Performance of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) hybrids for yield and quality in the Utkal plain region of Odisha state, India

Cocos nucifera L. is a perennial oil yielding crop with a long productive life span (>60 years); thus, identifying a suitable high yielding hybrid to a particular agro-climatic region plays a prime role in achieving sustainable coconut yield. In this context, an evaluation trial with varietal cross combinations involving Tall × Dwarf (six crosses) and Dwarf × Tall (two crosses) was conducted at All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Palms, Bhubaneshwar Centre, Odisha, for 15 years. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with four replications maintaining six palms per replication. Observations on yield and yield attributing characters during 2018 to 2020 revealed the superior performance of ECT × GBGD (99.1 nuts), which was followed by ECT × MYD (86.9 nuts) over the local check (ECT) by recording higher nut yield. Copra output per palm was significantly the highest under ECT × GBGD (20.6 kg palm-1), followed by LCT × COD (18.6 kg palm-1). Hybrids possessed a higher quantity of organoleptically ‘good’ tender nut water (270.3 to 354.1 mL) with TSS of 5.8 to 6.9 °Brix, 25.4 to 34.0 ppm of sodium and 2065.9 to 2885.0 ppm of potassium

Efficacy and safety of 1% terbinafine hydrochloride versus 2% sertaconazole cream in the treatment of tinea corporis

Background: Tinea corporis is a common superficial dermatophytosis seen in tropical countries. This study was done to compare the efficacy and safety of topical antifungal agents, terbinafine versus sertaconazole in the treatment of tinea corporis.Methods: This study was conducted in Babuji Hospital and Chigateri Government Hospital, Davangere. A total of 60 (n=60) patients were included and divided into two groups of 30 patients each in the study. 1st group - received topical 1% terbinafine hydrochloride and 2nd group - received 2% sertaconazole cream. Patients were advised to apply cream twice daily for 4 weeks. Improvement in clinical parameters like erythema, scaling, itching, and potassium hydroxide (KOH) mount were taken for assessing the efficacy of drugs. They were followed-up at the end of 2, 4, and 6 weeks to assess the improvement of the condition. Complete cure rate was defined as mycological cure with a complete absence of clinical signs and symptoms. For safety data of both drugs presence of any local side effects (like stinging sensation, swelling and increased erythema) were analyzed in both groups. Statistical analysis was done using students paired t-test and unpaired t-test.Results: When two groups were compared at the end of 2 weeks, complete cure rate for terbinafine was 80% as compared to 63.3% for sertaconazole (p0.05) results were obtained. KOH mount was negative in both groups at the end of 2nd week. Local side effects like erythema, swelling, stinging sensation were not noticed during the study in both the groups.Conclusion: From this study, it was shown that 2% sertaconazole cream was as effective as 1% terbinafine cream, though 1% terbinafine had higher rates of complete cure at the end of 2 weeks as compared to sertaconazole

Luminescence quenching of tris(4,4ʹ-dimethyl-2,2ʹ-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) complex with quinones in aprotic polar medium

923-928The photoinduced electron transfer interaction between a luminescent metal-ligand probe, [Ru(dmbpy)3]2+ and quinones have been investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The reactions of quinones with the excited state ruthenium(II) complex in DMF have been studied by luminescence quenching technique and the bimolecular quenching rate constant kq values are found close to the diffusion controlled rate. The complex has an absorption maximum of 458 nm. It shows a photoluminescence at 608 nm. The lifetime of the complex in DMF is 164 ns. The ground state absorption measurements are used to confirm the nature of quenching. Transient absorption spectral measurements are performed and the oxidative nature of quenching is confirmed. The detection of semiquinone anion radical using time resolved transient absorption spectroscopy and the linear variation of log kq vs reduction potential of the quinones confirms the electron transfer nature of the reaction

Melamine formaldehyde-metal organic gel interpenetrating polymer network derived intrinsic Fe-N-doped porous graphitic carbon electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Fe, N doped porous graphitic carbon electrocatalyst (Fe-MOG-MF-C), obtained by pyrolysis of an Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) comprised of melamine formaldehyde (MF as hard segment) and Metal-Organic Gel (MOG as soft segment), exhibited significant Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) activity in alkaline medium. BET surface area analysis of Fe-MOG-MF-C showed high surface area (821 m2 g-1), while TEM, Raman and XPS results confirmed Fe and N co-doping. Furthermore, a modulated porous morphology with a higher degree of surface area (950 m2 g-1) has been accomplished for the system (Fe-MOG-MFN-C) when aided by a sublimable porogen, such as naphthalene. XPS results further demonstrated that these systems exhibited a better degree of distribution of graphitic N and an onset potential value of 0.91 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M KOH solution following an efficient four-electron ORR pathway. The electrocatalytic activity of Fe-MOG-MFN-C is superior to that of Fe-MOG-MF-C by virtue of its higher graphitic N content and surface area. Thus, the study presents a new class of IPN derived MF-MOG nanocomposites with the potential to generate extended versions of in situ Fe-N doped porous graphitic carbon structures with superior ORR activity

