Effect of Sm3+ as co-dopant in CaSO4:Dy,P TLD phosphor

CaSO4: Dy,P  and CaSO4:Dy,P,Sm  thermoluminescence (TL) phosphors have been prepared by acid method and their TL glow curves and  photoluminescence (PL)  excitation and emission spectra are recorded. PL emission bands at 565, 599 and 613 nm were observed for CaSO4: Dy,P,Sm under the excitation wavelength 402 nm. Dosimetric peak is observed around 2460C at high temperature.  Co-doping of Sm3+ in CaSO4:Dy,P enhances its TL intensity by a factor of 1.11

Chorioangioma with pre-eclampsia and IUGR: a case report

Chorioangioma is a non-trophoblastic benign tumour of the placenta, arising from the primitive chorionic mesenchyme with an estimated incidence of 0.6% diagnosed antenatal on ultrasound imaging. Small chorioangiomas are often asymptomatic with a frequency of about 1%, giant chorioangiomas more than >5 cm in diameter, are rare seen in 1:3500 to 1:16000 births and are associated with maternal and fetal complications. We report a case of 23-year-old, primigravida 36.4 weeks of gestation with pre-eclampsia with asymmetrical intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), ultrasound suggestive of large placental chorioangioma 8×6.8 cm. This patient despite having large tumour and being diagnosed late at 35 weeks had a favourable maternal and fetal outcome. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in post-prostatectomy patients

Radical prostatectomy (RP) is one of the recommended treatments to achieve oncological outcomes in localized prostate cancer. However, a radical prostatectomy is a major abdominopelvic surgery. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a well-known complication associated with surgical procedures, including RP. There is a lack of consensus regarding VTE prophylaxis in urological procedures. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate different aspects of VTE in post-radical prostatectomy patients. A comprehensive literature search was performed, and relevant data were extracted. The primary aim was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis (wherever possible) of VTE occurrence in post-RP patients in relation to surgical approach, pelvic lymph node dissection, and type of prophylaxis (mechanical or combined prophylaxis). The secondary aim was to investigate the incidence and other risk factors of VTE in post-RP patients. A total of 16 studies were included for quantitative analysis. Statistical methods for analysis included the DerSimonian–Laird random effects. We were able to conclude that the overall incidence of VTE in post-radical prostatectomy is 1% (95% CI) and minimally invasive procedures (MIS), including laparoscopic, as well as robotic procedures for radical prostatectomy and RP without pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND), are associated with less risk of developing VTE. Additional pharmacological prophylaxis to mechanical methods may not be necessary in all cases and should be considered in high-risk patients only

Maturation of the proteasome core particle induces an affinity switch that controls regulatory particle association

Proteasome assembly is a complex process, requiring 66 subunits distributed over several subcomplexes to associate in a coordinated fashion. Ten proteasome-specific chaperones have been identified that assist in this process. For two of these, the Pba1-Pba2 dimer, it is well established that they only bind immature core particles (CPs) in vivo. In contrast, the regulatory particle (RP) utilizes the same binding surface but only interacts with the mature CP in vivo. It is unclear how these binding events are regulated. Here, we show that Pba1-Pba2 binds tightly to the immature CP, preventing RP binding. Changes in the CP that occur on maturation significantly reduce its affinity for Pba1-Pba2, enabling the RP to displace the chaperone. Mathematical modelling indicates that this ‘affinity switch’ mechanism has likely evolved to improve assembly efficiency by preventing the accumulation of stable, non-productive intermediates. Our work thus provides mechanistic insights into a crucial step in proteasome biogenesis

A clinical trial comparing parenteral oxytetracyline and enrofloxacin on time to recovery in sheep lame with acute or chronic footrot in Kashmir, India

