Genotypic differences in seed yield, K : Na ratio and leaf metabolism of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) under salt stress

Responses of five genotypes (UC-198, UC-220, UC-223, RZ-19 and RZ-209) of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) irrigated with water having two levels of salinity (0.2 and 10 dSm-1) on shoot dry weight, seed yield, K : Na ratio and leaf metabolism at the flowering stage were studied. Increased salinity significantly reduced seed yield and shoot dry matter in all the genotypes. However, RZ-19 displayed higher salt tolerance than UC-198 and RZ-209 whereas UC-220 and UC-223 showed intermediate tolerance to salinity in terms of seed weight and shoot dry matter. Adverse effects of salinity on the levels of total chlorophyll, soluble protein, free amino acids, starch, reducing sugars and nitrate reductase activity were consistently less in tolerant genotype RZ-19 as compared to sensitive genotypes, UC-198 and RZ-209. Moreover sensitive genotypes had higher concentration of Na and lower concentration of K and consequently lower K : Na ratio under salt stress as compared to the tolerant genotype. These differential genotypic responses have been discussed in the light of the present knowledge. &nbsp

Spatial planning for integrated aquaculture development in coastal waters of Karnataka

Reduction in marine fish production in the last two decades has adversely affected the fishermen population along the coasts who solely depend on fishing for their livelihood. One option to tide over this situation is regional level planning to increase fish production from available water resources. Therefore, it is essential to have an integrated spatial planning of the available water resources as it has multiple uses. Marine spatial planning (MSP) and aquaculture zoning, the two major concepts implemented by international bodies, are still in its infancy in India due to, lack of information on its systematic implementation. Present paper describes the pioneering attempt of “Spatial planning” and “aquaculture zoning” in India, conducted in a progressive fishermen village, Tharapathi in Byndoor along Southeastern Arabian sea coast, following scientific methodologies. Through GIS mapping, potential aquaculture areas were identified for cage farming, bivalve farming, crab fattening/crab culture in pens in mangrove area, bottom culture of clams in sandy area, prawn farming areas, areas for seed production and nursery facility for finishes and shellfishes etc. Various advanced GIS based decision making tools available for future integrated aquaculture development plans, spatial mapping and Digital Elevation Models were included in this study. This is the first attempt to develop integrated aquaculture development through social consensus and scientific evaluation. Results of the study will be a precursor for spatial planning and aquaculture zoning in Indian coastal waters for sustainable aquaculture

The Capaciousness of No: Affective Refusals as Literacy Practices

© 2020 The Authors. Reading Research Quarterly published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Literacy Association The authors considered the capacious feeling that emerges from saying no to literacy practices, and the affective potential of saying no as a literacy practice. The authors highlight the affective possibilities of saying no to normative understandings of literacy, thinking with a series of vignettes in which children, young people, and teachers refused literacy practices in different ways. The authors use the term capacious to signal possibilities that are as yet unthought: a sense of broadening and opening out through enacting no. The authors examined how attention to affect ruptures humanist logics that inform normative approaches to literacy. Through attention to nonconscious, noncognitive, and transindividual bodily forces and capacities, affect deprivileges the human as the sole agent in an interaction, thus disrupting measurements of who counts as a literate subject and what counts as a literacy event. No is an affective moment. It can signal a pushback, an absence, or a silence. As a theoretical and methodological way of thinking/feeling with literacy, affect proposes problems rather than solutions, countering solution-focused research in which the resistance is to be overcome, co-opted, or solved. Affect operates as a crack or a chink, a tiny ripple, a barely perceivable gesture, that can persist and, in doing so, hold open the possibility for alternative futures

Drug-resistance mechanisms and tuberculosis drugs.

This publication presents independent research supported by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund (HICF-T5-342 and WT098600), a parallel funding partnership between the UK Department of Health and Wellcome Trust.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62450-8

Developing a Theoretical Framework for Response: Creative Writing as Response in the Year 6 Primary Classroom

Focusing on the creative writing of Year 6 boys as they make the transition to Year 7, this article establishes a theoretical model for creative writing as response. In line with Bakhtin’s notion of utterances as ‘interpersonal’ (1986), the model demonstrates the complexity of creative writing – the text is influencing of and influenced by an author’s participation in ‘figured worlds’ (Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner and Cain 1998), but also influencing of and influenced by future respondents. This article suggests that ‘weaker framing’ (Bernstein 2000) in creative writing pedagogy has the potential to alter boys’ identities and refigure their worlds

Participatory evaluation guides the development and selection of farmers’ preferred rice varieties for salt- and flood-affected coastal deltas of South and Southeast Asia

