Assessing spatial variability of soil and drawing location-specific management zones for coastal saline soils in Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu

The production of crops in saline and alkali-degraded areas is difficult due to the heterogeneous and spatial variation of soil fertility.  First, their spatial variability was analyzed and maps of the spatial distribution were created using Geostatistical techniques.  The fuzzy k-mean clustering analysis was then used to define Management zones in the coastal saline soils of Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu.  One hundred and fifty geo-referenced soil samples  (30 cm depth) were taken and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (ECe) in the saturated paste extract (USSL method), organic carbon (OC) (Walkley-Black chromic acid wet oxidation method), calcium carbonate (CaCO3) (Rapid titration method) and available phosphorus and extractable micronutrients (Multinutrients extraction method), revealing significant variation in soil characteristics throughout the coastal saline soils of Ramanathapuram district.  The most significant factors, which together accounted for four principal components and 69% of the overall variability, were pH, electrical conductivity (ECe), calcium Carbonate and available zinc.  According to Geostatistical analysis, the Exponential (pH, OC (organic carbon), P, Fe, Mn and Zn) and Stable (ECe) was the best fit semivariogram ordinary kriging model with weak to moderate spatial dependence.  Fuzzy k-mean clustering was also used to identify zone 1, zone 2 and zone 3.  For every soil property, there was a significant difference between MZ1(zone 1), MZ2(zone 2) and MZ3(zone 3).  These results also showed that cluster analysis gave farmers a chance to use location-specific nutrient management strategies by minimizing variability within the zone. The management zones can decrease agricultural inputs and environmental pollutants while increasing crop productivity.

Study on the design and operation of a traditional winch in fishery technology

Majority of the non-mechanized craft in Karnataka are wooden and they are operated mainly in beach landing centers which hardly have any berthing facility. These boats are operating on daily basis and are hauled on to the beach after the operatio to protect it from fouling organisms. The fishermen of Karnataka came up with the idea of wooden winch/ capstan named “Dhowr” for hauling the boat on shore. The following paper documents and report for the first time, the use of such unique, eco-friendly wooden capstan, “Dhowr” which is in operation in traditional beach landing fishing village of Karnataka

'Dhowr'- A Revisit to the design and operation of indigenous machinery in fishery technology

Traditionally, the fishing crafts are hauled on to the beach with manpower after the fishing cruise. Many of the beach-landing centers use manpower for hauling the boats. But the change in beach profile due to changing weather condition makes it extremely cumbersome for hauling the boat using manpower alone. Moreover, the labour force has also been getting scarce in many fishing villages. A wooden winch was developed by the fishermen of Dakshina Kannada, several decades back. The fishermen in Keni Village of Uttar Kannada District worked on this insight and came out with a modified manually working wooden winch/ capstan and named “Dhowr”. This device was widely accepted and number of units came up in most of the beach landing fishing villages of Uttar Kannada. With this background, it was felt necessary that a detailed study be conducted to document and report the construction and operation of unique and eco-friendly wooden capstan, “Dhowr” along with the benefits to the fishermen

RAGE, carboxylated glycans and S100A8/A9 play essential roles in colitis-associated carcinogenesis

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases are at increased risk for colorectal cancer, but the molecular mechanisms linking inflammation and cancer are not well defined. We earlier showed that carboxylated N-glycans expressed on receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and other glycoproteins mediate colitis through activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Because NF-κB signaling plays a critical role in the molecular pathogenesis of colitis-associated cancer (CAC), we reasoned that carboxylated glycans, RAGE and its ligands might promote CAC. Carboxylated glycans are expressed on a subpopulation of RAGE on colon cancer cells and mediate S100A8/A9 binding to RAGE. Colon tumor cells express binding sites for S100A8/A9 and binding leads to activation of NF-κB and tumor cell proliferation. Binding, downstream signaling and tumor cell proliferation are blocked by mAbGB3.1, an anti-carboxylate glycan antibody, and by anti-RAGE. In human colon tumor tissues and in a mouse model of CAC, we found that myeloid progenitors expressing S100A8 and S100A9 infiltrate regions of dysplasia and adenoma. mAbGB3.1 administration markedly reduces chronic inflammation and tumorigenesis in the mouse model of CAC and RAGE-deficient mice are resistant to the onset of CAC. These findings show that RAGE, carboxylated glycans and S100A8/A9 play essential roles in tumor–stromal interactions, leading to inflammation-associated colon carcinogenesis

Filaggrin gene mutation in pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis: A look into Indian gene pool, a pilot study

