Nutrient management in jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) under rainfed condition

An investigation was taken up on eight years old seedling trees of jackfruit, planted at 10 x 10 m spacing at the Horticultural Research Station, Mondouri (Nadia, West Bengal) of the Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya with a view to know the effect of different organic manures and inorganic nutrients (N, P and K) on production, fruit quality, soil heath and foliar NPK status. Results from the three consecutive years of investigation, it was revealed that highest dose of NPK (N 500 P300 K300 g/tree/year) resulted in highest yield (76.3 kg / tree) but gave lower BCR (benefit cost ratio) of 1.13 while its lowest dose (N200P100 K100 g/tree/year) gave higher BCR of 2.00. Among the organic manures, vermicompost at 4.00 kg/tree/year produced second higher yield (56.3 kg/tree) with best quality fruits and this treatment resulted in highest BCR of 2.17. Soil NPK status and pH improved under different treatments as compared to respective initial values. Foliar NPK values were differed among the treatments although it could not be correlated to the fruit yield

Arithmetic properties of blocks of consecutive integers

This paper provides a survey of results on the greatest prime factor, the number of distinct prime factors, the greatest squarefree factor and the greatest m-th powerfree part of a block of consecutive integers, both without any assumption and under assumption of the abc-conjecture. Finally we prove that the explicit abc-conjecture implies the Erd\H{o}s-Woods conjecture for each k>2.Comment: A slightly corrected and extended version of a paper which will appear in January 2017 in the book From Arithmetic to Zeta-functions published by Springe

A comparative study on concurrent chemoradiation using cisplatin versus carboplatin in the management of locoregionally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Background: Concurrent chemoradiation is considered the standard care for locoregionally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. This study aimed to compare the treatment response, progression free survival and treatment toxicities between cisplatin and carboplatin based concurrent chemoradiation.Methods: Between October 2015 and September 2017, 60 eligible patients were enrolled and divided into two arms of 30 patients each. Arm A received EBRT to chest (60Gy/30 fractions) with concurrent weekly Injection Cisplatin 35mg/m2. Arm B received EBRT to chest (60Gy/30 fractions) with concurrent weekly Injection Carboplatin at a dose of AUC-2. Early treatment response was assessed at 1 month and late treatment response at 6 months after completion of radiation using RECIST criteria. Treatment toxicities was assessed using RTOG toxicity criteria. All statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 21.Results: Most patients were in the age range of 61-70 years. Mean age of presentation was 67.53±11.038 years in Arm A and 66.03±12.794 years in Arm B. Median follow up was 16 months for both arms. Response rate of was slightly better in Arm A (73.3% versus 60%). 1 year PFS rate was 53.33% in Arm A and 36.67% in Arm B. Median time to progression was better in Arm A (11 months vs 10 months). Toxicities were almost comparable in both the arms.Conclusions: Use of carboplatin in combination with radiation therapy is comparable to cisplatin in terms of treatment outcomes with better compliance and lower toxicity

Quasi-Free-Standing Graphene Monolayer on a Ni Crystal through Spontaneous Na Intercalation

Graphene on metal substrates often shows different electronic properties from isolated graphene because of graphene-substrate interactions. One needs to remove the metals with acids and then to transfer graphene to weakly interacting substrates to recover electrical properties inherent in graphene. This process is not easy and besides causes undesirable tears, defects, and impurities in graphene. Here, we report a method to recover the electronic structure of graphene from a strongly interacting Ni substrate by spontaneous Na intercalation. In order to characterize the intercalation process, the density-functional-theory calculations and angle-resolved photoemission-spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning-tunneling-microscopy (STM) measurements are carried out. From the density-functional-theory calculations, Na atoms energetically prefer interface intercalation to surface adsorption for the graphene/Ni(111) surface. Unlike most intercalants, Na atoms intercalate spontaneously at room temperature due to a tiny diffusion barrier, which is consistent with our temperature-dependent ARPES and core-level photoemission spectroscopy, and with our submonolayer ARPES and STM results at room temperature. As a result of the spontaneous intercalation, the electronic structure of graphene is almost recovered, as confirmed by the Dirac cone with a negligible band gap in ARPES and the sixfold symmetry in STM.open

Quality cutting production of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora) as influenced by integrated nutrient management of the plants during production phase

