Histochemical procedures for characterizing the crustacean yolk

Histochemical studies on yolk formation in crustaceans not only reveal the chemical nature of various yolk substances but also provide information on the temporal pattern of yolk accumulation and their spatial distribution. In crustaceans the accumulation of yolk material starts with the dispersion of nucleolar extrusions in the ooplasm. The yolk protein to be detected first in the ooplasm is in general glyeolipoprotein in nature. This is followed by the accumulation of a glyeolipoprotein substance that is presumed to be originating from extra-owftaa sources

Development of herbal drug loaded antimicrobial silk suture

Drug loaded antimicrobial silk suture have been developed for use in both wound closure and wound healing with an intention to prevent surgical site infections. The material has been analyzed for various suture properties such as tensile strength, elongation, knot strength, bending properties and diameter. The suture material is coated with chitosan (biopolymer) and incorporated with herbal drug. Cold maceration technique is used to extract Cynodon dactylon drug for the study. SEM reveals the uniform deposition of chitosan on to the surface of the suture material. The polymer and drug coated samples are subjected to FTIR analysis. To optimize the process parameter, response surface method is adopted using Box-Behnken experimental design. The drug loaded samples are also subjected to antimicrobial study (AATCC 100) against S.aureus and E.coli and found to have effective bacterial reduction percentage. Thus, the natural drug loaded suture material would be a better alternative for synthetic drug loaded suture which is found to have some demerits

Data Brief: Indiana Mental Health Professionals 2012 Licensure Survey

Understanding Indiana’s healthcare workforce is critical to ensuring that Indiana residents have access to high quality care, to developing programs that train practitioners to meet future needs, and to recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in Indiana. The mental health workforce in Indiana is composed of social workers, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric/mental health advanced practice nurses. The data summarized here were collected during biennial license renewals in 2012 and 2013, and in a 2014 survey of psychiatric nurses

Detecting dopant diffusion enhancement at grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon wafers with microphotoluminescence spectroscopy

Employing microphotoluminescence spectroscopy at low temperatures, we are able to detect dopant diffusion enhancement along various grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon wafers. We find an enhancement of phosphorus diffusion at all investigated grain boundary types. In addition, the subgrain boundaries are demonstrated to contain a relatively high density of defects and impurities, suggesting that their presence does not significantly hinder the preferential diffusion of dopant atoms along the subgrain boundaries. Finally, we demonstrate that the technique can be applied to different diffused layers for solar cell applications, even at room temperature if an appropriate excitation wavelength is used. The results are validated with secondary electron dopant contrast images, which confirm the higher dopant concentration along the grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries

Standardization of Stage-Wise Requirement of Nutrients in Banana Cv. Grande Naine (AAA)

A field trial was conducted during 2009-2010 at College Orchard, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, to standardize stage-wise requirement of nutrients in banana cv. Grand Naine (AAA). Treatment T16 where application of 100% RDF (165:52.5:495g NPK plant-1) at 4 critical growth stages, i.e., 40:52.5:25, 30:0:35, 30:0:25 and 0:0:15% at the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9thmonths after planting (MAP), respectively, recorded maximum plant height, pseudostem girth and leaf area index. Maximum bunch weight of 32.15kg was recorded in T16. Higher yield was attributed to more number of (i) hands per bunch, (ii) fingers per hand and (iii) per bunch, besides the higher average weight of the finger. Better quality fruits, with higher TSS, total sugars, low acidity and better sugar:acid blend, were obtained in T16. In treatment T16, where 100% RDF was applied, increased N, P, and K content were seen in the index leaf of the crop. Lower soil-available nutrients, viz., N, P, K, at the higher level of split-application at critical stages of the crop revealed, that, the nutrients applied were utilized efficiently. This was reflected in the better yield and quality obtained. Economics were worked out which indicated T16 as giving the highest cost:benefit ratio (1:3.97)

Evaluation of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) Hybrids for Yield and Papain Recovery

