Natural regneration of plant species as affected by biotic disturbances in Hastinapur forest of North West Uttar Pradesh, India

In the present study various phytosociological attributes like frequency, density and abundence of woody vegetation were analysed along the disturbance gradient in tropical dry deciduous forest of Hastinapur region of North west Uttar Pradesh, India. Three sites were analysed for floristic composition, distribution pattern, species diversity and dominance (i.e. Hillock,Block-1 and Block-2)Hillock was highly disturbed, while Block-1 and Block-2 were moderately and least disturbed sites respectively. Maximum number of tree, seedlings and saplings were recorded for Block-2 and minimum for Hillock. Number of shrub species was maximum on Hillockbecause of open forest canopy due to disturbances, which provide favourable conditions for growth of shrubs and other weeds. Most of species except shrubs were regular followed by random in distribution pattern. The value of CD and H’for trees 0.01 on Block-1 to 0.035 on Hillock and 0.00 on Block-2 to 0.014 on Hillock respectively. These low values clearly indicate aridity of the area and habitat destruction. Phytosociological study of this area indicates that there is an urgent requirement of conservation practice

Impact of Piriformospora indica, Pseudomonas species and Mesorhizobium cicer on growth of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

The present study was conducted to examine synergistic interactions among Piriformospora indica (PI) with potential plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Mesorhizobium cicer (LGR33, MR) in two chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties viz. desi PBG1 and kabuli BG1053. Different PGPR species were used viz. native isolates of Pseudomonas argentinensis (LPGPR1), Pseudomonas sp. (LPGPR2) along with national check Pseudomonas sp. (LK884). Compatibility of MR, PI and differentPseudomonas spp. was studied by streak assay method and growth of fungal pellicle in-vitro. Consortium of MR+PI+LPGPR1 (0.605 g dry weight fungal pellicle/100ml nutrient broth) was found as the best compatible treatment. In vivo the synergistic effect of consortia was studied for improving dry weight of roots, nutrient acquisition, colonization and stress tolerance ability in chickpea. Significant improvement in dry weight of root was observed with MR+PI+LPGPR1 (1.316 g plant-1) in comparison to MR alone treatment (0.980 g plant-1) at 90 days after sowing (DAS). Percentage colonization of P.indica improved significantly with consortium MR+PI+LPGPR1 (75.5 and 78.3 %) treatment at 90 DAS. All the treatments significantly improved total soluble sugar content (12.2-26.9 %); amino N content (1.36-1.80 fold) and stress tolerance ability (4-6 fold) over the MR alone treatment. Reducing sugar content significantly improved with MR+PI+LPGPR1 (0.62 and 0.79 mg mL–1) over MR alone (0.42 and 0.58 mg mL–1) treatment in desiPBG1 and kabuli BG1053 chickpea, respectively. The tripartite combination MR+LPGPR1+PI can be explored as potent biofertilizer for improvment in chickpea productivity

The Role of the District Public Health Nurses: A Study from Gujarat

The role of District Public Health Nurses (DPHN) and District Public Health Nurse Officers (DPHNOs) as supervisors of the Public Health nursing and midwifery staff in a district was investigated. Thirteen DPHNs and DPHNOs from six districts selected from six geographic zones of Gujarat were observed for one week using the time motion method. Their activities and time spent were noted and the DPHNs/DPHNOs and their supervisors were interviewed. The role of the DPHNs has reduced over the years because they have not been assigned new roles with change in programmes and policies. Most of the DPHNs have training for clinical work in hospitals. Their 10 month training to qualify for PHN is inadequate to develop knowledge and skills in public health. There is a gap between their training and posting due to delays in government procedures of promotion. The DPHN/DPHNOs spend majority of their time in the office (49%) where they have a limited role. Their supervisory role for nurses and midwives has lost its importance. They spend about 1/3rd of their time in field supervision mostly visiting centres accessible by public transport as they do not have an allotted government vehicle. As they do not submit any field report, there is no follow-up action from their visit. Nevertheless they seem to have an important role in solving problems of field workers as they are mediators between the district and peripheral facilities. To conclude the DPHNs are under utilized which affects the quality of maternal and child health services in the district.

