Carbon Modeling of Agroforestry Systems at Farmers’ Field in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

The Indian Green revolution region “Indo-Gangetic Plain” (IGP) comprises of four agro-climatic zones namely lower, middle, upper, and trans gangetic plains covering West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, and some part of Rajasthan state. It covers 169 districts with total geographical area of 43.70 million ha. The Indo-Gangetic plains are one of the most populous regions with its area covering nearly 13% of the total geographical area of the country. It produces about 50% of the total food grains to feed 40% of the population. The continuous cropping of rice-wheat system has degraded the soil health dramatically over the years. Hence, the incorporation of trees in agriculture would be a better option to improve the soil as well as livelihood of the farmers in IGP. Agriculture is the major enterprise of the region that is most vulnerable to climate changes particularly owing to the inadequacy of resources with the smallholder farmers. While, agroforestry has the potential to play a significant role in mitigating the atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG), it also helps smallholder farmers adapt to the changes. These are the reasons for recognizing agroforestry as a viable alternative to prevent and mitigate climate change (Ram Newaj et al., 2014). A considerable proportion of agroforestry area located in IGP and some of the promising tree species like Populus deltoides, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Melia azadirach, Mangifera indica, Dalbergia sissoo, and Acacia nilotica are very common in the farmer’s fields. Keeping this in view, the field survey was carried out to estimate the carbon sequestration potential at a farmer’s field in IGP

Variations in host genes encoding adhesion molecules and susceptibility to falciparum malaria in India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Host adhesion molecules play a significant role in the pathogenesis of <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria and changes in their structure or levels in individuals can influence the outcome of infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of SNPs of three adhesion molecule genes, <it>ICAM1</it>, <it>PECAM1 </it>and <it>CD36</it>, with severity of falciparum malaria in a malaria-endemic and a non-endemic region of India.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The frequency distribution of seven selected SNPs of <it>ICAM1</it>, <it>PECAM1 </it>and <it>CD36 </it>was determined in 552 individuals drawn from 24 populations across India. SNP-disease association was analysed in a case-control study format. Genotyping of the population panel was performed by Sequenom mass spectroscopy and patient/control samples were genotyped by SNaPshot method. Haplotypes and linkage disequilibrium (LD) plots were generated using PHASE and Haploview, respectively. Odds-ratio (OR) for risk assessment was estimated using EpiInfo™ version 3.4.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Association of the ICAM1 rs5498 (exon 6) G allele and the CD36 exon 1a A allele with increased risk of severe malaria was observed (severe versus control, OR = 1.91 and 2.66, P = 0.02 and 0.0012, respectively). The CD36 rs1334512 (-53) T allele as well as the TT genotype associated with protection from severe disease (severe versus control, TT versus GG, OR = 0.37, P = 0.004). Interestingly, a SNP of the <it>PECAM1 </it>gene (rs668, exon 3, C/G) with low minor allele frequency in populations of the endemic region compared to the non-endemic region exhibited differential association with disease in these regions; the G allele was a risk factor for malaria in the endemic region, but exhibited significant association with protection from disease in the non-endemic region.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The data highlights the significance of variations in the <it>ICAM1</it>, <it>PECAM1 </it>and <it>CD36 </it>genes in the manifestation of falciparum malaria in India. The <it>PECAM1 </it>exon 3 SNP exhibits altered association with disease in the endemic and non-endemic region.</p

Vision, challenges and opportunities for a Plant Cell Atlas

With growing populations and pressing environmental problems, future economies will be increasingly plant-based. Now is the time to reimagine plant science as a critical component of fundamental science, agriculture, environmental stewardship, energy, technology and healthcare. This effort requires a conceptual and technological framework to identify and map all cell types, and to comprehensively annotate the localization and organization of molecules at cellular and tissue levels. This framework, called the Plant Cell Atlas (PCA), will be critical for understanding and engineering plant development, physiology and environmental responses. A workshop was convened to discuss the purpose and utility of such an initiative, resulting in a roadmap that acknowledges the current knowledge gaps and technical challenges, and underscores how the PCA initiative can help to overcome them.</jats:p

Application Of High Capacity Conductors For Uprating Of Existing Transmission Lines In Nepal