Six papaya hybrids, viz., CO-1 × Pusa Nanha, CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha, CO-5 × Pusa Nanha, CO-6 × Pusa Nanha and CO-7 × Pusa Nanha, along with their respective parents, were evaluated for fruit yield and quality. Higher fruit yield was recorded in hybrids CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha and CO-5 × Pusa Nanha at first harvest. Higher papain recovery was seen in CO-2 × Pusa Nanha and CO-5 × Pusa Nanha and activity of this enzyme was highest in CO-5 × Pusa Nanha. For fruit yield at first harvest, hybrids CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha, CO-6 × Pusa Nanha and CO-5 × Pusa Nanha recorded higher heterosis over mid- and better parental values. Fruit yield at first harvest exhibited high genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation. Days to flowering had the least genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation. Highest heritability estimates were recorded for plant height at first flowering, ascorbic acid content and titrable acidity. Fruit yield at first harvest showed high genetic advance as percentage of mean and the least genetic advance was seen for days to flowering. CO-2 × Pusa Nanha, CO-4 × Pusa Nanha, CO-5 × Pusa Nanha and CO-6 × Pusa Nanha showed better yield and earliness, and are recommended for further evaluation

Effect of Foliar Spray of Nitrogenous Chemicals on Flowering, Fruit Set and Yield in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Cv. Alphonso

Effect of foliar application of various nitrogenous chemicals on flowering, fruit set and yield of mango cv. Alphonso was studied at the orchard of Horticultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore, during 2010 - 2011. Maximum number of flowering shoots (68.7%), number of panicles (7.5/m2), panicle length (31.4cm), number of hermaphrodite flowers (282.5/panicle), fruit set (17.0%), number of fruits (146.0/tree) and fruit yield (43.8 kg/tree) was obtained with foliar spray of KNO3 at 2% concentration. Higher content of chlorophyll (1.7g mg-1), carbohydrate (14.5g 100g-1) and nitrogen (1.43%) and higher C/N ratio (10.18) were also recorded in plants sprayed with 2% KNO3, followed by 1% KNO3

Marketing and Post-Harvest Loss Assessment in Sapota

A study was undertaken in the Kolar district of Karnataka to assess the losses in post harvest handling and marketing of sapota. The analysis of data collected at the field level, market level, procurement centre of HOPCOMS and at the retail level indicated post harvest loss (PHL) of 15.98% in the wholesale marketing channel (WSM) and about 14.07 per cent in the HOPCOMS channel. Marketing system for sapota was found to be inefficient as the efficiency index was found to be less than 1. However, between WSM and HOPCOMS, the latter was found to be more efficient in terms of lower marketing cost, higher price realization by farmers and lower margin of the intermediaries. Use of mechanical harvester, pre harvest management of fruits against fruit borer and opening of procurement centres of HOPCOMS in the producing region are suggested in order to reduce the PHL and also to improve the efficiency of the marketing system

Design of Static Segment Adder for Approximating Computing Applications

The digital VLSI design needs to attain high performance with desired reliability range. The high performance involves low power, area efficiency and high speed. This paper proposes a design of High speed energy efficient static segment adder (SSA) to enhance the overall performance based on approximation technique. Static segmentation includes both accurate and inaccurate part. The normal full adder performs accurate part and the carry select adder is used for inaccurate part. By using static segmentation the approximate computation is done. Approximate computing is a computation which generates “good enough” result rather than totally accurate result. Image processing is accomplished using SSA design. In this process 99.4% whole computational accuracy for 16 bit addition and also for 8 bit addition can be achieved

Characterization of the tyrosine phosphorylation and distribution of dystrobrevin isoforms

AbstractDystrobrevin, a member of the dystrophin family of proteins, was initially identified as a major tyrosine phosphorylated synaptic protein in the electric organ of Torpedo californica. In this paper, we show that the major sites of tyrosine phosphorylation of Torpedo dystrobrevin are within its C-terminus, on Tyr-693 and Tyr-710. Cloning of the mammalian homologue of dystrobrevin has recently shown that this phosphotyrosine containing tail, or PYCT, is subject to alternative splicing. To compare the expression and distribution of PYCT− and PYCT+ splice variants, we generated antibodies against different regions of dystrobrevin. Here we show that the PYCT− isoform of 62 kDa is expressed at high levels in all tissues examined. In contrast, PYCT+ isoforms are expressed primarily in brain and muscle, where they are concentrated at synapses. Moreover, PYCT+ isoforms associate more tightly with the membrane and with syntrophin, another synaptically enriched protein. These results suggest that PYCT+ isoforms of dystrobrevin are specialized components of the dystroglycan complex which render the complex sensitive to regulation by tyrosine kinases