Physiology and Biochemistry of Cold-hardy Table Grapevines

Grapes are grown worldwide to produce wine, grape juice and are also popular as fresh table grapes or dried raisins. Due to their nutritional value and importance in the multibillion-dollar wine industry, grapes are considered the most commercially important berry crop. Grape production has primarily concentrated on European wine grapes, Vitis vinifera, in the dry, hot Mediterranean and Central Asian climates. V. vinifera is not cold tolerant enough to endure winter temperatures below -15°C. The introduction of several interspecific hybrids (of both wine and table grape) cultivars in the 20th century and selection of a training system has helped propel the expansion of grapevine cultivation in cooler climates such as the Northeastern US and upper midwestern US states. Training and trellising systems are part of viticultural practices that influence many aspects of grapevine growth and productivity. Especially in cool climates like New Hampshire, choosing an appropriate training system will provide the grapevines with good exposure of leaves and berries to sunlight leading to fruits with improved berry composition and higher levels of sugar accumulation as well as increased concentrations of anthocyanins and phenolic compounds. However, there is limited research on the impact of training systems on cold-hardy table grapevine physiology and biochemistry. To address these knowledge gaps research was conducted at the UNH Woodman Horticultural Research Farm in Durham, NH, where cold-hardy grape varieties are growing on two different training systems. Mars and Canadice grape varieties grown on vertical shoot positioning (VSP) and Munson (M) training systems were used. Grapevine physiology and biochemistry were followed throughout three growing seasons using destructive and non-destructive methods to monitor grapevine health. Additionally, considering the current need for alternative environmentally friendly fungicides, plant material from these cold-hardy grape cultivars was tested for their putative antifungal properties. The objectives of this study were to: (1) Determine the physiological and biochemical parameters of Canadice and Mars cold-hardy grape varieties growing on vertical shoot positioning (VSP) and Munson training systems, and (2) Investigate the putative antifungal activity of field-collected grapevine leaves and cell suspension cultures obtained from Canadice and Mars grapevines against Botrytis cinerea. I hypothesized that the training system would influence the SPAD measurements, spectral indices (normalized difference vegetation index, red edge inflection point, moisture stress index, and phenology index), and gas exchange measurements (intercellular carbon dioxide concentration, stomatal conductance, net photosynthesis, transpiration rate, vapor pressure deficit, and water use efficiency) of Mars and Canadice leaves growing on two different training systems. I also hypothesized that the training system would have an effect on the amount of leaf photosynthetic pigments, leaf, juice, and skin metabolomes, titratable acidity and soluble solid contents of Canadice and Mars growing on two different training systems (Chapter 2). I hypothesized that field-collected leaves and cell suspension cultures established from Canadice and Mars grape varieties would contain compounds with antifungal activity against B. cinerea (Chapter 3). For objective 1, physiological parameters were measured with SPAD, spectral analysis, and gas exchange analysis on grapevine leaves throughout three growing seasons (2019, 2020, and 2021). Specifically, I determined the SPAD measurements, the spectral indices normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), red edge inflection point (REIP), moisture stress index (MSI) and phenology index, and gas exchange measurements to determine intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci), stomatal conductance (gs), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), net photosynthesis (A), transpiration (E), and water use efficiency (WUE). While no differences were found regarding training systems alone, there was a significant interaction of training system with time, suggesting that training system had different effects at different times. For the biochemical parameters, the same leaves that were used to perform SPAD measurements were used to analyze photosynthetic pigments and proton based nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR spectroscopy)-based metabolomics. Consistent with the results of physiological parameters, no differences were found for photosynthetic pigments - chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids - between training systems, but the training system had different effects at different time points. The leaf metabolites studied using 1H-NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis did not distinguish samples based on training systems, but sample separation occurred based on phenological stages. The compounds identified showed variations between flowering, veraison, and harvest. Namely, sucrose gradually increased from flowering to harvest. Additionally, the 1H-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolome of grape juice was investigated in grape berries collected from veraison to harvest. Various kinds of metabolites were identified. Fructose, glucose, alanine, threonine, myo-Inositol, and 3-hydroxybutyrate were all shown to increase from veraison to harvest. The amount of fructose and glucose increased over time (between veraison and harvest) and are indicators of berry ripeness. Furthermore, at harvest, grape titratable acidity and total soluble solid content were determined, and berry skin composition was investigated using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) analysis. Distinct sets of metabolites were identified in Mars and Canadice skin samples and were dependent on the training system. For my objective 2, I investigated the putative antifungal activity of Mars- and Canadice-derived products, specifically field-collected grapevine senescent leaves and cell suspension cultures, against B. cinerea. The aim was to gather knowledge that could lead to the development of new botanical fungicides that could be used as an alternative to synthetic fungicides for disease management in vineyards. This approach could contribute to sustainable management practices in the long term. Using grapevine debris (such as canes, wood, and leaves) from V. vinifera to suppress B. cinerea and other plant pathogens has been successfully demonstrated. However, there is limited research evaluating secondary metabolites with antifungal properties from cold-hardy grapevines. Our results show that grapevine-derived extracts have antifungal activity in vitro and in detached berry experiments when challenged with B. cinerea, but the antifungal activity was not translated to in planta experiments. The metabolic profiling of senescent leaves and cell suspension cultures of Mars and Canadice identified an array of compounds, including some reported to have antimicrobial properties. Given the list of compounds that have been identified in cold-hardy grapevine-derived products, future work should examine these unique compounds present in the senescent leaves and cell cultures under controlled experimental conditions. While our results indicated that Mars- and Canadice-derived products have antifungal activity, the materials used in this study were crude extracts. Future studies should focus on using finer grapevine-products to test the efficacy against B. cinerea, not only in vitro, but also using pilot-scale greenhouse trials, and vineyard trials

