Late Quaternary drainage disorganization, and migration and extinction of the Vedic Saraswati

Several lines of geological evidence confirm the existence of a high-energy fluvial regime in western Rajasthan during the Late Quaternary period. Geomorphic description of the extinct river system matches well with the Saraswati River described so vividly in the Rig Veda. The Vedic river which presumably flowed parallel to the Aravalli Mountains during its initial stages, migrated westward during neotectonic uplift of the Aravalli Mountains. The neotectonic movements, which brought about the down-sagging of the northern part of Aravalli Mountains also forced the Yamuna River to swap its original course to flow across the flattened 'mountain'. The river presumably pirated the Saraswati waters while it drifted eastward to join the Ganges

Impulsive noise removal from color images with morphological filtering

This paper deals with impulse noise removal from color images. The proposed noise removal algorithm employs a novel approach with morphological filtering for color image denoising; that is, detection of corrupted pixels and removal of the detected noise by means of morphological filtering. With the help of computer simulation we show that the proposed algorithm can effectively remove impulse noise. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared in terms of image restoration metrics and processing speed with that of common successful algorithms.Comment: The 6th international conference on analysis of images, social networks, and texts (AIST 2017), 27-29 July, 2017, Moscow, Russi

A Comparative Study of the Effect of Gabapentin, Topiramate, Levetiracetam and Zonisamide for Neuropathic Pain Induced by Anticancer Drug (Vincristine) in Rats

ABSTRACT Background: Neuropathic pain syndrome is a frequently occurring, disabling disease. Many anticancer drugs which are used to treat solid tumors cause neuropathic pain as their dose limiting side effect. Current treatment options are still relatively poor. Objective: The present study was designed to compare the effect of gabapentin, topiramate, levetiracetam and zonisamidefor treatment of neuropathic pain induced by anticancer drug(vincristine) in albinorats using thermal method. Materials and Methods: Neuropathic pain was induced by injecting vincristine (100µg/kg) intraperitoneally daily for 14 days in rats. Behavioural testing for thermal hyperalgesia was assessed 24 hours after each injection by the hotplat method. After 14 days rats were divided into five groups of six animals each. Group I was treated with distilled water as control group, group II was treated with oral gabapentin (60 mg/kg), group III received oral topiramate (40 mg/kg), group IV was treated with oral levetiracetam (120 mg/kg) and group V received zonisamide (50 mg/kg).The antihyperalgesic effect of drugs was assessed by the hotplate method 24 hours after each administration. Statistical analysis was done by two way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post hoc test. Results: Gabapentin, topiramate and zonisamide treated groups showed asignificant(P < 0.0001) increase hot-plate latency as compared to control group. Levetiracetam treated group however, did not show a significant increase in hot-plate latency. Conclusion: In vincristine induced neuropathic pain gabapentin, topiramate and zonisamide appearto be promising drugs although they act by different mechanisms

Irrigation water quality and zinc on growth and yield of fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum L.)

A pot experiment was carried out to find out the influence of different Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC) water and zinc (Zn) levels on growth and yield of fenugreek. The study involved 12 treatment combinations of four RSC levels of irrigation water (W1=1, W2=2.5, W3=5.0 & W4=7.5 mmol L-1) and three Zn levels (Z0=control, Z10= 10 & Z20= 20 mg kg-1 soil). Results revealed that the plant height, number of pods plant-1, number of seeds pod-1, test weight, seed yield and straw yield of fenugreek significantly decreased with all levels of RSC water and increased with increasing levels of Zn. Thus, application of 20 mg kg-1 Zn under 2.5 mM L-1 of RSC water was found to be superior with respect to growth and yield of fenugreek. &nbsp

SSR marker aided introgression for opaque2 allele for development of quality protein maize inbreds

Maize protein quality is deficit in essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophan. These constraints of o2 (opaque2) are corrected in genetically improved, hard endosperm QPM (Quality Protein Maize). An integrated strategy of phenotypic selection for endosperm modifiers and molecular marker-assisted foreground and background selection has been used in present study. The QPM donors were, CML 161, DMRQPM 58, CML 176 and CML 141 whereas, normal maize inbreds were CM 212, V338, V361, V336, V341, V351, CM 141 and V335. The inbreds were subjected to parental polymorphism survey between non-QPM and QPM using CIMMYT based three SSR markers, viz. phi057, umc1066 and phi112. Two markers, viz. phi057 and umc1066 exhibited co-dominant reactions, while phi112 was dominant in nature. Finally, two combinations V335 × CML 141 and V351 × CML 141 were considered for conversion program. Foreground selection was exercised using o2 specific marker umc1066 in BC1 and BC2 generations, while background as well as foreground selection was exercised in BC2F3 generation to recover the genome of recurrent parent up to extent of 80 to 100% with the help of SSR markers distributed across the whole maize genome. The tryptophan concentration in endosperm protein was significantly enhanced and the converted maize lines had almost twice the amount of lysine and tryptophan than normal maize inbreds

