The Asymptotic Behavior of Solutions of Second order Difference Equations With Damping Term

  The author presents some sufficient conditions for second order difference equation with damping term of the form                                                                             ^(an ^(xn + cxn-k)) + pn^xn + qnf(xn+1-l) = 0 An example is given to illustrate the main results. 2010 AMS Subject Classification: 39A11 Keywords and Phrases: Second order, difference equation, damping term

SCREENING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DEVELOPING RESISTANT CULTIVAR AGAINST ODOIPORUS LONGICOLLIS (OLIVIER) (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) USING REFERENCE GENOTYPES IN INDIA

Objective: The objective of the research was to develop a screening method for weevil resistance by using selected genotypes. The selected reference genotypes were screened against stem weevil to deals with the different parts in India.Methods: The collected stem pieces of each cultivar were cut into 30 cm length and kept in an insect breeding chamber for two polypropylene cages is one into another. The bottom of the inner cage is made holes to drain the water from stem discs and the outer cage is without holes to collect it. Reproductively active and healthy weevils (4 females and 4 males) were selected and released into the breeding chamber for each commercial cultivar and screened against Odoiporus longicollis and observation was taken after 38 d. Based on the following method, different states of insect cultures were screened under in vitro conditions. This experiment was replicated four times for further statistical analysis.Results: The resistant genotype had significantly more (p<0.05) mortality, and fewer than the susceptible genotypes. These results indicated that the genotypes can be used as reference genotypes in evaluating resistance or susceptibility against the banana stem weevil using Gas chromatography with antennogram detector. This implies that the infestation caused by the weevils varied in different genotypes and also this information will be further helpful in selecting the resistant cultivars for future in the field of Agriculture.Conclusion: In commercial cultivars, no one can report the divergent and screening of stem weevil under in vitro conditions. In field conditions, that are not accuracy because, Climate change, Adaptation of host, migration and etc. For this instance, we performed the in vitro screening study and it finally revealed the susceptible and resistant genotypes based on the percent of weevil infestation are the same as well as no significant differences between different banana growing areas in India.Keywords: Banana stem weevil (Odoiporus longicollis), Screening, Host-plant resistance, Resistant genotypes, Biodiversity, Gas chromatography with Electroantennogram detector (GC-EAD

Effect of soil and crop management practices on sodicity stress alleviation and rice productivity under water scarce condition

The prominent issue faced by the farmers of Cauvery Delta regionin Tamil Nadu particularly Tiruchirapalli District is the lack of timely release of water for rice nursery preparation and transplanting. Hence wet seeding of rice is recommended for timely cultivation. On the other hand, sodic nature of the soil warrants rice cultivation only. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to study the different soil and crop management practices on alleviating sodicity stress and improving rice (variety ADT 3) productivity under water-scarce conditions. The experiment was laid in a split plot design with six mainplots,including rice wet seeding, daincha (Sesbania aculeata) application as green manure, anti-oxidant microbial consortia (AOMC) spray and four sub-plots with graded levels of NPK based on soil test values with three replication. Results showed that the daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 125 % soil test based NPK had significantly increased thechlorophyll content, SPAD values, proline content and grain and straw yields which remained on par with daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 100 % soil test based NPK.Significantly lower ESP at 5% level and higher phosphatase activity in soil was also recorded by daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 125 % and 100 % soil test based NPK. Gross return, net return and B:C ratio were also higher in the plot, which received daincha incorporation @6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 100 % soil test based NPK. The present study reveals that the inclusion of ectophytic microbial population spray in rice plants and the management practices helps the crop to tolerate the sodicity stress under water-scarce condition by maintaining required physiological functions like proline synthesis and enzyme activities etc which need to be further explored at the genotypic level.

The impact of tick-borne pathogen infection in Indian bovines is determined by host type but not the genotype of Theileria annulata

Tick-borne pathogens (TBP) are a major source of production loss and a welfare concern in livestock across the globe. Consequently, there is a trade-off between keeping animals that are tolerant to TBP infection, but are less productive than more susceptible breeds. Theileria annulata is a major TBP of bovines, with different host types (i.e. exotic and native cattle breeds, and buffalo) displaying demonstrable differences in clinical susceptibility to infection. However, the extent to which these differences are driven by genetic/physiological differences between hosts, or by different parasite populations/genotypes preferentially establishing infection in different host breeds and species is unclear. In this study, three different bovine host types in India were blood sampled to test for the presence of various TBP, including Theileria annulata, to determine whether native cattle (Bos indicus breeds), crossbreed cattle (Bos taurus x Bos indicus breeds) or water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) differ in the physiological consequences of infection. Population genetic analyses of T. annulata isolated from the three different host types was also performed, using a panel of mini- and micro-satellite markers, to test for sub-structuring of the parasite population among host types. We discovered that compared to other host types, “carrier” crossbreed cattle showed a higher level of haematological pathology when infected with T. annulata. Despite this finding, we found no evidence for differences in the genotypes of T. annulata infecting different host types, although buffalo appeared to harbour fewer mixed parasite genotype infections, indicating they are not the major reservoir of parasite diversity. The apparent tolerance/resistance of native breed cattle and buffalo to the impacts of T. annulata infection is thus most likely to be driven by host genotype, rather than differences in the parasite population. Our results suggest that an improved understanding of the genetic factors that underpin disease resistance could help to ameliorate future economic loss due to TBP or tropical theileriosis

