A NEW SPECIES OF CASSINE (CELASTRACEAE) FROM INDIA

The new species Cassine kedarnathii Sasi. & Swarup. is described from the Silent Valley National Park (India) and illustrated

Изменение диэлектрических потерь резин на основе этилен-пропиленовых каучуков со временем ионизационного старения

В работе изучалось влияние вулканизующей группы и наполнителя на диэлектрические потери резин на основе этилен-пропиленовых каучуков и изменение диэлектрических потерь со временем ионизационного старения. Установлено, что диэлектрические потери и изменения их со временем ионизационного старения в значительной степени зависят от типа вулканизующей группы и наполнителя

Morphology and RAPD analysis of certain potentially entomopathogenic isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae Metsch. (Deuteromycotina: Hypocreales)

Diversity within the entomopathogenic fungi have been traditionally analyzed using morphological features but morphology alone can lead to ambiguity pertaining to identification at species level. Therefore utilization of molecular methods to detect the level of polymorphism among species helps minimize the problem. Nine isolates of Metarhizium were morphologically characterized by assessing their colour, media pigmentation, size and shape of conidia. Molecular characterization was carried out by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis. The RAPD - PCR assay for nine isolates were performed by amplifying random sequences using three RAPD primers. The amplification products for the different isolates were compared with each other and were screened for the presence or absence of specific bands. The scored band data was subjected to cluster analysis. A genetic similarity matrix was constructed using Jaccard’s coefficient method. Colony colour varied from pale green to blackish green. Pigment production was observed for four isolates. Average width of spores ranged from 2.10 - 4.10μm and length 3.20 - 7.69 μm. The spores were grouped as either oval, round or elongated. The three primers generated a total of 166 reproducible distinct bands among the 9 isolates and the similarity was estimated on the basis of number of shared bands. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficient between isolate pairs ranged from 0.00 to 0.70 indicating a high genetic diversity. The maximum similarity was noticed between isolates MIS13 and MIS18. A dendrogram was generated from RAPD patterns of the Metarhizium isolates. Grouping of isolates into clusters correlated with similarities in their RAPD DNA patterns

Bayesian analysis of bulk viscous matter dominated universe

In our previous works, we have analyzed the evolution of bulk viscous matter dominated universe with a more general form for bulk viscous coefficient, $\zeta=\zeta_{0}+\zeta_{1}\frac{\dot{a}}{a}+\zeta_{2}\frac{\ddot{a}}{\dot{a}}$ and also carried out the dynamical system analysis. We found that the model reasonably describes the evolution of the universe if the viscous coefficient is a constant. In the present work we are contrasting this model with the standard $\Lambda$CDM model of the universe using the Bayesian method. We have shown that, even though the viscous model gives a reasonable back ground evolution of the universe, the Bayes factor of the model indicates that, it is not so superior over the $\Lambda$CDM model, but have a slight advantage over it.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

Outer bounds on the storage-repair bandwidth trade-off of exact-repair regenerating codes

In this paper, three outer bounds on the normalised storage-repair bandwidth trade-off of regenerating codes having parameter set {(n, k, d),(alpha, beta)} under the exact-repair (ER) setting are presented. The first outer bound, termed as the repair-matrix bound, is applicable for every parameter set (n, k, d), and in conjunction with a code construction known as improved layered codes, it characterises the normalised ER trade-off for the case (n, k = 3, d = n - 1). The bound shows that a non-vanishing gap exists between the ER and functional-repair (FR) trade-offs for every (n, k, d). The second bound, termed as the improved Mohajer-Tandon bound, is an improvement upon an existing bound due to Mohajer et al. and performs better in a region away from the minimum-storage-regenerating (MSR) point. However, in the vicinity of the MSR point, the repair-matrix bound outperforms the improved Mohajer-Tandon bound. The third bound is applicable to linear codes for the case k = d. In conjunction with the class of layered codes, the third outer bound characterises the normalised ER trade-off in the case of linear codes when k = d = n - 1

Impact of individual, combined and sequential stress on photosynthesis machinery in rice (Oryza sativa L)

Abiotic stresses such as heat, drought and submergence are major threats to global food security. Despite simultaneous or sequential occurrence of these stresses being recurrent under field conditions, crop response to such stress combinations is poorly understood. Rice is a staple food crop for the majority of human beings. Exploitation of existing genetic diversity in rice for combined and/or sequential stress is a useful approach for developing climate-resilient cultivars. We phenotyped ~400 rice accessions under high temperature, drought, or submergence and their combinations. A cumulative performance index revealed Lomello as the best performer across stress and stress combinations at the seedling stage. Lomello showed a remarkable ability to maintain a higher quantum yield of photosystem (PS) II photochemistry. Moreover, the structural integrity of the photosystems, electron flow through both PSI and PSII and the ability to protect photosystems against photoinhibition were identified as the key traits of Lomello across the stress environments. A higher membrane stability and an increased amount of leaf chlorophyll under stress may be due to an efficient management of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the cellular level. Further, an efficient electron flow through the photosystems and, thus, a higher photosynthetic rate in Lomello is expected to act as a sink for ROS by reducing the rate of electron transport to the high amount of molecular oxygen present in the chloroplast. However, further studies are needed to identify the molecular mechanism(s) involved in the stability of photosynthetic machinery and stress management in Lomello during stress conditions