Effect of γ-Irradiation on Germination, Growth, Sensitivity and Survivability of Papaya cv. Kesar King

An experiment was laid out in a 4x2 factorial design, with 4 levels of γ-irradiation (0,5,10&15 Krad) and two dates of sowing (15th September and 15th October) on papaya cv. Kesar King. The results indicated that germination percentage, survival percentage and plant growth increased with the increased in γ-irradiation upto 10 Krad. Early sowing of seed (15th September) showed better germination (73%), survival (70%) and plant growth as compared to late sowing (15th October). Interaction between γ-irradiation of 10 Krad and early sowing of seed (15th September) was found superior to all the other treatment combinations to obtain optimum germination percentage, survival percentage and plant growth

Longitudinal photocurrent spectroscopy of a single GaAs/AlGaAs v-groove quantum wire

Modulation-doped GaAs v-groove quantum wires (QWRs) have been fabricated with novel electrical contacts made to two-dimensional electron-gas (2DEG) reservoirs. Here, we present longitudinal photocurrent (photoconductivity/PC) spectroscopy measurements of a single QWR. We clearly observe conductance in the ground-state one-dimensional subbands; in addition, a highly temperature-dependent response is seen from other structures within the v-groove. The latter phenomenon is attributed to the effects of structural topography and localization on carrier relaxation. The results of power-dependent PC measurements suggest that the QWR behaves as a series of weakly interacting localized states, at low temperatures

A study of congenital anomalies in a tertiary care hospital in North East region, India

Background: Congenital anomalies are important cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns and are defined as structural and functional abnormalities including metabolic disorders present at birth. These defects are of prenatal origin resulting from defective embryogenesis or intrinsic abnormalities in the process of development and are associated with various risk factors.Methods: Our study is a cross-sectional study done at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal over period of one and half years from May 2016 to October 2017. Aim of study was to find out incidence of congenital anomalies and proportions of different types of congenital anomalies. Outcome was studied in relation to maternal age, religion, parity, gestational age, sex of baby, outcome and birth weight of baby.Results: Total numbers of congenital anomalies were 91 out of 13658 births. Incidence of congenital anomalies was 0.66%. Most common congenital anomaly was cleft lip (17.6%) followed by CTEV (13.2%) and was more common among male term babies. These were most common in 18-24 years of maternal age group (34.1%) followed by 30-34 years (26.4%) and among women of parity P0-P2.Conclusions: Congenital malformations are a major cause of still births and infant mortality. A level II targeted scan should be done at 18-20 weeks to find out anomalies and reduce the prevalence. There should be widespread education in the community regarding the common congenital malformations, their outcomes and possible available modes of treatment.

Fetomaternal outcome in pregnancies complicated by fibroid

Background: Fibromyoma (leiomyoma) is the most common benign tumour of the uterus. Approximately 10% to 30% of women with uterine fibroids developed complications during pregnancy. The aim of the study was planned to ascertain the fetomaternal outcome in pregnancies complicated by fibroid.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women with documented uterine fibroid who was admitted for any complication or delivered in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, RIMS, Imphal from September 2017 to August, 2019 in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology in collaboration with department of paediatrics, Regional institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal. Detailed clinical history and socio-demographic profile were recorded in pre-designed proforma. General physical examination and systemic examination and obstetrical examination was carried out for the participants.Results: Major proportions was in the age group of 30-39 years (73.9%). Fibroids were more frequent in primigravida (76.1%) followed by P1 (15.2%) and ≥P2 (8.7%). Out of 46 patients 43 (93.5%) delivered by CS (69.76%), NVD (25.58%) and instrumental delivery (4.65%) while 3 patients (6.5%) undergo spontaneous abortions. Most common myoma found in this study was intramural (47.8%) followed by submucous (34.8%) and subserosal (17.4%). Out of 43 deliveries most common complications found was atonic PPH (6.97%) and placenta previa (6.97%) followed by degenerations (2.32%), abruptio placentae (2.32%), malpresentations (2.32%). Out of 43 deliveries 6.9% baby born with low birth weight, IUGR (6.9%), IUFD (4.6%), NICU admission (4.65%) and early neonatal death (2.32%).Conclusions: Pregnancies with fibroids are considered as high-risk pregnancy associated with complications during the antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum period. Pregnant women with myoma can be advised for regular ANC along with TAS for early diagnosis and management of complication

Contemporary Consortium of Periodontal Diseases and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases- A Narrative Review

