Pesticide Use in Vegetable Crops: Frequency, Intensity and Determinant Factors

This paper has examined pest management practices in four important vegetable crops, viz. chillies, cauliflower, brinjal and bhendi using farm level cross-sectional data. Average pesticide usage has been estimated at 5.13, 2.77, 4.64 and 3.71 kg active ingredient per hectare on chillies, cauliflower, brinjal and bhendi crops, respectively. On an average, cauliflower and brinjal are each given 15 applications, chillies is given 13 and bhendi is given 12 applications. The study has suggested that for reducing pesticide-use, farmers need to be educated about different nonchemical control methods and should be encouraged to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) practices.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Spatial overlaps between the global protected areas network and terrestrial hotspots of evolutionary diversity

AIM : A common approach for prioritizing conservation is to identify concentrations (hotspots) of biodiversity. Such hotspots have traditionally been designated on the basis of species‐level metrics (e.g., species richness, endemism and extinction vulnerability). These approaches do not consider phylogenetics explicitly, although phylogenetic relationships reflect the ecological, evolutionary and biogeographical processes by which biodiversity is generated, distributed and maintained. The aim of this study was to identify hotspots of phylogenetic diversity and compare these with hotspots based on species‐level metrics and with the existing protected areas network. LOCATION : Global. TIME PERIOD : Contemporary. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED : Terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds and amphibians) and angiosperms. METHODS : We used comprehensive phylogenies and distribution maps of terrestrial birds, mammals, amphibians and angiosperms to identify areas with high concentrations of phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic endemism, and evolutionary distinctiveness and global endangerment. We compared the locations of these areas with those included within the current network of protected areas and concentrations of species‐level indices: species richness, species endemism and species threat. RESULTS : We found spatial incongruence among the three evolutionary diversity metrics in each taxonomic group. Spatial patterns of diversity and endemism also differed among taxonomic groups, with some differences between vertebrates and angiosperms. Complementarity analyses of phylogenetic diversity identified the minimal area that encapsulates the full branch lengths for each taxonomic group. The current network of protected areas and species‐level hotspots largely does not overlap with areas of high phylodiversity. MAIN CONCLUSION : Overall, < 10% of hotspot areas were designated as protected areas. Patterns of diversity, endemism and vulnerability differ among taxonomic groups.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/geb2020-06-01hj2019Plant Production and Soil ScienceZoology and Entomolog

Controlled Release of Octreotide and Assessment of Peptide Acylation from Poly(D,L-lactide-co-hydroxymethyl glycolide) Compared to PLGA Microspheres

# The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Purpose To investigate the in vitro release of octreotide acetate, a somatostatin agonist, from microspheres based on a hydrophilic polyester, poly(D,L-lactide-co-hydroxymethyl glycolide) (PLHMGA). Methods Spherical and non-porous octreotide-loaded PLHMGA microspheres (12 to 16 μm) and loading efficiency of 60–70% were prepared by a solvent evaporation. Octreotide release profiles were compared with commercial PLGA formulation (Sandostatin LAR ®); possible peptide modification with lactic, glycolic and hydroxymethyl glycolic acid units was monitored. Results PLHMGA microspheres showed burst release (~20%) followed by sustained release for 20–60 days, depending on the hydrophilicity of the polymer. Percentage of released loaded peptide was high (70–90%);&gt;60 % of released peptide was native octreotide. PLGA microspheres did not show peptide release for the first 10 days, after which it was released in a sustained manner over the next 90 days;&gt;75 % of released peptides were acylated adducts. Conclusions PLHMGA microspheres are promising controlled systems for peptides with excellent control over release kinetics. Moreover, substantially less peptide modification occurred in PLHMGA than in PLGA microspheres. KEY WORDS acylation. aliphatic polyester. controlle

Pesticide Use in Vegetable Crops: Frequency, Intensity and Determinant Factors

This paper has examined pest management practices in four important vegetable crops, viz. chillies, cauliflower, brinjal and bhendi using farm level cross-sectional data. Average pesticide usage has been estimated at 5.13, 2.77, 4.64 and 3.71 kg active ingredient per hectare on chillies, cauliflower, brinjal and bhendi crops, respectively. On an average, cauliflower and brinjal are each given 15 applications, chillies is given 13 and bhendi is given 12 applications. The study has suggested that for reducing pesticide-use, farmers need to be educated about different nonchemical control methods and should be encouraged to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) practices

Using PPI-GA for identifying protein complexes in protein-protein interaction networks

The major focus of an interdisciplinary field of study termed proteomics is a comprehensive analysis of proteins to evaluate their genetic variety, examine their distinctions, and respond to stresses. Proteomics' major goal is to use protein chemistry, bioinformatics, and biology to detect and measure proteins as well as analyze their post-translational modifications and interactions. Any disruption in the interacting network of proteins can lead to biological abnormalities and diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer. The majority of existing computational approaches for detecting protein complexes are based on certain topological properties of protein-protein networks (PPI). In this paper, it initially provides a novel encoding technique for representing the clarification and solution, and next we recommend the concept of PPI-GA, an innovative clustering based algorithm which is based on genetic approach algorithm which employs a innovative multi based objective excellence function to find out the protein complexes. A different two gold based standard and the real-world based datasets are been used to evaluate proposed algorithm. The obtained result shows that the suggested method can discover key protein complexes and that it offers more accurate results than existing protein complex identification techniques

Poly(D,L-Lactide-Co-Glycolide) microspheres containing 5-fluorouracil: Optimization of process parameters

The objective of this research was to optimize the processing parameters for poly(D,L-lactide-coglycolide) (PLGA) microspheres of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and to mathematically relate the process parameters and properties of microspheres. Microspheres were prepared by a water-in-oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation technique. A 32 factorial design was employed to study the effect of the volume of the internal phase of the primary emulsion and the volume of the external phase of the secondary emulsion on yield, particle size, and encapsulation efficiency of microspheres. An increase in the volume of the internal phase of the primary emulsion resulted in a decrease in yield and encapsulation efficiency and an increase in particle size of microspheres. When the volume of the external phase of the secondary emulsion was increased, a decrease in yield, particle size, and encapsulation efficiency was observed. Microspheres with good batch-to-batch reproducibility could be produced. Scanning electron microscopic study indicated that microspheres existed as aggregates