Identification of RAPD marker for the White Backed Plant Hopper (WBPH) resistant gene in rice

The experimental material consisted of two parents Gurjari (white backed plant hopper resistant) and Jaya (white backed plant hopper susceptible) and their F2 progeny. The purpose of the study was the identification of RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) marker for white backed plant hopper (WBPH) resistant gene. The RAPD analysis was done group wise as well as combined for the bulk segregant analysis (BSA). For the BSA, of the total 50 random primers surveyed, a single linked primer, OPA 08, was identified. This primer generated 8-bands, one of which, OPA08-7, was putatively linked to resistant gene as was evident by its presence in almost all the resistant bulks and vice-versa. This band had molecular weight equal to 1219.38 bp and was found in resistant parent, Gurjari, and in almost all the resistant bulks (the four susceptible bulks revealed absence of the same band) indicating the band OPA08-7 as a marker for WBPH resistance among the screened rice genotypes

A role of statins against listeria monocytogenes and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Cholesterol has been shown to play important role in the pathogenesis and persistence of intracellular pathogens. Here, we modulate host cholesterol biosynthesis pathway using pharmacological agent statins, which are reversible inhibitors of HMG†CoA reductase enzyme. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of statins in inducing host protective responses against intracellular pathogens. We report reduced growth of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in murine macrophages. We show prominent immunomodulatory activity induced by statins, mainly increased phagosomal maturation and autophagy resulting in decreased bacterial growth in macrophages. Subsequently, statin†treated mice showed decrease in bacterial loads, accompanied by reduced histopathology in the acute phase of infection during listeriosis and tuberculosis. Furthermore, we found decreased growth of Mtb in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and monocyte†derived macrophages (MDM) isolated from patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) on statin therapy when compared to healthy subjects. Together, our results show that statins induces protection against Mtb in murine macrophages, mice and human mononuclear cells and monocyte†derived macrophages

Development of a scalable generic platform for adaptive optics real time control

The main objective of the present project is to explore the viability of an adaptive optics control system based exclusively on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), making strong use of their parallel processing capability. In an Adaptive Optics (AO) system, the generation of the Deformable Mirror (DM) control voltages from the Wavefront Sensor (WFS) measurements is usually through the multiplication of the wavefront slopes with a predetermined reconstructor matrix. The ability to access several hundred hard multipliers and memories concurrently in an FPGA allows performance far beyond that of a modern CPU or GPU for tasks with a well defined structure such as Adaptive Optics control. The target of the current project is to generate a signal for a real time wavefront correction, from the signals coming from a Wavefront Sensor, wherein the system would be flexible to accommodate all the current Wavefront Sensing techniques and also the different methods which are used for wavefront compensation. The system should also accommodate for different data transmission protocols (like Ethernet, USB, IEEE 1394 etc.) for transmitting data to and from the FPGA device, thus providing a more flexible platform for Adaptive Optics control. Preliminary simulation results for the formulation of the platform, and a design of a fully scalable slope computer is presented.Comment: Paper presented as part of SPIE ICOP 2015 Conference Proceeding

Observation of R-Band Variability of L Dwarfs

We report, for the first time, photometric variability of L dwarfs in $R$ band. Out of three L1 dwarfs (2MASS 1300+19, 2MASS 1439+19, and 2MASS 1658+70) observed, we have detected R band variability in 2MASS 1300+19 and 2MASS 1439+19. The objects exhibit variability of amplitude ranging from 0.01 mag to 0.02 mag. Object 2MASS 1658+70, turns out to be non-variable in both $R$ and $I$ band. However, more observations are needed to infer its variability. No periodic behaviour in the variability is found from the two L1 dwarfs that are variable. All the three L1 dwarfs have either negligible or no $H_{\alpha}$ activity. In the absence of any direct evidence for the presence of sufficiently strong magnetic field, the detection of polarization at the optical favors the presence of dust in the atmosphere of L dwarfs. We suggest that the observed $R$ band photometric variability is most likely due to atmospheric dust activity.Comment: 13 pages (latex, aastex style) including 3 eps figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter

Viscosity of High Energy Nuclear Fluids

Relativistic high energy heavy ion collision cross sections have been interpreted in terms of almost ideal liquid droplets of nuclear matter. The experimental low viscosity of these nuclear fluids have been of considerable recent quantum chromodynamic interest. The viscosity is here discussed in terms of the string fragmentation models wherein the temperature dependence of the nuclear fluid viscosity obeys the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law.Comment: 6 pages, ReVTeX 4 format, two figures, *.eps forma