Periodontal medicine unravels the relationship between periodontal health and disease with systemic health and disease. Periodontal disease serves as a niche for abundant quantity of microorganisms and their byproducts that disseminate into the blood stream. This systemic spread of endotoxins is directly related to the amount of periodontal destruction occurring at any given point of time and is responsible for bridging the link between inflammatory periodontal disease and various other systemic diseases. It is a well-known fact that periodontal diseases have been linked to various systemic diseases including osteoporosis, kidney diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes, diabetes and even atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Both periodontal diseases and atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases share the same risk factors. Although both the diseases are multifactorial, the complex pathogenic mechanism orchestrating periodontal and atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases share a considerate portion of the proinflammatory trait and several biochemical mediators play a role in the pathogenesis and inflammatory response in periodontitis caused by bacterial infections, linking chronic periodontitis to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This review focuses on enlightening the plausible mechanisms that link periodontal and cardiovascular diseases and highlights the various other aspects of periodontal medicine that establishes a two-way relationship between periodontal diseases and atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Understanding the nature of this association would ultimately aid clinicians to carefully plan treatment for patients and emphasise the importance of maintaining optimal oral hygiene in atherosclerotic patients in a more comprehensive and acceptable manner

Correlation between ultrasonographic and histopathological findings of hysterectomy specimen in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding

Background: AUB is a common and debilitating condition and it is one of the main gynaecological reasons for hysterectomy. Ultrasonography can be as good as histopathology (HPE) in the diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding. Hence, our study was conducted to validate the ultrasonographic findings with HPE findings in diagnosis of AUB.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 86 patients with abnormal uterine bleeding in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in collaboration with department of Pathology, RIMS, Imphal from September 2017 to March 2019. The clinical history and socio demographic profile were collected using a pre-designed proforma. General physical examination, pelvic examination and ultrasonagraphy was carried out and the hysterectomy specimens were subjected to histopathological examination.Results: Fibromyoma was diagnosed by ultrasound in 62.8% of the patients and it was the common diagnosis in this study. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and kappa statistics of USG for diagnosing leiomyoma was 92.9%, 93.3%, 96.3%, 87.5% and 84.9% respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and kappa statistics of USG for diagnosing adenomyosis was 53.8%, 98.6%, 87.5%, 92.3% and 62.3% respectively.Conclusions: The study provides an evidence that ultrasonography has good diagnostic accuracy as histopathology in the diagnosis of fibroid in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. However, as with all the diagnostic procedures, the utility of ultrasound in the diagnosis of adenomyosis is questionable, since it has a low sensitivity amidst good specificity

Diversified Agroforestry for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Himalayan Region: Potential for Achieving Multiple Benefits

Land management and forests are crucial to tackling the concurrent issues of sustainable food production and climate change. Conventional modern agriculture, converting forests and naturally vegetated landscapes to farms and rangelands, contributes significantly to elevate carbon in the atmosphere. Agroforestry systems offer potential for local communities to meet livelihood needs while simultaneously adapting to and mitigating climate change. Data from several studies conducted in nine districts of central Nepal between 2007 and 2017 were analyzed. Forests and agroforestry systems in three central Nepal districts had significantly higher total carbon stocks than agricultural soils (2–5 times) due to high above and below-ground biomass carbon and SOC stocks. The application of improved FYM compost, cattle urine and biochar in four districts increased average SOC by 2.75% over 6 years, translating to an increase of nearly 100 t ha−1 in SOC stock. Along with soil quality benefits, biochar and FYM compost improved the yields of soybean, potato, millet and Swertia chirayita yields which were significantly higher than in untreated plots. The flux of N2O was significantly lower in biochar-amended soil compared to non-biochar. Crop diversification incorporating high-value horticultural and medicinal crops enhance economic returns as indicated by higher benefit-cost ratios for vegetable and Swertia chirayita than for cereals

Radiative Electroweak Symmetry Breaking in a Little Higgs Model

We present a new Little Higgs model, motivated by the deconstruction of a five-dimensional gauge-Higgs model. The approximate global symmetry is $SO(5)_0\times SO(5)_1$, breaking to $SO(5)$, with a gauged subgroup of $[SU(2)_{0L}\times U(1)_{0R}]\times O(4)_1$, breaking to $SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y$. Radiative corrections produce an additional small vacuum misalignment, breaking the electroweak symmetry down to $U(1)_{EM}$. Novel features of this model are: the only un-eaten pseudo-Goldstone boson in the effective theory is the Higgs boson; the model contains a custodial symmetry, which ensures that $\hat{T}=0$ at tree-level; and the potential for the Higgs boson is generated entirely through one-loop radiative corrections. A small negative mass-squared in the Higgs potential is obtained by a cancellation between the contribution of two heavy partners of the top quark, which is readily achieved over much of the parameter space. We can then obtain both a vacuum expectation value of $v=246$ GeV and a light Higgs boson mass, which is strongly correlated with the masses of the two heavy top quark partners. For a scale of the global symmetry breaking of $f=1$ TeV and using a single cutoff for the fermion loops, the Higgs boson mass satisfies 120 GeV $\lesssim M_H\lesssim150$ GeV over much of the range of parameter space. For $f$ raised to 10 TeV, these values increase by about 40 GeV. Effects at the ultraviolet cutoff scale may also raise the predicted values of the Higgs boson mass, but the model still favors $M_H\lesssim 200$ GeV.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures, JHEP style. Version accepted for publication in JHEP. Includes additional discussion of sensitivity to UV effects and fine-tuning, revised Fig. 9, added appendix and additional references