Development of Digital Soil Theme Maps using Soil Health Cards by Geostatistical Methods

Not AvailableSoil properties are continuously and spatially variable and this tendency is to be captured for their estimation. Conventional soil resource maps, being expensive, are prepared once in a while with little scope for revision. But that problem could be addressed by using the soil health cards (SHCs) issued to individual farmers by using appropriate geostatistical techniques in generating the updated soil theme maps. As required in the interpolation, soil health cards are the point sources of data including the geolocation of a field from where the soil sample was collected. Altogether 12966 SHCs of West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh were interpolated for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulphur (S), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and boron (B) using geostatistical tool, Ordinary Kriging (OK). Total of 9046 and 3920 SHCs were used for interpolation and validation, respectively. In another attempt to find utility of interpolated soil maps, initially, 101 rice fields distributed in different mandals (sub-district units) as identified from satellite data were randomly selected. These rice fields were represented as points using geographical information system (GIS) tools. Different soil variables from interpolated maps were extracted to these point vectors from interpolated soil maps along with mean mandal rice productivity as derived from crop cutting experiments for statistical analysis. Data were classified to four groups of N (<200, 201-300, 301-400 and >400 kg ha-1) and three groups of OC (0.75 %). General linear model with productivity as dependant variable, N and OC groups as fixed factors with EC, P, K, Zn and Fe as covariates yielded good results (R2 = 59%) with significant contributions from N and OC groups, EC, P and Fe. These maps being in digital format, spatial analysis is possible in GIS environment when compared to other forms of soil maps with non-spatial data. These digital maps are the important inputs for predicting fertility in unsampled areas and help in decision making with a better resolution of maps.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableTrichoderma spp. was isolated from safflower (Carthmus tinctorills L.) rhizosphere soil and was evaluated for their mycoparasitism action, in vitro analysis for their efficacy in solubilizing the inorganic phosphorus (P) and to produce the mycolytic enzymes in liquid cultures and its ability to induce systemic resistance against root rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina in safflower. Hyphal interaction studies were performed to study the mycoparasitism action based on in vitro dual culture studies with Trichoderma spp. against M phaseolina. Based on microscopic observations it indicates that the inhibitory effect was caused by an interaction that took place in close contact with the host hypha, causing lysing, swelling and coiling mycelia resulting potentially reduced of mycelial growth of M phaseolina. Bioagents were tested in vitro for their efficacy in solubilizing the inorganic phosphorus and to produce the mycolytic enzymes in liquid cultures. All the isolates were found to solubilize inorganic (P) and lytic enzymes activity to various extent. T harzianum (Th4d) (79.0 Ilg PI rnL), T asperellum (T73 16) (91.2 Ilg PI rnL) and Tviride (Tv 5) (50.3 Ilg PI rnL) solubilized 70% of that solubilized by the reference strain Aspergillus niger (149.7 Ilg PI mL). Chitinase (l7.7U/ml), 13-1, 3-glucanase (49.3U/ml) and 13 -1, 4-glucanase (0.95 U/m]) activities were found highest in T harzianum Th4d over other isolates. On the other hand increased activity of defense related enzymes viz., peroxidase (PO), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia- lyase (PAL) activity in three potential Trichoderma spp. viz., T .harzianum (Th4d), T. viride (Tv5) and T asperellum (T73l6) pre- treated safflower plants challenged with M phaseolina was observed. Significant accumulation of PO, PPO and PAL activity at 30 days interval was high compared to 60 days in all these bioagents. Apart from these application of the Th4d reduced the incidence of root rot and enhanced the plant growth promotion to a reasonable extent against M phaseolina, which is directly correlated with the resistance of the plant against infection. Thus, from our findings it is evident that the hyphal interaction studies and the interrelationship between these enzymes playa key role to stimulate the defense mechanism which aid in disease management as well as plant growth promotion of the host plant against pathogen attack.Not Availabl

Chemical speciation of binary complexes of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) with 5-Sulfosalicylic acid in urea-water mixtures

Speciation of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes with 5-Sulfosalicylic acid (5-SSA) in the presence of urea-water mixtures at an ionic strength of 0.16 mol dm-3 and temperature 303 K were investigated pH metrically. The existence of different binary complex species was established from modeling studies using the computer program MINIQUAD75. The increased stability of the complexes with increasing urea was explained by electrostatic forces. The influence of the urea on the chemical speciation is discussed based on the dielectric constant of the medium. Distribution diagrams of various species of the complexes in relation to pH are presented.Published versio

pH metric investigation on speciation studies of 5-Sulfosalicylic acid complexes of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) in DMF-water mixtures

