Some aspects of daily rainfall distribution over India during the south-west monsoon season

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the daily rainfall at 365 Indian stations for the 80-year period, 1901-1980. The rainfall data relate to the south-west monsoon season June to September (122 days), which accounts for the major part of the annual rainfall over most parts of the country. The coefficient of variation (CV) of the daily rainfall series varies between 100 and 230 at individual stations, with nearly half the number of stations having CV values in the range 130-150. The number of days of significant rainfall (days with rainfall greater than the mean intensity per rain-day) constitute about 30 of the total number of rain-days and account for about 75 of the seasonal rainfall at almost all the stations

Quantitative precipitation forecasting over Narmada Catchment

Quantitative precipitation forecasting (QPF) has been attempted over the Narmada Catchment following a statistical approach. The catchment has been divided into five sub-regions for the development of QPF models with a maximum lead-time of 24 hours. For this purpose the data of daily rainfall from 56 raingauge stations, twice daily observations on different surface meteorological parameters from 28 meteorological observatories and upper air data from 11 aerological stations for the nine monsoon seasons of 1972-1980 have been utilized. The horizontal divergence, relative vorticity, vertical velocity and moisture divergence are computed using the kinematic method at different pressure levels and used as independent variables along with the rainfall and surface meteorological parameters. Multiple linear regression equations have been developed using the stepwise procedure separately with actual and square root and log-transformed rainfall using 8-year data (1972-1979). When these equations were verified with an independent data for the monsoon season of 1980, it was found that the transformed rainfall equations fared much better compared to the actual rainfall equations. The performance of the forecasts of QPF model compared to the climatological and persistence forecasts has been assessed by computing the verification scores using the forecasts for the monsoon season of 1980

Grain silo location-allocation problem with dwell time for optimization of food grain supply chain network

In the last few decades, production and procurement of food grain in India have steadily increased, however, storage capacity has not increased proportionally. The government of India (GOI) is establishing the various capacitated silos across the country to bridge this storage capacity gap. This paper presents a novel integrated multi-objective, multi-modal and multiperiod mathematical model for grain silo location-allocation problem with Dwell time to support the decision-making process of GOI. Two conflicting objectives- minimization of total supply chain network cost and total lead time (transit and dwell time) are simultaneously optimized using two Pareto based multi-objective algorithms with calibrated parameters

A Comprehensive in Depth Study of Domestic Refrigerating Systems

Refrigeration systems are essential in everyday life, especially when it comes to food storage and preparation, as well as safety and convenience. The primary function of a home refrigerator is to preserve the quality of perishable goods. The efficiency of the refrigerator, which is largely determined by temperature distribution and air flow in the compartments, is critical to this quality. Thus, in this paper, we are attempting to shed light on the work of investigators by experimenting on various geometries of the refrigerating system in order to improve their efficiency. In addition, we have attempted to provide an overview of the DAR cycle as well as the components of the refrigeration system, which will aid scholars in understanding the fundamental operation of cooling systems

ASSESSMENT OF LAPAROSCOPIC APPENDECTOMY IN PATIENTS OF COMPLICATED APPENDICITIS IN TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL OF CENTRAL INDIA

Background: Appendicitis is the commonest abdominal surgical emergency in the world which may lead to complications like appendicular abscess or mass, gangrene, perforation and peritonitis. Present research aimed to evaluate the wellbeing and the effectiveness of laparoscopy for managing complicated appendicitis. Material and methods: Present study was carried out on 50 patients at tertiary care institution of Chhattisgarh in Central India for the period of 2 year. This study is including patients of complicated appendicitis undergoing laparoscopic management. Parameters studied included Age, Gender, WBC count, wound infection and hospital stay. Results: There was increase of total leucocytic count in most of the patients; Mean WBCs was 12.71±5.37. 33 patients had pus free IPF collection and perforated appendicitis (PA), 11 patients had turbid free IPF collection with AA (highly inflamed appendix), 2 case was mucocele of the appendix, 2 cases of appendicular abscess (3.3%) and 2 cases of gangrenous appendix. Conclusion: Management of complicated appendicitis laparoscopically is practicable, secure and can present a small occurrence of infectious impediments, fewer post-operative pain, fast revival and improved cosmesis on the cost of extended operating time than Open Appendectom

Cloning and characterization of cDNA encoding xyloglucan endotransglucosylase in Pennisetum glaucum L.

Biomass production in plant is directly related to the amount of intercepted solar radiation by the canopy and available water to the plant. Growth and development of leaves, especially under drought condition, is therefore major determinant of crop productivity. Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) plays important role in growth and development of plants. XETs are a family of enzymes that mediate construction and restructuring of xyloglucan cross-links, thereby controlling the mechanical properties of cell wall. We cloned complete cDNA of an XET from pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) and characterized it using in silico comparative genomics and activity assays. The cloned cDNA was 1266 bp in length, encoding a protein with 291 amino acids having signal peptide targeting it to the cell wall. The protein showed xyloglucan endotransglucosylase activity but no hydrolytic activity, therefore, named as PgXET1 as per the convention. The comparative genomics revealed that the functional sites of the enzyme (XET) were highly conserved. Evolutionary studies using phylogenetic tree indicated its grouping with XETs from maize (with >95% bootstrap support), barley, rice, etc. This is the first report on cloning and characterization of an XET (PgXET1) from pearl millet, an important dual-purpose crop.Key words: Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase, Pennisetum glaucum, pearl millet, primary cell wall, cell expansion, drought tolerance

