Comparative efficiency of different surfaces for drying fish

The efficiency of four different drying surfaces, namely, cement platform, palmyrah leaf mat, aluminum tray and stretched net for drying fish were studied using sciaenids, mullet and perch. All the drying surfaces were found to be equally efficient. The cheaper and locally available palmyrah leaf mat or stretched net can replace costly cement platform and aluminium tray for efficient drying of fish

A Novel Approach to Enhance the Performance of RIP and RIPng Protocols For Ad Hoc Networks

In mobile ad hoc networks, there is a tradeoff between QOS and energy consumption because in order to achieve maximum quality of service , maximum energy has to be consumed. In this paper a novel approach is implemented ie integrating logical link control with MACto minimize the energy consumption and enhancing the performance of routing information protocol is studied in the context of best effort and QOS model in mobile ad hoc networks using EXATA Emulator.From emulation results we found that energy consumption ,jitter, end-to-end-dely decreases and throughput increases in QOSRIPngLLC

Diversity and Distribution of Pteridophytic flora of Punyagiri hill, Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh, India

The present paper deals with the diversity and distribution of Pteridophytic flora in Punyagiri hill.  It is located 180 06’ 70",180 06’ 68",latitudes and 830 06’ 72",830 06’ 40" longitudes , 55 km away from Visakhapatnam. Quadrate method was adopted to calculate the IVI. Sampling was carried out with 0.5x0.5m2 quadrate; fifteen quadrate samples were taken in three seasons. A total no of 13 species belonging to 10 genera and 9 families were recorded. Maximum relative density was reported for Selaginella involvense (10.6) and Pteris vittata (8.4). Minimum relative density and relative frequency were reported in the species Nephrolepis cordifolia(5.5) and Pteris pellucida (6.3). The maximum IVI was reported in Selaginella involvens (30.2) fallowed by Pteris vittata (26.2), Adiantum lunulatum(25.4), Pleopeltis pallida (24.5) and minimum in Nephrolepis cordifolia (18.6). It is concluded that the population of Pteridophytes in this region is heterogeneous

Numerical analysis of C.I engine to control emissions using exhaust gas recirculation and advanced start of injection

AbstractAs major limitation of diesel engines is the high soot and nitrogen oxide emissions which cannot be reduced totally with only conventional catalytic converters today, varying fuel characteristics became a focus of interest to meet the pollution emission legislations as they require very few or no changes in existing engine model. The present work deals with, numerical analysis of combined effect of Advanced Start of Injection (SOI) and Exhaust Gas Re-circulation (EGR) on performance and emissions which were studied, by performing numerical analysis on a Caterpillar 3401 single cylinder C.I engine model at constant speed using diesel as fuel via three dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) procedures and validated with experimental data. The SOI is advanced from 11° Crank angle bTDC to 14.5° Crank angle bTDC and EGR as a fraction is increased from 0% to 10%. The modified conditions of these parameters resulted in simultaneous reduction of NOx and Soot

HYDROGEL: RESPONSIVE STRUCTURES FOR DRUG DELIVERY

Hydrogels are water-swollen 3D networks made of polymers, proteins, small molecules, or colloids. They are porous in structure and entrap/encapsulate large amounts of therapeutic agents and biopharmaceuticals. Their unique properties like biocompatibility, biodegradability, sensitivity to various stimuli, and the ability to be easily conjugated with hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs with a controlled-release profile make hydrogels a smart drug delivery system. Smart hydrogel systems with various chemically and structurally responsive moieties exhibit responsiveness to external stimuli including temperature, pH, ionic concentration, light, magnetic fields, electrical fields, and chemical and biological stimuli with selected triggers includes polymers with multiple responsive properties have also been developed elegantly combining two or more stimuli-responsive mechanisms. This article emphasized the types, features, and various stimuli systems that produce responsive delivery of drugs

Prioritizing Genomic Drug Targets in Pathogens: Application to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

We have developed a software program that weights and integrates specific properties on the genes in a pathogen so that they may be ranked as drug targets. We applied this software to produce three prioritized drug target lists for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, a disease for which a new drug is desperately needed. Each list is based on an individual criterion. The first list prioritizes metabolic drug targets by the uniqueness of their roles in the M. tuberculosis metabolome (“metabolic chokepoints”) and their similarity to known “druggable” protein classes (i.e., classes whose activity has previously been shown to be modulated by binding a small molecule). The second list prioritizes targets that would specifically impair M. tuberculosis, by weighting heavily those that are closely conserved within the Actinobacteria class but lack close homology to the host and gut flora. M. tuberculosis can survive asymptomatically in its host for many years by adapting to a dormant state referred to as “persistence.” The final list aims to prioritize potential targets involved in maintaining persistence in M. tuberculosis. The rankings of current, candidate, and proposed drug targets are highlighted with respect to these lists. Some features were found to be more accurate than others in prioritizing studied targets. It can also be shown that targets can be prioritized by using evolutionary programming to optimize the weights of each desired property. We demonstrate this approach in prioritizing persistence targets

