3,113 research outputs found
Cost effective pilot scale production of biofertilizer using Rhizobium and Azotobacter
We standardized the protocol for pilot scale production of Rhizobium and Azotobacter biofertilizer technology using region specific and environmental stress compatible strains isolated from various agro climatic regions of Odisha, India. The cost benefit of biofertilizer production through a cottage industry is also presented. With an investment of 460 per year, indirect cost towards salary and wages 0.5 per pack, the net benefit is 30000 per year. This cost benefit calculation showed the possibility of entrepreneurship on microbial biofertilizers through cottage industry in rural areas in India as well as other developing countries.Keywords: Rhizobium, Azotobacter, biofertilizer, agro-climatic region
Performance of cashew types under Bhubaneswar condition
An experiment was conducted at the Cashew Research Station of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India during 1994 to 2011 to identify the cashew types for commercial cultivation under Odisha condition. Evaluation of the 13 cashew types over fourteen years revealed significant variations for nut yield among the types. The result indicated a wide range of variation for different parameters under study. The maximum average number of nuts panicle-1 was recorded in H 303 (4.19). Highest weight (g) of nut as well as apple was observed in H 367 (9.7 and 92.7). All the cashew types under study exhibited shelling percentage more than 28 but maximum kernel recovery was observed in H 255 (31.7). BPP 30/1 and M44/3 were the early flowering types that recorded panicle initiation during 4th week of November, whereas NRCC Sel.-1 and H 255 were late flowering types that flowered during first week of January. The flowering period ended first in M 15/4 (1st week February) while it was during 3rd week of March in H 255 and BPP 3/28. Maximum flowering duration was observed in BPP 30/1 (96 days) and minimum in NRCC Sel.-2 (59 days). The cumulative nut yield (kg plant-1) at 14th harvest was observed in H 303 (106.8) followed by NRCC Sel.-2 (100.0), H 68 (93.1) and lowest in M 15/4 (37.5)
A Barren Landscape?
We consider the generation of a non-perturbative superpotential in F-theory
compactifications with flux. We derive a necessary condition for the generation
of such a superpotential in F-theory. For models with a single volume modulus,
we show that the volume modulus is never stabilized by either abelian
instantons or gaugino condensation. We then comment on how our analysis extends
to a larger class of compactifications. From our results, it appears that among
large volume string compactifications, metastable de Sitter vacua (should any
exist) are non-generic.Comment: 14 pages, comments adde
Snowcover Simulation Model : A Review
Numerical simulation of seasonal snowcover has attracted the interest of many scientists in the recent past. The present paper summarises chronologically developments in the understanding of snow properties and discusses various modelling approaches towards simulating the snowpack numerically. The authors describe the evolution of snowcover and the intricate relationship between the evolving snowpack and the atmosphere. The governing equations that describe the evolution of snowcover have been discussed. The merits and limitations of each equation pescribing a single process have been explained. Modelling strategies adopted by various workers have been analysed, and lastly the requirements of a perfect model have been brought out. In the absence of complete answers to many other processes, a strategy for the development of an operational snowcover model has been discussed
DLCQ of Fivebranes, Large N Screening, and L^2 Harmonic Forms on Calabi Manifolds
We find one explicit L^2 harmonic form for every Calabi manifold. Calabi
manifolds are known to arise in low energy dynamics of solitons in Yang-Mills
theories, and the L^2 harmonic form corresponds to the supersymmetric ground
state. As the normalizable ground state of a single U(N) instanton, it is
related to the bound state of a single D0 to multiple coincident D4's in the
non-commutative setting, or equivalently a unit Kaluza-Klein mode in DLCQ of
fivebrane worldvolume theory. As the ground state of nonabelian massless
monopoles realized around a monopole-``anti''-monopole pair, it shows how the
long range force between the pair is screened in a manner reminiscent of large
N behavior of quark-anti-quark potential found in AdS/CFT correspondence.Comment: LaTeX, 23 page
Maladaptive striatal plasticity and abnormal reward-learning in cervical dystonia
In monogenetic generalized forms of dystonia, in vitro neurophysiological recordings have demonstrated direct evidence for abnormal plasticity at the level of the corticoâstriatal synapse. It is unclear whether similar abnormalities contribute to the pathophysiology of cervical dystonia, the most common type of focal dystonia. We investigated whether abnormal corticoâstriatal synaptic plasticity contributes to abnormal rewardâlearning behavior in patients with focal dystonia. Forty patients and 40 controls performed a reward gain and loss avoidance reversal learning task. Participant's behavior was fitted to a computational model of the basal ganglia incorporating detailed corticoâstriatal synaptic learning rules. Model comparisons were performed to assess the ability of four hypothesized receptor specific abnormalities of corticoâstriatal longâterm potentiation (LTP) and longâterm depression (LTD): increased or decreased D1:LTP/LTD and increased or decreased D2: LTP/LTD to explain abnormal behavior in patients. Patients were selectively impaired in the postâreversal phase of the reward task. Individual learning rates in the reward reversal task correlated with the severity of the patient's motor symptoms. A model of the striatum with decreased D2:LTP/ LTD best explained the patient's behavior, suggesting excessive D2 corticoâstriatal synaptic depotentiation could underpin biased rewardâlearning in patients with cervical dystonia. Reversal learning impairment in cervical dystonia may be a behavioral correlate of D2âspecific abnormalities in corticoâstriatal synaptic plasticity. Reinforcement learning tasks with computational modeling could allow the identification of molecular targets for novel treatments based on their ability to restore normal rewardâlearning behavior in these patients
