Screening of Coriander Genotypes for their Relative Susceptibility against Aphids under Field Conditions

The field experiments were conducted during Rabi 2013-14 and 2014-15 to screen out twelve varieties/entries of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) for their relative susceptibility against aphids. None of the varieties/entries escaped the infestation of aphids. The build-up of aphid infestation started from second half of December and reached to its maximum in the first to third week of February in both years and then gradually declined. On the basis of grade index of mean aphid population, coriander varieties RCr- 684 (25.45 aphids/plant), RCr-446 (26.45 aphids/plant), ACr-1 (26.60 aphids/plant), RCr- 436 (41.75 aphids/plant), Gujarat Coriander-2 (42.45 aphids/plant), Pant Haritma (43.50 aphids/plant) and Gujarat Coriander-1 (43.70 aphids/plant) were categorized as least susceptible, Rajendra Swati and RCr-41 were moderately susceptible, whereas, Swati (CS-6), Sadhna (CS-4) and Sindhu (CS-2), 73.88, 70.60 and 69.50 aphids/plant, respectively were categorized as highly susceptible varieties of coriander against aphids under field conditions. Coriander variety RCr-684 received maximum yield (16.82 and 16.63 q/ha) for both the years followed by ACr-1 and RCr-446

Analysis of MAGSAT data of the Indian region

Progress in the development of software for reading MAGSAT data tapes and for the reduction of anomaly data, and in the preparation of data for magnetic anomaly maps is reported

Cosmic ray produced Mg<SUP>28</SUP>, Si<SUP>31</SUP>, S<SUP>38</SUP>, C<SUP>l38</SUP>, Cl<SUP>34m</SUP> and other short-lived radioisotopes in wet precipitation

The concentrations of seven radioisotopes, expected to be produced in the troposphere by interactions of secondary cosmic rays with atmospheric nuclei, have been measured in "fresh" rain collections. The half-lives of these isotopes range from about half an hour to a day. The procedures developed for rapid, specific and sensitive analyses of these nuclides are discussed. Detection of two of the isotopes studied, Cl39 (half-life: 55 mins.) and Na24 (15 hrs.), has been reported earlier by Winsberg and Rodel respectively. Amongst the remaining nuclides, two: S38 (2.9 hrs.) and Cl38 (37.3 mins.) were independently and almost simultaneously detected by us and Perkins and his collaborators. Three other isotopes, Cl34m (32 mins.), Si31 (2.6 hrs.) and Mg28 (21.2 hrs.), detected in the present work have not yet been reported elsewhere. The nature of cosmic ray secondary particles responsible for the production of these short-lived radionuclides in the troposphere is discussed. Isotope production is found to vary strongly with altitude in the troposphere; it increases by a factor of two every 1.5-2 km depending on the radioisotope under question. This fact combined with the availability of several isotopes of half-lives ranging from about half an hour to a day leads to the possibility of using them as tracers for studying short-term tropospheric processes, e.g. those occurring prior to and during condensation in a precipitating cloud. The implications of the present measurements are discussed

Effect of Pre-harvest Application of Calcium Chloride and Gibberellic Acid on Shelf-Life and Post-Harvest Quality of Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Cv. Harcot

Pre-harvest application of calcium chloride (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 %) and gibberellic acid(10, 20 and 30 ppm) at 80% blooming, fruit-set and at 15 days before harvest were carried out on 5-year old trees of apricot cv. Harcot. All the treatments significantly reduced physiological loss in fruit weight, fruit diameter and spoilage percentage during storage. However, CaCl2&nbsp;@ 1.5% was found to be most effective in minimizing weight loss in fruits during storage compared to Control. Fruits quality (TSS, titrable acidity, TSS/TA, ascorbic acid, total sugar, etc.) was also found to be better (even at 8 days of storage at ambient condition with this treatment) compared to Control. Hence, it can be concluded that pre-harvest foliar application in apricot cv. Harcot with CaCl2&nbsp;@ 1.5% at three stages, i.e., 80% blooming, at fruit-set and 15 days before harvest, enhances shelf-life of the fruit from 3-5 days storage to 8 days storage, and can maintain good fruit quality under ambient storage-condition for up to 8 days

Language in tuberculosis services: can we change to patient-centred terminology and stop the paradigm of blaming the patients?

