Crop Protection to Outsmart Climate Change for Food Security & Environmental Conservation

Pearl millet is an important source of energy and nutrition for millions of people in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Recently, blast, also known as leaf spot, caused by Magnaporthe grisea (Anamorph: Pyricularia grisea) has emerged as a serious threat to pearl millet cultivation causing substantial yield loss. Seeds tend to contain several storage proteins, some have an inhibitory action against plant pathogens. The present study aimed to identify the defense proteins in seed extrudes of ten pearl millet blast differential lines and investigate their protective effect against growth of Pyricularia grisea (Pg 45, Patancheru isolate). The biochemical observations of seed extrudes revealed the presence of plant defense linked hydrolytic enzymes chitinases (12-18 units/ml), β-1,3 glucanases (16-48 units/mg protein) as well as cysteine protease inhibitors (57-123 PI units/mg protein) among the tested lines. The pre-treatment of P. grisea media with respective line seed extrudes resulted in significant reduction (22-40%; p<0.001) of fungal radial growth and fungal dry weight (20-77%; p<0.001). The effective concentration for the 50% fungal growth inhibition (EC50) was identified as 400 and 600 μg/ml for resistant lines IP 21187 and ICMR 06444, respectively. Further, the seed extrudes were able to significantly retard the spore germination (by 18 h) and initial growth (by 48 h) of Pg 45 by 24-83%. These findings suggest that the identified proteins are playing synergistic role in pearl millet defense against blast pathogen, Pg 45 and provide the basis to explore the novel biological control strategies in plant defense

To evaluate the role of Lakshadi Avachoornana in the management of Dushta Vrana with special reference to Diabetic Ulcer : A Case Study

The global prevalence of diabetics is estimated to increase from 4.0% in 1995 to 5.5% by the year 2025. The chances of secondary infection are more in diabetics as the immunity of the patients is compromised and needs prolonged hospitalization, psychological and social problem for the patients and family. In Madhumehi the vessels of lower limb become weak and is unable to expel the Doshas (along with other Dushyas) leading to Prameha Pidakas more in lower extremities, which eventually burst open precipitating an ulcer. &nbsp;Avachoornana is one among the Shashti Upakrama, explained by Acharya Sushrutha for management of Vrana. Numerous studies are done in the management of Dushta Vrana with the internal medication and external therapies. Here a preliminary attempt to study the effect of Avachoornana with Lakshadi Choorna in the management of the same was taken for the study

A Meander Line-Based Frequency Selective Surface for Strain Sensing

Frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are periodic arrays of conductive elements that have distinct reflection and transmission responses. In this work, an FSS sensor designed to operate in Ka-band to measure a wide range of uni-directional strain using a meander line-based unit cell is presented. Specifically, the proposed unit cell of the sensor consists of a convoluted meander line geometry designed on a thin dielectric substrate. Strain sensing is achieved by monitoring the change in the resonant frequency of the FSS when under strain that is parallel to an interrogating signal linearly polarized and aligned with the convoluted dimension of the meander line element. Simulation results of strain measurement over two ranges, small-(0%-0.5%) and large-scale (0%-5%), are presented. The simulated results indicate that the sensitivity of the sensor to small-scale strain is 21 MHz/0.1% strain and 230 MHz/1.0% strain for large-scale

Assessment and Comparison of Tongue Posture in Individuals with Different Vertical Facial Patterns

Background and objectives: It is established that the posture&nbsp;of the tongue can also influence the dental relationship and facial&nbsp;skeletal pattern of an individual. Hence, this study was designed&nbsp;and planned to assess the posture of tongue in individuals with&nbsp;different skeletal patterns in vertical plane in order to help us to&nbsp;understand the relationship between the tongue posture and&nbsp;the growth pattern of an individual.&nbsp;Materials and methods: Sixty subjects (30 males and 30&nbsp;females) in the age group of 16 to 20 years were selected as perinclusion criteria. They were divided into two groups (Groups I&nbsp;and II) according to their skeletal pattern in vertical plane based&nbsp;on Jarabak’s ratio and Y-axis. Tongue posture measurements&nbsp;were done using a template based on Rakosi analysis. The data&nbsp;obtained were statistically evaluated by using Mann-Whitney&nbsp;U test (Z test) to test the significance of difference in the tongue&nbsp;posture in subjects with horizontal and vertical skeletal pattern.&nbsp;Results: The dorsum of the tongue was found to be higher in&nbsp;subjects with vertical skeletal pattern at all points. There was&nbsp;no significant difference in the distance between soft palate and&nbsp;root of the tongue. There was no significant difference in the&nbsp;position of tongue tip between the groups.&nbsp;Conclusion: The study supports the existence of a relationship&nbsp;between the posture of the tongue and the skeletal facial pattern&nbsp;in vertical plane