The morphological diversification of pollinia of some members of Asclepiadaceae

Most of the natural systems of plant classification have been based on exomorphic characters. The flower is a primary reproductive character considered to be more important than any vegetative characters. The mass of pollen grains is basically called pollinia. Like pollen, the pollinium is also the key character for the identification of specific plant species belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae (Dicotyledons) and Orchidaceae (Monocotyledons). Pollinial characters are now being used as important taxonomical tool for reassessing the different types of plant groups. The morphological nature of pollinia is specific in each genus. The morphological diversifications of pollinium of different genera of Asclepiadaceae were studied with the help of light microscope and phase contrast microscope (Leica-DM1000). The shape, size, position, orientation of pollinia, translator attachment, furrow position, etc are important criterion for the studies of pollinial morphology. This study analyzed the pollinial morphology of some selected plant taxa like Calotropis gigantea (L.) Ait., Daemia extensa R.Br., Dregea volubilis Benth, Gymnema sylvestre R.Br, Hoya globulosa Hook.f. and Tylophora indica (Burm.f.) Merr. collected from different parts of West Bengal.Key words: Asclepiadaceae, Orchidaceae, morphology, pollinia

Critical Appraisal of Baby Friendly Hospital Initiatives among the beneficiaries of Indore Urban - A Comparative Study

Background: Majority of the women in M.P who breastfeed their babies throw away the colostrum before they begin actual feed. Only 14.9% females feed their babies with in 1/2 an hour (National Family Health Survey-3). In Indore 2 hospitals have been given designation of baby friendly hospital (BFH) namely M.Y. hospital (MYH) which is a tertiary care center, attached to Medical College and District hospital (DH). Objectives: (1) To assess the process of implementation of baby friendly hospital initiative programme. (2) Knowledge, Attitude, Practice regarding breast feeding amongst the beneficiaries. Methods: A comparative study was conducted between two BFH and two NBFH (Non Baby Friendly Hospitals) of Indore. The respondents were categorized into health care providers and beneficiaries. A pretested questionnaire was used to interview the respondents which was made taking into consideration the essential 10 Criteria of BFHI Programme. Results: 89% in BFH and 97% in NBFH were having positive attitude towards colostrum feeding. 81% postnatal mothers in BFH and 96% in NBFH were having knowledge about benefits of exclusive breast feeding. 21% postnatal mothers in BFH and 39% in NBFH initiated breast feeding within ½ an hour. 64 % of mothers in BFH and 62 % mothers in NBFH were practicing exclusive breast Feeding. Conclusion: The above findings show that although designated as BFH, the breast feeding practices remained poor as compared to NBFH. There is an utmost need to reinforce training and constant monitoring of health care providers regarding BFHI

Mesoscale objective analysis of daily rainfall with satellite and conventional data over Indian summer monsoon region

A mesoscale objective analysis scheme for producing daily rainfall analysis on a regular latitude/longitude grid over the Indian monsoon region is described. The Barnes scheme is applied to interpolate irregularly distributed daily rainfall data on to a regular grid. The spatial resolution of the interpolated arrays is 0.25 degrees of latitude by 0.25 degrees of longitude. Daily rainfall derived from INSAT IR radiances and raingauge observations are combined to produce this analysis. Some objectively determined constraints are employed in this study: (i) weights are determined as a function of data spacing, (ii) in order to achieve convergence of the analysed values three passes through the data are considered and there is automatic elimination of wavelengths smaller than twice the average data spacing. The case of a typical westward moving monsoon depression during the 1994 monsoon season is selected to represent the characteristics of the analysed rainfall. Objective analyses of six days (16 to 21 August 1994) have been carried out using Barnes three pass scheme. The weighting function scale length parameter (c, denominator in the exponential Gaussian weight function) is varied from over a range of values and the root mean square (rms) errors are computed to select the appropriate value of c. The value of c depends on the number of correction passes being performed and on the density of the observations. The characteristics of the output field from this analysis system have been examined by comparing the analysed rainfall with the observed values. The heavy rainfall over the Western Ghat of India has been clearly brought out in this analysis

Формы взаимоотношений между субъектами экономики моногорода с позиции малого бизнеса