Genetic diversity in pearl millet inbred restorers for agro-morphological and grain quality traits

Genetic diversity was assessed in 60 pearl millet inbred restorers for 10 agro-morphological and six seed quality traits. High range of variation was observed and trait contribution to genetic diversity depicted that panicle length contributed the maximum (19.04 %) followed by panicle girth (18.76 %). Based on the clustering pattern, a total of 09 clusters were obtained of which Cluster II was the largest and comprised of 39 inbreds followed by cluster III with 10. Cluster mean depicted that cluster I, III and IX comprised of potential lines having a desirable mean performance for the traits studied. Cluster distance was also high among these aforesaid clusters thus suggesting their use in hybrid development as well as in recombination breeding for generating better inbreds in pearl millet

Role of diffusion weighted MR imaging in differentiating benign from malignant prostate lesions

Background: The purpose of the study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of diffusion weighted MR imaging and to propose a cut off ADC value in differentiating benign from malignant prostatic lesions considering histopathology as gold standard.Methods: It is a descriptive type of observational study done on 40 patients with clinical suspicion of prostate carcinoma and elevated PSA level more than 4ng/ml. The patients underwent Multiparametric prostate MRI and ADC values were calculated using ADC maps.Results: Of the 40 cases included in the study histopathology revealed a diagnosis of abscess (1), chronic prostatitis (2), BPH with chronic prostatitis (4), BPH (12), and malignancy (21). The mean and standard deviation (SD) of ADC values for the abscess (0.59), CP (0.83+0.16), BPH with CP (0.94+0.22), BPH (1.14+0.14) and malignancy (0.72+0.15) (x10-3mm2/s) were found in our study. The mean ADC value of malignant lesion was lower (0.727+0.149) as compare to benign lesion (1.034+0.216) and this difference was found to be statistically significant with p<0.001. By using ROC curve, ADC cut off value was calculated as 0.92 x 10-3mm2/s and sensitivity, specificity at this cut off value of ADC were 95.24% and 73.68% respectively. The PPV, NPV, diagnostic accuracy of at this cut off value of ADC were 80%, 93.33%, 85% respectively.Conclusions: Our study shows that DWI with ADC calculation helps in differentiation of Benign from Malignant prostatic lesions with high accuracy and this quantitative analysis should be incorporated in routine MRI evaluation of prostatic lesion

Harnessing Nanotechnology and Artificial Intelligence for Precision Agriculture in Smart Cities

This short review article, titled “Harnessing Nanotechnology and Artificial Intelligence for Precision Agriculture in Smart Cities,” delves into the fusion of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), and precision farming to drive sustainable agriculture in alignment with the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It spotlights the transformative potential of nanotechnology, encompassing both natural and man-made nanoparticles, to enhance crop growth and mitigate environmental impacts. Nano-fertilizers and nano-pesticides are unveiled as promising strategies for optimizing nutrient availability while minimizing harm to ecosystems. The integration of AI into precision farming, supported by cutting-edge nanoinformatics, emerges as a linchpin for the establishment of safe and sustainable agricultural practices, enabling smart and resilient agriculture. However, as this integrated approach accelerates progress and provides vital insights for addressing contemporary agricultural challenges, it also underscores the paramount importance of scrutinizing nanotechnology’s effects on soil microbial communities and plant health. The phytotoxicity of nanoparticles, contingent upon size, concentration, and plant species, necessitates further examination. In conclusion, this comprehensive article calls for interdisciplinary collaboration to fully exploit the potential of nanotechnology and AI in transforming agriculture, all the while ensuring the preservation of environmental and human health and advancing the global sustainability agenda for agriculture in smart cities by 2030

Influence of vermicompost and sulphur on growth and yield of garlic (Allium sativum L.) under semi arid climate

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2010–2011 to find out the suitable dose of vermicompost (VC) and sulphur (S) to obtain high yield and net returns in garlic (Allium sativum). Sixteen treatment combinations with four levels of VC (control, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 t ha-1) and four levels of S (control, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha-1) were evaluated. Application of 7.5 t ha-1 VC and 90 kg ha-1 S individually produced maximum plant height, number of leaves per plant, chlorophyll content in leaves, fresh weight of leaves, neck thickness, number of cloves per bulb, weight of bulb, bulb diameter and bulb yield, whereas, the combined application of 5.0 t ha-1 VC along with 60 kg ha-1 S was found to be significantly superior with respect to weight of bulb (34.55 g), bulb yield (199.18 q ha-1) and net returns of garlic. &nbsp