The factorisation of glue and mass terms in SU(N) gauge theories

In this paper we investigate the structure of the glue in Zwanziger's gauge invariant expansion for the A^2-type mass term in Yang-Mills theory. We show how to derive this expansion, in terms of the inverse covariant Laplacian, and extend it to higher orders. In particular, we give an explicit expression, for the first time, for the next to next to leading order term. We further show that the expansion is not unique and give examples of the resulting ambiguity.Comment: 22 page

Genomic comparison of diverse Salmonella serovars isolated from swine.

Food animals act as a reservoir for many foodborne pathogens. Salmonella enterica is one of the leading pathogens that cause food borne illness in a broad host range including animals and humans. They can also be associated with a single host species or a subset of hosts, due to genetic factors associated with colonization and infection. Adult swine are often asymptomatic carriers of a broad range of Salmonella servoars and can act as an important reservoir of infections for humans. In order to understand the genetic variations among different Salmonella serovars, Whole Genome Sequences (WGS) of fourteen Salmonella serovars from swine products were analyzed. More than 75% of the genes were part of the core genome in each isolate and the higher fraction of gene assign to different functional categories in dispensable genes indicated that these genes acquired for better adaptability and diversity. High concordance (97%) was detected between phenotypically confirmed antibiotic resistances and identified antibiotic resistance genes from WGS. The resistance determinants were mainly located on mobile genetic elements (MGE) on plasmids or integrated into the chromosome. Most of known and putative virulence genes were part of the core genome, but a small fraction were detected on MGE. Predicted integrated phage were highly diverse and many harbored virulence, metal resistance, or antibiotic resistance genes. CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) patterns revealed the common ancestry or infection history among Salmonella serovars. Overall genomic analysis revealed a great deal of diversity among Salmonella serovars due to acquired genes that enable them to thrive and survive during infection

Exploitation of endophytic Pseudomonas sp. for plant growth promotion and colonization in rice

The present investigation was carried out to exploit bacterial endophytes associated with root and leaf tissue of rice plant for plant growth promotion (PGP) and colonization study in vitro. Total 10 endophytic bacterial isolates (Pseudomonas sp.) were evaluate for PGP traits like P solubilization, production of Indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophore, ACC deaminase, protease, cellulase, fluorescent pigment, urease and denitrification activity. Out of 10 endophytic bacteria 30 %, 60 %, 20 %, 70 %, 10 % and 10 % were positive for siderophore, protease, cellulase, fluorescent pigment, urease and denitrification respectively. Maximum IAA production was recorded with isolate LRBLE7 (18.8 ?gml-1) followed by LRBRE4 (16.0 ?gml-1) and maximum P-solubilization was recorded with isolate LRBRE4 (5.8 mg 100 ml-1) followed by LRBLE7 (4.4 mg 100 ml-1). ACC deaminase production was recorded with isolate LRBLE6 (O.D=0.352 nm) followed by LRBRE5 (O.D=0.324nm). Three potential isolates (LRBRE4, LRBRE6 and LRBLE7) were selected on the basis of multiple PGP traits and were subjected to colonization study of rice seedling in vitro. Potential bacterial isolates can be exploited for improving growth and productivity in rice under sustainable management system

Deformability of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Is Dependent on Vimentin Intermediate Filaments

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are being studied extensively due to their potential as a therapeutic cell source for many load-bearing tissues. Compression of tissues and the subsequent deformation of cells are just one type physical strain MSCs will need to withstand in vivo. Mechanotransduction by MSCs and their mechanical properties are partially controlled by the cytoskeleton, including vimentin intermediate filaments (IFs). Vimentin IF deficiency has been tied to changes in mechanosensing and mechanical properties of cells in some cell types. However, how vimentin IFs contribute to MSC deformability has not been comprehensively studied. Investigating the role of vimentin IFs in MSC mechanosensing and mechanical properties will assist in functional understanding and development of MSC therapies. In this study, we examined vimentin IFs’ contribution to MSCs’ ability to deform under external deformation using RNA interference. Our results indicate that a deficient vimentin IF network decreases the deformability of MSCs, and that this may be caused by the remaining cytoskeletal network compensating for the vimentin IF network alteration. Our observations introduce another piece of information regarding how vimentin IFs are involved in the complex role the cytoskeleton plays in the mechanical properties of cells