Excised radicle tips as a source of genomic DNA for PCR-based genotyping and melting curve analysis in cotton

Genomic DNA isolation in cotton is complicated because of the presence of secondary metabolites that are inhibitory to PCR amplification. We report here that radicle tips, but not other parts of cotton seedlings, yield high-quality DNA that is readily amenable for PCR. The radicle-tip-excised seedlings retain viability because of the formation of adventitious roots. We demonstrate the utility of this method in distinguishing homozygotes from heterozygotes in a cotton breeding population and in hybrid seed purity testin

Influence of deforestation and slope position on C and N stocks of the loess derived hillslopes of Golestan Province, Iran

C ,and N pools, populations of the microorganiS111S and the main soil physico-chemical properties were studied 011 different slope positions and land uses of the loess derived hill slopes of Golestan Province, north of Iran. The aim of this study was to detennlne the effect of deforestation and cultivation on the C and N pools in loess hillslopes. The results showed that the soils of the forest land use were l11ainly Alfisols while the adjacent deforested land use soils were mainly classified as Inceptisols indicating the lower landscape stability and loss of the previous topsoil following deforestation. Soil organic carbon (SOC), soil respiration, biomass C, population of fungi, biomass N, total N, and mineralized N were significantly higher in all the slope positions of the forest compared to the cultivated land use. Higher S9il erosion, decrease in the stability of landscape, poqr soil fertility, and finally natural disasters and loss of life are the consequences of deforestation in the study area

Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks of the Soils of different climatic regions of Golestan Province, Iran

Some biological soil quality indicators i.e. soil respiration, microbial biomass, biomass nitrogen, C:N, net mineralization, population of the microorganisms together with total carbon, organic carbon, inorganic carbon and total nitrogen were studied to investigate their variatiou in different climatic regions of Golestan province, northeast Iran. Fourteen soil profiles were dug and described on three climatic regions namely: Aridie-thermic, xeric-thermic and udic-mesic soil moisture and temperature regimes. All the studied soils formed on loess or loess-derived parent materiaL Natural vegetation varies from sparse rangelands in the northern arid parts to dense deciduous forest in the southern humid regions of north-facing slopes of the Alborz mountain ranges. The studied soils were classified as Aridisols and Entisols in the aridic moisture regimes, Inceptisols and Mollisols in the xeric moisture regimes and Alfisols in the udic moisture regime regions. The results revealed that organic carbon and total nitrogen increased while inorganic carbon decreased with increasing precipitation. Soil inorganiC carbon and consequently pH decreased with increasing precipitation. Biological soil quality attributes such as soil respiratioIL, biomass carbon and nitrogen increased sharply from aridic to xeric regions but decreased gradually in the udic regions. This trend was in accordance with the population of bacteria and actinomycetes. The xeric-thermic moisture and temperature regimes has provided favourable soil environment with regard to the available moisture and temperature both for the population of .microorganisms and also the vegetative cover which both are responsible for the biomass productio

Genetic analysis of traits contributing to stalk sugar yield in sorghum

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a potential raw material for production of ethanol that on blending in petrol is expected to meet the energy demand and address the environmental issues. Well-developed hybrid technology will make the crop remunerative to the farmers. Hence, gene action and best combining female and male parents for sugar yield in sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and the association of sugar yield with other agronomic traits was studied in 171 hybrids developed by crossing 19 female parents with nine male parents in line × tester design and evaluated during both rainy and postrainy seasons of 2006. The significant differences between the seasons for all the traits suggested that these traits are greatly influenced by the environment. The lines (female parents) ICSA 38, ICSA 479, ICSA 702, ICSA 675 and ICSA 474 and the restorers (male parents), SSV 74 and SSV 84 combined well for sugar yield during rainy season and the lines, ICSA 702, ICSA 38 and ICSA 474 and the restorers, ICSV 93046, SPV 1411 and ICSV 700 combined well during postrainy season. The magnitude of SCA variance was higher suggesting the importance of non-additive gene action in inheritance of all the traits though both additive and dominant genes controlled overall sugar yield during both the seasons. Hence, selection in early generation would be ineffective and recurrent selection with periodic intercrossing is advocated. However, breeding good combining restorer parents can fetch high sugar yield in postrainy season. There is an indication of existence of transgressive segregation for sugar yield that can be exploited. The sugar yield was weak though significantly correlated with high brix and poor grain yield during both the seasons requiring extensive crossing to improve these traits simultaneously. Keeping in view mean performance, SCA effects and heterobeltiosis, the hybrids, ICSA 474 × SSV 84, ICSA 24001 × ICSR 93046 and ICSA 474 × SPV 422 were identified promising for rainy season and the hybrids ICSA 24001 × SPV 1411 and ICSA 511 × ICSV 93046 were identified for postrainy season