Настоящая работа посвящена вопросам видов взаимоотношений между субъектами моногорода. Приводятся различные виды классификации форм отношений в зависимости от их влияния на малые предприятия. Дается описание наиболее значимых взаимоотношений с позиции малого бизнеса. The present work is devoted to the types of relations between subjects of a single-industry town. Various types of classification of forms of relations are given depending on their influence on small enterprises. A description of the most significant relationships from the position of small business is given

EVALUATION OF ANTICLASTOGENIC POTENTIAL OF CINNAMOMUM CASSIA BARK EXTRACT AGAINST ARSENIC GENOTOXICITY BY USING MICRONUCLEUS ASSAY IN MUS MUSCULUS CAUDAL ERYTHROCYTES

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate the anticlastogenic potential of ethanolic extract of Cinnamomum cassia against arsenic-induced genotoxicity.Methods: In the experiment, 30 animals were taken and divided into five groups and each group contains six animals. Group 1 was control and fed on tap water of Patna city while rest four (2, 3, 4, 5) groups were treated with 4 mg/kg body weight, per orally sodium arsenite for 8 weeks. Sodium arsenite pre-treated Groups 4 and 5 were followed by dose of 100 mg/kg body weight of 5% ethanolic solution of test plant bark extract for next 8 weeks (total duration of dosing 16 weeks). Caudal blood collected from each mouse by minor nick without their sacrifice and smeared blood was stained by double staining. Approximately, 2000 cells were scored by light microscopy to determine micronucleus (MN) frequency. The percentage of MN frequency was expressed in the terms of mean and standard deviation.Results: High index of MN frequency was observed in the Groups 2 and 3 while its frequency drastically reduced in Groups 4 and 5. The mean number of MN scored per 2000 cell were found to be 4.5, 23.5, 18.8, 10.5, and 9.66 in animal Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,respectively.Conclusion: C. cassia may be effective drug in the area of preventive cancer or other kinds of diseases which lead to damage of genetic materials

Rhizosphere of rice plants harbor bacteria with multiple plant growth promoting features

114 diazotrophic bacteria from the rice rhizosphere of five districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh (India) were isolated and screened for plant growth promoting (PGP) activities employing standard microbiological and biochemical techniques. All these isolates showed nitrogenase activity in the range of 0.23 to 1.72 μmol C2H4 mg-1 protein h-1. Further analysis showed that 84 (73.68%) isolates were Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) producer; the value of IAA production ranged from 10.1 to 353.0 μg IAA mg-1 protein. IAA production occurred solely in the medium supplemented with tryptophan. P solubilization activity was observed in 28 (24.56%) isolates, the activity being in the range of 38.50 to 321.0 P released μg mg-1 protein. 45 (39.46%) isolates were capable of producing siderophore, the range of production being 4.50 to 223.26 μg mg-1 protein. Analysis of molecular diversity was made by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), which exhibited distinct differences among all the isolates. Of the 114 isolates, twenty one (21) isolates showed multiple plant growth promoting traits and were potent in terms of PGP activities. These isolates were identified on the basis of 16S rDNA sequencing and belonged to the genera Pantoea, Bacillus, Microbacterium, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Ancylobacter, Enterobacter, Advenella, γ-proteobacterium strain VA3S1, Rhizobium and Agrobacterium. Findings of this study suggest that certain isolates may be exploited for developing a potential source of biofertilizer.Key words: Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, N2 fixation, amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis, indole-3-acetic acid, siderophore, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, temperature gradient gel electrophoresi

Icosahedral quasicrystals in Zn-T-Sc (T=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) alloys

Starting from the Zn17Sc3 cubic approximant, new quasicrystal alloys were searched by replacement of Zn with transition elements, T. In the cases of T=Mn, Fe, Co and Ni, new icosahedral quasicrystals are formed in as-cast alloys as major phases at the alloy compositions of Zn75T10Sc15. All these quasicrystals belong to a primitive type, and have 6-dimensional lattice parameters, a6D, ranging from 7.044 to 7.107 A. They have the valence electron concentrations, e/a, ranging from 2.01 to 2.14, and almost the same ratios between the edge-length of the Penrose tile, aR, and the averaged atomic diameter d: aR/d~1.75. Moreover other Zn- and Cd-based quasicrystals including the same type of atomic cluster, Tsai-type cluster, also have the same values of e/a~2.1 and aR/d~1.75. The equality in e/a indicates that the Hume-Rothery mechanism plays an important role for the formation of these quasicrystals.Comment: 9 pages, 2 tables, 3 figure

