mutans</i> count in 6- to 12-year-old school children: An <i> in vivo</i> study

Objectives: Treating a carious tooth in children with high caries experience by providing a restoration does not cure the disease. If the unfavorable oral environment that caused the cavity persists so will the disease and more restorations will be required in future. Treating the oral infection by reducing the number of cariogenic microorganisms and establishing a favorable oral environment to promote predominantly remineralization of tooth structure over time will stop the caries process. The present study was conducted: (1) To evaluate the efficacy of povidone-iodine and chlorhexidine mouth rinses on plaque Streptococcus mutans when used as an adjunct to restoration. (2) To compare the anti-microbial effect of 1&#x0025; povidone-iodine and 0.2&#x0025; chlorhexidine mouth rinses on plaque S. mutans count. Study Design: Forty-five study participants in the age group of 6-12 years with dmft (decay component) of three or four were selected from one government school in Bangalore city. They were divided into three groups after the restorative treatment. Group-A, Group-B, and Group-C received 1&#x0025; povidone-iodine mouth rinse, 0.2&#x0025; chlorhexidine mouth rinse and placebo mouth rinse, respectively, twice daily for 14 days. The plaque sample was collected and S. mutans count was estimated at six phases: (1) Baseline, (2) 3 weeks after restoration, (3) First day after mouth rinse therapy, (4) 15 days after mouth rinse therapy, (5) 1 month and (6) 3 months after mouth rinse therapy Results: After the restoration the percentage change in S. mutans count was 28.4&#x0025;. Immediately after mouth rinse therapy there was significant reduction in S. mutans count in all the three groups. After which the count started to increase gradually and after 3 months the bacterial counts in the povidone-iodine group and placebo group were almost near the postrestorative count. Conclusion: Mouth rinses can be used as adjunct to restoration for short duration as temporary measure in reduction of S. mutans count and restorations provide longer effect. In case a mouth rinse has to be used, chlorhexidine can be recommended as it has shown to have better effect than Povidone-iodine and placebo

Impact of Fertigation Schedule on Growth and Quality Parameters in Tomato

Nutrient availability to plants precisely can be done by combining cognitive irrigation systems with nutrient application, and proper scheduling of fertilizers is the mainstay for availability of appropriate amount of nutrients for plant growth. Based on the statement a, field experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of fertigation influence on growth, physiological, quality and yield parameters of TNAU Tomato hybrid CO 4. The experiment consisting of seven treatments laid in randomized block design was replicated three times. `Fertigation was given at fortnightly interval with urea, MAP, MOP as a source of N, P&amp; K in ten splits in 150 days. Significant differences were observed with regard to growth, physiological, quality and yield parameters. All the growth, physiological, and yield parameters were higher in tomato plants which received fertigation NPK @ 75% K + 100 % N&amp;P. Lycopene content of tomatoes was increased to 4.73 mg 100 g-1 in fertigation NPK @ 75% K + 100 % N&amp;P (T6). Ascorbic acid, Titratable acidity, TSS, β-carotene showed the highest value in treatment which received fertigation NPK @ 75% K + 100 % N&amp;P