First report of <em>Tristomella laevis</em> (Verrill, 1875) Guiart, 1938 parasitic on <em>Istiophorus platypterus</em> (Shaw and Nodder, 1792) from Andaman Sea

1616-1619Tristomella laevis was recorded from the pectoral fins of Indo–Pacific sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus caught by the tuna longliner MFV Blue Marlin from Andaman Sea. The infested fish was of length 213 cm (Lower Jaw fork Length (LJFL) and weighed 45kg. All Six numbers of parasites were collected from the pectoral fins and they were in the length range of 9.1–12.5 mm. No gill damage was observed

A REVIEW OF COMPLEXITIES OF DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER

&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The complicated mental health disorder known as dissociative&nbsp;identity&nbsp;disorder(DID),&nbsp;originally&nbsp;calledMultiple&nbsp;Personality Disorder, is defined by the existence of two or more separate identities or personalitystates within an individual.&nbsp;Every&nbsp;identityhas a distinct set&nbsp;of&nbsp;behaviour, recollections, and&nbsp;worldviews.These&nbsp;personalities&nbsp;frequently&nbsp;take&nbsp;charge&nbsp;of&nbsp;a&nbsp;person'sbehaviour&nbsp;and&nbsp;may&nbsp;or&nbsp;may&nbsp;not&nbsp;be&nbsp;aware&nbsp;of&nbsp;oneanother.&nbsp;Chronic,severe&nbsp;trauma,&nbsp;especially&nbsp;in&nbsp;early&nbsp;childhood,&nbsp;is&nbsp;usually&nbsp;linked&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;beginning&nbsp;of&nbsp;DID.&nbsp;Becausethere&nbsp;is&nbsp;a break&nbsp;in the regular integration&nbsp;of consciousness,&nbsp;memory,&nbsp;and identity, it is classified as a dissociative disorder. Due to&nbsp;DID's&nbsp;covert&nbsp;natureand symptoms&nbsp;that&nbsp;can&nbsp;coincide with&nbsp;those of other mental health issues, diagnosing&nbsp;it&nbsp;can&nbsp;be&nbsp;difficult.&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;for&nbsp;treatment&nbsp;include&nbsp;ongoing&nbsp;psychotherapy&nbsp;with the goal of combining the several identities into a single, coherent sense&nbsp;of self. A key&nbsp;component&nbsp;of treatment is&nbsp;attending to any co-occurring mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stressdisorder. The&nbsp;fundamental processes and efficacious therapies for DID are still being investigated. Helping people with DID enjoy happy,&nbsp;productive lives requires a thorough and caring approach to treatment. For those impacted by&nbsp;this&nbsp;illness,&nbsp;friends,&nbsp;family,and&nbsp;mental&nbsp;health&nbsp;experts'&nbsp;understanding&nbsp;and&nbsp;support&nbsp;are&nbsp;crucialelements&nbsp;of the&nbsp;recovery&nbsp;process.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt

The long-term maintenance of a resistance polymorphism through diffuse interactions

International audiencePlant resistance (R) genes are a crucial component in plant defence against pathogens. Although R genes often fail to provide durable resistance in an agricultural context, they frequently persist as long-lived balanced polymorphisms in nature. Standard theory explains the maintenance of such polymorphisms through a balance of the costs and benefits of resistance and virulence in a tightly coevolving host-pathogen pair. However, many plant-pathogen interactions lack such specificity. Whether, and how, balanced polymorphisms are maintained in diffusely interacting species is unknown. Here we identify a naturally interacting R gene and effector pair in Arabidopsis thaliana and its facultative plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae. The protein encoded by the R gene RPS5 recognizes an AvrPphB homologue (AvrPphB2) and exhibits a balanced polymorphism that has been maintained for over 2 million years (ref. 3). Consistent with the presence of an ancient balanced polymorphism, the R gene confers a benefit when plants are infected with P. syringae carrying avrPphB2 but also incurs a large cost in the absence of infection. RPS5 alleles are maintained at intermediate frequencies in populations globally, suggesting ubiquitous selection for resistance. However, the presence of P. syringae carrying avrPphB is probably insufficient to explain the RPS5 polymorphism. First, avrPphB homologues occur at very low frequencies in P. syringae populations on A. thaliana. Second, AvrPphB only rarely confers a virulence benefit to P. syringae on A. thaliana. Instead, we find evidence that selection for RPS5 involves multiple non-homologous effectors and multiple pathogen species. These results and an associated model suggest that the R gene polymorphism in A. thaliana may not be maintained through a tightly coupled interaction involving a single coevolved R gene and effector pair. More likely, the stable polymorphism is maintained through complex and diffuse community-wide interactions