Background No clinical trials have been conducted in India on the efficacy of parenteral antibacterials to treat footrot in sheep. In addition, there are no studies worldwide on the efficacy of parenteral antibacterials to treat chronic footrot. Sixty two sheep with acute footrot and 30 sheep with chronic footrot from 7 villages in Kashmir, India were recruited into two separate trials. Sheep with acute footrot were allocated to one of three treatments using stratified random sampling: long acting parenteral oxytetracycline, long acting parenteral enrofloxacin and topical application of potassium permanganate solution (a traditional treatment used by sheep farmers in India). In a quasi pre-post intervention design, sheep with chronic footrot that had not responded to treatment with potassium permanaganate were randomly allocated to treatment with one of the two parenteral antibacterials mentioned above. Sheep with acute footrot were treated on day 0 and those with chronic footrot on days 0, 3, 6 and 9. Sheep were monitored for up to 28 days after treatment. Time to recovery from lameness and initial healing of lesions was assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves, nonparametric log-rank and Wilcoxon sign-rank tests. Results There was significant correlation in recovery from lameness and presence of healing lesions in sheep with acute (r = 0.94) or chronic (r = 0.98) footrot. Sheep with acute footrot which were treated with parenteral antibacterials had a significantly more rapid recovery from lameness and had healing lesions (median = 7 days) compared with those treated with topical potassium permanganate solution (less than 50% recovered in 28 days). The median time to recovery in sheep with chronic footrot treated with either antibacterial was 17 days; this was significantly lower than the median of 75 days lame before treatment with antibacterials. The median time to recovery for both acute and chronic footrot increased as the severity of lesions increased. There was no difference in time to recovery by age, body condition score, duration lame, or presence of pus in the foot within acute and chronically affected sheep. Conclusions We conclude that use of parenteral antibacterials to treat sheep lame with either acute or chronic footrot in India is highly effective. This is likely to improve welfare and give economic benefits to the farmers

Institutional History of Watershed Research: The Evolution of ICRISAT’s Work on Natural Resources in India ICRISAT.Global Theme on Agroecosystems Report no. 12

In recent years international agricultural research centers had to respond to changed mandates with a more explicit focus on poverty reduction and environmental sustainability from an earlier focus on improved agricultural productivity. Natural resource management (NRM) research has been an important area that has witnessed several institutional changes within the CGIAR system for the fulfillments of these goals. Most research centers have sought and promoted innovations through concepts such as participatory research, partnerships and alternatives to the transfer of technology approach. In this report we argue that while these changes have indeed contributed to a greater poverty focus of the CG centers, there is a greater need to understand the practice of science amongst these centers and the underlying institutional constraints that hinder or enhance learning in the proposed transition of these research centers into learning organizations. In this study the institutional history of a CG center has been used as a tool to promote institutional learning and change. It demonstrates that research managers in the CG system have not adequately accessed the institutional innovations of its own scientists in facilitating changes under newer mandates. By tracing the various ups and downs of ICRISAT’s thirty-year involvement in NRM research, this report points to the need for greater sensitivity in research design towards institutional constraints that prevent faster learning and the need for evolving mechanisms to enable real time learning in projects. This publicatio

Weeds and weed control in finger millet in India - A review

Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn is a nutritious and under exploited minor millet with several edible and industrial uses. Finger millet is cultivated on 1.176 million ha, with average yields of 1.64 t/ha, in India (DMD), 2014)..

Increasing input resources use efficiency through appropriate weed management in Indian agriculture

Indian agriculture plays a major role in the country’s economy with 60% of India’s population depending on agriculture sector. The central concern of Indian agriculture is low productivity, evident in modest average crop yields. India may need at least 20 million tons of additional food every year to meet the minimum food and nutritional demands of the growing population which is expected to be 1.7 billion by 2050. Thus the greatest challenge for Indian agriculture is to produce more with minimal input resources without causing imbalance to environment and in a sustainable manner. One of the approaches to face the challenge is production of crops with increased input resource use efficiency by managing impediments such as weeds, which are adaptable to all adverse environments and compete with the crops for utilization of land, labor, light, nutrients and water resources (Yaduraju and Rao 2013). In this presentation, an effort is made to give an overall picture of resources used in Indian agriculture, extent of competition by weeds for resources with crops and extent of losses caused by weeds and appropriate weed management strategies for enhancing input resources use efficiency of crops for attaining increased crop productivity and production to meet the present and future demands of Indian population