Sub-clinical diabetic cardiomyopathy - assessment by systolic time intervals

Left ventricular performance in diabetics wit he at hypertension, ischemic Tie art disease, or clinical evidence of other heart diseases was assessed by systolic time intervals and echo-cardiography. The PEP/ LVET ratio was 3.48% higher in diabetics than in controls. There was good correlation of abnormality of PEP/LVET ratio with duration of diabetes. There was no correlation with age of patient or severity of diabetes. There was good correlation between abnormal PEP/LVET and incidence of retinopathy and nephropathy. This suggests the possibility of the presence of subclinical diabetic cardiomyopathy in these individuals

13C-assisted metabolic flux analysis to investigate heterotrophic and mixotrophic metabolism in Cupriavidus necator H16

Introduction. Cupriavidus necator H16 is a gram-negative bacterium, capable of lithoautotrophic growth by utilizing hydrogen as an energy source and fixing carbon dioxide (CO2) through Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle. The potential to utilize synthesis gas (Syngas) and the prospects of rerouting carbon from polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis to value-added compounds makes C. necator an excellent chassis for industrial application. Objectives. In the context of lack of sufficient quantitative information of the metabolic pathways and to advance in rational metabolic engineering for optimized product synthesis in C. necator H16, we carried out a metabolic flux analysis based on steady-state 13C-labelling. Methods. In this study, steady-state carbon labelling experiments, using either D-[1-13C]fructose or [1,2-13C]glycerol, were undertaken to investigate the carbon flux through the central carbon metabolism in C. necator H16 under heterotrophic and mixotrophic growth conditions, respectively. Results. We found that the CBB cycle is active even under heterotrophic condition, and growth is indeed mixotrophic. While Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway is shown to be the major route for sugar degradation, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is highly active in mixotrophic condition. Enhanced flux is observed in reductive pentose phosphate pathway (redPPP) under the mixotrophic condition to supplement the precursor requirement for CBB cycle. The flux distribution was compared to the mRNA abundance of genes encoding enzymes involved in key enzymatic reactions of the central carbon metabolism. Conclusion. This study leads the way to establishing 13C-based quantitative fluxomics for rational pathway engineering in C. necator H16

Oncogenic KRAS engages an RSK1/NF1 pathway to inhibit wild-type RAS signaling in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal malignancy with limited treatment options. Although activating mutations of the KRAS GTPase are the predominant dependency present in >90% of PDAC patients, targeting KRAS mutants directly has been challenging in PDAC. Similarly, strategies targeting known KRAS downstream effectors have had limited clinical success due to feedback mechanisms, alternate pathways, and dose-limiting toxicities in normal tissues. Therefore, identifying additional functionally relevant KRAS interactions in PDAC may allow for a better understanding of feedback mechanisms and unveil potential therapeutic targets. Here, we used proximity labeling to identify protein interactors of active KRAS in PDAC cells. We expressed fusions of wild-type (WT) (BirA-KRAS4B), mutant (BirA-KRAS4BG12D), and nontransforming cytosolic double mutant (BirA-KRAS4BG12D/C185S) KRAS with the BirA biotin ligase in murine PDAC cells. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that RSK1 selectively interacts with membrane-bound KRASG12D, and we demonstrate that this interaction requires NF1 and SPRED2. We find that membrane RSK1 mediates negative feedback on WT RAS signaling and impedes the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells upon the ablation of mutant KRAS. Our findings link NF1 to the membrane-localized functions of RSK1 and highlight a role for WT RAS signaling in promoting adaptive resistance to mutant KRAS-specific inhibitors in PDAC

Community evaluation of glycoproteomics informatics solutions reveals high-performance search strategies for serum glycopeptide analysis

Glycoproteomics is a powerful yet analytically challenging research tool. Software packages aiding the interpretation of complex glycopeptide tandem mass spectra have appeared, but their relative performance remains untested. Conducted through the HUPO Human Glycoproteomics Initiative, this community study, comprising both developers and users of glycoproteomics software, evaluates solutions for system-wide glycopeptide analysis. The same mass spectrometrybased glycoproteomics datasets from human serum were shared with participants and the relative team performance for N- and O-glycopeptide data analysis was comprehensively established by orthogonal performance tests. Although the results were variable, several high-performance glycoproteomics informatics strategies were identified. Deep analysis of the data revealed key performance-associated search parameters and led to recommendations for improved 'high-coverage' and 'high-accuracy' glycoproteomics search solutions. This study concludes that diverse software packages for comprehensive glycopeptide data analysis exist, points to several high-performance search strategies and specifies key variables that will guide future software developments and assist informatics decision-making in glycoproteomics

NIST interlaboratory study on glycosylation analysis of monoclonal antibodies : comparison of results from diverse analytical methods

Glycosylation is a topic of intense current interest in the development of biopharmaceuticals since it is related to drug safety and efficacy. This work describes results of an interlaboratory study on the glycosylation of the Primary Sample (PS) of NISTmAb, a monoclonal antibody reference material. Seventy‑six laboratories from industry, university, research, government, and hospital sectors in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia submitted a total of 103 reports on glycan distributions. The principal objective of this study was to report and compare results for the full range of analytical methods presently used in the glycosylation  analysis of mAbs. Therefore, participation was unrestricted, with laboratories choosing their own measurement techniques. Protein glycosylation was determined in various ways, including at the level of intact mAb, protein fragments, glycopeptides, or released glycans, using a wide variety of methods for derivatization, separation, identification, and quantification. Consequently, the diversity of results was enormous, with the number of glycan compositions identified by each laboratory ranging from 4 to 48. In total, one hundred sixteen glycan compositions were reported, of which 57 compositions could be assigned consensus abundance values. These consensus medians provide community-derived values for NISTmAb PS. Agreement with the consensus medians did not depend on the specific method or laboratory type.. The study provides a view of the current state-of-the-art for biologic glycosylation measurement and suggests a clear need for harmonization of glycosylation analysis methods