Natural Suppression of the Aquatic Weed Salvinia molesta D.S. Mitchell, by Two Previously Unreported Fungal Pathogens

Salvinia molesta D. S. Mitchell (Salviniaceae), variously called giant salvinia, water fern or African payal, is a vegetatively reproducing, perennial, free-floating, aquatic weed, native to southeastern Brazil (Waterhouse and Norris 1987). It (hereafter called salvinia) is a very serious weed in most regions outside its native range (Harley and Mitchell 1981) including India. The purpose of this paper is to report on two fungal pathogens that were found to be the cause of a sudden decline in salvinia in Bangalore.(PDF has 4 pages.

Strategies and options for increasing and sustaining fisheries and aquaculture production to benefit poorer households in Asia

The last three decades have witnessed dramatic changes in the structure of supply and demand for fish, especially in Asia. This WorldFish research study sponsored by the Asian Development Bank focussed on nine developing countries – Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, all active players in the transformation of global fish supply and demand. The study, broken into five components and reported here, considered: 1) the profile of key aquaculture technologies and fishing practices; 2) analysis of policies, institutions and support services; 3) socioeconomic profile of major stakeholders in the fisheries sector; 4) projections of fish demand and supply in the nine Asian countries; and 5) formulation of national action plans based on the findings and recommendations of the study

A Family of Helminth Molecules that Modulate Innate Cell Responses via Molecular Mimicry of Host Antimicrobial Peptides

Over the last decade a significant number of studies have highlighted the central role of host antimicrobial (or defence) peptides in modulating the response of innate immune cells to pathogen-associated ligands. In humans, the most widely studied antimicrobial peptide is LL-37, a 37-residue peptide containing an amphipathic helix that is released via proteolytic cleavage of the precursor protein CAP18. Owing to its ability to protect against lethal endotoxaemia and clinically-relevant bacterial infections, LL-37 and its derivatives are seen as attractive candidates for anti-sepsis therapies. We have identified a novel family of molecules secreted by parasitic helminths (helminth defence molecules; HDMs) that exhibit similar biochemical and functional characteristics to human defence peptides, particularly CAP18. The HDM secreted by Fasciola hepatica (FhHDM-1) adopts a predominantly α-helical structure in solution. Processing of FhHDM-1 by F. hepatica cathepsin L1 releases a 34-residue C-terminal fragment containing a conserved amphipathic helix. This is analogous to the proteolytic processing of CAP18 to release LL-37, which modulates innate cell activation by classical toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We show that full-length recombinant FhHDM-1 and a peptide analogue of the amphipathic C-terminus bind directly to LPS in a concentration-dependent manner, reducing its interaction with both LPS-binding protein (LBP) and the surface of macrophages. Furthermore, FhHDM-1 and the amphipathic C-terminal peptide protect mice against LPS-induced inflammation by significantly reducing the release of inflammatory mediators from macrophages. We propose that HDMs, by mimicking the function of host defence peptides, represent a novel family of innate cell modulators with therapeutic potential in anti-sepsis treatments and prevention of inflammation

Biology and biotechnology of Trichoderma

Fungi of the genus Trichoderma are soilborne, green-spored ascomycetes that can be found all over the world. They have been studied with respect to various characteristics and applications and are known as successful colonizers of their habitats, efficiently fighting their competitors. Once established, they launch their potent degradative machinery for decomposition of the often heterogeneous substrate at hand. Therefore, distribution and phylogeny, defense mechanisms, beneficial as well as deleterious interaction with hosts, enzyme production and secretion, sexual development, and response to environmental conditions such as nutrients and light have been studied in great detail with many species of this genus, thus rendering Trichoderma one of the best studied fungi with the genome of three species currently available. Efficient biocontrol strains of the genus are being developed as promising biological fungicides, and their weaponry for this function also includes secondary metabolites with potential applications as novel antibiotics. The cellulases produced by Trichoderma reesei, the biotechnological workhorse of the genus, are important industrial products, especially with respect to production of second generation biofuels from cellulosic waste. Genetic engineering not only led to significant improvements in industrial processes but also to intriguing insights into the biology of these fungi and is now complemented by the availability of a sexual cycle in T. reesei/Hypocrea jecorina, which significantly facilitates both industrial and basic research. This review aims to give a broad overview on the qualities and versatility of the best studied Trichoderma species and to highlight intriguing findings as well as promising applications