Study of community awareness regarding contraception and its practices

Background: Family planning (FP) programmes impact women’s health by providing universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services and counselling information. The ability to decide freely the number, spacing and timing of one’s children is a basic human right, endorsed at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. Family planning programmes are associated with lower fertility and lower maternal mortality. Through family planning programmes, women gain access to contraceptives, increasing the likelihood that they can achieve their desired family size. Methods: Married women 18-49 years of age were recognised and randomly selected from different areas Indore. Preformed questionnaire containing demographic information and relevant questions was used for data collection. Results: About 80.6% women were aware about PNC contraception. Majority undergone female sterilization (40.0%), 24.8% were using condoms, followed by IUCDs (6.5%) and contraceptive pills (4.7%). Conclusions: In this cross sectional study, awareness regarding contraceptive practices and taboos was not found to be at par with the requirement and lower in concurrence with low education, income, rural residence. Specific intervention programs need to be planned to improve their health practices and thereby improving the health status of the mother and child

Computation of correlations of fortified vermicompost with sulphur on seed yield and nutrient content of mustard [Brassica juncea]

Effect of sulphur and fortified vermicompost on growth and yield of mustard [Brassica juncea] was carried out at College of Agriculture, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner (Rajasthan) during rabi season: 2010-11. Sixteen treatment combinations comprising four levels of each sulphur and fortified vermicompost were evaluated. Grain yield (1993 kg ha-1) increased significantly (p < 0.05) up to 6.0 t vermicompost ha-1 along with 40 kg sulphur ha-1. As regards interactive effects of treatment, synergistic behavior was noted between 6.0 t vermi-compost ha-1 40 kg S ha-1 for seed yield, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents and also sulphur content and uptake by seed of mustard. The significantly higher P content in seed was recorded under 40 kg S ha-1 in combination with 4.0 t ha-1 vermicompost Combined effect of levels of vermicompost and sulphur on seed yield was found to be significant than control. The concomitant effect of 6.0 t vermicompost ha-1 and 40 kg S ha-1 application was found highly pronounced on seed yield and sulphur content in seed of mustard

Night sky at the Indian Astronomical Observatory during 2000-2008

We present an analysis of the optical night sky brightness and extinction coefficient measurements in UBVRI at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), Hanle, during the period 2003-2008. They are obtained from an analysis of CCD images acquired at the 2 m Himalayan Chandra Telescope at IAO. Night sky brightness was estimated using 210 HFOSC images obtained on 47 nights and covering the declining phase of solar activity cycle-23. The zenith corrected values of the moonless night sky brightness in mag/square arcsecs are 22.14(U), 22.42(B), 21.28(V), 20.54(R) and 18.86(I) band. This shows that IAO is a dark site for optical observations. No clear dependency of sky brightness with solar activity is found. Extinction values at IAO are derived from an analysis of 1325 images over 58 nights. They are found to be 0.36 in U-band, 0.21 in B-band, 0.12 in V-band, 0.09 in R-band and 0.05 in I-band. On average, extinction during the summer months is slightly larger than that during the winter months. No clear evidence for a correlation between extinction in all bands and the average night time wind speed is found. Also presented here is the low resolution moonless optical night sky spectrum for IAO covering the wavelength range 3000-9300 \AA. Hanle region thus has the required characteristics of a good astronomical site in terms of night sky brightness and extinction, and could be a natural candidate site for any future large aperture Indian optical-infrared telescope(s).Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, uses basi.cls, accepted for publication in Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of Indi

Spatial Metagenomic Analysis in Understanding the Microbial Diversity of Thar Desert

The arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan are one of the most extreme biomes of India, possessing diverse microbial communities that exhibit immense biotechnological potential for industries. Herein, we sampled study sites from arid and semi-arid regions of Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India and subjected them to chemical, physical and metagenomics analysis. The microbial diversity was studied using V3–V4 amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA gene by Illumina MiSeq. Our metagenomic analyses revealed that the sampled sites consist mainly of Proteobacteria (19–31%) followed by unclassified bacteria (5–21%), Actinobacteria (3–25%), Planctomycetes (5–13%), Chloroflexi (2–14%), Bacteroidetes (3–12%), Firmicutes (3–7%), Acidobacteria (1–4%) and Patescibacteria (1–4%). We have found Proteobacteria in abundance which is associated with a range of activities involved in biogeochemical cycles such as carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur. Our study is perhaps the first of its kind to explore soil bacteria from arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, India. We believe that the new microbial candidates found can be further explored for various industrial and biotechnological applications