Background: Mutations in the filaggrin (FLG) gene has been reported to be an indicator of poor prognosis of atopic dermatitis (AD). It has been reported that there is a considerable variation in the mutations detected in the FLG gene in different ethnicities. Aim: To detect the presence of mutations in the FLG gene in pediatric subjects with atopic dermatitis (AD) and to compare the detected mutations with those already reported from different ethnicities. Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA extracted using standard procedure from peripheral venous blood of 30 patient and 15 control samples. Sequence analysis of the FLG gene carried out and detected changes was then cross referenced with those mutations already reported to check for novelty of detected changes. Results: Amino acid changes were detected in 28 of the patient samples and in none of the control samples indicating that changes in the FLG gene were more common in the patient group than the control group (Fishers exact test, P < 0.0001). The most commonly reported mutations R501X and 2282del4 were not detected. Only 5 of the detected 22 amino acid changes H2507Q, L2481S, K2444E, E2398Q, and S2366T have been previously reported and are not clinically significant; however, in one patient a stop codon was detected (S2366STOP). P2238N, R2239W, and V2243L detected in 70% of the samples and S2231E detected in 67% of the patient samples have not been reported so far and their clinical significance is yet to be analyzed. Conclusion: Analyses of mutations already reported showed that the changes detected from this study are novel to Indian traits. While this adds on to the minimal data available from the Indian subcontinent further analyses has to be carried out to analyze the pathogenicity of these detected changes on larger samples sizes

Artificial Intelligence-Based Attack Weapon Target Allocation Using the Defense Area Analysis and Surface Learning

For better reflection of the interactive defense between focuses in common sense battle situations, the essential weapon-target assignment (WTA) based on defense area analysis using on-surface learning is proposed. Initially, a guard territory examination is introduced by the objectives’ positions. To build an automated system in this space after modeling Threat Evaluation and Weapon-Target Allocation measures, addressing these models and tracking down the ideal arrangement are further significant issues. This setting requests prompt operational arranging and dynamic under inborn extreme pressure conditions. The radii of the safeguard zones were used to dissect the intuitive inclusion and insurance between targets’ protection regions. The related duties are normally split between various administrators and electronic choice emotionally supportive networks. The inclusion status and inclusion layer number and the multistage assault target work model are set up. The customary WTA strategy and the multistage WTA technique are analyzed. The target work model is approved with the on-surface learning technique. The outcomes propose that if the battle situation includes intelligent inclusion of targets’ guard territories, it has been essential to investigate the protection zones and apply the multistage assault strategy to debilitating the objective safeguard dynamically for better battle adequacy

Development of PCRSeqTyping—a novel molecular assay for typing of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Abstract Background Precise serotyping of pneumococci is essential for vaccine development, to better understand the pathogenicity and trends of drug resistance. Currently used conventional and molecular methods of serotyping are expensive and time-consuming, with limited coverage of serotypes. An accurate and rapid serotyping method with complete coverage of serotypes is an urgent necessity. This study describes the development and application of a novel technology that addresses this need. Methods Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed, targeting 1061 bp cpsB region, and the amplicon was subjected to sequencing. The sequence data was analyzed using the National Centre for Biotechnology Information database. For homologous strains, a second round of PCR, sequencing, and data analysis was performed targeting 10 group-specific genes located in the capsular polysaccharide region. Ninety-one pneumococcal reference strains were analyzed with PCRSeqTyping and compared with Quellung reaction using Pneumotest Kit (SSI, Denmark). Results A 100% correlation of PCRSeqTyping results was observed with Pneumotest results. Fifty-nine reference strains were uniquely identified in the first step of PCRSeqTyping. The remaining 32 homologous strains out of 91 were also uniquely identified in the second step. Conclusion This study describes a PCRSeqTyping assay that is accurate and rapid, with high reproducibility. This assay is amenable for clinical testing and does not require culturing of the samples. It is a significant improvement over other methods because it covers all pneumococcal serotypes, and it has the potential for use in diagnostic laboratories and surveillance studies

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Not AvailableMajority of the non-mechanized craft in Karnataka are wooden and they are operated mainly in beach landing centers which hardly have any berthing facility. These boats are operating on daily basis and are hauled on to the beach after the operatio to protect it from fouling organisms. The fishermen of Karnataka came up with the idea of wooden winch/ capstan named “Dhowr” for hauling the boat on shore. The following paper documents and report for the first time, the use of such unique, eco-friendly wooden capstan, “Dhowr” which is in operation in traditional beach landing fishing village of Karnataka.Not Availabl