Is there an association between vitamin D and risk of stroke?: a North Indian study
Background: Vitamin D deficiency is present in India in epidemic proportions despite plenty of sunshine. Reduced plasma 25(OH) D concentrations as a diagnostic marker of vitamin D deficiency have been in past decade associated with several well-established risk factors for ischaemic stroke, such as arterial hypertension, thrombosis, atherosclerosis. The aims and objectives of this study was to compare the serum 25(OH) D levels between the first ever acute stroke patients and healthy controls.Methods: A cross-sectional, case control study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi situated in north India. Serum 25âhydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) levels in 85 patients of ischemic stroke, presenting within 7 days of onset of stroke was measured and was compared with 70 age and gender matched controls.Results: The mean age was 61.02±11.58 years and 58.63±11.28 years in cases and controls respectively. Females constituted 37.6% of the total number of cases and 43.4% of the controls. The age and gender-distribution were comparable between the cases and controls. The median value (IQR) of serum 25(OH) vitamin D level was 7.94 ng/mL (4.59-14.00) in the cases and it was 8.82 ng/mL (5.59-14.70) in the controls. The difference between the serum 25(OH) vitamin D levels of the two groups was not found to be statistically significant.Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of biochemical hypo-vitaminosis D in apparently healthy Indians of all age and sex groups despite adequate sunshine. There is no association between low vitamin D levels and stroke
An HST Search for Lyman Continuum Emission From Galaxies at z=1.1--1.4
If enough of their Lyman limit continuum escapes, star-forming galaxies could
be significant contributors to the cosmic background of ionizing photons. To
investigate this possibility, we obtained the first deep imaging in the far
ultraviolet of eleven bright blue galaxies at intermediate redshift
(z=1.1--1.4). NO Lyman continuum emission was detected. Sensitive,
model-independent, upper limits of typically 2 x 10**-19 erg/sec/cm2/Ang were
obtained for the ionizing flux escaping from these normal galaxies. This
corresponds to lower limits on the observed ratio of 1500 to 700Ang flux of 150
up to 1000. Based on a wide range of stellar synthesis models, this suggests
that less than 6%, down to less than 1%, of the available ionizing flux emitted
by hot stars is escaping these galaxies. The magnitude of this spectral break
at the Lyman l imit confirms that the basic premise of `Lyman break' searches
for galaxies at high redshift can also be applied at intermediate redshifts.
This implies that the integrated contribution of galaxies to the UV cosmic
background at z around 1.2 is less than 15%, and may be less than 2%.Comment: 20 manuscript pages, which includes two tables and two figures. To be
published in 1 December 2003 issue of The Astrophysical Journa
Primordial magnetic fields and the HI signal from the epoch of reionization
The implication of primordial magnetic-field-induced structure formation for
the HI signal from the epoch of reionization is studied. Using semi-analytic
models, we compute both the density and ionization inhomogeneities in this
scenario. We show that: (a) The global HI signal can only be seen in emission,
unlike in the standard CDM models, (b) the density perturbations
induced by primordial fields, leave distinctive signatures of the magnetic
field Jeans' length on the HI two-point correlation function, (c) the length
scale of ionization inhomogeneities is \la 1 \rm Mpc. We find that the peak
expected signal (two-point correlation function) is in
the range of scales for magnetic field strength in the
range . We also discuss the
detectability of the HI signal. The angular resolution of the on-going and
planned radio interferometers allows one to probe only the largest magnetic
field strengths that we consider. They have the sensitivity to detect the
magnetic field-induced features. We show that thefuture SKA has both the
angular resolution and the sensitivity to detect the magnetic field-induced
signal in the entire range of magnetic field values we consider, in an
integration time of one week.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, to appear in JCA
Small Quadrupole Deformation for the Dipole Bands in 112In
High spin states in In were investigated using Mo(O,
p3n) reaction at 80 MeV. The excited level have been observed up to 5.6 MeV
excitation energy and spin 20 with the level scheme showing three
dipole bands. The polarization and lifetime measurements were carried out for
the dipole bands. Tilted axis cranking model calculations were performed for
different quasi-particle configurations of this doubly odd nucleus. Comparison
of the calculations of the model with the B(M1) transition strengths of the
positive and negative parity bands firmly established their configurations.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, 2 table
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