A Study on Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory

In [F] the theoretical Galois hypothesis, initially created by Krasner for automorphism gatherings (and in this manner endomorphism monoids) of social structures and afterward stretched out by others for not really finitary multi-contention tasks, was inferred by a predictable utilization of the list changes under which the safeguarded relations are invariant. The limited length of that communication blocked an express show of a last structure or a correlation with different definitions inferred by different methods. It is proposed to make this up here, inferring and examining the other surviving structures based on this one

Temporal Pattern Classification using Kernel Methods for Speech

There are two paradigms for modelling the varying length temporal data namely, modelling the sequences of feature vectors as in the hidden Markov model-based approaches for speech recognition and modelling the sets of feature vectors as in the Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based approaches for speech emotion recognition. In this paper, the methods using discrete hidden Markov models (DHMMs) in the kernel feature space and string kernel-based SVM classifier for classification of discretised representation of sequence of feature vectors obtained by clustering and vector quantisation in the kernel feature space are presented. The authors then present continuous density hidden Markov models (CDHMMs) in the explicit kernel feature space that use the continuous valued representation of features extracted from the temporal data. The methods for temporal pattern classification by mapping a varying length sequential pattern to a fixed-length sequential pattern and then using an SVM-based classifier for classification are also presented. The task of recognition of spoken letters in E-set, it is possible to build models that use a discretised representation and string kernel SVM based classification and obtain a classification performance better than that of models using the continuous valued representation is demonstrated. For modelling sets of vectors-based representation of temporal data, two approaches in a hybrid framework namely, the score vector-based approach and the segment modelling based approach are presented. In both approaches, a generative model-based method is used to obtain a fixed length pattern representation for a varying length temporal data and then a discriminative model is used for classification. These two approaches are studied for speech emotion recognition task. The segment modelling based approach gives a better performance than the score vector-based approach and the GMM-based classifiers for speech emotion recognition.Defence Science Journal, 2010, 60(4), pp.348-363, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.60.49

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF MICROSPONGE GEL OF AN ANTIFUNGAL DRUG

Objective: The objective of the present study was to compare the release effect of Luliconazole from different polymeric (Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic) microsponges prepared using varying concentrations. The best microsponge was selected and incorporated into different gel (Natural and synthetic) and drug release is determined and compared with marketed formulation. Methods: Polymers such as EC, HPMC, Eudragit RSPO and PVA as emulsifier, and solvent DCM is used as solvent. Microsponge were prepared by using the quasi emulsion solvent diffusion technique. FTIR was studied to estimate the incompatibility. Microsponges were evaluated for SEM, particle size, drug content, and In vitro diffusion studies. Optimized microsponge incorporated gel was prepared by using different gel (flax seed gel and Aerosil gel) were evaluated for pH, spreadability, extrudability, drug content and in vitro diffusion studies. Results: Theresults obtainedshowed no physical-chemical incompatibility between the drug and the polymers. EC, HPMC and EC combination was found to be a suitable polymer compared to Eudragit RSPO and other combination in preparation of microsponge. From the evaluation of microsponge, the optimized F1 formulations was incorporated into different gel (flax seeds, aerosil) and compared with marketed formulation in which MG-I (flax seed gel) was considered as good topical anti-fungal microsponge gel based on there physical parameters and drug release kinetics. Conclusion: Microsponge and microsponge gel were successfully prepared for Luliconazole and their evaluation studies of each dosage form revealed that topically applied microsponge gel possess immense potential to control the release rate of medicament to improve the bioavailability as well as patient compliance