Heterogeneous expression and functional evaluation of in silico characterized recombinant OmpC of Salmonella Typhimurium as a functional poultry vaccine to eradicate zoonotic transmission

Salmonellosis is one of the major global health concerns leading to millions of deaths annually. The present vaccines not being up to the mark necessitate the need for the development of new generation vaccines. Outer membrane proteins (Omps) of several Gram negative bacteria have been investigated and found to be immunogenic and protective. The present study explores the potential of a major porin protein (OmpC) of Salmonella Typhimurium, as a vaccine candidate. The OmpC 3D structure and its potential to bind effectively with antibodies and generate humoral response was investigated using in silico docking, and expressed in a heterogeneous Escherichia coli M15 host strain. The rOmpC was purified and its immunopotential was evaluated in vitro by western blotting and in vivo in three weeks old chicks. The recombinant OmpC produced a significant humoral response and in vaccinated birds 100% survival rate was observed along with delay in the shedding of organism in droppings. These findings indicate that the rOmpC vaccination prevents mortality in chicken and lowers fecal shedding in droppings.Key words: Outer membrane protein (Omp), Salmonellosis, Salmonella Typhimurium, subunit vaccines, porins,rigid-body docking

COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Severe Infections and Mortality among Patients in Kerala, India.

ABSTRACT Background: India has a top status among world countries, related to the COVID-19 mortality that had crossed the 3-lakh level. The second wave of COVID19 had ravaged the world countries, created havoc of the highest order, leaving many hapless, thanks to the low availability of oxygen, ICU facilities, vaccines and counselling prospects. There is a lack of information about how COVID-19 vaccines have affected mortality in specific geographic areas. Method: A Retrospective record-based design. Patients were matched for age, sex, ethnicity, co-morbidities and grouped into fully immunized, partially immunized and non-immunized. The primary outcome was in-hospital deaths and secondary outcome was severe covid infections. (Severe covid infections are defined as Category C in WHO and ICMR classification) Results: Vaccines administered in standard dosage confer considerable benefit by reducing severe illness, hospitalization and death. This is clearly visible by the lower proportions of those with hypoxia, high levels of markers, those requiring ICU support and death in vaccinated individuals. The type of vaccine administered did not have any influence on the severity and outcome of illness. Conclusion: The second wave that peaked in May 2021 would have been less disastrous had more people been vaccinated. Without a reimagined vaccination strategy, reaching the desired full vaccination status was a difficult endeavor. The signs are unmistakable that a combined approach involving swift vaccination and scientific measures to curb transmission holds great promise. A zero covid world looks less imminent. But humans can make the microbe less lethal

Possible role of eclosion rhythm in mediating the effects of light-dark environments on pre-adult development in Drosophila melanogaster

BACKGROUND: In insects, circadian clocks have been implicated in affecting life history traits such as pre-adult development time and adult lifespan. Studies on the period (per) mutants of Drosophila melanogaster, and laboratory-selected lines of Bactrocera cucurbitae suggested a close link between circadian clocks and development time. There is a possibility of clock genes having pleiotropic effects on clock period and pre-adult development time. In order to avoid such pleiotropic effects we have used wild type flies of same genotype under environments of different periodicities, which phenotypically either speeded up or slowed down the eclosion clock of D. melanogaster. RESULTS: We assayed pre-adult development time and pre-adult survivorship of four laboratory populations of D. melanogaster, under five different light regimes, continuous light (LL), continuous darkness (DD), and light-dark (LD) cycles of 10:10 h (T20), 12:12 h (T24), and 14:14 h (T28). Although the development time was significantly different in most light regimes, except for females under T24 &T28, pre-adult survivorship remained largely unaffected. The development time was shortest under LL, followed by T20, DD, T24 and T28 regimes, in that order. Interestingly the development time showed a positive correlation with the period of eclosion rhythm, i.e., faster oscillations were associated with faster development, and slower oscillations with slower development. CONCLUSION: Based on these results we conclude that periodicity of imposed LD cycles, and/or of eclosion rhythm plays a key role in regulating the duration of pre-adult development in D. melanogaster in a manner that does not involve direct pleiotropic effects of clock genes on both clock period and development time

Genetic diversity analysis of Nardostachys jatamansi DC, an endangered medicinal plant of Central Himalaya, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

The genetic diversity analysis of eight populations of Nardostachys jatamansi DC. collected from different altitude of Central Himalaya has been attempted using 24 sets of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers. These sets of RAPD marker generated a total of 346 discernible and reproducible bands across the analysed population with 267 polymorphic and 75 monomorphic bands. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) cluster analysis revealed three distinct clusters: I, II and III. The cluster I was represented by N. jatamansi population collected from Panwali Kantha (3200 m asl) and Kedarnath (3584 m asl), India together with Jumla (2562 m asl) from Nepal. Cluster II included collections from Har Ki Doon (3400 m asl) and Tungnath (3600 m asl) from India while Cluster III was represented by collections from Munsiyari (2380 m asl), Dayara (3500 m asl) and Valley of Flowers (3400 m asl) from India. The clustering of these populations was independent of variations in altitude and geographical locations. The genetic variations observed in different populations of Jatamansi might be due to environmental influences (biotic and abiotic), rather than altitude level differences. The abiotic (geographical or climatic differentiation) and biotic (pollination between population and seed dispersal) factors might be responsible for the genetic variations among these accessions of Jatamansi.Keywords: Genetic diversity, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Nardostachys jatamansi, Central Himalaya, unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA)African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(20), pp. 2816-282