This investigation was conducted at the Research Farm of Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh during the year 2010 and 2011 to ascertain the rooting behavior of cuttings taken from two chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora) cultivars Purnima and Ajay as affected by integrated nutrient management during the production phase of the plants. Plants grown under open field condition were subjected to 17 different nutritional regimes in a factorial Randomized Block Design (RBD) replicated thrice. After flowering was over, plants were headed back. Regenerated cuttings from headed back plants were studied for various parameters. The results revealed that plants receiving treatment comprising of 22.5 g/m2 each of NPK + Vermicompost (1 kg/m2) + Biofertilizers (Azotobacter + PSB + VAM) produced the maximum number of cuttings/plant (36.45), length of the longest root (8.58 cm), number of roots/plant (28.95), highest rooting percentage (95.52 %) and maximum fresh weight of cuttings at harvest (3.79 g) and after rooting (3.89 g). The same treatment also took the least number of days (25.20 days) for rooting to occur. Plants treated with 15 g/m2 each of NPK + Vermicompost (1 kg/m2) + Biofertilizers recorded the highest nitrogen contents of cuttings at harvest (5.09 %) and after rooting (4.64 %). Among the cultivars, Purnima exhibited maximum number of cuttings/plant (37.86), lesser number of days for rooting (20.97) and maximum nitrogen contents of cuttings at harvest (4.16 %) and after rooting (4.47 %), whereas cultivar Ajay recorded the maximum length of the root (6.38 cm) and number of roots/plant (22.46)

A cross sectional study of pregnancy outcome in women with recurrent pregnancy loss

Background: Recurrent pregnancy loss occurs in approximately 1-2% of reproductive aged women. Aetiology is unknown in approximately 50% of RPL. Common established causes include uterine anomalies, antiphospholipid syndrome, hormonal and metabolic disorders, and cytogenetic abnormalities. Maternal age and number of previous miscarriages are two independent risk factors. The study was conducted to determine the pregnancy outcomes in women with history of recurrent pregnancy loss. Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal. The study was carried out during a period of 2 years with effect from September 2019 to August 2021. Results: A total of 116 pregnant women with history of recurrent pregnancy loss were included in the study. The mean age among participants was 30.28±5.48 years. The average number of abortions prior to this pregnancy was 2.53±1.02. About 85.34% had spontaneous onset of labour and nearly equal proportion of (48.27% and 46.56%) of the participants delivered by NVD and CS. Maternal complications were present in 51.72%. Most common were hypertensive disorder (12.06%) and preterm labour (12.06%). Fetal complications were observed in 22.4% of newborn, commonest being low birth weight. Conclusions: Women with history of recurrent pregnancy loss encountered increased adverse maternal complications however fetal complications were similar to that of the general population. The definition, diagnosis and treatment of patients with a history of RPL remains difficult. Increased antenatal surveillance to reduce the risk of pregnancy complications with better screening of the obstetrical history and the necessary investigations to identify a treatable cause associated with previous miscarriages can lead to early prophylactic interventions for a better outcome

Influence of NPK fertigation and foliar application on flower quality, media physico-chemical properties and foliar nutrient content in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) cv. Master

Sixteen different fertilizer treatments were accessed in a completely randomized block design for their effects on cut- flower grades, media physicochemical properties and foliar nutrient content in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cv. Master plants grown under naturally ventilated greenhouse conditions at the Research Farm of Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India during 2010 and 2011. Rooted cuttings were planted in a sterilized growing media comprising of soil: FYM: coco peat (2:1:1, v/v). Carnation cultivar Master plants fertilized with treatment comprising of 250 ppm N and K fertigation through urea and MOP + 250 ppm NPK (19:19:19) foliar spray once a week showed significant increase in quality parameters (i.e. percentage of A, B and C - grade flowers based on stem strength) in comparison to the recommended practices. Highest available NPK content in the media (371.03, 37.09, 276.87 kg/ ha) as well as in foliage (2.867, 0.364, 3.954 %) were also recorded with the same treatment

Phytoremediation: green to clean environmental heavy metal pollution

Many natural processes and anthropogenic activities lead to the persistent accumulation of non-biodegradable heavy metals in the environment. This contamination further has the potential to enter the food chain by a process called bioaccumulation and further, the concentration of heavy metal raises exponentially from lower to higher trophic levels as it is consumed called biomagnification. With the perspective of the consequences associated with heavy metal toxicity including risks to ecosystem and human health (mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic), the reclamation of toxic accumulates in soil and water is of paramount importance. Presently, clean-up technologies for heavy metals primarily concentrate on mitigating toxicity using physicochemical and mechanical methods such as soil incineration, excavation, landfilling, soil washing, solidification, and the application of electric fields. However, these are expensive, time-consuming, and also result in destructive changes to soil's physicochemical and biological properties, causing secondary pollution to the soil ecosystem. Therefore, the use of the inherent plant’s ability to absorb ionic compounds even at low concentrations near the soil-root interface can be effectively employed as a strategy to extract and remove or lower the bioavailable toxic metals and this phenomenon is called phytoremediation