Due to high power losses and relieve transmission line from overload operation, Nepal has to upgrade its transmission system. The main objective of this research paper is to investigate technical and financial aspects of uprating existing 132 kV line of Nepal by re-conductoring it with High Temperature Low Sag conductor. For this purpose, electrical, mechanical and financial aspectsare evaluated using Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)-738-SA model for conductor capacity derating, Hybrid numerical method for sag calculation and Monte Carlo simulation for sensitivity analysis respectively. The derated capacity of existing conductor and proposed High Temperature Low Sag (HTLS) conductors are calculated which are less than manufacturer's rating. The sag of Aluminium Core Steel Supported (ACSS)-Dove, Thermal-Resistant-Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced (TACSR)-Dove and Super Thermal Resistant Aluminium Conductor Invar Reinforced (STACIR) is found to be greater than maximum permissible sag, while Aluminium Conductor Composite Core (ACCC)-Amsterdam, Gap Type-Super thermal Resistant ACSR (GZTACSR)-Hen and Aluminium Conductor Composite Reinforced (ACCR)-Oswego with permissible limit. ACCC is evaluated to be the most profitable conductor for re-conductoring. The result shows that capacity of existing line can be increased upto 290% with additional profit

Alternative Splicing of CIPK3 Results in Distinct Target Selection to Propagate ABA Signaling in Arabidopsis

Calcium (Ca2+) signaling is pivotal in transmission of information in the cell. Various Ca2+ sensing molecules work to sense and relay the encrypted messages to the intended targets in the cell to maintain this signal transduction. CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) are crucial components of Ca2+ signal transduction during various abiotic stresses. Although there are intron rich CIPKs in the plant genome but very little has been reported about their alternative splicing. Moreover the physiological significance of this event in the Ca2+ signaling is still elusive. Therefore in this study, we have selected CIPK3, which has highest number of splice variants amongst Arabidopsis CIPKs. Expression profiling of five splice variants of CIPK3 by qRT-PCR in four Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes revealed preferential transcript accumulation but similar subcellular localization of the variants and interaction with similar CBLs. ABA and drought treatment resulted in the higher accumulation of the alternately spliced transcripts of CIPK3 in Arabidopsis ecotype Wassilewkija. The transcripts of CIPK3.1 and CIPK3.4 are relatively more induced compared to other alternative splice variants. Out of four splice variants studied, we found CIPK3.1 and CIPK3.2 showing preference for ABR1, a previously reported interactor of CIPK3. We conclude that the differential expression and choice of downstream partner by CIPK3-splice variants might be one of the mechanisms of Ca2+ mediated preferential regulation of ABA and other stress signals

Salt and mannitol stress tolerance of adult OsPP108OX plants.

<p>(A) Phenotype of 3 week old WT and OsPP108^OX lines L1, L2 and L4 without stress treatment (upper row), after salt treatment (middle row) and after mannitol treatment (lower row). (B) Survival percentage of WT and different OsPP108^OX lines without stress and after salt and mannitol stress for 10 days. Values are mean ± SD (n = 24 plants). *p-value <0.05 and **p-value < 0.01 for transgenic lines w.r.t. respective WT in different stresses (C) Fv/Fm ratios after stress treatment. **p-value < 0.01 and ***p-value < 0.005 for transgenic lines w.r.t. respective WT, in different stresses, and (D) Total chlorophyll content after stress treatment. Data presented is mean ± SD (n = 3). *p-value < 0.05 and **p-value < 0.01 for transgenic lines w.r.t. respective WT, in different stresses.</p

ABA Inducible Rice Protein Phosphatase 2C Confers ABA Insensitivity and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in <i>Arabidopsis</i>

<div><p><i>Arabidopsis</i> PP2C belonging to group A have been extensively worked out and known to negatively regulate ABA signaling. However, rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i>) orthologs of <i>Arabidopsis</i> group A PP2C are scarcely characterized functionally. We have identified a group A PP2C from rice (OsPP108), which is highly inducible under ABA, salt and drought stresses and localized predominantly in the nucleus. Genetic analysis revealed that <i>Arabidopsis</i> plants overexpressing OsPP108 are highly insensitive to ABA and tolerant to high salt and mannitol stresses during seed germination, root growth and overall seedling growth. At adult stage, OsPP108 overexpression leads to high tolerance to salt, mannitol and drought stresses with far better physiological parameters such as water loss, fresh weight, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic potential (Fv/Fm) in transgenic <i>Arabidopsis</i> plants. Expression profile of various stress marker genes in OsPP108 overexpressing plants revealed interplay of ABA dependent and independent pathway for abiotic stress tolerance. Overall, this study has identified a potential rice group A PP2C, which regulates ABA signaling negatively and abiotic stress signaling positively. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing this gene might provide an answer to the problem of low crop yield and productivity during adverse environmental conditions.</p></div