Effect of water regimes on seed quality parameters of rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown under aerobic and wetland conditions

A field experiment was conducted to know the effect of water regimes on seed quality parameters of rice and the was conducted by using factorial randomized complete block design, with two genotypes (BI-33 and Jaya) and two planting methods (Aerobic and Wetland). The resultants seeds were taken to conduct laboratory experiments pertaining to seed quality attributes and the studies revealed that the BI-33 under aerobic condition had shown a significantly higher seed quality with respect to germination (99%), mean seedling length (26.75cm), seedling dry weight (10.42 mg), SVI-I (2648) and SVI-II (1032) , highest total dehydrogenase activity (0.53 OD @ 480nm), highest amylase activity (14.67 %), highest total soluble protein content (7.15%) and recorded less EC (70.95 ?Sm-1/ppm). The experimental results revealed that both the genotypes and method of planting contribute for seed quality of the genotypes which were grown under different water regimes. The genotype grown under aerobic condition was better in seed quality parameters compared to wetland condition

Millets and its benefits according to Ayurveda

In the recent days we have been seeing a lot of buzz and a lot of researches been carried out regarding the usage of the millets and its potential uses mainly with regards to its disease preventing properties especially in cases such as Diabetes, Hypertension, and even in Cancer. In Kannada, millets are called as Siridhanya which means that which is rich in useful and essential properties, in Ayurveda millets are called as Kudhanya or Kshudradhanya, it is called so because these grains belong to grass species and they usually does grow to a very lengthy height rather confined to a smaller heights, hence the name Kudhanya or Kshudradhanya. In the recent days even the Karnataka Government has understood the importance of millets and have started to promulgate by dedicating a separate day calling a ‘millets day’ to showcase its important health related values. Apart from the recent discoverers, Ayurveda has mentioned about the millets in the name of Kudhanya or Kshudradhanya many years before itself. We can find its mentioning in Charaka Samhitha, and other Nighantus such as Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, Dhanvantari Nighantu etc. Hence this article highlights about the importance of Millets and its mentioning about its properties in Ayurveda and its mode of action in several diseases

Theory of Cylindrical Tubules and Helical Ribbons of Chiral Lipid Membranes

We present a general theory for the equilibrium structure of cylindrical tubules and helical ribbons of chiral lipid membranes. This theory is based on a continuum elastic free energy that permits variations in the direction of molecular tilt and in the curvature of the membrane. The theory shows that the formation of tubules and helical ribbons is driven by the chirality of the membrane. Tubules have a first-order transition from a uniform state to a helically modulated state, with periodic stripes in the tilt direction and ripples in the curvature. Helical ribbons can be stable structures, or they can be unstable intermediate states in the formation of tubules.Comment: 43 pages, including 12 postscript figures, uses REVTeX 3.0 and epsf.st

Theory of melting of molecular crystals II: solid-solid and melting transitions

The modified form of the Pople-Karasz theory of melting of inolecualr crystatls in a pervious paper is applied to study the thermodynamics of solid-solid and melting trasitions. The results are in substantial agreement with the predictions of the theory in its original form

Theory of melting of molecular crystals: the liquid crystalline phase

The theory of melting of molecular crystals developed by Pople and Karasz, which takes into account order-disorder processes in both the positions and orientations of the molecules, is discussed in a slightly modified form. The theory is an extension of the two-lattice model of Lennard-Jones and Devonshire so as to allow the molecules to take up two orientations on any site. It is assumed in this paper that the energy required for a molecule to diffuse to an interstitial site varies as V−4, as in the original formulation, but that the orientational barrier varies as V−3, in conformity with recent calculations of the orientational potential energy in nematic liquid crystals. The thermodynamic properties of the disordered system are evaluated relative to those of the perfectly ordered one using the Bragg-Williams approximation. For small orientational barriers, the theory predicts two transitions, a solid state rotational transition followed by a melting transition. For larger orientational barriers, the two transitions coalesce and there is a corresponding increase in the entropy of fusion. For even larger orientational barriers, the positional melting precedes the rotational melting and there occurs an intermediate phase, similar to the nematic mesophase, that has orientational order but no positional order. The predicted entropies of transition from the liquid crystal to the isotropic phase for a certain range of orientational barriers are comparable to those observed in nematic compounds. Theoretical curves are drawn for the degree of orientational order, the anomalous specific heat and thermal expansion as functions of temperature in the liquid crystalline range, and for the variation of the transition temperatures with pressure. The curves reproduce the trends in the physical properties of nematic liquid crystals

Orientational order in anisaldazine in the nametic phase

The refractive indices of anisaldazine, CH3OC6H4CH:NN:CHC4H4OCH3, have been measured in the crystalline, nematic and isotropic phases and the orientational order parameter in the mesophase has been evaluated by the application of the Vuks formula. The curve for the order parameter versus the relative temperature (Te-T) is nearly parallel with those for p-azoxyanisole and p-azoxyphenetole and lies approximately midway between them

The search for a Lifshitz point in a single-component liquid crystalline system: a high pressure study of 50.6

The pressure-temperature diagram of N-(4-n-pentyloxybenzylidene)-4'-n-hexylaniline has been investigated up to 8 kbar. The smectic C-smectic A and smectic A-nematic phase boundaries converge and nearly meet, indicating that a Lifshitz point is likely to occur at a higher pressure

A new multicritical point in a single component liquid crystal: high pressure study of DOBBCA

We report here the results of our high pressure optical and DTA studies on the compound 4(4-n-decyloxybenzoyloxy)-benzylidene-4'-cyanoaniline. The P-T diagram shows a new kind of multicritical point, viz., a reentrant nematic-smectic C-smectic A point at 0.52 ± 0.02 kbar, 86.2 ± 0.2°C

A review of the drug pregabalin

Pregabalin (PGB) is a well-established anticonvulsant and analgesic agent. The stydy reviewed the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, adverse drug reactions, contraindications, and various uses of PGB. Literature search was done to identify the relevant studies. PGB is an antagonist of voltage-gated calcium channels and specifically binds to α2-δ subunit to produce antiepileptic and analgesic activity. It has less protein binding activity and lacks hepatic metabolism. It is unlikely to cause pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions. It has a wide safety margin and does not require serum drug monitoring. The above-mentioned favorable pharmacological benefits of PGB makes it a first-line or adjunctive therapy in various conditions like diabetic peripheral neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, in partial seizures and generalized anxiety disorders