Validation of low-dose lung cancer PET-CT protocol and PET image improvement using machine learning

PURPOSE: To conduct a simplified lesion-detection task of a low-dose (LD) PET-CT protocol for frequent lung screening using 30% of the effective PETCT dose and to investigate the feasibility of increasing clinical value of low-statistics scans using machine learning. METHODS: We acquired 33 SD PET images, of which 13 had actual LD (ALD) PET, and simulated LD (SLD) PET images at seven different count levels from the SD PET scans. We employed image quality transfer (IQT), a machine learning algorithm that performs patch-regression to map parameters from low-quality to high-quality images. At each count level, patches extracted from 23 pairs of SD/SLD PET images were used to train three IQT models - global linear, single tree, and random forest regressions with cubic patch sizes of 3 and 5 voxels. The models were then used to estimate SD images from LD images at each count level for 10 unseen subjects. Lesion-detection task was carried out on matched lesion-present and lesion-absent images. RESULTS: LD PET-CT protocol yielded lesion detectability with sensitivity of 0.98 and specificity of 1. Random forest algorithm with cubic patch size of 5 allowed further 11.7% reduction in the effective PETCT dose without compromising lesion detectability, but underestimated SUV by 30%. CONCLUSION: LD PET-CT protocol was validated for lesion detection using ALD PET scans. Substantial image quality improvement or additional dose reduction while preserving clinical values can be achieved using machine learning methods though SUV quantification may be biased and adjustment of our research protocol is required for clinical use

Comparison of a novel combination of bio-organic fertilizers vis-à-vis a chemical fertilizer

197-204Plant nutrients are essential for the production of healthy crops for the world’s expanding population and thus, they are a vital component of sustainable agriculture. Increased crop production depends on the type of fertilizers used to supplement essential nutrients for plants. The nutrient level fertilizers provide depends on their nature- each type of fertilizer has its advantages and disadvantages concerning crop growth and soil fertility. The management of using fertilizer must aim to ensure both an enhanced and safeguarded environment. Thus, a balanced fertilization strategy must be implemented. An experiment was conducted under field conditions to assess the effects of combinations of bio-fertilizers on agronomic and quality criteria of Brassica juncea (brown mustard), Basella alba (climbing spinach), and Amaranthus dubius (red spinach). Randomized block design with three replicas were used for the study, one set with the application of fertilizers containing Azotobacter, Rhizobium, Sesbania, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Glomus (Mycorrhizal inoculant)- under bio-fertilizer; another with a mixture of urea, Potassium Nitrate, Super Phosphate, Potassium Sulfate, and Maple EM solution as chemical fertilizer and a control (water). Results indicated that yield and other plant criteria like chlorophyll content and gel volume were enhanced in bio-fertilizer treated plants compared to the plants grown with chemical fertilizer and control. In general, the application of bio-fertilizer significantly increased leaf length by 16-50%, the total number of leaves by 50-80%, plant size 19.15-63.15%, and gel volume by 147% (approximately) in comparison with untreated plants

