Species diversity and community structure of butterfly in urban forest fragments at Lucknow, India

The survey was carried out between September 2015-August 2016 in five different localities  in Lucknow like Bijli Pasi Quila, Smriti Upvan, Vanasthali Park, Butchery Ground and BSNVPG College Campus, Lucknow, 26.84’N latitude and 80.92’E longitude, is located at an elevation of 126 meters above sea level and in the plain of northern India. Its location is responsible for the diverse weather patterns and climate change. The region has tropical dry equable climate having three main seasons; cold, hot and rainy season. Temperature of the city ranges from 23.8- 45.8°C in summer and 4.6-29.7°C in winter. During the study, butterflies were collected mainly with the help of circular aerial net, which were then placed in killing jar. Killed butterflies were stored in the insect box by proper pinning them for identification. During the course of study, 30 species of butterflies, belonging to 26 genera, representing 5 families, were recorded in Lucknow. 11 Species from nymphalidae, 7 sp. pieridae, 5 sp. from lycaenidae, 3 sp. From hesperidae and 3 sp. from papilionidae were recorded in all selective sites. The butterflies observed were categorized into groups based on their relative numbers; most common >9-10, common 6-8, rare 3-5, very rare 0-2. This study is used for academic as well as applied importance.        &nbsp

In vitro biology of pigeon louse Colpocephalum turbinatum (Amblycera: Phthiraptera)

In vitro rearing of amblyceran Phthiraptera is a challenging task. A look on the literature reveals that negligible information exists on the in vitro bionomics of avian Amblycera. Present report furnishes information on the in vitro biology of an amblyceran louse, Colpocephalum turbinatum, reared at 35 ± 1?C, 75-82% Relative Humidity, at feather diet. The incubation period of the eggs of louse was determined as 5.37±0.67 days. The duration of first, second and third nymphal instars remained 5.04±0.65, 5.12±0.89 and 5.0±0.57 days, respectively. The longevity of adult female (13.04 ± 3.67 days) was comparatively longer than that of males (9.6±2.87 days). An adult female laid an average of 0.63 egg/day in vitro condition (35±1oC and 75-82% RH, at feather diet)

Germplasm variability-assisted near infrared reflectance spectroscopy chemometrics to develop multi-trait robust prediction models in rice

Rice is a major staple food across the world in which wide variations in nutrient composition are reported. Rice improvement programs need germplasm accessions with extreme values for any nutritional trait. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) uses electromagnetic radiations in the NIR region to rapidly measure the biochemical composition of food and agricultural products. NIRS prediction models provide a rapid assessment tool but their applicability is limited by the sample diversity, used for developing them. NIRS spectral variability was used to select a diverse sample set of 180 accessions, and reference data were generated using association of analytical chemists and standard methods. Different spectral pre-processing (up to fourth-order derivatization), scatter corrections (SNV-DT, MSC), and regression methods (partial least square, modified partial least square, and principle component regression) were employed for each trait. Best-fit models for total protein, starch, amylose, dietary fiber, and oil content were selected based on high RSQ, RPD with low SEP(C) in external validation. All the prediction models had ratio of prediction to deviation (RPD) > 2 amongst which the best models were obtained for dietary fiber and protein with R2 = 0.945 and 0.917, SEP(C) = 0.069 and 0.329, and RPD = 3.62 and 3.46. A paired sample t-test at a 95% confidence interval was performed to ensure that the difference in predicted and laboratory values was non-significant