1,167 research outputs found
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
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 and
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
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 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
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