Rice is the staple food and provides livelihood for smallholder farmers in the coastal delta regions of South and Southeast Asia. However, its productivity is often low because of several abiotic stresses including high soil salinity and waterlogging during the wet (monsoon) season and high soil and water salinity during the dry season. Development and dissemination of suitable rice varieties tolerant of these multiple stresses encountered in coastal zones are of prime importance for increasing and stabilizing rice productivity, however adoption of new varieties has been slow in this region. Here we implemented participatory varietal selection (PVS) processes to identify and understand smallholder farmers’ criteria for selection and adoption of new rice varieties in coastal zones. New breeding lines together with released rice varieties were evaluated in on-station and on-farm trials (researcher-managed) during the wet and dry seasons of 2008–2014 in the Indian Sundarbans region. Significant correlations between preferences of male and female farmers in most trials indicated that both groups have similar criteria for selection of rice varieties. However, farmers’ preference criteria were different from researchers’ criteria. Grain yield was important, but not the sole reason for variety selection by farmers. Several other factors also governed preferences and were strikingly different when compared across wet and dry seasons. For the wet season, farmers preferred tall (140–170cm), long duration (160–170 d), lodging resistant and high yielding rice varieties because these traits are required in lowlands where water stagnates in the field for about four months (July to October). For the dry season, farmers’ preferences were for high yielding, salt tolerant, early maturing (115–130 d) varieties with long slender grains and good quality for better market value. Pest and disease resistance was important in both seasons but did not rank high. When farmers ranked the two most preferred varieties, the ranking order was sometimes variable between locations and years, but when the top four varieties that consistently ranked high were considered, the variability was low. This indicates that at least 3–4 of the best-performing entries should be considered in succeeding multi-location and multi-year trials, thereby increasing the chances that the most stable varieties are selected. These findings will help improve breeding programs by providing information on critical traits. Selected varieties through PVS are also more likely to be adopted by farmers and will ensure higher and more stable productivity in the salt- and flood-affected coastal deltas of South and Southeast Asia

Staphylococcus aureus Manganese Transport Protein C Is a Highly Conserved Cell Surface Protein That Elicits Protective Immunity Against S. aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis

Staphylococcus aureus and other staphylococci cause severe human disease, and there are currently no vaccines available. We evaluated whether manganese transport protein C (MntC), which is conserved across the staphylococcal species group, could confer protection against S. aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. In vivo analysis of S. aureus MntC expression revealed that expression occurs very early during the infectious cycle. Active immunization with MntC was effective at reducing the bacterial load associated with S. aureus and S. epidermidis infection in an acute murine bacteremia model. Anti-MntC monoclonal antibodies have been identified that can bind S. aureus and S. epidermidis cells and are protective in an infant rat passive protection model and induce neutrophil respiratory burst activity. This is the first description of a protein that has the potential to provide protection across the staphylococcal species group

A randomised controlled trial for the effectiveness of intra-articular Ropivacaine and Bupivacaine on pain after knee arthroscopy: the DUPRA (DUtch Pain Relief after Arthroscopy)-trial

In this double-blinded, randomised clinical trial, the aim was to compare the analgesic effects of low doses of intra-articular Bupivacaine and Ropivacaine against placebo after knee arthroscopy performed under general anaesthesia. A total of 282 patients were randomised to 10 cc NaCl 0.9%, 10 cc Bupivacaine 0.5% or 10 cc Ropivacaine 0.75%. Patients received the assigned therapy by intra-articular injection after closure of the portal. Pain and satisfaction were measured at one, 4 h and 5-7 days after arthroscopy with Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) -scores. NSAID consumption was also recorded. One-h NRS-scores at rest were higher in the NaCl group compared with the Bupivacaine group (P <0.01), 1 h NRS-scores in flexion were higher in the NaCl group compared with the Bupivacaine (P <0.01) and Ropivacaine (P <0.01) groups. NRS-satisfaction at 4 h was higher for the Bupivacaine group compared with the NaCl group (P = 0.01). Differences in NRS-scores were significant but low in magnitude. NSAID consumption was lower in the Bupivacaine group compared with the NaCl group (P <0.01). The results of this randomised clinical trial demonstrate improved analgesia after administration of low doses of intra-articular Bupivacaine and Ropivacaine after arthroscopy of the knee. Considering reports of Bupivacaine and Ropivacaine being chondrotoxic agents and the relatively small improvement on patient comfort found in this trial, it is advised to use systemic anaesthetic instead of intra-articular Bupivacaine or Ropivacaine for pain relief after knee arthroscopy.