Speciation of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes with 5-Sulfosalicylic acid (5-SSA) in the presence of N, N’- Dimethyl formamide-water mixtures(0.0-60% v/v) at an ionic strength of 0.16 mol dm-3 and temperature 303 K were investigated pH metrically. The existence of different binary complex species was established from modeling studies using the computer program MINIQUAD75. The increased stability of the complexes with increasing DMF was explained by electrostatic forces. The influence of the DMF on the chemical speciation is discussed based on the dielectric constant of the medium. Distribution diagrams of various species of the complexes in relation to pH are presented.Published versio

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Not AvailableStem and root rot disease of safflower (Carthamus tincforius L.) caused by Phytopthora spp. results in considerable loss of the crop. This lab study aimed to investigate antagonistic activity of Trichoderma spp. isolates against Phytopthora spp. Three isolates of Trichoderma spp. were evaluated in vitro for their efficacy in suppressing the growth of Phyfophfhora spp. The results showed considerable antagonistic potential for the biocontrol of Phytophthora spp. T. harzianum Th4d, T asperellum T7316 and T viride Tv5 was found highly inhibitory to Phytopthora spp. with a 51-63% disease reduction over check by dual culture technique. Based on field evaluation trials carried out by two different doses of T. harzianum Th4d and Pseudomonasjluorescens Pt2 (T .harzianumTh4d @ 2mllkg and Pseudomonas .jluorescens Pt2 @ 10gm/kg were observed to be effective against root and stem rot of safflower with maximum reduction of disease severity over pathogen check 51.6% and among the three different fungicides i.e., Saff @ 2gmlkg, Captan @ 2gm!Kg and Ridomil MZ @ 2gmlkg, Captan @ 2gm/Kg showed with maximum disease reduction 01'70.6% over pathogen check).Not Availabl

Heart fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) as a diagnostic biomarker in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Aims and objectives Diagnosis of myocardial ischaemia at an early stage in the emergency department is often difficult. A recently proposed biomarker, heart fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) has been found to appear in the circulation superior to that of cardiac troponins in the early hours of acute coronary syndrome. We proposed to evaluate the levels of H-FABP and ascertain its utility as an early biomarker for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods and results The present study was carried out in 485 subjects, of whom 297 were diagnosed as patients with ACS, 89 were diagnosed as non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) and 99 people served as healthy controls. H-FABP levels were measured in comparison with standard markers such as troponin I and CK-MB in all subjects enrolled in the study. The levels of H-FABP were significantly raised in patients when compared to controls and NCCP (P < 0.001). Receiver Operator Characteristic Curve (ROC) analysis showed H-FABP to be a good discriminator between patients with ischaemic heart disease and patients without ischaemic heart disease. The area under the curve was found to be 0.965 with 95% CI (0.945–0.979). The cut-off value above which H-FABP can be considered positive was found to be 17.7 ng/ml. Conclusion H-FABP is a promising biomarker for the early detection of patients with acute coronary syndrome

Protonation Equilibria of L-Aspartic, Citric and Succinic Acids in Anionic Micellar Media

The impact of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) on the protonation equilibria of L-aspartic acid, citric acid and succinic acid has been studied in various concentrations (0.5-2.5% w/v) of SLS solution maintaining an ionic strength of 0.16 mol dm-3 at 303 K. The protonation constants have been calculated with the computer program MINIQUAD75 and the best fit models have been calculated based on statistical parameters. The trend of log values of step-wise protonation constants with mole fraction of the medium has been explained based on electrostatic and non-electrostatic forces operating on the protonation equilibria. The effects of errors on the protonation constants have also been presented

Comparison between serum insulin levels and its resistance with biochemical, clinical and anthropometric parameters in South Indian children and adolescents

There is a rising trend in the prevalence of insulin resistance among obese, overweight children and adolescents. The serum insulin and its correlation with biochemical, clinical and anthropometric parameters were evaluated in 185 children and adolescents (59 control, 52 obese, 49 overweight, 25 congenital heart disease) of age group 10–17 years. The levels of serum insulin were measured by ELISA. Serum insulin levels were found to be significantly increased in children who were obese, overweight and had congenital heart disease, than controls. Serum insulin levels positively correlated with BMI, WHR, and serum C-peptide, serum leptin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Fasting glucose levels were found to be negatively correlated with serum insulin levels. HDL-cholesterol levels were non-significant among the study groups. We identified nine obese children (five girls and four boys) with the features of metabolic syndrome and 69% of obese and overweight children were identified with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance was strongly associated with metabolic syndrome and its components, especially with central obesity and hypertriglyceridemia