Oxidation of Indian Ilmenite: Thermodynamics and Kinetics Considerations

Natural Ilmenite (FeO.TiO2) is the primary source for the extraction of titanium dioxide (T1O2). Oxidation-reduction process is used for production of synthetic rutile from ilmenite by separation of Fe-oxides from TiO2. In this paper thermodynamics and kinetic aspects of oxidation reactions of ilmenite are discussed. Ilmenite with53% TiO2 used for investigation is a bit different from conventio-nal feed materials used for up-gradation processes. The slag route is generally employed for processing of low grade ilmenite with 58% TiO2 are used for production of syn-thetic rutile. Therefore detailed understanding oxidation - reduction behaviour of ilmenite is essential for selec-tion and optimisation of suitable up-gradation process

AN OVERVIEW: RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY

The transdermal drug delivery system is an alternative method of administration of drugs. Most of the drugs are delivered by conventional oral, topical, intravenous, and intramuscular methods and are is of limited efficiency. However, now the clinical use of transdermal delivery is limited because of stratum cornea of the skin act as an effective barrier that limits the permeation of drugs through the skin. To overcome this disadvantage, there are Recent developments in transdermal drug delivery, such as the usage of nanoparticles i.e., liposomes, niosomes, transferosomes, ethosomes, nanoemulsion, virosomes, phytosomes, dendrimers, proniosomes, microneedles, and separable microneedles. This nanoparticulate transdermal drug delivery exhibits great potential to ensure drug permeation through the skin. They are very tiny carriers to detect by the immune system and further, they can be delivering the drug to the targeted site and also have the ability to deliver both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs by reducing the complexity. Nanoparticles are made of different materials and they’re very different in structure and chemical properties are discussed in this review article

Effect of Operating Parameters on the Performance of Spiral Concentrator

Spiral concentrator, a critical device in the mineral sand beneficiation circuit, separates minerals based on their specific gravity differences. The effect of diffe-rent operating parameters on the performance of Spiral has been studied through optimization experiments at different feed flow rates and splitter positions for four feed pulp densities ranging from 25- 10%. The raw sand used in exper-imentation contains 12.5% slimes and 11% heavy mineral concentrate, out of which 80% was in the particle size range of —250 + 106 pm. It has been observed that with increase in feed flow rate the grade of concentrate increased but as expected the recoveries decreased significantly. Medium feed flow rate, i.e, 3.0-3.5 m3/hr was found to be optimum in order to obtain the concentrate with greater than 93.5% HMC and high recoveries of >96%. Concentrate grade improved as the feed pulp densities increased.The Spiral concentrator has performed better at feed pulp density of 30% by producing concentrate of high grade (93.5%) and with highest recoveries of 96%. The desliming of raw sand has been done using using hydrocyclone. When the deslimed feed is fed to the spiral, high concentrate grades has been produced with very high recoveries as high as 98%

Topological Cordial Labeling of Some Graphs

A topological cordial labeling of a graph G = (V(G), E(G)) with |V(G)| = n is an injective function f :V(G) →2X where X is any non – empty set such that |X| < n and {f(V(G))} forms a topology on X, that induces a function f*: E(G) →{0,1} defined by f*(uv) = 1 if f(u)∩f(v) is not an empty set and not a singleton set and 0 otherwise for all uv ϵ E(G) such that |ef (0) – ef (1)| ≤ 1, where ef (0) = number of edges labelled with 0 and ef (1) = number of edges labelled with 1. The graph which admits a topological cordial labeling is called a topological cordial graph. In this paper, topological cordial labeling of some special graphs are discussed

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF MOUTH-DISSOLVING FILM OF AN H1 ANTIHISTAMINE DRUG

Objective: The objective of present work was to develop a Mouth dissolving film of Levocetirizine dihydrochloride drug by Solvent casting method using different natural polymers. The best polymer was selected on the basis of the release of the drug and disintegration time. Methods: Sodium alginate and Guar gum are used as a natural polymers. Starch is used as a disintegrant. Glycerol is used as a plasticizer. Citric acid is usedas a saliva-stimulating agent. Mannitol is used as a sweetener. Peppermint oil as a flavoring agent. Mouth-dissolving films were prepared by using the solvent casting method. Results: The compatibility study of the drug with different natural polymers was carried out. The IR spectral studies showed no interaction between drug and polymers. Obtained satisfactory results for Preformulation and post-formulation tests. Formulation F6 containing sodium alginate, F9 containing guar gum and F14 containing a combination ratio of (Sodium alginate: guar gum) showed good results throughout the study. The stability studies on the formulations F6, F9 and F14 indicates that there is no significant change in physical appearance, disintegration time and drug content release study. Conclusion: From the results, it was concluded that the Mouth dissolving films of Levocetirizine dihydrochloride containing natural polymer sodium alginate (F6) showed the least disintegration time (14.28 sec), highest dissolution rate (98.24%) than the formulation containing natural polymer guar gum and combination ratio of (Sodium alginate: guar gum)