VOLT-SECOND BALANCE METHOD FOR MITIGATION OF INRUSH CURRENT IN SINGLE PHASE TRANSFORMERS

During the transient period at the start of transformer energization, it experiences a flux linkage that is up to twice its nominal steady state value and saturates the core. This causes a large inrush current to flow which affects the power system stability and power quality especially when the source is weak. Sequential phase energization technique and addition of neutral resistor are the major methods for minimization of inrush current. This paper proposes a simple technique to limit the flux linkage during the time of transformer energization and prevents the flux saturation there by reducing the inrush current. This is based on a volt-second balance which injects a transient voltage to the primary of the transformer during inrush currents. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified by simulation

Editorial

The present-day consumers are well aware of the ill-effects of chemical pesticides and are more health conscious than ever before. Understandably, biological control — a system of sustainably managing pests through the intelligent use of natural enemies of the targets — is on a firm footing in this era of organic farming. Classical biological control has been successfully used around the world to control introduced pests or invasive alien species in the last many decades. Similarly, augmentative biological control is also a popular approach in situations where frequent releases of natural enemies are required to obtain desirable results in terms of pest suppression. Lately, inundative use of biocontrol agents has gained traction. Commercial biocontrol products are sought after by growers who intend to use them in similar ways as they would use chemical pesticides. Predatory insects, parasitoids, predatory mites, entomopathogens, plant-disease antagonists and entomopathogenic nematodes are now sold in many countries and are in great demand

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Not AvailableConservation biological control is an approach to enhance the efficacy of natural enemies by ensuring their availability in an agro-ecosystem on a long temporal scale. An increased survival often leads to better fecundity and improved behaviour of the natural enemies, which in turn ensures sustainable pest management. This paper, apart from being a concise review of conservation biological control, deals with selected India-specific case studies and field experiences on habitat manipulation and refugia. Results from a Bengaluru-based study during 2012–2015 on conservation biological control in an organic mango ecosystem are also presented. It also dwells briefly on conservation of insectivorous birds and touches upon conservation biocontrol with respect to entomopathogenic microorganisms and plant disease antagonists.Not Availabl

On-line Power System Static Security Assessment in a Distributed Computing Frame Work

Abstract—The computation overhead is of major concern when going for increased accuracy in online power system security assessment (OPSSA). This paper proposes a scalable solution technique based on distributed computing architecture to mitigate the problem. A variant of the master/slave pattern is used for deploying the cluster of workstations (COW), which act as the computational engine for the OPSSA. Owing to the inherent parallel structure in security analysis algorithm, to exploit the potential of distributed computing, domain decomposition is adopted instead of functional decomposition. The security assessment is performed utilizing the developed composite security index that can accurately differentiate the secure and non-secure cases and has been defined as a function of bus voltage and line flow limit violations. Validity of proposed architecture is demonstrated by the results obtained from an intensive experimentation using the benchmark IEEE 57 bus test system. The proposed framework, which is scalable, can be further extended to intelligent monitoring and control of power system Index Terms—first term, second term, third term, fourth term, fifth term, sixth ter

Real Time Weather Monitoring System using IoT

The proposed project aims to use IoT technology to build a weather monitoring and reporting system which has the potential to improve the accuracy and reliability of weather data. Weather monitoring systems can collect real-time data on various weather conditions, such as temperature and humidity, using sensors and other IoT devices. This data can then be analysed and used to generate accurate and timely weather reports, which individuals and organizations can use for various purposes, such as agriculture, aviation, and disaster management. The aim of real-time weather monitoring using IoT is to collect, analyse, and disseminate accurate and timely information about the current weather conditions to individuals and organizations through web and mobile dashboards for decision-making purposes