Seed Quality Markers: A Review

INTRODUCTION Seed provides food, feed, fibre and most importantly conserve the species in the form of a tiny size to adapt to the environment. Seed is the harbinger for agricultural productivity; however, burgeoning population, reduction in land holding size due to urbanization and tremendous demand for quality food is an upcoming challenges to be confronted. Under such odds, it is inevitable to have quality seeds that enable successful stand establishment and crop improvement. Seed quality comprises of seed germination, vigour, genetic purity and health estate of seed [1] . Quality seeds germinate completely at faster rate with vigorous seedlings of little sensitivity to climatic changes that enable them to adapt broad range of environmental conditions Recent studies have demonstrated some evidence as potential markers at biochemical, molecular levels. Antioxidants, integrity of membrane determination by electrolyte leakage, ethylene production during imbitions phase, changes in raffinose family oligosachharides and 11 S globulin β-subunit, late embyrogenesis abundant protein and heat shock protein changes are reliable indicators of seed germination, performance, maturity and seed priming treatments Antioxidants Seed quality maintenance during seed production is inevitable as reactive oxygen species (ROS) synthesis takes place during metabolic process. ROS comprises of superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen which has adverse Review Article ABSTRACT Seed is a basic input for agriculture productivity and germplasm conservation. Seed quality predominantly comprises of germination and vigour which are quintessential for successful stand establishment. On the other hand, seed industries are thriving to improve the crop yield through control of seed vigour. Possibilities of seed vigour could be improved by seed priming and post-harvest processing. So far, during seed production at a commercial scale, maturity used to monitor visually which necessitates the expertise of growers. It is the need of the hour to develop markers that aid in identifying optimum harvest time. Markers could be developed by clearly understanding the physiological, biochemical, molecular mechanisms involved in seed quality (germination and vigour). From the recent studies, several promising markers such as cell cycle markers, electrolyte leakage, ethylene production, sugar metabolism, proteins, antioxidants and telomeres have been suggested as reliable markers to monitor the seed quality process. Such markers not only help to identify the seedling stages but also facilitate a better understanding of seed priming treatments. effects on lipids, DNA, RNA, and proteins that ultimately leads to cell death. The condition could be more deteriorative if the seed biochemical composition is enriched with oil/lipid content. For example, ROS damages the integrity of cell membranes, alters the permeability and fluidity through peroxidation of lipids Antioxidants such as tocopherols, phenols, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and thiols are non-enzymatic in nature whereas, catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase are the major enzymatic moieties. The enzymatic antioxidants mainly execute its function through detoxification mechanisms. For example, superoxide (free radical) has been dismutated by SOD to hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. Further, catalase detoxifies the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. These enzyme activities are directly correlated with ROS maintenance at non-toxic levels which may serve as markers. Bailley et al. Membrane Integrity Unlike recalcitrant seeds, orthodox seeds undergo desiccation tolerance after maturation. Membrane integrity is one of the important features to confront the desiccation tolerance to remain seed viability Ethylene as Indicator Ethylene synthesis in higher plants takes place through 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase activity Raffinose Family Oligosaccharides (RFO) In addition to the above markers, some molecules such as RFO are of particular interest. RFO accumulates during seed maturation and helps to maintain the intracellular contents in glassy state through increase in cytoplasmic viscosity and glass to liquid transition temperatures. These modifications help in to restrain ageing effect Cell Cycle Markers In higher plants, the embryo development needs endosperm nourishment. In angiosperms, the embryo is formed by the fusion of one nucleus from male gametophyte and the other from female gametophyte. Thus, the embryo is in 2 n stage representing a dploid genome (2n). In seeds, at different developmental stages mitotic/endoreduplication takes place, as a result, physiological state of a seed could be easily understood. In embryo, a typical proliferative cell undergoes mitosis where 2 n is duplicated to 4 n condition after 'S' phase; thereafter, in mitosis where the DNA content is divided into two daughter nuclei (4 n to 2 n) as depicted in Unlike embryonic cells, some endosperm cells undergo endoreduplication where repeated rounds of DNA replication occur in nuclei without the mitotic stage which leads to formation of endopolyploid cells. This striking feature could be studied through flow cytometry to estimate the DNA content with fluorochrome Figure 2. Typical proliferative cell cycle stages in embryo. In embryo, a typical proliferative cell undergoes mitosis where 2n is duplicated to 4n condition after 'S' phase; thereafter, in mitosis where the DNA content is divided into two daughter nuclei (4n to 2n). In case of non-proliferative cells (seed maturation stage) it undergoes quiescent G 0 stage from G 1 phase. From the above discussion, it is imperative to deduce a yardstick of seed maturity with the ratio of endosperm to embryo nuclei which will provide the insights. Several reports suggested the utility of endosperm to embryo ratio; for example, in sugarbeet, it is about 3:2 and 9:1 at 21 day old developing and 36 (mature) day old seeds respectivel