The words 'defaulter', 'suspect' and 'control' have been part of the language of tuberculosis (TB) services for many decades, and they continue to be used in international guidelines and in published literature. From a patient perspective, it is our opinion that these terms are at best inappropriate, coercive and disempowering, and at worst they could be perceived as judgmental and criminalising, tending to place the blame of the disease or responsibility for adverse treatment outcomes on one side-that of the patients. In this article, which brings together a wide range of authors and institutions from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific, we discuss the use of the words 'defaulter', 'suspect' and 'control' and argue why it is detrimental to continue using them in the context of TB. We propose that 'defaulter' be replaced with 'person lost to follow-up'; that 'TB suspect' be replaced by 'person with presumptive TB' or 'person to be evaluated for TB'; and that the term 'control' be replaced with 'prevention and care' or simply deleted. These terms are non-judgmental and patient-centred. We appeal to the global Stop TB Partnership to lead discussions on this issue and to make concrete steps towards changing the current paradigm

Study on interventions to reduce vibration transmission to power tiller operator

Present study focuses on interventions to reduce vibration transmitted to power tiller operator. In this study two operations (namely: standing mode and transportation) and three forward speeds (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kmh-1) were selected. In both selected operations vibration magnitudes were maximum at 2.0 kmh-1. In the standing mode vibration magnitudes in x, y and z direction were 5.83, 1.37 and 2.36 ms -2 at 2.0 kmh-1. In transportation vibration magnitudes were 6.81, 1.49, 2.82 ms-2 respectively in x, y and z direction at 2.0 kmh-1. The selection of vibration isolators were done on the basis of the transmissibility curves and the isolation region. The selected isolators were installed at interface between engine and the chassis. These interventions along with previously developed bush and sheet type interventions reduced vibrations up to 50.24, 69.06 and 59.08 % at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kmh-1 in stationary mode. In transportation vibration reduction were 52.96, 65.98 and 36.67 % at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kmh-1, respectively. The vibration reduction were high in stationary mode than transportation mode because in stationary mode vibration comes only from the engine but in transportation vibration comes from engine and the surface profile as well

Determination of the exponent gamma for SAWs on the two-dimensional Manhattan lattice

We present a high-statistics Monte Carlo determination of the exponent gamma for self-avoiding walks on a Manhattan lattice in two dimensions. A conservative estimate is \gamma \gtapprox 1.3425(3), in agreement with the universal value 43/32 on regular lattices, but in conflict with predictions from conformal field theory and with a recent estimate from exact enumerations. We find strong corrections to scaling that seem to indicate the presence of a non-analytic exponent Delta < 1. If we assume Delta = 11/16 we find gamma = 1.3436(3), where the error is purely statistical.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX2e, 4 figure

Circulating extracellular vesicles induce monocyte dysfunction and are associated with sepsis and high mortality in cirrhosis

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is common in cirrhosis and is often a result of immune dysregulation. Specific stimuli and pathways of inter-cellular communications between immune cells in cirrhosis and sepsis are incompletely understood. Immune cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles (EV) were studied to understand mechanisms of sepsis in cirrhosis. METHODS: Immune-cell derived EV were measured in cirrhosis patients [Child-Turcotte-Pugh (Child) score A, n=15; B n=16; C n=43 and Child-C with sepsis (n=38)], and healthy controls (HC, n=11). In-vitro and in-vivo functional relevance of EV in cirrhosis and associated sepsis was investigated. RESULTS: Monocyte, neutrophil and hematopoietic stem cells associated EV progressively increased with higher Child score (p0.3, p<0.001), which further increased in Child C sepsis than without sepsis(p<0.001); monocyte EV showing the highest association with disease stage [p=0.013; Odds ratio-4.14(1.34-12.42)]. A threshold level of monocyte EV of 53/µl predicted mortality in patients of Child C with sepsis [Odds ratio-6.2 (2.4-15.9), AUROC=0.76, p<0.01]. In vitro EV from cirrhotic with sepsis compared without sepsis, induced mobilization arrest in healthy monocytes within 4 hours (p=0.004), reduced basal oxygen consumption rate (p<0.001) and induced pro-inflammatory genes (p<0.05). The septic-EV on adoptive transfer to C57/BL6J mice, induced sepsis like condition within 24h with leukocytopenia (p=0.005), intrahepatic inflammation with increased CD11b+ cells (p=0.03) and bone marrow hyperplasia (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Extracellular vesicles induce functional impairment in circulating monocytes and contribute to the development and perpetuation of sepsis. High levels of monocyte EV correlate with mortality and can help early stratification of sicker patients